Vintage Cell Phones

[lnx64]

So something that might come as a surprise to some, 2G service is still in use in America, some carriers won't activate them but will let you keep your old 2G phone if you're still using them, while others (like anything on the T-Mobile network) will happily let you activate them no question asked.

As someone who's not a fan of smart phones, I decided to go back to my Nokia 5190 a couple years ago. It's old, very very old, but STILL has service. It's now 21 years old, old enough to drink alcohol, and I'm not going to lie, people keep telling me 2G service is limited, especially if I travel. At least on T-Mobile's network that hasn't quite been the case for me. I've traveled around with this phone, and had great service, only once in 2 years has a call dropped, and it might have been the other party (had to call some call center and it was busy sounding and overseas). I've had people tell me I sound so clear when using this phone vs my smart phone I used to use. They say specifically I'm louder, less muffled sounding, and it sounds less compressed, no real artifact. They think it's a landline. In my home I get full coverage, at the grocery store I get 3/4. In fact when I was hospitalized in 2017, I was using my Nokia already, and that got 1 to 2 bars of service in the hospital room whereas the nurses and their smart phones got nothing, and were forced to use wifi calling.

Here it is today.
https://i.imgur.com/usuFG6P.jpg

I know, the days are numbered (T-Mobile originally said they would shut off 2G at the end of 2020, but I've been told this is now delayed until further notice as there's apparently still a few 2G customers), and I love vintage cell phones, specifically the basic "dumb" phones. They were simple, they did what they were designed to do, and they usually end up lasting longer than the other phones. They don't need software updates, and I can still text on it just fine (I was actually able to Tweet on Twitter with this Nokia up until recently when they shut off SMS Tweeting).

Does anyone else here have a fascination with older cell phones?

I actually get a kick that this Nokia refers to itself not as a phone on the back, but as a handheld tranceiver. (Which is indeed what a cell phone really is!)

[Electronic M]

From what I understand the CDMA carriers Sprint and Verison (and the 'virtual carriers' that rent use of their service) still use 2G for their primary call and SMS services and only use their 3G-5G service for data transfer.

I currently use a Moto G7 power smartphone (has 5500mAh battery that matches the all week life of my last flip phone, also not an overpriced flagship), and have found the limits of Sprint's coverage...The display will tell me LTE (aka 4G), 3G, or a plain signal strength gauge (indicating 2G service)...I can surf the web and send pictures with my texts in LTE or 3G, but if I have the bar graph I've learned that all I have is phone and text without pictures....Basically all of northeast Iowa (in my short jaunt there) is either 2G or dead zone. Northwest Wisconsin is also mostly dead zone with patches of roaming...It seems like highway 53 is the only strip of data going north and drops dead or to roaming north of there.

I had my flip phone for a long time. By the end of college, I was probably the only student with one and not by choice...My folks are cheap and my phone was part of a family plan (and I didn't have funds to buy my own phone/plan).

About the only vintage cell phones that I find interesting are the analog ones going back to the early somewhat experimental networks...

The 2 keys to survival for a smartphone: keep it in a protective cover/case so you can drop and or throw it safely, and don't get it wet (unless you get one designed to be waterproof)...Warranties are a good idea I drowned my first smartphone 3/4 way into the warranty in a beach accident and didn't get a case for my first G7 and ended up having it slip out of my hand on the downswing (read that accidentally threw it onto concrete) of the moto gesture that activates the flashlight (both phones survived well enough to recover data and use albeit not as good as before)...The current one had a case before it ever got used...Warranty pretty much covered everything both times.

[Tony F]

I've still got my OKI 900,(1993 era) it has the modded eprom that allows for up to 5 esn's. It was great fun, It has an external interface that you could hook up to your computer. It would allow you to follow conversations (both sides) and even follow them during handoffs to other cell towers. It would decode the data to give you all the information (phone numbers dialed). There was also another eprom that would allow up to 200 esn's that would roll through them. This was before the cell companies found out about all the clever hacks.
Tony

[Telecolor 3007]

I use "Nokia" 3310

[lnx64]

Originally Posted by Telecolor 3007

I use "Nokia" 3310

Which one, original or re-release?

