Virgin Media O2 issues warning as switch off could leave customers without internet
The UK's major mobile providers, including EE and Vodafone, have gradually been axing all 3G services over the past few years.
Virgin Media O2 is the latest provider to switch off its 3G network so it can focus on the "faster, more reliable and more energy-efficient" 4G and 5G networks.
It's 3G network switch off began on April 2, with the city of Durham the first area affected.
📡 Virgin Media O2 begins its 3G switch-off this April in Durham, marking a key milestone in our network evolution. This move allows us to focus on faster, more reliable #4G and #5G services, delivering better connectivity for our customers. 🌐📱 Learn more here:… pic.twitter.com/JE1YXHkKnA
— Virgin Media O2 News (@VMO2News) January 13, 2025
The switch-off is also set to impact other mobile providers which use Virgin Media O2's network, including:
Giffgaff
Sky Mobile
Tesco Mobile
With the Virgin Media O2 switch off now underway, customers with 3G devices are being urged to upgrade or risk a drop in call quality and being left unable to access mobile data.
In an email, seen by The Mirror, Virgin Media O2 said: "We recently got in touch to let you know we'll be turning off our 3G services.
"This change has already started, and we'll be continuing the switch off across the country throughout 2025.
"You may currently have a device that's not fully compatible with the UK's 4G or 5G network.
"After the switch off, you could experience a drop in call quality and be unable to access mobile data, including the internet and messaging apps like WhatsApp."
The next areas set to be impacted by Virgin Media O2's 3G switch off are:
Norwich (July 16)
Telford (July 16)
Guildford (July 16)
Torquay (August 4)
📡 We're continuing our 3G switch-off programme. Next up: Norwich, Telford, Guildford & Torquay. This move frees up spectrum for faster, more reliable #4G & #5G – keeping our customers better connected. 📱 Read more: https://t.co/dAw44ovtL6 pic.twitter.com/5j1GBg58Rc
— Virgin Media O2 News (@VMO2News) April 22, 2025
Virgin Media O2's Chief Technology Officer, Jeanie York, said: 'We're switching off our 3G network to focus our attention and investment on upgrading faster and more reliable 4G and 5G networks that will give our customers a better overall experience.
'While we know that the vast majority of our customers already have a 4G or 5G device and will not have to take any action, our priority is to provide support to those who need it.
"That is why we are reaching out directly to customers who do not have a 4G or 5G handset, and calling those we know are vulnerable, to provide information about their next steps.
"It is important these customers upgrade their handsets in order to continue using mobile data after 3G is switched off.'
Any customers who don't upgrade to a 4G or 5G device before 3G is switched off in their area will still be able to make voice calls and send text messages, but will be unable to use mobile data.
Customers with 3G devices will be unable to use the internet once the network is switched off. (Image: Yui Mok/PA Wire) Martin Lewis' Money Saving Expert (MSE) explains: "If you have a phone or Sim that only supports 3G, you'll effectively no longer be able to use the internet once it's fully switched off by your provider – you'll still technically be able to connect to the internet, but you'll struggle to do even basic tasks.
"You'll still be able to make calls and send text messages over 2G, though the quality of the call will likely be a lot worse than it was on the 3G network."
The 3G switch-off will only impact those customers with older devices and sim cards, ones that are unable to connect to the newer 4G or 5G networks.
If you are unsure whether or not your device will lose mobile data access when Virgin Media O2's 3G network is switched off, don't worry; there is a way to check.
Visit the Virgin Media O2 website and look at its list of devices that are not compatible with 4G and WiFi Calling.
If your phone/sim is on that list, you will be impacted by the switch-off and will need to change devices before it happens.
Devices on the list include:
Apple iPhone
iPhone 1 Generation
iPhone 3G
iPhone 3GS
iPhone 4
iPhone 5S
Samsung
Samsung ZV60
Samsung Binou
Samsung GT-C3592
Samsung BEAT S
Samsung Galaxy Fame
Samsung SLIDER
Samsung Galaxy Ace 3
Sony
Sony Ericsson WT13I
Sony Ericsson W705
Sony Xperia Z2
Sony Xperia E
LG
LG Calisto
LG Pop
LG Prada
LG New Chocolate
LG G1600
Google
Google Galaxy Nexus
Google Nexus ONE
Motorola
Motorola MOTO E
Motorola EM30
Motorola Motokey Social
Motorola C118V
RECOMMENDED READING:
O2 offering more than £1000 for old mobiles and other devices - how to claim
Nearly 9 million PlayStation owners could be owed more than £500 - are you one?
