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Nextbit Robin no longer coming to Verizon or Sprint
July 05, 2025
It was big news whenNextbitannounced it would be bringing its crowdfunded smartphone, theRobin, to U.S. CDMA carriersa few months ago, but unfortunately that was too good to be true. Nextbit has justsent out a letter to backersexplaining that the Robin will no longer be headed to Verizon or Sprint.
In the letter to backers, Nextbit CEO Tom Moss gave some reasoning for the cancelation. Nextbit wasn’t even planning on launching a CDMA variant of the Robin, but so many folks reached out to the company during the Kickstarter campaign that they decided to look into it. Because the crowdfunding campaign was a mere 30 days long, Nextbit was in a rush to figure out if they could launch a CDMA version or not. The answers Nextbit received from the carriers turned out to be not so accurate, which meant Nextbit would need to pay much more money and wait much longer than anticipated to launch a CDMA-certified Robin.
Moss explains that instead of pushing back the launch date of the Robin, it’s better to cancel it altogether until the company can get things sorted out. Here’s an excerpt from the letter:
So where does that leave folks that already ordered a CDMA Robin? Nextbit will give every CDMA backer a full refund within the next two days. Kickstarter backers will get a refund for their entire pledge as well as any additional expenses (accessories, shipping, etc). Folks who pre-ordered the device won’t get charged at all.
Every CDMA backer will also get a 25% discount code good for one order from Nextbit’s online store. This means you may buy a GSM-certified Robin for 25% off. If you can’t use the discount yourself, the company says you should pass it on to a friend or family member who can take advantage of it.
This obviously isn’t ideal, but Nextbit is clearly doing their best to make up for the promise of a CDMA variant. Have you ordered a CDMA version of the Robin? If so, let us know in the comments.
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