SIM808 replacement: SIM868, MC60, SIM7000G and SIM7070G compared (2026)
The SIM808 is end of life, and SIMCom named no replacement for it. The end-of-life notice lists seven module types, and the SIM808 row is the one left blank. Of the parts compared here, the SIM868 is the closest functional match on paper, SIMCom’s own quad-band GSM/GPRS module with integrated GNSS, and it sits in that same notice. The stated cause is a power amplifier that had already reached end of life at the chipset provider, a part inside the module that a module part number does not identify. This page compares the SIM808 with four replacement candidates: the SIM868, the Quectel MC60, the SIM7000G and the SIM7070G. None of the parts compared is a drop-in for the SIM808. These are suggested candidates to validate in your own design, not drop-in equivalents.
Lifecycle // The notice, and the empty column
The notice, and the empty column
SIMCom issued an End of Life and Product Change Notification on 29 December 2021 covering most of the SIM800 series. The SIM808 appears in it as type SIM808, part number of EoL S2-1060C, last buy 2022/4/30, last delivery 2022/5/31.
| Type | Alt. P/Ns named | The part numbers |
|---|---|---|
| SIM800A | 2 | S2-10761, S2-10763 |
| SIM800F | 1 | S2-10768 |
| SIM800L | 2 | S2-10766, S2-107CC |
| SIM868 | 1 | S2-108J1 |
| SIM868E | 1 | S2-108J8 |
| SIM800C | 5 | S2-1068S, S2-108K7, S2-1068T, S2-108K9, S2-108KG |
| SIM808 | 0 | none |
In the notice itself the SIM808 row is the last row of page 2, and page 3 opens a fresh table with its own header, so nothing continues it.
The notice also states that “this change will not affect the customer application”. The sentence covers the change SIMCom is announcing, and on the SIM808 row there is no alternative for it to cover.
The notice’s purchase window closed on 30 April 2022, so no last-time-buy window remains at SIMCom for the part numbers it phases out. The remaining question is how long authorized stock covers build. Whichever cross is designed in, the module is requalified in the target design.
Cause // Where it went next
The stated cause, and where it went next
SIMCom states the reason in the notice.
“Because of the PA used in current SIM800 series modules was already EoL by the chipset provider, so we are sorry to inform you that most of our SIM800 series module products are going to be phased out soon.”
SIMCom · End of Life and Product Change Notification, 29 Dec 2021SIMCom gives the amplifier’s status at the chipset provider as its reason for phasing out most of the SIM800 series. A bill of materials carries the module’s part number and nothing beneath it, so neither the amplifier nor its status appears on one.
The SIM808 had already changed underneath its own name, as a specification change rather than an obsolescence event. Adafruit’s product page for the FONA 808 breakout, which carries the module, records that “As of Dec 11, 2015 we are shipping with the version 2 SIM808 module which has a slightly different GPS command naming system (AT+CGNS rather then AT+CGPS), and a newer GPS chipset (MT3337 not MT3336)”. The positioning silicon and the GPS command naming system both changed, and both revisions shipped as a SIM808.
The amplifier mechanism SIMCom named in 2021 appears again in a 2023 notice on a different SIMCom module. SIMCom’s Product Change Notification PCN-20231127-001, dated 27 November 2023, covers the SIM7600E-H and its SIM7600E-H-PCIE, SIM7600E-H-PCIEA and SIM7600E-H-PCIESIM variants:
“Because the PAs used in SIM7600E-H have been phased out, SIMCom has to change them to new ones.”
SIMCom · PCN-20231127-001, 27 Nov 2023The document names the discontinued parts and their replacements. Two Qorvo amplifiers, RF5428TR13 and RF5212A, are listed as discontinued, and two SMARTERMICRO parts, S5643-51 and S2916-51, replace them. SIMCom assigned new part numbers to distinguish the modules built with the new amplifiers: S2-10A3Z to S2-10B47, S2-10AFD to S2-10F51, S2-10AFE to S2-10F52, and S2-10AFL to S2-10F1Y. The 15 September 2023 notice lists S2-10A9K, S2-10AQF and S2-10911 as retired as well, and the change notice’s roll table does not name a new number for those three.
The 15 September 2023 notice describes its scope as “SIM7600E-H series (Partial PNs)” and adds, “We will continue to supply SIM7600E-H series (other PNs)”. Its purchase window closed on 29 February 2024 and its last delivery is given as 2024/8/30 in the table and “before 2024/8/31” in the prose. The series is not being discontinued. Specific part numbers were retired, and four of them were reissued because the amplifier inside them changed.
In 2021 SIMCom phased out the SIM808 and named no successor on its row, though it named alternatives for the other six module types. In 2023 SIMCom retired specific SIM7600E-H part numbers and rolled four of them to new numbers, and the 27 November change notice states that the change will not affect the customer applications. That assurance is scoped to the module and not to the design the module sits in, so a module part-number change is a requalification trigger on its own terms. A module is a component assembly, and its own bill of materials sets its lifecycle, so buying at module level moves component obsolescence up one level rather than removing it.
