My O2 service is "Classic Pay As You Go", where you are charged 3p for a call, 2p for a SMS, and 1p for 1GB of data. You pay from a balance held in your account, topping this up as necessary.
That's fine for a light phone/text user like me who does not need a phone for data.
In 2024, well before receiving the warning quoted in the Subject box above, and when I still had an old, but good, 2G mobile phone, I became aware that 3G (which that phone could not receive, anyway) was scheduled by O2 for switch-off during 2025. 2g was to remain, but with restricted access.
I had been for some time increasingly dissatisfied with the strength and reliability of O2's 2g signal (within the postcode area DN22).
I do not need a smart phone, so, on 04/02/2025, I bought a new Doro 7030, which got a good "Which?" rating for "simple/basic" phones. As such, It is very unusual in supporting both 4g and wi-fi. Its OS is a slimmed-down version of Android which does not allow downloadable apps.
There are two integral apps: Facebook and What's App. The first does not interest me, but I expected to use the second one for SMS.
The wi-fi can be used for browsing the internet. I do not need this, and am aware, with a small screen and a slow processor, that it is not a functionally attractive feature on a phone like mine.
After my purchase, I found that What's App was no longer to be supported from 25/02/2025. I do not send frequent texts, the integral Doro texting facility is overall an improvement on the one on my 2g phone, and 1p per text is a fair charge. And I avoid the alleged security risks of a social networking site.
The phone has setting options for 4g (search automatically for best signal between 2, 3 and 4g), and for wi-fi calling.
I knew that my current O2 service does not include wi-fi for calling/sending SMS because these are apparently not chargeable on a time base when sent by that means. The 4g icon shows when this is the strongest available signal. It changes to 3g or 2g when I press the "call" button.
The "warning" text seems to reflect my situation since I bought the Doro 7030:-
It states that I use a 2g/3g phone (as already mentioned, this is correct for my Doro, although this is potentiallyalso for 4g. It confirms by implication what I had already understood now to be O2's policy of persuading customers off 2g, (which I believe is not to be switched off, but to continue to be available only toessential 2g users). It also confirms that 3g is to be switched off by the end of 2025.
O2 obviously didn't know on 07/02/2025 that my "2g/3g" phone is a new 4g phone, bought on the strength of my understanding before that date of their current policy.Their text goes on to suggest that I upgrade to a Doro Leva20, which is a 4g phone, and costs £70 (from O2). This will surely be on a Pay Monthly contract?
If so, this seems a bizarre proposal when I already have a phone which is more capable that the Leva20 in the potentially important respect of wi-fi, and of the same capability as regards 4g.
However, it may also possibly imply that there is only way for an O2 customer to be able to use, on an appropriately equipped phone like my Doro, 4g and wi-fi calling,. This is to buy a phone from O2 in conjunction with a Pay-Monthly contract, and that a phone not sold by O2 won't do.
So does it mean that I have wasted my money buying a phone with the better connectivity capabilities mentioned above because not only am I not able to make use of these capabilities, as I knew, on Classic PAYG, but because my phone would still not be able to make use of them even on an O2 SIM-only Pay Monthly contract?
What do readers better informed than me think about my situation, and conclusion/s?
My O2 service is "Classic Pay As You Go", where you are charged 3p for a call, 2p for a SMS, and 1p for 1GB of data. You pay from a balance held in your account, topping this up as necessary.
That's fine for a light phone/text user like me who does not need a phone for data.
In 2024, well before receiving the warning quoted in the Subject box above, and when I still had an old, but good, 2G mobile phone, I became aware that 3G (which that phone could not receive, anyway) was scheduled by O2 for switch-off during 2025. 2g was to remain, but with restricted access.
I had been for some time increasingly dissatisfied with the strength and reliability of O2's 2g signal (within the postcode area DN22).
I do not need a smart phone, so, on 04/02/2025, I bought a new Doro 7030, which got a good "Which?" rating for "simple/basic" phones. As such, It is very unusual in supporting both 4g and wi-fi. Its OS is a slimmed-down version of Android which does not allow downloadable apps.
There are two integral apps: Facebook and What's App. The first does not interest me, but I expected to use the second one for SMS.
The wi-fi can be used for browsing the internet. I do not need this, and am aware, with a small screen and a slow processor, that it is not a functionally attractive feature on a phone like mine.
After my purchase, I found that What's App was no longer to be supported from 25/02/2025. I do not send frequent texts, the integral Doro texting facility is overall an improvement on the one on my 2g phone, and 1p per text is a fair charge. And I avoid the alleged security risks of a social networking site.
The phone has setting options for 4g (search automatically for best signal between 2, 3 and 4g), and for wi-fi calling.
