The merger of two of the biggest network carriers in the US—Sprint and T-Mobile—was finalized earlier this month. Following the merger, T-Mobile announced several updates for customers on both Sprint's and T-Mobile's cellular networks. One of those announcements is bad news for Sprint's Galaxy S10 5G users, as their phone would lose 5G connectivity in the future.
T-Mobile is planning to rework Sprint's current 5G network (Band 41) to make way for its own sub-6GHz (600MHz) low-band 5G network (Band 71). Sprint's existing 5G network will eventually be shut down. Hence, the Galaxy S10 5G sold via Sprint in the US will lose access to the carrier's 5G network. Moreover, it won't get access to T-Mobile's 5G network as the device lacks compatible hardware.
The Galaxy S10 5G will still have access to Sprint's 4G LTE network and also get access to T-Mobile's 4G LTE network in the future. Sprint's current 5G network is available in 10 markets across the US. T-Mobile will notify Sprint's Galaxy S10 5G users about the upcoming change in 5G network availability and offer them a number of incentives to upgrade to other 5G phones.
Those who currently have Sprint's Galaxy S10 5G (256GB) and are paying less than $10/month will get an upgrade to the Galaxy S20 5G for $0/month after $41.67/month credit with a new 18-month lease. Those who are currently paying more than $10/month for Sprint's Galaxy S10 5G (256GB) will get upgraded to the Galaxy S20 5G for $10/month after $31.67/month credit with a new 18-month lease.
Only the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, and the Galaxy S20 Ultra purchased through Sprint's network will support the carrier's current 5G network as well as T-Mobile's 5G network.