Virgin Media customers told to check if they're entitled to a free upgrade
Nokia
Nokia 220
Nokia 106.1
Nokia Lumia 925
Nokia 2330 Classic
For the full list of devices affected or any further information about Virgin Media O2's 3G network switch off, visit its website (a link to which can be found above).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
In search of Labour's ‘working people' – the paradox at the heart of Keir Starmer's first year in power
It's one year since Keir Starmer led the Labour party to a landslide victory. Starmer's manifesto, 'Change' had proposed 'securonomics' as a solution to the UK's many crises. This was sold as a way of ensuring 'sustained economic growth as the only route to improving the prosperity of our country and the living standards of working people'. The document mentioned 'working people' a total of 21 times. It was clear this demographic had been identified as the key target beneficiary of 'securonomics', otherwise referred to as 'the plan for change'. But there is a paradox at the heart of the proposal to deliver 'change' to 'working people' – one that helps explain the chaos of Labour's first year in government. By obsessively pitting this demographic against 'non-working people', Labour is in fact not promising any real change at all. Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK's latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences. One of the key premises of Labour's securonomics is that growth must precede any significant investment. 'Working people's' priorities are therefore presented as being in line with that of a fiscally responsible state. In the autumn budget, there was a pledge to 'fix the foundations of the economy and deliver change by protecting working people'. To do this, the chancellor needed to fix a 'black hole' of £22 billion in government finances. The refusal to lift the two-child benefit cap, alongside 'reforming the state to ensure […] welfare spending is targeted towards those that need it the most', was framed as 'putting more money in working people's pockets'. There has, meanwhile, been a continued emphasis on encouraging those on benefits back to work. Want more politics coverage from academic experts? Every week, we bring you informed analysis of developments in government and fact check the claims being up for our weekly , delivered every Friday. Besides the clear deepening of inequality wrought by similar reforms in the past, welfare cuts make no sense on an economic or societal level. They undermine the economy, and the consequences put additional pressure on already underfunded social services. As highlighted by the Office of Budgetary Responsibility (OBR), such cuts fail to deliver the promised behavioural change to force people into work. People instead become more focused on day-to-day survival. Despite the government's last ditch climbdown to save its flagship welfare reform policy its cuts are still forecast to push more than 150,000 people into poverty Such reforms carried out in the name of 'working people' perpetuate a pernicious myth of us v them. Not only are people in work also affected by these cuts but people's lives – including their jobs, income, family situations, and health – shift regularly, making the 'strivers v skivers' divide both simplistic and inaccurate. Even 'secure borders' and 'smashing the criminal gangs' were positioned as 'grown up politics back in the service of working people'. This association of working people with anti-immigrant attitudes links to a broader homogenisation of 'working people' as both 'patriotic' and in search of 'security'. 'Fixing the foundations' has been depicted in several social media posts as a patriotic act via use of the Union Jack. Meanwhile, stage-managed photoshoots of Starmer in factories with people wearing hard hats and hi-visibility jackets give a clear impression of the types of manufacturing jobs the government believes 'working people' carry out. This gives an impressions that belies the reality of modern Britain – and an economy that is dominated by the service sector,, not manufacturing or building. While Starmer framed his 'plan for change' as a break with previous administrations, his 'working people' narrative betrays this claim as anything but. The idea that the deserving 'working people' are different and separate from people who don't (or can't) work has been deployed by government after government to justify austerity and cuts to services. It has always been useful to separate the 'scroungers from the strivers' and there is no sign of Labour changing course. The term 'working people' also builds on a previous trope of the 'hard-working family'. While initially coined by New Labour, this term has roots in Margaret Thatcher's idea of the family, rather than the state, as the locus of welfare. It was not for the state to take care of you but your own kin. Like 'working people' now, 'hard-working families' were those who played by the rules and knuckled down to earn a living. Previous Conservative administrations have depicted 'hard-working families' as burdened by the unemployed, the poor, the sick and disabled and immigrants. Add to this, the signalling continues to imply that the 'authentic' working class of Britain are solely white – sometimes also male – and typically older, manual labourers, who are assumed to hold socially conservative views. This is another divide-and-rule trope which neglects the reality of the multiracial and multiethnic composition of the working classes. In light of all this, any real 'change' promised in Labour's manifesto has been betrayed by a continuity with tired and damaging tropes of deserving and undeserving people. This is contributing to the sense, a year in, that this Labour government is merely repeating past government failures rather than striking out in a new direction. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. George Newth works for University of Bath and is a member of the Green Party