I knew that my current O2 service does not include wi-fi for calling/sending SMS because these are apparently not chargeable on a time base when sent by that means. The 4g icon shows when this is the strongest available signal. It changes to 3g or 2g when I press the "call" button.
The "warning" text seems to reflect my situation since I bought the Doro 7030:-
It states that I use a 2g/3g phone (as already mentioned, this is correct for my Doro, although this is potentiallyalso for 4g. It confirms by implication what I had already understood now to be O2's policy of persuading customers off 2g, (which I believe is not to be switched off, but to continue to be available only toessential 2g users). It also confirms that 3g is to be switched off by the end of 2025.
O2 obviously didn't know on 07/02/2025 that my "2g/3g" phone is a new 4g phone, bought on the strength of my understanding before that date of their current policy.Their text goes on to suggest that I upgrade to a Doro Leva20, which is a 4g phone, and costs £70 (from O2). This will surely be on a Pay Monthly contract?
If so, this seems a bizarre proposal when I already have a phone which is more capable that the Leva20 in the potentially important respect of wi-fi, and of the same capability as regards 4g.
However, it may also possibly imply that there is only way for an O2 customer to be able to use, on an appropriately equipped phone like my Doro, 4g and wi-fi calling,. This is to buy a phone from O2 in conjunction with a Pay-Monthly contract, and that a phone not sold by O2 won't do.
So does it mean that I have wasted my money buying a phone with the better connectivity capabilities mentioned above because not only am I not able to make use of these capabilities, as I knew, on Classic PAYG, but because my phone would still not be able to make use of them even on an O2 SIM-only Pay Monthly contract?
What do readers better informed than me think about my situation, and conclusion/s?
My O2 service is "Classic Pay As You Go", where you are charged 3p for a call, 2p for a SMS, and 1p for 1GB of data. You pay from a balance held in your account, topping this up as necessary.
That's fine for a light phone/text user like me who does not need a phone for data.
In 2024, well before receiving the warning quoted in the Subject box above, and when I still had an old, but good, 2G mobile phone, I became aware that 3G (which that phone could not receive, anyway) was scheduled by O2 for switch-off during 2025. 2g was to remain, but with restricted access.
I had been for some time increasingly dissatisfied with the strength and reliability of O2's 2g signal (within the postcode area DN22).
I do not need a smart phone, so, on 04/02/2025, I bought a new Doro 7030, which got a good "Which?" rating for "simple/basic" phones. As such, It is very unusual in supporting both 4g and wi-fi. Its OS is a slimmed-down version of Android which does not allow downloadable apps.
There are two integral apps: Facebook and What's App. The first does not interest me, but I expected to use the second one for SMS.
The wi-fi can be used for browsing the internet. I do not need this, and am aware, with a small screen and a slow processor, that it is not a functionally attractive feature on a phone like mine.
After my purchase, I found that What's App was no longer to be supported from 25/02/2025. I do not send frequent texts, the integral Doro texting facility is overall an improvement on the one on my 2g phone, and 1p per text is a fair charge. And I avoid the alleged security risks of a social networking site.
The phone has setting options for 4g (search automatically for best signal between 2, 3 and 4g), and for wi-fi calling.
I knew that my current O2 service does not include wi-fi for calling/sending SMS because these are apparently not chargeable on a time base when sent by that means. The 4g icon shows when this is the strongest available signal. It changes to 3g or 2g when I press the "call" button.
The "warning" text seems to reflect my situation since I bought the Doro 7030:-
It states that I use a 2g/3g phone (as already mentioned, this is correct for my Doro, although this is potentiallyalso for 4g. It confirms by implication what I had already understood now to be O2's policy of persuading customers off 2g, (which I believe is not to be switched off, but to continue to be available only toessential 2g users). It also confirms that 3g is to be switched off by the end of 2025.
O2 obviously didn't know on 07/02/2025 that my "2g/3g" phone is a new 4g phone, bought on the strength of my understanding before that date of their current policy.Their text goes on to suggest that I upgrade to a Doro Leva20, which is a 4g phone, and costs £70 (from O2). This will surely be on a Pay Monthly contract?
If so, this seems a bizarre proposal when I already have a phone which is more capable that the Leva20 in the potentially important respect of wi-fi, and of the same capability as regards 4g.
However, it may also possibly imply that there is only way for an O2 customer to be able to use, on an appropriately equipped phone like my Doro, 4g and wi-fi calling,. This is to buy a phone from O2 in conjunction with a Pay-Monthly contract, and that a phone not sold by O2 won't do.
So does it mean that I have wasted my money buying a phone with the better connectivity capabilities mentioned above because not only am I not able to make use of these capabilities, as I knew, on Classic PAYG, but because my phone would still not be able to make use of them even on an O2 SIM-only Pay Monthly contract?
What do readers better informed than me think about my situation, and conclusion/s?
