# Why does my cell phone show "no service" periodically for a few hours? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 10, 2022, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cell-phone-show-no-service-periodically-for-a-few-hours/967727 "2022-07-10T21:04:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cell-phone-show-no-service-periodically-for-a-few-hours/967727/21 "2022-07-12T03:00:11Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m shocked a phone from 2018 can still get service. It has to be 3g. Are you wooshing us? Because commercially available 4g smartphones started in 2010 in the US. And you missed @ThelmaLou 's great battle to confirm her 4g connectivity on that beloved phone and multiple searches and confirmations to make sure it would work, at least on several serviced bands. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cell-phone-show-no-service-periodically-for-a-few-hours/967727/22 "2022-07-12T03:01:32Z")
It handles 4G fine. I ran an app on it that told me it was compatible with 5G, and so far no problem there, either. * * * ETA- > [@ParallelLines](#): > > And you missed @ThelmaLou 's great battle to confirm her 4g connectivity on that beloved phone and multiple searches and confirmations to make sure it would work, at least on several serviced bands.- Wow. You have really been paying attention! You are so right. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cell-phone-show-no-service-periodically-for-a-few-hours/967727/23 "2022-07-12T03:02:53Z")
Ok Its 4g. I miscounted the years and phone models. My motorola from 2016 was 3g. It’s replacement a Sony 4g went obsolete last summer. Consumer Cellular dropped coverage in july 2022. Currently running a Samsung 5g. It’ll probably be obsolete in a couple more years. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cell-phone-show-no-service-periodically-for-a-few-hours/967727/24 "2022-07-12T03:19:17Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m shocked a phone from 2018 can still get service. It has to be 3g. Nope. 2018 was just four years ago. 4G came out in 2009. I first used a 4G phone in 2015. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cell-phone-show-no-service-periodically-for-a-few-hours/967727/25 "2022-07-12T03:20:22Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Currently running a Samsung 5g. It’ll probably be obsolete in a couple more years. Well, probably not a couple. The various 5g technologies (different frequencies, different implementation) aren’t even fully rolled out yet, and there isn’t anything that looks like a convincing ‘next-gen’ tech on the horizon. So I seriously doubt most 5g services will be gone in less than 10ish years. Part of the issue is that the highest speeds have so little range and penetration that they’re implemented almost on a block by block basis. So I would guess that a 4g/5g combination will be the norm for a decade at least. Now, if you’re talking about obsolete in terms of ‘won’t run the most current software/security updates’ Samsung normally gives around a 3 year promise, so yeah, a couple of years and I wouldn’t promise it won’t be obsolete by that standard, but it’ll probably run on the network just fine. If you want ‘long term support’, your best bet is probably an iPhone, although they have _plenty_ of their own issues. The new iOS update (16) is finally going to drop support for the iPhone SE (2016) edition, which means it had 6 years of updates. Which is pretty darn impressive. That doesn’t mean the same for all iPhones in the future, but better than the 3 years Pixel promises as an example (since Pixel is released by Google, who also releases Android, best apples to apples I can get in the market). ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cell-phone-show-no-service-periodically-for-a-few-hours/967727/26 "2022-07-12T03:31:46Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > best apples to apples I can get in the market ISWYDT … ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cell-phone-show-no-service-periodically-for-a-few-hours/967727/27 "2022-07-12T12:47:18Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Ok Its 4g. I miscounted the years and phone models. My motorola from 2016 was 3g. > > It’s replacement a Sony 4g went obsolete last summer. Consumer Cellular dropped coverage in july 2022. > > Currently running a Samsung 5g. It’ll probably be obsolete in a couple more years. Are you sure you don’t mean that Consumer Cellular dropped 3G coverage, not 4G? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cell-phone-show-no-service-periodically-for-a-few-hours/967727/28 "2022-07-12T13:16:03Z")
