Best Buy-Owned Phone Service Faces Angry Customers After 3G Network Shutdown

Best Buy’s Jitterbug Flip phone stopped working for some customers after the start of the new year following the planned shutdown of Verizon’s 3G network on December 31, 2022. “As a result of network updates made on January 2, [2023] some customers with a Jitterbug Flip phone are experiencing a disruption to their service,” Best Buy said. The company is working to resolve the issue and noted that Jitterbug Flip2 phones, Jitterbug smartphones, and Lively-branded devices aren’t impacted. In a message to affected customers, Lively said it expects to provide an update by January 10, 2023. It didn’t give an estimate of when service would be restored or how many customers had issues with their devices. Lively told those customers to use a different device to contact 911 in the case of an emergency.