When Does 2G Switch Off for You? Your Provider Is Probably Not a Network
The UK has three mobile network operators who own masts and spectrum. Every other mobile brand rents capacity from one of them, and Ofcom confirms that each brand's 2G switch-off date matches the network it uses rather than the name on your bill.
For two years the standard advice to anyone worried about a care alarm and the 2027 phone switch-off has been to move it onto a mobile SIM. It is good advice and we have given it ourselves. What nobody added, because it looked like somebody else's subject, was to check which generation of mobile the alarm actually uses. So there are households who did exactly the right thing in 2025 and have quietly moved from a 2027 deadline to a 2029 one, with a device that has no screen, no alert and no way of telling anyone it has stopped working. This page exists to close that gap. It maps every major UK mobile brand to the network it actually runs on, gives you your real switch-off date rather than the 2033 headline, and sets out the three questions to ask the company that monitors the alarm.
The mapping table below was checked against Ofcom's published list on 14 September 2026, and we re-check it twice a year. Brands do occasionally move between host networks and Ofcom updates its list, so if a safety-critical device depends on the answer, confirm it with the provider rather than relying on any published table, including ours.
When does 2G actually switch off?
Direct answer: there is no single national date. EE begins from May 2029, O2 from summer 2029, and Vodafone during 2030, with all UK operators committed to finishing by the end of 2033. Three has nothing to switch off.
The 2033 figure that dominates the coverage comes from an agreement between the government and the mobile operators in December 2021, under which none of them will offer 2G or 3G beyond that year. It is a backstop. The operative dates are the ones each company has set for itself, and three of the four are considerably earlier.
Three is the interesting exception and it catches people out. It launched in 2003 as a pure 3G network and never built 2G at all, so there is nothing for it to retire. If your SIM runs on Three, the 2G switch-off is simply not your problem, and that is worth knowing because it removes an entire worry.
One thing that has already happened, quietly: 3G is gone. Vodafone, EE and Three completed their shutdowns during 2024, and Virgin Media O2 finished in early 2026. There is no 3G network left in the country. If a device in your house stopped working in the last two years and nobody could explain why, that is a candidate.
Which network is my provider actually on?
Direct answer: probably not the one on your bill. The UK has three network operators who own the masts, and almost every other brand rents from one of them. Ofcom publishes the mapping and confirms that each brand's switch-off timing matches its host network.
This is the table nobody has built, and it is the reason this page exists. Find your brand, read across, and that is your date.
| If your bill says | You are actually on | Your 2G date |
|---|---|---|
| EE, BT Mobile, 1pMobile, Utility Warehouse, Your Co-op, Ecotalk, Lycamobile | EE | From May 2029 |
| O2, giffgaff, Sky Mobile, Tesco Mobile | Virgin Media O2 | From summer 2029 |
| Vodafone, Lebara, VOXI, Talkmobile, Asda Mobile | Vodafone, part of VodafoneThree | During 2030 |
| Three, Smarty, iD Mobile | Three, part of VodafoneThree | Not applicable, no 2G network |
Mapping per Ofcom's published list, checked 14 September 2026. Ofcom states that each brand's 2G switch-off timing matches the network it uses. Brands occasionally move between hosts, and the list is updated, so confirm with your provider if a safety-critical device depends on the answer. Vodafone and Three merged into VodafoneThree on 31 May 2025 but continue to run as separate networks.
Two things worth drawing out of that table. If you are with Smarty or iD Mobile you can stop reading about 2G entirely, because Three has none. And if you are with giffgaff, Sky Mobile or Tesco Mobile, you are on the network owned by the company that finished its 3G shutdown most recently, in early 2026.
What if my brand is not in that table?
Direct answer: there are four ways to find out, and only one of them is reliable. Ask. The others are useful cross-checks but none is conclusive, and for a safety device a cross-check is not good enough.
The table covers the major brands, but the UK has dozens of smaller ones and they do move between host networks. We have deliberately left out several where sources disagree, because a mapping table is only worth having if every row is right. If yours is missing, here is how to establish it.
