How to connect

RetroRelay is a thin client: your phone has to reach our server for things to happen. Pick the tab that matches how your phone can get online.

Mobile data over 2G or 3G

The phone uses its SIM to dial out over your carrier's mobile network, the same network that handles calls and texts, but for an internet connection. This is how nearly every retro phone reaches the internet.

Which phones have it?

Any 2003 - 2013 retro phone with a SIM and an active data plan. Mobile data is the default route for all the phones we support.

Set the APN if it isn't automatic

An APN ("Access Point Name") is the address the phone dials to reach the internet over the carrier's mobile network. Modern phones and SIMs negotiate one automatically, but on retro phones you often need to type one in by hand. Your carrier publishes the right value on their website.

The exact menu path varies by phone, but the setting almost always lives somewhere along these breadcrumbs:

• Settings → Connectivity → Data accounts
• Settings → Connection → Internet profiles
• Web browser → Web sessions → profiles

Create a new profile (or edit the existing default) and fill in the APN field for your SIM card's carrier. Most other fields can be left blank or at their defaults.

2G and 3G availability by country

Retro phones use 2G or 3G, which are older mobile networks that pre-date 4G and 5G. Some countries keep them running for years; others have switched them off as networks modernise. The picture below is current as of July 2026, but these dates move constantly, so treat it as a guide rather than a promise.

One thing worth knowing: a phone showing a 2G signal for calls and texts doesn't always mean the app will work. RetroRelay needs 2G data (GPRS or EDGE), and where an operator keeps 2G alive only for emergency calls, smart meters, or other machines, the data side is often the first thing quietly switched off. If you have signal but the app can't connect, that can be why.

Longest runway: the developing world

The 2G networks with the most life left in them are across much of Africa, South Asia, and Latin America, as 2G still carries a large share of everyday traffic and no shutdown has been announced. In some markets it's still growing. If you want a phone that keeps working for as long as possible, this is where the ground is firmest.

• Africa: 2G reaches most of the continent and operators have little reason to switch it off. Nigeria (MTN, Airtel), Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Ghana, DR Congo, and across the north Egypt, Morocco and Algeria have no announced 2G shutdown at all. The one exception is South Africa, which plans to close 2G and 3G by the end of 2027.
• South Asia: India keeps 2G alive on Airtel and Vi (Vodafone Idea), but not Jio, which is 4G-only and won't work in a retro phone, so steer clear of a Jio SIM. Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal all keep 2G running with no shutdown date. The exception is Bangladesh, where the largest operator (Grameenphone) has begun closing 2G.
• Latin America: Brazil (Vivo, Claro), Mexico (Telcel, AT&T) and Argentina keep 2G running for wide-area rural coverage with no mandatory shutdown date. Colombia is the furthest along in retiring it.
• Middle East: Iran runs healthy 2G on both major operators with nothing announced. But the Gulf states (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain) have aggressively shut 2G and 3G down, and Turkey plans to switch 2G off during 2026. Outside the Gulf, 2G generally survives.
• Southeast Asia: Indonesia keeps its 2G networks running and is the most reliable option in the region. Its neighbours are closing fast, though: Vietnam already shut 2G down in 2024, and the Philippines and Thailand are closing theirs through 2026.

Active: years of runway (Europe)

• UK: The best runway in the developed world. EE and Vodafone are scheduled to retire 2G between 2029 and 2030. O2 keeps 2G going the longest: its Central and South England network underpins the national smart-meter estate, which is committed to 2G until 2033, so O2 is expected to be the last UK network standing. For the longest runway, pick an O2 SIM or one of the O2-based MVNOs: Tesco Mobile, giffgaff, or Sky Mobile.
• Ireland: 2G alive. No operator has announced a 2G shutdown date; expected to continue into the late 2020s, possibly 2033. 3G is the one going (Eir from late 2026).
• Germany: 2G alive, but all three networks now have dates in 2028: Telekom mid-2028, Vodafone and O2 / Telefónica later the same year (Vodafone keeps a critical machine-to-machine layer to 2030).
• Italy: 2G alive; the earliest announced date is TIM's, around 2029, and other operators are keeping it. 3G is essentially gone (WindTre ended December 2025).
• Netherlands: 2G alive until December 2027 (KPN).
• Belgium: 2G alive. Proximus phase-out starts 2027.
• Spain: 2G alive, kept as a safety-net network into around 2030. It's 3G that's closing here (Orange by end of 2027, Movistar under way), which is an easy mix-up.

Sunset: closing within ~1 year

• France: Anomaly: 2G shuts down during 2026 (SFR and Bouygues complete in 2026; Orange by end of December 2026). 3G stays alive until 2028 – 2029.
• USA: T-Mobile is the last 2G operator and has set a firm shutdown date of 3 August 2026. AT&T's 2G ended 2017, Verizon's in 2020. Once T-Mobile switches off, the US is effectively closed to retro phones on cellular.

Closed

• Australia: 2G and 3G fully shut down by October 2024.
• New Zealand: 2G shut down December 2025; 3G done by early 2026.
• Japan: 2G gone since 2010 – 2012; 3G fully wound down by March 2026 (NTT Docomo's FOMA was the last to close).
• Canada: 2G already sunset across all carriers. 3G shutdowns: Rogers August 2025; Bell and Telus nationwide March 2027.
• Sweden: Mostly gone. Tele2 and Telenor shut down 2G and 3G in December 2025; Telia is the exception, holding onto 2G until 2027.

Network status can change. Check your carrier's current shutdown roadmap if you're unsure.