Candidates // Why these
The candidate set
Every entry below except the SIM868 is a suggested candidate to validate. The SIM868 is listed as a reference because it sits in the same notice as the SIM808.
Catch: it sits in the same 2021 end-of-life notice. SIMCom describes it as a “complete Quad-Band GSM/GPRS module which combines GNSS( GPS/GLONASS/BDS) technology for satellite navigation”. Its own alternative column names S2-108J1, and SIMCom’s Declaration of Life-cycle dated 14 August 2019 commits only that the SIM868 “will not be phased out till” 31 December 2022. The commitment expired at the end of 2022.
Catch: it does not share the SIM808’s outline or pad count. At 18.7 × 16.0 × 2.1 mm it does not share the SIM808’s 24 × 24 × 2.6 mm outline or its 68-pad count, so the board changes, and it is a 2G module, so it carries the network question whatever its own lifecycle says. Quectel publishes no lifecycle status field on that product page, and the absence of a status field is not a status.
Catch: SIMCom lists no GPRS mode. SIMCom lists the module’s modes as Cat-M, NB-IoT and GSM, and lists no GPRS mode, so whether a design’s existing GPRS data path carries over is established from SIMCom’s own documentation for the exact orderable.
Catch: the orderable decides the positioning function. The third column of the series table is the SIM7070G-NG and its GNSS cell reads N/A against the mark carried in the SIM7070G column. Picking the wrong variant removes the positioning function.
Screening // What a cross-reference cannot show
What a cross-reference cannot show
The 2021 notice names the cause as the power amplifier and does not name the amplifier; the 2023 change notice, on a different module, does name both the discontinued Qorvo parts and their SMARTERMICRO replacements. No amplifier named in either notice is part of a module’s own orderable identity, so a search that starts from the module part number does not reach it, and the lifecycle event that ends a module can sit one level below anything a module-level search reaches.
The footprint result and the radio result point in opposite directions. SIMCom’s hardware design guide gives the SIM808 a 24 × 24 × 2.6 mm outline with 68 SMT pads, and the split below places each candidate’s outline against it.
Hold the board · the Cat-M parts
Same nominal outline and pad count as the SIM808’s 24 × 24 × 2.6 mm, 68 SMT pads, but the radio changes.
Change the board · the 2G parts
Outlines differ from the subject, so the board changes, but the 2G radio class is the nearest match.
The two 2G-only parts here change the board outline, and the two Cat-M parts hold it. A shared outline and pad count is not a land pattern and is not a pin assignment: whether the pads correspond in position and function is established by reading both pin tables against each other, and no such comparison is drawn on this page.
Parametrics // Side by side
The comparison
| SIM808 (subject) | SIM868 | MC60 | SIM7000G | SIM7070G | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maker | SIMCom | SIMCom | Quectel | SIMCom | SIMCom |
| Radio | 2G GSM/GPRS, quad-band GSM 850, EGSM 900, DCS 1800, PCS 1900 | 2G GSM/GPRS, quad-band 850/900/1800/1900 MHz | 2G GSM/GPRS | Cat-M, NB-IoT, GSM | Cat-M, Cat-NB, GPRS/EDGE |
| Positioning | GPS engine; GLONASS and BeiDou appear nowhere in SIMCom’s guide | GNSS, GPS/GLONASS/BDS | GNSS | Marked o on all three variants | Marked ○, but N/A on the -NG |
| Lifecycle | End of life, last delivery 31 May 2022 | In the same notice; 2019 declaration ran to 31 December 2022 | No status field on the maker’s page, read 5 August 2026 | No lifecycle document read | No lifecycle document read |
| Package | 24 × 24 × 2.6 mm, 68 SMT pads | 17.6 × 15.7 × 2.3 mm | 18.7 × 16.0 × 2.1 mm | LCC 68-pin, 24 × 24 × 2.6 mm | LCC 68-pin, 24 × 24 × 2.3 mm |
| Supply | 3.4 V to 4.4 V (hardware design guide) | 3.4 V to 4.4 V (product page) | Not read | Not read | Not read |
| Confidence | Confirmed | Confirmed; its own dates in the notice not read | Unverified on lifecycle | Unverified on lifecycle | Unverified on lifecycle |
| Role here | subject | reference, closes a path | cross-maker, same generation | technology change | technology change |
Every 2G entry is either in the same notice as the SIM808 or has no lifecycle statement in the record.
FAQ // Frequently asked
Frequently asked questions
Is the SIM808 discontinued?
Yes, the SIM808 is discontinued. SIMCom’s End of Life and Product Change Notification of 29 December 2021 lists the SIM808 with part number S2-1060C, a last buy date of 30 April 2022 and a last delivery date of 31 May 2022.