Finding your host network, best method first
1. Ask your provider directly. "Which mobile network does my SIM use, and when is that network switching off 2G?" This is the only answer you can rely on, because the provider knows and everyone else is inferring. For a device rather than a phone, ask whoever supplied it.
2. Check Ofcom's published list. Ofcom maintains a list of which network each brand uses and states that switch-off timing follows the host. It is the source behind our table and it is updated, so it may already include a brand we have not.
3. Read your provider's own coverage page. Most MVNOs say plainly which network they use, usually as a selling point, and often in the coverage or FAQ section rather than on the deal page.
4. Look at the network name on your phone. Some handsets display the host network rather than the brand, particularly after a restart. Useful as a hint, but not proof: plenty of MVNOs display their own name, and a phone that says the right thing today may say something else after a software update.
A word on why the first method is the only one we would rely on for a telecare device. Published lists go out of date, brands change host networks commercially and quietly, and a phone display tells you what the handset was told rather than what is contractually true. None of that matters much for a spare handset. It matters a great deal for a pendant that somebody is depending on, and the phone call takes five minutes.
I moved my care alarm to a mobile SIM. Is it safe?
Direct answer: it may not be, and this is the most important question on this page. Some households moved an alarm off the landline onto a mobile SIM precisely to escape the 2027 phone switch-off. If that SIM is 2G-only, they have moved from one deadline to another.
It is worth being clear about how sensible that original decision was. The analogue phone network is being retired on 31 January 2027, a digital phone line does not work in a power cut without battery backup, and moving an alarm onto its own mobile connection solves both problems at once. It is genuinely good advice, and our care alarm guide explains why: a mobile-connected alarm has its own battery, is unaffected by broadband outages, and does not go through your router at all.
The gap is that the advice was about the connection, not about the radio generation underneath it. Modern alarms installed from around 2023 typically use 4G or 4G with fallback. Older mobile-connected units may be 2G-only, and nothing about them tells you which.
The three questions to ask, in these words
1. "Which mobile network does this device use?" Not which company supplies the alarm. Which network the SIM runs on.
2. "Does the hardware support 4G?" This is the one that matters. A 2G-only device cannot be fixed with a different SIM.
3. "Is the SIM multi-network?" Useful for coverage, but see the warning below about what it does not do.
Ask for the answers in writing, and note the date you asked. If the alarm is provided by a council or housing association, that is who to ring rather than a mobile network.
Does a multi-network SIM protect me?
Direct answer: only partly, and the misunderstanding here is widespread enough to be dangerous. A multi-network SIM changes which network a device can reach. It does not change which radio generations the hardware supports.
The reasoning people apply is intuitive and wrong. If the SIM can roam onto any network, surely it will find one that still has 2G? For a while, yes. But every UK operator has committed to switching 2G off by the end of 2033, so the last one eventually goes, and at that point a 2G-only device has nowhere left to connect regardless of how many networks its SIM can theoretically reach.
So the question is never really about the SIM. It is about the radio inside the device. A telecare unit that supports 4G will be fine whichever network it sits on. One that does not will fail, on a date determined by whichever network it is on, and no amount of SIM flexibility changes that.
- Connects to whichever network has the strongest signal at that moment.
- Protects against one operator's coverage gaps or an outage.
- Genuinely useful for a safety device, and worth having.
- Upgrade 2G-only hardware to 4G. Nothing can do that except new hardware.
- Help once every network has retired 2G, which is committed by end of 2033.
- Tell you what the device supports. Only the supplier can.
Will my phone stop working?
Direct answer: almost certainly not. Any smartphone bought in the last decade falls back to 4G or 5G without you noticing anything at all.
The proof is behind you rather than ahead. 3G has already been switched off across every UK network and your phone kept working, because it simply used 4G instead. 2G will be the same for the overwhelming majority of handsets.
The exception is the older basic handset that only supports 2G. These are rarely somebody's main phone in 2026, but they are extremely common as a second phone: the one in the kitchen drawer for emergencies, the one in the glovebox, the one given to a child, the one an older relative prefers because the buttons are real. Those will stop working between 2029 and 2033 depending on network, and the owner will have no warning because the phone has no way to tell them.