Forbes
14 minutes ago
- Forbes
Investor Deborah Meaden At Wimbledon: No Net Zero Without Nature
Deborah Meaden in the Royal Box on day four of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships at the All England ... More Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London. Picture date: Thursday July 3, 2025. (Photo by John Walton/PA Images via Getty Images) 'Protect nature, and net zero kind of happens," was the message that renowned entrepreneur and investor Deborah Meaden shared during an environment-focussed session at the Wimbledon Championships yesterday. Meaden is known for her advocacy on sustainable investing and now only invests in organisations that both have a strong business case to be profitable, but also operate in someway to reduce planetary impact and create jobs. She shared her personal journey with nature, frustrations with current corporate approaches, and called businesses and sports leaders to action. In a climate discourse led by emissions targets and carbon accounting, Meaden wants nature to feature too. Deborah Meaden speaks during the environmental panel discussion event Nature Cannot Be Taken For Granted Just over half of global gross domestic profit or 58 trillion dollars, is moderately or highly dependent on nature. The Wimbledon environment session took place on day four of the grand slam, with climate and nature being front of mind, following the hottest opening day ever-recorded at the Championships. Extreme heat impacting both the performance and business of sport is something we are now seeing much more frequently. Nature has 'been so generous to us," Meaden shared. 'We're just sucking the life out of it and right now, we just need to pay it back a little bit.' Abbie Dewhurst, Deborah Meaden, Bear Grylls, and Rita Maria El Zaghloul take part in an ... More environmental panel discussion in the Parkside Suite in No.1 Court Meaden was joined on the panel by winner of The 2024 Earthshot Prize, director of High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, Rita Maria El Zaghloul. Leading a coalition of countries calling for the protection of 30 percent of our land and ocean by 2030, she shared when talking with governments this isn't just an issue from an environmentalist perspective. 'It's really an issue that's it's across all the sectors, it's related to our food system, it's related to our economies.' This reflects thinking from other key business leaders. 'Today businesses treat nature as if it is free and unlimited. It is time for boards, under their director's duties, to dismiss current fake financial profits that take nature for granted," Earth on Board founder, Philippe Joubert recently told me. Sustainability Can't Sit in a Silo Meaden pulls no punches when it comes to corporate action, or inaction. While she sees promising work from startups who begin with sustainability at their core, she believes some businesses still treat sustainability as a side project. 'I don't believe a business is serious until I can walk into any department and they can explain what they're doing for the environment," she shared. 'Until sustainability is discussed in the boardroom, not as an 'any other business' item, I don't believe the business is serious,' she went on. 'In business, we make decisions all day. We need to slide nature into those filters.' What Has Nature Go To Do With Business and Sport? Business leaders and influencers came together to talk about nature at the tennis, but what has sport got to do with nature, environmental protection, investment and business? 'Sport has people's attention, you know, that's ultimately it, isn't it?' shared British adventurer, television presenter and former SAS trooper, Bear Grylls, who also spoke at the event. Wildflower bank on the Aorangi practice courts at Wimbledon 'If you care about the environment, you care about people. You, that's a solution the world needs, whether you're leading Wimbledon, whether we're leading our own lives, big businesses, inspiring young people, you know, I think it all comes back to leadership and the values we want to be known for in our lives.' Wimbledon Championships 'aspire to deliver a positive and sustainable impact on our economy, society and the environment in support of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.' This is evident to attendees of the grand slam through visible signage across the venue encouraging environmentally friendly-behaviours. Reusable cups and recycling areas are ubiquitous, 100 free water refill stations are available, living walls and wildflower and nature areas that attract pollinators abound. Used tennis balls made into art to absorb sounds in the cafe, and in the shops new products made from upcycled leftover merchandise from previous years is available, bringing the circular economy to revenue streams. The All England Lawn Tennis Club plan to expand their site to include bring qualifying to the famous SW19 postcode, by converting a private golf course to a green space of which half would be open to the public. Thas been met by some local opposition. For investors and corporate leaders, embedding nature into core business strategy isn't just ethical, it's economically essential. As global markets wake up to the financial risks of biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, forward-looking companies are already shifting toward nature-positive investing and climate-resilient models. Deborah Meaden's headline take away of 'protect nature, and net zero kind of happens'highlights a growing understanding that natural capital underpins financial capital. Whether you're allocating assets or shaping strategy, climate and nature risk are business risks, and the organisations that recognise this now will be the ones leading tomorrow.
