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There is no single worldwide list of carriers that still support 3G. Operators retire the network on different schedules, and dates may vary by region. As of 8 October 2026, the cited examples show 3G already shut down at major U.S. carriers and China Mobile Hong Kong, while announced retirement dates for SmarTone in Hong Kong and SaskTel in Saskatchewan had not yet arrived. Check your own carrier and location before relying on a 3G phone.
3G status depends on your country, carrier and location
A carrier may have ended 3G nationwide, be phasing it out, or have a shutdown date that applies only to a particular region. An announced end date is not proof that service has already stopped; conversely, the absence of a date in an overview does not prove a network is still running. The examples below reflect information available on 8 October 2026 and are not a complete global carrier list.
| Market and operator | Status as of 8 October 2026 | What the date means |
|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong — China Mobile Hong Kong (CMHK) | 3G ceased on 30 June 2025. | Past shutdown date, reported by Hong Kong’s Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA). |
| Hong Kong — SmarTone | Scheduled to cease 3G on 9 October 2026. | The scheduled date was the following day; this is the announced timetable as of 8 October, not confirmation of the eventual shutdown. |
| Hong Kong — other mobile network operators | OFCA says other operators will cease 3G progressively. | The cited guidance gives no single date shared by all operators. Ask your provider about your service. |
| Canada — SaskTel, Saskatchewan | 3G/HSPA retirement scheduled for 1 October 2027. | A future scheduled date for Saskatchewan, according to SaskTel. |
| Canada — TELUS | TELUS lists 14 April 2026 for Manitoba and 1 March 2027 nationally. | The Manitoba date had passed by 8 October 2026; confirm the status of local service with TELUS. The national date is still in the future. |
| United States — AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon | All three had shut down 3G in 2022, according to SaskTel. | They should not be treated as current 3G options. |
OFCA and the Hong Kong government reported the Hong Kong dates. SaskTel and TELUS reported the Canadian schedules; SaskTel also identifies the U.S. shutdowns. These examples establish specific operator and market facts, not the status of every carrier worldwide.
How to check whether your carrier still has 3G where you use your phone
- Identify your exact provider and service area. Include the country and, where relevant, province, state or territory. A carrier’s national schedule may have regional exceptions.
- Look for the carrier’s 3G or HSPA retirement notice. Distinguish a completed shutdown from a future announced date. If the notice is unclear or old, contact the provider and ask whether 3G voice, text and data are currently available at your location.
- Ask about the exact phone and SIM. Give the carrier your device model and ask whether it is supported for LTE or 5G voice over VoLTE, whether it needs a replacement SIM, and whether it is approved on that network.
- Confirm emergency-calling support. Ask specifically whether your exact handset can place emergency calls over the carrier’s VoLTE network after 2G or 3G service ends. A general claim that the phone supports 4G is not enough to establish this.
- Check roaming separately. A phone that works on a local LTE or 5G network may not have the roaming agreement needed for voice or emergency calls elsewhere. SaskTel flags this as a separate compatibility issue.
Will a 3G phone still work after its network shuts down?
A phone that depends on 3G can lose calling, texting and mobile data when its carrier retires that network. TELUS warns that non-compatible devices will lose those services after its retirement, and SaskTel says continued service after its shutdown requires a VoLTE-compatible 4G LTE or 5G device and an LTE or 5G SIM.
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Moving to 4G or 5G does not automatically settle calling compatibility. OFCA warns that some older 4G handsets supporting only an older version of VoLTE may be unable to make emergency calls over VoLTE after 2G and 3G end. Verify the exact model with the carrier, including emergency calling, rather than relying only on the phone’s 4G label.
Before replacing the phone
- Check support for the LTE bands used by your carrier and the carrier’s VoLTE requirements or certification.
- Confirm whether your existing SIM works on LTE or 5G, or whether the carrier requires a new SIM.
- Verify voice, text, data and emergency-calling support for your exact model and location.
- If you travel, confirm roaming support separately. An unlocked phone is not necessarily compatible with every network.
What the broader transition figures do—and do not—show
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region reported on 24 July 2026 that over 99 per cent of local mobile service users were using 4G or 5G. That figure describes Hong Kong users; it is not a worldwide measure of 3G availability.
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There is no verified worldwide percentage of carriers or users with active 3G in the cited material. A secondary country tracker verified on 24 September 2026 marks 3G as retired in its records for Australia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. It also says countries without records have not yet been verified, so a missing country entry cannot establish whether 3G remains active or has ended there. For a country-specific answer, check current notices from local operators or the national regulator.
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