T-Mobile Confirms Network Update Will Disconnect These Devices

It seems that carriers share a common theme this year of "out with the old and in with the new". In most cases, that refers to their desire to finally shut down 3G services, a move that has been met with resistance that forced some network operators to delay their plans. T-Mobile, however, has one network update coming that is both mysterious and also inescapable. By the end of the month, as many as 19 devices, will no longer be able to connect to its network, forcing users to upgrade their devices, presuming they haven't yet.

Android Police got a whiff of this sudden change last month so, fortunately, it doesn't come as a surprise. Of course, it's still a different thing when the carrier finally does make it official. It will be conducting a network update on January 29, 2021, and after that date, over a dozen old phones and connected devices will no longer be able to hop onto T-Mobile's lines.

To be fair, these devices are quite old, like the Nexus 9 that launched in 2014. In fact, T-Mobile's official reason for cutting these devices off is that they are unable to receive updates anymore, supposedly making them incompatible with T-Mobile's network after the January 29 update.

That said, not everything on the list is a phone. It also includes the Arlo Security Camera System which would spell trouble for those who rely on it to safeguard their homes. T-Mobile does say that it is working with the company to figure out if it can still be updated after all.

T-Mobile is informing owners of the listed devices to upgrade to a newer device if they haven't done so yet. With just two weeks left before the deadline, affected customers might not much time to make the necessary changes and might find themselves suddenly without cellular service. It is, of course, worse for devices that are not so easy to upgrade, like security cameras that rely on a network connection to perform their duties.