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Will Bale really buy Cardiff? Wales great's bid explained
Gareth Bale (left) was born and raised in Cardiff but never played for the club owned by Vincent Tan (right) [Getty Images] The last time Gareth Bale was at Cardiff City, he was about to take his country to the World Cup. Now he wants to buy the club. Or at least that is what the former Wales captain appears to have his heart set on after the surprising revelation he is part of an investment group aiming to take over the League One outfit. Advertisement A consortium led by Bale has reportedly made a second approach but club sources have told BBC Sport Wales they have not yet received any proposals that would make them seriously consider selling. One of his nation's greatest players, the retired 35-year-old told Cardiff fans "more news will come out" regarding the attempt to persuade owner Vincent Tan to sell up. But others have suggested the bid launched by Bale's group for his hometown club is not quite as it seems. So is the former Real Madrid megastar about to go from the Bernabeu to the Bluebirds' boardroom? What we know so far Wales' most capped and highest scoring men's international, Bale was initially linked with a takeover at Plymouth Argyle. Advertisement With owner Simon Hallet looking for fresh investment, Bale was said to be the face of a USA-based private equity group that had entered early talks over a deal. Some sources at Plymouth played down those reports with no public utterance from Bale or the unnamed other members of the consortium. That changed, though, when it emerged the group had written to Cardiff owner Tan making it clear they would be keen on taking control at the club recently relegated from the Championship. There was no formal bid but the proposal did make clear what the group would be looking to pay for a shareholding. Cardiff's board became aware of the approach but only after it had been dismissed pretty swiftly by Tan. As a result, there was no boardroom discussion or invitation for further talks. Advertisement BBC Sport Wales has been told a second approach was made to Tan but was met with the same short shrift. Why Cardiff City? On paper, the move makes sense. Bale was born and raised in Cardiff and would come home whenever he could during a glittering playing career, even though the majority of it was spent in Spain. His uncle, Chris Pike, played for the club during the late 1980s and early '90s, and Bale was close to emulating him before deciding to join Los Angeles FC from Real Madrid in 2022. "It's my home club, where I grew up. My uncle used to play for them," Bale said last month. Advertisement "So to be involved with an ownership group would be a dream come true. It's a club close to my heart. I would love to be able to be a part of growing Cardiff, taking it to the Premier League where it belongs." As the city of his birth and the location for some of his most heroic acts in a Wales shirt, Cardiff is a place that clearly holds special meaning for Bale. He did not grow up a Bluebirds fan. It was a picture of Zinedine Zidane that adorned his bedroom wall as a child. Playing for Real Madrid was the childhood dream he realised when he became the world's most expensive footballer in 2013. Having never played for Cardiff though, there seems to be an attraction for Bale in returning to rescue his home city's club. Advertisement Although Cardiff are preparing for their first season in the third tier since 2003, it is a well-supported club with significant potential. Restoring it to the Premier League would enhance Bale's already legendary status in the Welsh capital and, for those providing the bulk of the consortium's financial power, this could be a good time to acquire a club with plenty of room to grow. Wrexham and Birmingham City demonstrated last season how high-profile owners – and wealthy backers – can elevate teams from League One. Bale and his associates will have noted those success stories and will feel they could do the same. Advertisement Why now? Cardiff were relegated last season after finishing bottom of the Championship [Huw Evans Picture Agency] It has been two and a half years since Bale retired and it still remains to be seen how he will spend his life after playing. Between charity work, commercial commitments and very occasional media punditry or ambassadorial jobs for the Football Association of Wales, Bale appears to be keeping his options open – and allowing plenty of time for golf. If the proposed takeover of Cardiff were to prove successful, it is unclear what role he would play. American football legend Tom Brady holds a minority stake in Birmingham but has no day-to-day involvement in the running of the club, while the same is true of Bale's former Real Madrid team-mate Luka Modric at Swansea City. Advertisement There is a precedent set if Bale wanted to take a fairly hands-off approach, though Cardiff