No QWERTY phones for 4G

[davec068]

We have been notified by Rogers that US carries will be shutting down their 3G networks and our coverage will be limited or non-existent in the future.  We use a Nokia 6790 with a slide out Qwerty keyboard for Talk and Text only.  We also have a Rogers ZTE Z432 ($64.99) in 2013 - as a backup, never used.  Both these devices are 3G with physical keyboards.  As 3G closes down people will have to give up their Qwerty phones as there are no Qwerty phone options with a physical keyboard offered in 4G or 5G  (particularly for the Talk and Text people).    In our case, my wife only has the use of one hand and cannot use the newer glass phones, although she has tried. 

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[RogersMaude]

Good day @davec068,

Thanks for your post! I understand your desire to use a phone that suits your needs. To make sure I can guide you better, I do have a few questions for you :

Do you have a prepaid or postpaid account/line?

• The shutdown will affect customers who use devices that don’t support 4G LTE data and Voice over Long-Term Evolution (VoLTE) Roaming services. It will also impact all prepaid customers from Rogers, Fido and chatr, even if their device is 4G LTE or VoLTE Roaming enabled.

How often do you travel to the United States with your Rogers device? 

• To clarify, you can still use your phone in Canada as you normally do. 
• While roaming in the US, you won’t be able to make or receive calls (including 911calls), send or receive text messages or use cellular data. 

Alternatively, if you would like to purchase a different 4G phone that is not from Rogers, you can surely do so. Make sure to check out the Bring your own device article.

Hope this helps!

RogersMaude

[davec068]

Hi Maude,  It is a  post-paid accounts.  We had been travelling to the US several time a year for about 3 months in total.  The old Nokia phone is decrepit and needs to be replaced even if Rogers has no plans in ever shutting down their 3G network on the B5 band.  Interesting, I still have my AMPS,  TDMA and GSM phones that no longer seem to connect everywhere.    The issue everyone will be having is that either as the 3G Networks shuts down or these devices with QWERTY keyboards fail/break - Operators/Manufacturers  (now that Blackberry is gone) don't offer them anymore.  I also check with AT&T, Verizon and T-mobile (they don't have these devices either).   So perhaps we should not make this a network shutdown the problem.  The problem is that these devices cannot be found.  What's going to happen if my Rogers Nokia 6790 broke today?  

Regards,

Dave

[GibMcFragger]

Unfortunately, device manufacturers design devices to sell as many as they can. Physical keyboards haven't been relevant for 90% of people for years, so they don't bother.

That being said, you may be able to find a decent price on a Blackberry Key2 if you look around. They are 4 years old, but decent devices. There aren't many (if any) newer options out there.

[davec068]

Hi GibMcFragger

Thanks for leaving your comments/suggestion. We did look at the BB KEY2, however, this is almost as big as the new giant phones that Rogers is mostly offering. It’s uncomfortably large for a person with a small hand and looks to need 2 hands to use.

I have been checking, and yes, the KEY2 can be found for under $1000. (no manufacturers warranty) but this is quite a bit more then the $65 we paid for our QWERTY ZTE Z432 at Best Buy in 2016.

We found the new Unihertz Titan Pocket - QWERTY Android phone (under $400) that we will give a try. It looks user friendly for our Talk & Text plan. We only need it once we start travelling into the US again as we bought 4 spare Nokia 3G 6790’s for Canada.

Thanks again for your input - it all helps!

Regards

Dave