[Telecolor 3007]

Original

[lnx64]

Originally Posted by Telecolor 3007

Original

Perfect, the nearly direct successor to my 5190 (US market 5110).

[Chip Chester]

So I've kept almost every cell phone I ever had. All but the first one, an Audiovox AMPS phone that was 3 watts in the car kit, and 1 watt when un-docked/on battery. (Battery lasted for about 20 minutes on a good day.)

Aside from the AMPS/NAMPS ones, there's a bevy of Palm Treo units, both flip and non-flip, plus a Motorola Razer(?) or two, a Motorola StarTac flip, the first Android sliding keyboard one, and every other iPhone model starting from 3GS to 6S.

The iPhones all still work, and I could probably have them activated if I needed to. But the older ones, even though some are GSM, I thought were doorstops. What approximate date is 2G? Is there a way to tell if they'll work just by firing them up and observing for signal? (Testing by calling 911 doesn't really seem prudent...)

[lnx64]

Originally Posted by Chip Chester

But the older ones, even though some are GSM, I thought were doorstops. What approximate date is 2G? Is there a way to tell if they'll work just by firing them up and observing for signal? (Testing by calling 911 doesn't really seem prudent...)

It depends. I can only speak for T-Mobile at least (including MetroPCS as it's the same network). From what they have told me, there's now no specific date as to when 2G will be shut down. Now T-Mobile's 2G is on the PCS band, 1900MHz. In most cases it's actually running on the LTE guard bands with limited space, but dumb phones are working fine with it like my 5190. As long as those phones have a 2G radio on 1900MHz, and are unlocked, I don't see why you couldn't activate them. If you go directly with T-Mobile, just inserting the SIM is all you need to do, even out of another phone (MetroPCS requires you to give them the IMEI as some sort of security measure, but they haven't complained about my Nokia 5190's IMEI). The SIM currently in my Nokia is actually a 4G LTE nano SIM slapped in 2 adapters (My Moto Razr however would NOT work with this SIM so mileage may vary).

As for the CDMA based carriers, I'm not quite sure what's going on with them. AT&T has already rid of 2G entirely.

I am curious about switching to Mint, which also uses T-Mobile's network, since they have better prices, but I have been holding it off as from what I understand, NEWER SIM cards might now have issues with my Nokia, specifically SIM's that include 5G support.

[Telecolor 3007]

Originally Posted by lnx64

Perfect, the nearly direct successor to my 5190 (US market 5110).

I had the 5110 in the past.
Do you use your 5190?

[lnx64]

Originally Posted by Telecolor 3007

I had the 5110 in the past.
Do you use your 5190?

Yep, I use it daily. Better call quality and signal reception vs my smart phones, and I never use the smart phone features, I don't use facebook, twitter, etc when I'm out of the house, so better to just have no distractions.

[mr_rye89]

Vintage cell phones eh? I have an AMPS Motorola Ultra Classic, two CDMA/2G Star Tacs, a Nokia 6820b (GSM), A Nokia 5110 (GSM 900Mhz), A Motelona XY968 ( Motorola v220? gsm flip phone in an Ultra Classic "brickphone" body).

I use a Huawei Mate 9 on T-mobile now. Their 2G service has been non-existent at my house for some time, but the LTE is ok.

[Telecolor 3007]

No matter how fancy are new phones, sometimes people do ask to se my 3310

[lnx64]

Originally Posted by Telecolor 3007

No matter how fancy are new phones, sometimes people do ask to se my 3310

Oh they always have to ask if my 5190 has Snake. Why of course, it was the second Nokia to have it (first I think was the 6110). And I got a high score, not impressive but I have played it: https://i.imgur.com/vZHS1em.jpg

[Dude111]

Thats awesome!!!

Is 2G analogue??


I hope it keeps working for ya buddy