Apparently it was 3g. I can’t keep track of these numbers. I didn’t even know my flip phone was 2g until letters arrived telling me it would soon be inoperable. It’s been a steady stream of phone upgrades ever since. All my extended family has kept me busy upgrading to new phones. This came out last summer from consumer cellular. I got it in my email and also US mail. Cite: [https://www.consumercellular.com/3GMigration-smartphone](https://www.consumercellular.com/3GMigration-smartphone) ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cell-phone-show-no-service-periodically-for-a-few-hours/967727/29 "2022-07-12T14:15:53Z")
For anyone else confused like @aceplace57, 2g technologies began sunsetting roughly 2017-2022, 3g sunsetting was delayed by COVID and other factors, sunsetting largely this year of 2022. Bandwidth for both are/were being repurposed for additional 4G LTE and 5G technologies as the demand for ever greater internet speeds became the driving factor in the phone market, rather than non VOLTE calling or texting. Most smartphones (flip phones are a different story) sold after around 2014 should be network compatible (not with all carriers however) for years yet, however as mentioned upthread, have almost certainly been out of service on software for years. But since this is more a tech support thread than a sunsetting thread I’ll leave it at that. I will link two prior threads that touch on this just in case - > [@AT&T shutting down 2G - will all the country's flip phones stop working?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-t-shutting-down-2g-will-all-the-countrys-flip-phones-stop-working/751293/12): > > Its confusing to say that GSM will be shut down, as many phones , and there SIM’s or inbuilt equivalent, are "GSM " or GSM compatible, but these phones and SIM’s are also 3G and 4G … which outside the USA , they all use the GSM sim … Some phone companies may have said that their are migrating from CDMA or other 2G, toward “GSM” when they mean toward 3g or 4g… The shutdown will be of the 2G on 850MHz, So in fact some places a 2g phone may still work because the base station for the a… > [@AT&T is sending me a phone unsoliticited, activating it, and disabling my current phone?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-t-is-sending-me-a-phone-unsoliticited-activating-it-and-disabling-my-current-phone/946406/2): > > Looks like you have the best deal that’s out there right now: “Of all the carriers, AT&T has made things the most clear to understand. Not only has it provided a cutoff date, but the list it made is extremely helpful. That’s more than we can say for Verizon or T-Mobile, which have repeatedly delayed 3G network shutdowns.” The second is the one in which we watched **ThelmaLou** battle the powers that be to keep her current phone. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cell-phone-show-no-service-periodically-for-a-few-hours/967727/30 "2022-07-12T14:56:14Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > The second is the one in which we watched **ThelmaLou** battle the powers that be to keep her current phone.- Aye, Captain. \ It led to my changing my allegiance (which was never very strong to begin with) from AT&T to T-Mobile. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cell-phone-show-no-service-periodically-for-a-few-hours/967727/31 "2022-07-12T15:52:54Z")
The recent ATT actions did not just disable 3G phones, but also 4G phones that did not support VOLTE. They were not very clear on this second point, so I know people who thought they were OK since they had a relatively recent 4G phone so ignored the warnings from ATT only to wake up on switchover day with no service. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cell-phone-show-no-service-periodically-for-a-few-hours/967727/32 "2022-07-12T16:07:58Z")
I’m starting to feel like a Luddite here. My mobile telephone is a Galaxy 6 from 2016. It does still get 4G, which is all the Gs I need, 5G and I think I’d lose consciousness. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cell-phone-show-no-service-periodically-for-a-few-hours/967727/33 "2022-07-12T17:12:14Z")
I think 4G will be fine for a while, at least five or more years before they shut down the 4G networks. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2022, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cell-phone-show-no-service-periodically-for-a-few-hours/967727/34 "2022-07-17T13:32:15Z")
It’s deja vu all over again: Sunday morning and once again I have “no service” on my T-Mobile phone. \<_scratches head_\> Seems like a heckuva coincidence. Could this be some kind of routine network maintenance? Is T-Mobile trying to make people go to church? (Full disclosure: I’m going to sing in the Episcopal choir in about an hour, but I’m not a believer.) I’ve reread and followed the suggestions upthread. The phone has been working fine all week, including when I sent a text message at 3:44 a.m. (long story). I shall report back when service returns, which I fully expect it to do. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2022, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cell-phone-show-no-service-periodically-for-a-few-hours/967727/35 "2022-07-17T14:27:42Z")
