Can An Old Flip Phone Be Reactivated? (Explained)

When you ask most people about the mobile phones that came before the smartphones we all know and love today, most of them will probably think of the flip phone.

Some stereotypical models of this phone have become cultural icons of a sort, with small displays for the clock on notifications on the front, a screen on the top half when it is open, and a keypad with dial keys that are just like the keys on typical phones that were not mobile.

Even if you use a dedicated smartphone today, you might have an old flip phone kicking around somewhere and wonder if it can be reactivated. We’ll answer this and similar topics below.

Can an Old Flip Phone Be Reactivated?

To start, we’ll say that it is possible to reactivate an old flip phone. However, this can depend on a couple of things. Further, even if you can reactivate the phone of your choice, specific makes or models may encounter some problems when you attempt to use some of their programs.

We can go over what kinds of issues you might encounter in a later section. For now, we’ll start by describing use cases where you might be able to activate an old flip phone, and we will cover some instances where that might not be possible.

Which Flip Phones Can You Activate?

If your flip phone is a model that is new enough to use technology that runs on a 4G network, it could be easy to reactivate the phone.

All of this will depend on your specific provider and their respective policies, but if the technology is new enough and still supported by the carrier, the possibility of reactivating the phone exists.

GSM is a sort of global standard that some major carriers will use or offer, but there is also CDMA to consider. In short, some newer models of flip phones that operate along active and supported carrier technologies can be reactivated.

This could be as simple as taking your phone to any local service provider branch and asking the tech experts there to help you reactive it. GSM protocols also make it easier to unlock phones or switch carriers from one to another, unlike CDMA, which was more common some years ago. CDMA is still popular, and some major carriers prefer to use it over GSM.

Which Phones Can’t You Activate?

Sometimes, you may not reactivate your flip phone if it is too old. Just how old constitutes too much can be dependent on the model and which carrier it is assigned to, but there are some benchmarks we can use to make good guesses.

For one, it is less likely that a phone old enough that it would operate on 3G can be reactivated. Mostly, this isn’t an issue with the carrier not being willing to help you out.

Because phone technologies are moving ever forward, older protocols, and consequently phones that might use them, are slowly abandoned as the years go by.

For example, such is the case with phones that operate in 3G instead of 4G. There may be other considerations, but this is one of the main ones.

How Do I Reactivate an Old Verizon, Sprint, AT&T or T-Mobile Flip Phone?

The processes for reactivating an old phone from one of the major carriers might differ somewhat, but many of them will have similar steps or qualifications.

Again, if the phone is too old, it may not be possible at all. Some very old phones may continue to work if they’ve never been deactivated or reset at all, but we are concerned with reactivation here. Thus, we’ll assume that you’ve shut the phone down and allowed its service plan to expire over the years.

No matter what network you’re going with, you may be able to save some time by looking for any bring your own phone information that the carriers have on hand. Some contracts allow you to bring older phones with you when you switch or upgrade. Even though you’re not planning a switch, you may move to a new contract now that you want to reactivate the phone.

Here, you can check with specific carriers to see if the model of phone you have is something that they can activate for you. This is a good first step that can save you some hassle if the phone isn’t on the approved list.

However, some carriers might not have the capacity to reactivate older phones. For example, because Verizon has chosen not to activate CDMA/3G devices now, you wouldn’t be able to get that carrier to reactivate a phone with those protocols. Although they can reactivate some older phones, certain requirements must be met first for that to happen.

Something like a 3G phone that is CDMA cannot meet the requirements Verizon put in place. However, other older phones with at least VoLTE might be able to reactivate. These have newer protocols that may remain current with the provider is running.

Will My Old Flip Phone Work in 2022? 3 Problems

Yes, some old flip phones can work in 2022. However, some of them cannot. And it very much depends on which phone you have, but we’ll take you through some of the common issues you might face. In some cases, the phone itself may work fine, but some features may not function properly.

As we mentioned earlier, 3G phones may be problematic in terms of reactivation. What’s more, though, is that the major networks are planning to sunset their 3G services as 2022 continues. This means that, at some point in 2022, any phones that use 3G networks to make calls or otherwise function will not be usable anymore. This would apply to both older flip phones and smartphones.

To focus on the newer 5G and help maintain 4G coverage as well, major carriers have decided to phase out 3G.  However, older flip phones have better security. If you are curious, head over to our article here that’s dedicated to talking about flip phone security.

If you are unsure what device your flip phone is, it may be best to go to the manufacturer’s site to check. The manufacturer of your flip phone should have information on whether it uses 3G or a newer protocol.

Because the shutdowns for 3G are supposed to happen throughout the year, it is possible your old 3G device could still be useful for some time to come.

Whether it makes sense to try to reactivate it, if the carrier allows that at all, is a personal decision. We wanted to mention the decision of the major networks regarding 3G before we got into a list of the other problems you could face.

1. No support for 3G devices, as mentioned.

2. Certain functions may not work properly. For example, text messaging could prove problematic on a phone that is too old.

Some older phones cannot handle the newer kind of texting in which messages are sent to a mass of other phone numbers at once via groups, even from regular texting programs rather than social media apps.

3. No tech support. Because the technology for some older phones is being phased out slowly, support that you might get with the phone is going away, too. Manufacturers and tech experts may be unable to help you if you have any other device issues and need support.

Yes, some problems could be answered in forums; however, with tech, there are many ways to solve an issue, and the solution provided may not even work. There may not be enough information for you to test different solutions in case one solution doesn’t work.

Are Older Flip Phones Going Away?

Based on the information carriers themselves have provided and information above, some older flip phones are going away.

This makes room for newer technologies or kinds of phones to work on the wireless spectrum. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that all flip phone-like models are going away.

If you like older flip phones, there may be ways to keep using models you enjoy. Some flip phone models that might still be considered dated are feature phones that can run perfectly well on 4G and above.

These phones operate the same way as the more traditional flip phones, but they can function within the protocols of newer wireless services. Some of these phones could already be a few years old, but they are still perfectly serviceable.

You may even find flip-style phones that can run some apps if they are new enough. Flip phones from the beginning of the 3G era and earlier might be going away, but the style of this phone is still popular enough that it should be around, and quite usable for many calling or texting needs, for some time to come.

Bottom Line

If you’ve discovered an old flip phone kicking around in a drawer somewhere, it may have brought with it a wave of nostalgia that prompted you to wonder if you could reactivate it. After all, a phone for calling, texting, or simple images is still of use.

The good news is, you can reactivate some flip phones if they are new enough. For the very old models of days gone by, however, you may have to settle for viewing it as a fine bit of history.