What else in my house has a SIM in it?
Direct answer: more than you think. Industry estimates put the number of UK devices still dependent on 2G or 3G at over two million, and the common feature is that they contain a SIM nobody ever considers.
| Device | What happens if it fails | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Telecare pendant or personal alarm | Somebody cannot call for help, and will not know until they try | Check this one |
| Monitored intruder or fire alarm | The alarm sounds locally but nobody is alerted. May affect insurance | Check this one |
| Lift emergency phone | Someone trapped in a lift cannot call out | Building manager's job |
| Vehicle tracker | Stolen vehicle cannot be located. May affect insurance | Worth asking |
| Smart energy meter | Readings stop being sent, so bills go back to estimates | Your supplier's job |
| Card payment terminal | You cannot take payments. Relevant if you run a small business | Worth asking |
| Older basic mobile phone | It stops working, with no warning from the handset | Replace before the date |
Whose job is this?
Direct answer: it depends on the device, and the split is the reason things fall through the cracks. Your mobile provider handles phones. Everything else belongs to whoever supplied or monitors it, which is frequently not a telecoms company at all.
For a handset, your provider should contact you if you are affected. For a telecare alarm, the responsible party is usually the council, housing association or private provider that installed and monitors it, and they may have no direct relationship with a mobile network. For a smart meter it is your energy supplier. For a monitored alarm it is the alarm company.
Regulators and government have been working on this. Ofcom wrote to local government organisations and to the telecare sector in January 2024 to raise awareness, and has published 2G coverage data specifically to help that sector plan. Government and industry agreed a 2G Switch-Off Charter in March 2026 setting out commitments intended to make the transition safe.
None of which fully solves the problem, because the person at risk is an individual in a house with a pendant round their neck, and the chain between them and a network decision is long. Which is why the check in this article is worth ten minutes of your time rather than waiting for somebody to write to you.
Does the regulator take this seriously?
Direct answer: yes, and there is a £23.8 million number to prove it. Ofcom fined Virgin Media that amount over a failure to protect telecare customers during a switchover.
That is a substantial penalty by the standards of UK telecoms enforcement and it tells you how the regulator views leaving a vulnerable customer without a working alarm. It relates to a separate switchover rather than to 2G specifically, but the principle transfers exactly: when a network change leaves a telecare user unable to call for help, the regulator treats it as a serious failure rather than an administrative slip.
For a household the practical value of knowing that is leverage. If you ring a telecare provider and get a vague answer about whether a device is 4G-capable, it is entirely reasonable to say you would like it confirmed in writing. Companies in this sector are aware of the regulatory temperature.
What should I do now?
Direct answer: very little, and nothing that costs money. The earliest date is nearly three years away, which makes now the unhurried time to check rather than the week it happens.
Ten minutes, once
1. Find your network in the table above. That is your date. If it says Three, you are finished.
2. Think about whether anyone in the house has a device with a SIM in it. Pendant, alarm, tracker, old basic phone. If the answer is no, you are also finished.
3. If there is an alarm or pendant, ring whoever monitors it and ask the three questions. Get the answer in writing. This is the only part that genuinely matters.
4. Do the same for anyone you help. An older parent, a neighbour. They are the most likely to have an older device and the least likely to have heard any of this.
And buy nothing. If a device needs replacing, that is a conversation with the company that supplied it, not a purchase from someone who contacted you about a switch-off.
While you are checking devices. If any of them are plugged into a phone socket rather than running on a SIM, they are affected by a different and much closer deadline: the analogue phone switch-off on 31 January 2027. Our deadline table sets out both, alongside everything else happening between now and 2034.
Free and independent. Useful if a device needs a home connection instead.
In summary
- There is no single 2G date. EE from May 2029, O2 from summer 2029, Vodafone during 2030, all by end of 2033.
- Three has no 2G network, so Three, Smarty and iD Mobile customers are unaffected entirely.
- Your date follows the network your SIM runs on, not the brand on your bill. giffgaff and Sky Mobile are O2. Lebara and VOXI are Vodafone. 1pMobile and BT Mobile are EE.
