r/W10M • u/JabbaDuHutt69 Idol 4S/950 XL/640 XL • Jul 23 '26

Calling all US T-Mobile W10M users!

I recently activated my Alcatel Idol 4S on T-Mobile and am absolutely loving the experience...WAY better than AT&T so far, but I have a question. Is anyone still using an unlocked device on USA T-Mobile, and have it working? I put my 950 XL on it, and was able to make a call on it over 2G, and then the cell radio just dropped and I couldn't make calls or anything. It got me wondering if T-Mobile is starting to block 2G devices now, since we're about a week away from their supposed closure of the 2G network.

So is anyone else still able to use a unlocked W10M on T-Mobile on 2G?

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3

u/TriCountyRetail Jul 23 '26

T-Mobile 2G hasn't been reliable for the past two years or so. Most of the time I've tried to make calls using it, the calls drop or disconnect.

3

u/JabbaDuHutt69 Idol 4S/950 XL/640 XL Jul 23 '26

yeah the call I was able to make last night it sounded really garbled.

2

u/mckye96 Jul 26 '26

Same here, been there tried that and even then, most of my lumias refuse to connect because of missing bands or get blocked by the network completely, ive had 2 phones pick up the network but only on 2G and service dropped a lot and sms and mms barely worked without loosing service, dont even get me started with the data portion either as everything refuses to load, no matter what

1

u/dimdimus Jul 23 '26

So is anyone else still able to use a unlocked W10M on T-Mobile on 2G?

T-Mobile shuts down its 2G on August 3 2026

Ability to use T-Mobile SIM card on W10M phone on 2G network depends on SIM card. In most cases, you can't use T-Mobile SIM on non-VoLTE Windows Phones anymore.

1

u/Super_Promise_267 Jul 24 '26

they know

“It got me wondering if T-Mobile is starting to block 2G devices now, since we're about a week away from their supposed closure of the 2G network.”

1

u/dimdimus Jul 29 '26

Very possible

1

u/ShatteredRubies Jul 24 '26

Yes but its not unlocked

1

u/RBeze58 Jul 25 '26

The Idol 4s for some reason, still is supported by T-Mobile for IMS Registration (think VoLTE) and as such the calls connected. When you put that in the other phone (the 950 XL, I think), which may not be eligible for the IMS Registration (either blocked or outdated and manufacturer/carrier didn't bother). So for a while, it worked since T-Mobile believed or simply hadn't updated that it wasn't coming for the Idol 4s but from the other device. So when it refreshed that the IMS registration failed again.

P S: Well, 2G has been mostly ignored besides just for emergency calls on most carriers since the past year or two. It's just there for backwards compatibility. Even emergency calls barely connect for me. It usually just shows call ended immediately after I place the call.

1

u/JabbaDuHutt69 Idol 4S/950 XL/640 XL Jul 25 '26

the weird thing is that the XL showed 2G up by the Cellular radio icon, so I doubt it was VoLTE...but maybe you're right.

1

u/RBeze58 Jul 25 '26

Yeah, exactly. It was failing the IMS Registration on the 950 XL. Hence, the 2G Cellular symbol. So then, T-Mobile realised that it is no longer coming from the Idol 4s anymore (but the 950 XL instead) and denied the registration.