[Updated: Phased Shutdown] T-Mobile Delays Final Sprint 3G CDMA Shutdown Once Again

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Fri. April 1, 2022 | By Jman100 | The T-Mo Report |

It appears Sprint’s legacy 3G CDMA has received another stay of execution, as it has been confirmed T-Mobile has delayed its shutdown by two months.

Originally spotted by a Reddit user, a section of the iPhone global services guide found on the SoftBank website has been updated to state that Sprint’s 3G CDMA network shutdown has been delayed from March 31st 2022 to May 31st 2022.

That information has been independently confirmed by us here at The T-Mo Report. An email was sent out to some Sprint customers that still have phones unable to use LTE. In that email T-Mobile confirms the new date of May 31st, 2022 for the Sprint CDMA shutdown. We’ll update this post when we get a copy of that email, but our source is trusted.

According to a separate and unconfirmed source, the final shutdown date is moved to May, but the shutdown begins March 31st. It will then shut down in waves over 2 months, beginning with business customers. Apparently, any lines using CDMA will be disabled, and all calls attempted via such a device will be rerouted to customer care.

The shutdown of legacy cell technology has been all over the place in the last year or so. T-Mobile plans to shutdown Sprint’s 3G CDMA, Sprint’s LTE, and their own 3G UMTS to make way for newer 5G technologies. However, slowly moving partners and outdated customer devices have caused numerous delays.

Originally, Sprint’s 3G CDMA was set to shut down by January 1st of this year. However, that date was moved to March 31st after complaints from “partners”, AKA Dish, that there wasn’t enough time to migrate legacy customers. This latest delay to May 31st has yet to be officially confirmed by T-Mobile, so it’s unclear if Dish is still the main reason for the delays.

In addition to the CDMA shutdown, T-Mobile plans to end their own 3G UMTS network by July 1st of this year. That date has had a number of delays as well, with the original shutdown date being as far back as October 1st, 2021. Sprint’s LTE is also set to be shut down on June 30th of this year.

As of now, T-Mobile’s “Network Evolution” support article does not show the new shutdown date for Sprint’s 3G CDMA network. Hopefully this is the last and final delay for the shutdown of this legacy technology.

Update: Phased Shutdown
We’ve received more information about the 3G CDMA shutdown. According to new internal documents, which appear to have been updated as a result of this article, the Sprint 3G CDMA shutdown is still set to begin on the 31st. The May 31st date is when final shutdown occurrs.

This lines up with the unconfirmed source in the above article, stating that lines will be suspended at some point between March 31st and May 31st, at which point the customer will need to upgrade their device. If no action is taken, the line (and account if applicable) will be closed on June 30th.

Read the ORIGINAL article (with graphics) HERE.

The Fourth Amendment and Geofence Warrants: A Critical Look at United States v. Chatrie

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Fri. Mar 11, 2022 | By Orin Kerr | The Volokh Conspiracy |

Judge Lauck of the Eastern District of Virginia recently handed down the long-awaited opinion in United States v. Chatrie, on how the Fourth Amendment applies to geofencing warrants.  I believe this is the first Article III judicial opinion on the subject. Geofence warrants raise some really interesting Fourth Amendment issues, and we’re likely to hear more about those issues.  Given that, I thought I would offer my take on the opinion.

My reaction, unfortunately, is pretty critical.   I really appreciate the care Judge Lauck put into the case, including building an extensive record.  But I also think the reasoning of the decision has some major problems.  In particular, I am not sure the execution of geofence warrants involve a Fourth Amendment search at all.  And if they do, then I think the Fourth Amendment standard is a lot less strict than Judge Lauck concludes it is.

This post explains my concerns. I’ll start with a general background on geofence warrants and then turn to the facts of the case.   I’ll next cover the court’s reasoning, and explain why I think key parts of the opinion are not persuasive.  How the Fourth Amendment applies to geofence warrants raises some tricky issues. But I don’t think this opinion points in the right direction to help find the answers…

Continue reading more here

 

 

Colorado Appeals court says warrantless ‘ping’ of cellphone was permissible to find murder suspect

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Wed. Mar 9, 2022 | By Michael Karlik | The Gazette |

The state’s second-highest court determined for the first time that police acted lawfully by obtaining a murder suspect’s real-time cellphone location from his wireless carrier.

Courts around the country have reached different conclusions about whether cell site location information — or a “ping” — amounts to a search under the Fourth Amendment’s general prohibition on warrantless searches and seizures. A three-judge panel for the state’s Court of Appeals did not explicitly answer that question, assuming instead that, if the ping of Miguel Angel Licona-Ortega’s cellphone was a search, “exigent circumstances” relating to public safety justified the police’s actions…

Continue reading more here

Verizon 3G CDMA Network Retirement

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Mon. Feb 28, 2022 | By Verizon | Customer Email |

Some may have seen this email recent if you’re a Verizon customer.  This sums it up as it relates to their 3G CDMA network:

Hi [customer],

Thank you for being a loyal Verizon customer. We have been actively decommissioning our 3G CDMA Network and expect this to be completed no later than December 31, 2022. On January 1, 2023, Verizon 3G CDMA devices or 4G devices that do not support HD Voice (Non-VoLTE) won’t be able to send or receive calls, send or receive text messages, or use data services.

Some of the popular impacted devices include:

• 3G CDMA basic phones and smartphones
• 4G LTE smartphones that do not support HD Voice
• 3G CDMA Connected devices
• 3G CDMA tablets and mobile broadband/hotspot devices
• 3G CDMA Network Extenders

We want you to stay connected and have the best experience possible. Your mobile number(s) ending in the following 4 digits will be impacted:

[####]

Please upgrade your device(s) before December 31, 2022. To get started, sign in to your My Verizon account, visit a local Verizon store or contact us at 800.922.0204 to discuss your new device options. Or view special upgrade offers at go.vzw.com/upgrade3g

If you have a disability or have enabled any accessibility features on your current 3G CDMA device, please contact us to find the best solution for your needs. The Verizon Wireless National Accessibility Customer Service organization is a dedicated team with trained staff to support our customers with disabilities. They can be reached at 888.262.1999, Monday – Friday, 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM ET.

We will continue to remind you until you upgrade to a compatible 4G LTE/5G device.

For additional information and FAQs please visit go.vzw.com/CDMA

[end of email]

Seven years of Dateline’s Missing in America: 156 still missing

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First Posted Dec. 4, 2020 | Dateline NBC |

A stark reminder of the dire situation in our country and this is just a fraction of the cases…

Dateline NBC’s social and digital series ‘Missing in America’ began on December 5, 2013, following a question the night before to our Facebook community, “Do you know anyone who has simply vanished?” The response was overwhelming. Since that first post, every week we have tried to feature the story of a different missing person brought to our attention by a member of our social communities. But on this seventh anniversary of the series, approximately 43% of those we have featured are still missing. Read, and share, their stories. Someone, somewhere, saw something. If you know someone who is missing, send us a message on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or email dateline.contactus.@nbcuni.com.

Click here to see a running detailed list of all those still missing and profiled on the series…

As a reminder, the Hawk Team stands at the ready to assist any law enforcement agency dealing with an exigent missing persons case, customer or not.  You will NEVER see a bill from us and we are available 24/7/365!

HAWK EXIGENT SUPPORT
469-373-4295 option 4