fans would be delighted if he were more active and visible than his celebrity-owner peers. Bluebirds supporters are desperate for change and have staged protests to express their dismay at the way Tan, chairman Mehmet Dalman and chief executive Ken Choo have run the club over the past decade. Prospective buyers will be aware of such ill feeling towards Cardiff's board but any possible takeover would come with several complications. Why not? It has not yet been possible to verify who, aside from Bale, is involved in the interested consortium - or what kind of wealth they have. Advertisement Although Bale was handsomely rewarded during his career when he was once the costliest footballer on the planet - as well as having investments in property, Welsh whisky business Penderyn and some bars in Cardiff and Bristol - his bank balance is not of a club-owning level. Last year, he made it to the Sunday Times rich list with an estimated wealth of £70m though he did not chart in the 2025 edition. To put that figure in context, Cardiff's owner Tan had £68m worth of loans owed to him by the club at the end of their last published accounting period in May 2024. In total - according to their most recent financial statements - the Bluebirds are carrying loans of more than £100m, some of which are to a company linked with chairman Dalman. Advertisement How any deal would factor in those debts remains to be seen. Tan has previously exchanged debt into equity, having put in an estimated £200m-plus into the club in one form or another since taking over in 2010. Furthermore, the yearly accounts have long made reference to the ongoing reliance on Tan's financial support. Losses over the past three seasons have averaged around £1.5m per month. There is an agreement that Tan will continue to help plug those gaps between turnover and expenses, even with the club's relegation to League One set to hit revenue by as much as £10m. And despite scaling back some of his business interests in recent years - including selling a minority stake in Bale's former club LAFC - Tan still has the money to do that. Advertisement In Malaysia, where his conglomerate Berjaya Corporation is based, he has involvement in several companies and businesses including mobile phone networks, financial institutions, supermarkets, hotels and property. In April, financial publication Forbes estimated his wealth at $770m (more than £550m). It is one of the reasons Tan has not held much serious interest in selling the club. Despite his absence, those close to him have routinely stressed he retains a strong interest and passion in the club's success. And it is also why, on the subject of selling in the past, there has been seemingly little interest unless it was of a price in excess of its realistic, business value. Advertisement It suggests any offer would have to be too big for Tan to turn down. In his most recent major interview with Welsh media - three years ago - he said he had received many approaches but had no interest in selling, adding that only returning the club to the Premier League would make a deal financially viable. Ironically, in reference to the criticism he has faced from fans during his ownership, he said: "To those guys who want 'Tan out', they should ask a rich Welshman, probably a billionaire, to buy this club and take it to the Premier League and keep them there for 10 years - because that is my goal." What happens next? Even if an improved offer - and a firm bid - were to materialise, this situation is unlikely to be resolved quickly. Advertisement Another factor that could complicate the matter is a court date in late September that could dramatically alter the value of the club. Cardiff are involved in a legal claim against FC Nantes over the death of striker Emiliano Sala, with the club seeking damages in excess of £100m. Bluebirds sources are confident they will be successful and the ruling would be expected by the end of the year. Considering that Tan is already reluctant to sell, the Sala case makes him even less likely to entertain any offers right now. Those close to the Cardiff owner have rubbished the proposals made by Bale and his associates, with some dismissing the attempted takeover as a publicity stunt. Advertisement The feeling at board level is that the Bale-led interest lacks substance, a view that is supported by the Cardiff City Supporters' Trust, which has said the proposal amounts to little more than a "fishing trip". That was a telling statement from the trust, which has previously voiced its concerns about the way the club is being run under Tan. Cardiff has been ravaged by division and discord in recent years, with fan protests, poisonous atmospheres at games and a general sense of disillusionment around the club. Bale and his consortium may believe that presents an opportunity but, as the Bluebirds' turbulent past demonstrates, nothing is straightforward when it comes to Cardiff City.
