Lively
Please check in on any family members who use a Jitterbug Flip phone. This product, which is primarily sold through the Lively carrier at Best Buy, cannot make or answer calls due to an oversight during Verizon’s 3G network shutdown. (That said, this probably isn’t Verizon’s fault.)
The Lively phone service is an MVNO or “mobile virtual network operator.” Instead of owning or maintaining a cellular network, it rents cellular service from other operators. Lively was acquired by Best Buy in 2018 and primarily caters to seniors by selling old-fashioned flip phones and medical alert devices.
Evidently, Verizon is the 3G provider for Lively, as Jitterbug Flip phones lost service immediately after Verizon shut down its 3G network on January 2nd. Other cellular providers spent years pestering customers and offering free phone upgrades to avoid this situation. But The Wall Street Journal spoke to several Lively customers who were either unaware of the incoming shutdown or told that it wouldn’t interrupt their service.
“We continue to work diligently to resolve the service disruptions affecting some Jitterbug Flip phones caused by a recent network update. If your phone is not working, in…
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