She had an old Samsung Convoy and was told by Verizon that her phone would be deactivated and she would have to switch to a newer style phone. I'm sure she could have gone to a newer flip phone. She just had enough of Verizon.
T-Mobile did the same thing to me years ago(I want to say early 2000's), I was notified that my old Nokia brick phone was not going to work anymore(it was analog and everything was switching over to digital, least this is what I was told).
I see it as a way for phone companies to make customers buy new phones. Make the one they have obsolete and they have no choice but to buy an upgrade.
Which is why I just get a new smart phone every two or three years. Just avoid the inevitable and get a new phone. I really use mine a lot for work as a camera, mainly for verification of completed projects and work orders. And I can't complain about the quality of photos either. It's a camera with phone options LOL!!