Just checked my account for fun and am now showing with Silver status. I had 0 EQMs in 2015 (and 0 in 2016). Was a Gold a couple of years back and just burning my miles on award flights at this point.
I had to call about a schedule change and asked the rep. She said they got an email yesterday that United was awarding a number of E+ memberships or status updates over the next few days. She said my Silver is good through the end of this year.