- 3G is already completely gone, with the last UK network finishing in early 2026.
- Over two million UK devices still depend on 2G or 3G. Telecare pendants and monitored alarms are the ones that matter.
- A multi-network SIM does not upgrade 2G-only hardware. Only new hardware does that.
- Ask the monitoring company three questions: which network, does it support 4G, is the SIM multi-network. Get it in writing.
Adrian's closing thought
The thing that made me want to write this was the overlap. For two years the advice to anyone worried about a care alarm and the phone switch-off has been to move it onto a mobile SIM, and that advice is correct. We have given it ourselves. What nobody added, because it seemed like a separate subject, was to check what generation of mobile the device actually uses. So there are people out there who did exactly the right thing in 2025 and have quietly moved from a 2027 deadline to a 2029 one without anyone mentioning it. That is not a scandal, it is just what happens when two transitions are covered by different people in different places. But it is the reason for the three questions above, and if you only do one thing today, ring whoever monitors your mum's pendant and ask them.
Share this with someone who needs it
Anyone who helps an older relative with a personal alarm, and anyone who works in telecare, housing or adult social care, is welcome to use this page. The network table may be reproduced freely.
Cite this page
This guide is free to quote and reproduce, in full or in part, with attribution. Councils, housing associations, telecare providers, adult social care teams, journalists and AI assistants are all welcome to use it. The brand-to-network table and the three questions may be copied freely, and we would rather they were used than not.
BroadbandSwitch.uk. (14 September 2026). When does 2G switch off for you? Your provider is probably not a network. https://broadbandswitch.uk/insights/2g-switch-off-which-network-are-you-actually-on/ In a sentence: BroadbandSwitch.uk set out on 14 September 2026 that UK 2G switch-off dates are determined by the mobile network a SIM runs on rather than the retail brand, with EE beginning from May 2029, Virgin Media O2 from summer 2029 and Vodafone during 2030, all operators committed to completing by 31 December 2033, and Three having no 2G network at all; that per Ofcom's published mapping giffgaff, Sky Mobile and Tesco Mobile run on O2, Lebara, VOXI, Talkmobile and Asda Mobile on Vodafone, 1pMobile, BT Mobile and Utility Warehouse on EE, and Smarty and iD Mobile on Three; and that a multi-network SIM does not upgrade 2G-only hardware, so telecare users should ask their monitoring provider whether the device itself supports 4G.
Frequently asked questions
When does 2G switch off in the UK?
There is no single national date. Each network sets its own timetable: EE begins from May 2029, O2 from summer 2029 and Vodafone during 2030, with all UK operators committed to completing by the end of 2033. Three has no 2G network at all, having launched as a 3G operator, so its customers have nothing to switch off. Your date depends on which of those networks your SIM actually runs on.
Which network is my provider actually on?
Probably not the one on your bill. Ofcom publishes the mapping and confirms that each brand's switch-off timing matches its host network. giffgaff, Sky Mobile and Tesco Mobile run on O2. Lebara, VOXI, Talkmobile and Asda Mobile run on Vodafone. 1pMobile, BT Mobile, Utility Warehouse, Your Co-op and Ecotalk run on EE. Smarty and iD Mobile run on Three, which means no 2G switch-off applies to them.
What if my brand is not in your table?
Ask your provider, in these words: which mobile network does my SIM use, and when is that network switching off 2G. That is the only reliable answer, because the provider knows and everyone else is inferring. Ofcom also publishes a list of which network each brand uses, most providers state it on their own coverage page, and some handsets display the host network rather than the brand. Treat the last three as cross-checks rather than proof, particularly for a telecare device.
Has 3G already been switched off?
Yes, completely. Vodafone, EE and Three finished during 2024, and Virgin Media O2 completed in early 2026. There is no 3G network left in the UK. Anything that depended solely on a 3G signal has already stopped working, and if a device failed quietly in the last two years that is worth considering as the cause.
Will my phone stop working?
