Sprint and T-Mobile’s big merger went through earlier this year, and they have been making changes as they combine forces on their networks. The latest changes is that T-Mobile is shutting down Sprint’s original 5G network, a process they started in April. T-Mobile is now utilizing Sprint’s 2.5GHz spectrum to augment its own 5G network.
T-Mobile has already re-deployed the 2.5GHz spectrum as part of their 5G network in New York City and in parts of Chicago, Houston, and Los Angeles. New York City is currently the only city that has T-Mobile’s low-band, mid-band, and mmWave 5G.
Some existing Sprint 5G smartphone users are now left without 5G access, unfortunately. Older Sprint 5G smartphones that used the Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 modem will not be able to connect to T-Mobile’s new 5G network. These phones include the Sprint OnePlus 7 Pro 5G, Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, and LG V50 ThinQ 5G. Other models launched more recently will continue to work on T-Mobile’s network and won’t be impacted by this change.