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Watch Out for Old Mobiles

For those longing to return to a button phone, it may be tempting to buy an old classic second-hand. We explain why it's a bad idea.

Elias Nordling
Published Modified

It can be tempting to go all in on nostalgia and buy a real old Nokia 3310 or whatever you had in 2002. It is certainly possible to get hold of fully functional examples with a replaced battery, but there is a big problem.

Old button phones are made for GSM networks or at best 3g, but Swedish operators are in full swing shutting down these networks. The reason is that the frequencies used can be reused for 4g and 5g, providing high data speeds with room for more simultaneous connections with significantly better coverage than these networks have today. The old GSM and 3g networks are also becoming increasingly expensive to maintain and consume significantly more power than newer network technologies.

The operators plan to have shut down their GSM networks by the end of 2025. The exception is Telia, which plans to complete the shutdown in 2027, to facilitate those who still have older equipment that needs upgrading. After that, the Nokia 3310 will mainly be usable for playing Snake, which in itself may not be wrong, but making calls or sending texts will not be possible.

If you are keen to use a button mobile as a replacement for your smartphone to make calls and send text messages, you should make sure to buy a new model with support for 4g.

This is an excerpt from an article about digital detox that was previously published exclusively for Plus members on Mobil.se. Here you can become a Plus member and thereby get direct access to all articles on Mobil.se. As a Plus member, you receive collected tips and many other in-depth, guiding articles. You can find the full article here.

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