When the iPhone 3GS did not support 3G...
When the iPhone 3GS did not support 3G...
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://fjwp.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/16135325/TechSupportRep.png)
This happens around the time I was working for a large national ISP here in the UK in one of their Scottish Call Centres, I have posted a couple times before in this sub regarding things which have happened:
When Sales Promise Thousands of E-Mails Per Day
A Decade Worth of E-Mails all gone...
Some background information for this story:
The iPhone 3GS came out on the 19th of June 2009 & I had gotten it. a few months after release date, also by this point in time 3G services in the UK had been out since roughly early 2003. Me and two of my work associates had purchased the iPhone 3GS around the same time and unknown that we had done so.
Cast:
Me: Not you, or them, or the giant spider running around the roof - just plain old IAmFromScotland :)
WA1: Work Associate 1
WA2: Work Associate 2
Story:
Me and WA1 where on our break in the break area, talking about our newly purchased iPhone's where, how awesome they where and that you can do this and that with them. Un-beknown to us at the moment WA2 just happened to be in the vicinity of the break area whilst we where talking, the conversation came to the point that how fast 3G was on these things, it was great!
WA2: Sorry did you say 3G?
Me & WA1: Yeah, it's available on this model of iPhone...
WA2: I have the iPhone 3GS too, but it is only getting 2G!
Proceeds to show us him getting 2G & we check his settings, all configured correctly...
WA2: I only get 3G sporadically when I am in Glasgow (west coast Scotland, we where located in North East Scotland), as I see family there - I thought 3G had not been rolled out yet across the UK yet.
It had been around for 6 years by this point, as I had remembered my previous phones being able to get them before the iPhone...
Me: I had an 3G phone before this one, I got 3G on that ok without any issues - so you should get it on your phone!
WA1: How long have you had the phone for? Did you use the same number or is it a new number?
WA2: Well I only got it a few weeks ago, before that I had a couple of , as for my number it was not changed, I have used the same SIM in my phone since 1999, it has worked since then!
If you guy's have been paying attention now, wondering why on earth I had originally put the date of 3G release in the UK above, he had been using a sim prior to that release so even though he had a 3G capable phone, his time had not been. We had suggested to him to take his phone to his provider to get a new sim swapped over...
Fast Forward a few weeks...
WA2: Guy's, guess what?! I went to my provider and asked them to replace the SIM card - I used the excuse of I lost my sim and I got one later that day (aka the day before he came to us after doing his own checks). I can now get 3G on my iPhone and it's sooo cool! If Ihad not over heard you guy's talking I would never have had this!
Me & WA1 just let out a little chuckle and told him we where glad he was getting his speeds again!
TLDR: When you want to embrace the future technology, remember to make sure the rest of your kit is up to date! 2G or not 3G - that is the question...now where did I put my 5G phone? Oh, wait - I'm too poor for one lol## TLDR Summary:
We had suggested to him to take his phone to his provider to get a new sim swapped over...
Fast Forward a few weeks...