What did SIMCom name as the replacement for the SIM808?
SIMCom named no replacement for the SIM808. The notice names twelve replacement part numbers across its other six module rows, and the SIM808 row’s alternative column is empty. No other SIMCom document naming a SIM808 successor was found in the search run for this page on 5 August 2026.
Why was the SIM808 discontinued?
SIMCom gives the reason as the power amplifier used in the SIM800 series having already reached end of life at the chipset provider. SIMCom’s notice does not cite the 2G shutdown.
Is the SIM868 a replacement for the SIM808?
The SIM868 is the closest functional match on paper and it sits in the same 2021 end-of-life notice as the SIM808. It combines quad-band GSM/GPRS with GNSS, and SIMCom’s Declaration of Life-cycle of 14 August 2019 committed it only through 31 December 2022. It is listed here to close that path.
Can the SIM7000G replace the SIM808?
The SIM7000G is a suggested candidate to validate rather than a replacement SIMCom names. SIMCom lists its modes as Cat-M, NB-IoT and GSM, against the SIM808’s GSM and GPRS. Its series table gives it an LCC 68-pin form factor at 24 × 24 × 2.6 mm, which is the same nominal outline and pad count as the SIM808’s 24 × 24 × 2.6 mm and 68 SMT pads, and its GNSS row carries the same mark against all three variants. A shared outline and pad count is not a shared land pattern or pin assignment.
Is the SIM7600E-H end of life?
The SIM7600E-H is not end of life as a series. A SIMCom notice of 15 September 2023 retires the part numbers it lists, describing them as “SIM7600E-H series (Partial PNs)”, with a last buy of 29 February 2024, and states in the same document that “We will continue to supply SIM7600E-H series (other PNs)”. A separate change notice explains why: the module’s power amplifiers were replaced and new part numbers were issued to distinguish the modules built with them. The answer is therefore given per part number. The SIM7600E-H is not in the comparison table above, because no radio class, positioning or package for it was established from any source in the record.
Does moving off 2G require recertification?
No source read for this page states a recertification outcome for any cross named here. Quectel’s end-of-life notice for its own M10 and GC10 modules states, under a heading it calls Risk Assessment, that “Regulatory certifications of customers’ products may need to be updated” and that “Hardware of customers’ product may needs to be re-designed.” The Quectel notice covers a cross between Quectel’s own 2G modules rather than any cross named on this page, and it is quoted here as a module vendor’s own statement of what a module cross can involve. The position for any specific design is established against that design.
How long do 2G networks have?
The UK government joint statement of 8 December 2021 records that operators “do not intend to offer 2G and 3G mobile networks past 2033 at the latest”. The joint statement is a UK one and does not speak to any other country’s timetable, so the module’s lifecycle and the network’s lifecycle are set by different parties on different schedules.
This page did not read the SIM868’s own last-buy and last-delivery dates in the 2021 notice, any lifecycle document for the SIM7000G or the SIM7070G, either SIMCom series table’s legend, any candidate pin table against the guide’s pad table, any distributor parametric search, or any command-set or power-profile comparison between the SIM808 and either Cat-M module.
hold the board
Prototype the SIM7000G or the SIM7070G first.
A design constrained to hold the existing 24 × 24 mm outline and 68-pad count prototypes the SIM7000G or the SIM7070G first. The gating check on either is the pad assignment and the supply rails against the existing board.
Sources // Public, primary
Sources
- SIMCom, End of Life and Product Change Notification, 29 December 2021 (SIM800 series, includes the SIM808 row)
- SIMCom, SIM808 Hardware Design V1.02 (module outline, pad count, band plan)
- SIMCom, Declaration of Life-cycle, 14 August 2019 (distributor mirror)
- SIMCom, End of Life Notification, SIM7600E-H series (Partial PNs), 15 September 2023
- SIMCom, Product Change Notification PCN-20231127-001, SIM7600E-H power amplifier change, 27 November 2023
- Quectel, EOL Notification Quectel_EOL_2020031002, M10 and GC10, 10 March 2020
- SIMCom, SIM868 product page
- SIMCom, SIM7070G series product page
- SIMCom, SIM7000G product page
- Quectel, MC60 product page
- Adafruit, FONA 808 Mini Cellular GSM + GPS Breakout, product 2542 (module version change)
- GOV.UK, joint statement on the sunsetting of 2G and 3G networks, 8 December 2021
Part of // Featured in
Related reading
Lifecycle, package, electrical and interface data is vendor-reported, not independently audited. Alternates are candidates to validate in your own design, so every detail remains to be confirmed with the manufacturer before commitment.
About the author
Editorially independent and from public sources only; lifecycle, pin and rating data is vendor-reported, not independently audited. Alternates are candidates to validate in your own design. Confirm every detail with the manufacturer before committing.