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You can't use the very first iPhone anymore - even if you wanted to

Antonio Villas-Boas   

You can't use the very first iPhone anymore - even if you wanted to
Home1 min read

That's it, folks.

If you've been wondering why your first-generation iPhone hasn't been making or receiving calls or text messages since New Year's Day, that's because AT&T officially shut down its 2G network on January 1, 2017, according to The Verge.

That includes the internet, too, but 2G data speeds were barely faster than no-2G-at-all to begin with.

And nope, unlike more recent iPhones, you can't just pop in a SIM card for a different carrier, as the original iPhone was an AT&T exclusive when it was released 10 years ago in 2007.

AT&T's 2G-shutdown might also seem like the end of "dumb" feature phones (like flip phones), at least in the US. Yet, feature phones are still being made and sold, and they come with 3G support.

So, whether you have the original iPhone or a 2G feature phone, you'll need to upgrade if you want to make phone calls or send text messages. That means you, hipsters and hold-outs.

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