Almost certainly not. Any smartphone bought in the last decade falls back to 4G or 5G without you noticing. The phones at risk are older basic handsets that only support 2G, which often turn up as a spare kept in a drawer or a glovebox for emergencies. If that describes a phone in your house, it is worth knowing it will stop working somewhere between 2029 and 2033.
What else in my house uses 2G?
More than most people expect. Telecare pendants and personal alarms, monitored intruder and fire alarms, vehicle trackers, some payment terminals and some smart energy meters. Industry estimates put the number of UK devices still dependent on 2G or 3G at over two million. The common feature is that they contain a SIM nobody ever thinks about, which is exactly why they get missed.
I moved my care alarm to a mobile SIM for the phone switch-off. Is it safe?
It may not be, and this is the most important question on the page. A number of households moved an alarm off the landline onto a mobile SIM precisely to escape the 2027 phone switch-off. If that SIM is 2G-only, they have moved from one deadline to another. Ring the company that monitors the alarm and ask two things: which mobile network it uses, and whether the device supports 4G.
How do I check a telecare device?
Do not try to work it out from the box. Ring the provider or installer and ask, in these words: which mobile network does this device use, does the hardware support 4G, and is the SIM multi-network. The marketing name is no guide at all, because a device sold as a GSM alarm may be 2G-only or may be modern 4G hardware. Ask for the answer in writing and note the date.
Does a multi-network SIM protect me?
Only partly, and this is a widespread misunderstanding. A multi-network SIM lets a device connect to whichever network has the strongest signal, which helps with coverage and resilience. It does not change which radio generations the hardware itself supports. A 2G-only device with a multi-network SIM is still a 2G-only device, and it will stop working when the last 2G network it can reach is retired.
Who is responsible for sorting this out?
Your mobile provider should contact you if a phone is affected. For other devices it is the company that supplied or monitors them, which for a telecare alarm is often a council or a housing provider rather than a mobile network. Ofcom has written to local government and the telecare sector about it, and government and industry agreed a 2G Switch-Off Charter in March 2026 setting out commitments to do it safely.
Does the regulator take this seriously?
Yes. Ofcom fined Virgin Media £23.8 million over a failure to protect telecare customers during a switchover, which is a substantial penalty by the standards of UK telecoms enforcement and signals how the regulator views leaving vulnerable customers without a working alarm. Ofcom has also published 2G coverage data specifically to help the telecare sector plan.
What should I do now?
Very little, and nothing that costs money. Find out which network your SIM actually runs on using the table on this page. If nobody in the house has an alarm, a tracker or an old basic phone, you are finished. If somebody does, ring whoever monitors it and ask the three questions. The dates are years away, which makes this the unhurried time to check rather than the week it happens.
References
- CSL Group. (2026). 2G/3G switch-off. Retrieved 14 September 2026, from https://www.csl-group.com/resources/2g-3g-switch-off/
- House of Commons Library. (2026). Switching off 2G and 3G in the UK (Research Briefing CBP-9959). Retrieved 14 September 2026, from https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9959/
- Mobile UK. (n.d.). 2G switch off: questions and answers. Retrieved 14 September 2026, from https://www.mobileuk.org/2g-switch-off-q-and-a
- Ofcom. (2024, January 22). Switching off 2G and 3G networks: advice for IoT and third-party device suppliers. Retrieved 14 September 2026, from https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/coverage-and-speeds/advice-for-iot-and-third-party-device-suppliers
- Ofcom. (2024). Switching off the UK's 2G and 3G mobile networks: what you need to know. Retrieved 14 September 2026, from https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/coverage-and-speeds/3g-switch-off
Written by Adrian James, Broadband Editor at BroadbandSwitch.uk (LinkedIn). Reviewed by Dr Alex J. Martin-Smith (LinkedIn). Published 14 September 2026, last verified 14 September 2026. Switch-off dates are set by the mobile network operators and can change. Brands occasionally move between host networks, so if a safety-critical device depends on the answer, confirm it with the provider directly rather than relying on this or any other published table. This guide is information, not advice, and it does not replace the assessment of whoever supplies and monitors your equipment.