HA! I just pulled up at the Episcopal Church where I sing, on the other side of town, and service spontaneously came back on. Let the congregation say Amen! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2022, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cell-phone-show-no-service-periodically-for-a-few-hours/967727/36 "2022-07-17T14:45:34Z")
I think “other side of town” is clue we’re all looking for. There’s a tower with problems near your home. Or they’re prioritizing service away from your place. Which amounts to the same thing: you’re a victim of their unreliability until they deign to change that. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2022, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cell-phone-show-no-service-periodically-for-a-few-hours/967727/37 "2022-07-17T16:00:25Z")
Another theoretical possibility would be that the local tower is being overwhelmed. If it were the tower near the church, it would be reasonable that an influx of people would cause a problem on a fairly repeatable time frame. The fact that service picked up near the crowded area makes this theory unlikely for your scenario, though. Now if you had told us you had service at home, but once a week when you went to the church for services you had problems… ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2022, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cell-phone-show-no-service-periodically-for-a-few-hours/967727/38 "2022-07-17T16:09:23Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > There’s a tower with problems near your home. Or they’re prioritizing service away from your place. Which amounts to the same thing: you’re a victim of their unreliability until they deign to change that. It absolutely could be a tower having issues, or it could be a ‘tuning’ problem. The towers are periodically updated to have the smallest ‘dead spots’ (low signal in honesty) in areas with the fewest customers. And you may having that issue - please let us know if the service drops when you get back towards your house. Another possible issue is one I touched on in the old thread, in that BYOD devices generally support a much narrower band of frequencies than a carrier customized phone. This [link](https://apn.gishan.net/en/apn/t-mobile/blackberry-key2) should go into excessive length about the exact frequencies your model has that work with T-Mobile in general (specifics vary by sub-model) but some of the frequencies are not used in all areas. You may be in an area where one of the frequencies you used previously is being re-tuned, and may be less and less available to your phone. To be clear, this isn’t that the phone is in any way incompatible with the network (or AT&T’s in the past) - just that it might not have as many options. I’m trying to put the blame on the carrier, because we know you want to keep the phone as much as possible, but if the issue is more frequent, that starts to point to the phone. Once a month or so as I said earlier, probably tower as well a phone issues, but if it gets to once a week… Please do check to see for example if any other T-Mobile customers had the same sort of issues in your area at the time, because that’s going to be a key point. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2022, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cell-phone-show-no-service-periodically-for-a-few-hours/967727/39 "2022-07-17T19:56:54Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > Another possible issue is one I touched on in the old thread, in that BYOD devices generally support a much narrower band of frequencies than a carrier customized phone. Otherwise known as “The carrier knew what they were talking about when they said your old phone was going to be a problem and attempted to give you a new one for free.” ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2022, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cell-phone-show-no-service-periodically-for-a-few-hours/967727/40 "2022-07-17T20:02:20Z")
I think that’s a bit off @Darren_Garrison. In the original thread I linked, they said it wasn’t going to work, period, and @ThelmaLou did the research with their own (and other) tools to confirm that it would. Saying it wouldn’t work as well, or in as many locations would have been more accurate. The issue is that TL wants the ease and comfort of the specific model in question, which says good things about it, but the fact that it isn’t being updated or featuring future support is a long term issue. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cell-phone-show-no-service-periodically-for-a-few-hours/967727.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cell-phone-show-no-service-periodically-for-a-few-hours/967727.md?page=3)