Original iPhone put out to pasture in the US as AT&T finally shuts down its 2G network

Ten years after it was first revealed to the world, the original iPhone is now officially useless.

In smartphone years, a decade is positively ancient so you probably deemed your original iPhone useless long before now. However, now that AT&T has shut down its 2G wireless network the final metaphorical crack has crossed the screen and made it official. 

Even if you’re one of the few people in the US who do still own an original iPhone and you kept it in good enough condition to boot up and use every now and then, your curious practice will have to come to an end.

Moving on

At&T has been planning to shut down its 2G network for four years now and it’s confirmed that it officially happened as 2017 rolled in. 

The network is clearly following a "new year, new me" plan as the 2G shut down was done to open up the resources for AT&T to begin expanding into its 5G wireless network. Cutting out those bad habits that hold you back from progress is a positive move we can understand AT&T. You do what you have to do. 

Now that iPhones are capable of supporting the significantly faster 4G network, we’re not exactly lamenting our inability to use the original handset anymore. If you still have yours don’t let it go, though. As a piece of tech history it’s worth holding onto. At the very least it’s a stylish paperweight. 

Emma Boyle

Emma Boyle is TechRadar’s ex-Gaming Editor, and is now a content developer and freelance journalist. She has written for magazines and websites including T3, Stuff and The Independent. Emma currently works as a Content Developer in Edinburgh.