3G on iPhone 12

Here is a plan for you that will work equally well if not better: Make a big sign saying you want to be able to run only 3G, go to your busiest intersection and start yelling about it.

This is a user-to-user technical support site operated by Apple, there is no one from Apple management here to read your posts. And the lines of code that would have to be changed within the Carrier Settings provided by your cell carrier.

So:

1. Write a letter to customer service at your cell service provider and ask them to change the APN settings in their Carrier Settings file.
2. Go to here -> https://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html and suggest to Apple that they get your carrier to do the same.
3. Wait to see what happens.

Good luck.

I am in the same boat. I live in rural Colorado and at my home there is only 3G coverage. It appears that the phone has 3G hardware in it but currently the software does not allow it to be enabled. I am working with Apple on this issue but so far no acknowledgment on their part. Very frustrating!

jbourette wrote:

This is just a software setting that Apple could change if they wanted to, they are just choosing to only give you the latest three bands in the list, why is beyond me.

It is a software setting determined by your carrier, not by Apple. And yes, your carrier can have different settings on different model phone.

No, there is no way for you to modify the carrier settings file.

I also note that users who said that they couldn’t select 3G on an iPhone 12 first reported it with the first release of iOS 14, as well as 14.2. If you had it with iOS 14.2 and lost it that is an experience unique to you; I haven’t seen any other reports like that. This thread also has statements that 14.2 definitely does NOT have a 3G switch; see this post from November→https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251982529?answerId=253793876022#253793876022

THREE points to make:

• APPLE ISN’T LISTENING! This is a user to user forum. To contact Apple use the Contact Support link at the top of this page.
• APPLE CAN’T FIX IT! The network options available on the phone are determined by the carrier; when you activate the phone with a carrier the carrier sends over a Carrier Data file that determines what features and what options are available on the phone. If there is no 3G option then the carrier doesn’t want you to have it. You really need to contact your carrier if you are not satisfied with the service they are providing, or switch carriers.
• 3G, 4G and 5G HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH VOICE CALLS! Voice calls use analog time-division-multiplex (TDMA) GSM; 3G, 4G and 5G are only meaningful for data; there is a special case if you have Voice over LTE (VoLTE) enabled then voice calls will use LTE. But you can turn this feature off in Settings/Cellular, and you should if your LTE signal is weak. If there is no LTE available it will automatically revert to GSM.

• I'm sorry misinterpreted the word 'support' in the community
• I believe only Apple can install the core settings that permit the use of certain 'channels' (3g, 4g, 5g), Verizon cannot rewrite iPhone software.
• 3/4/5g have everything to do with calls. I had my Xr locked into 3g with 4 bars and solid reception this morning (and months prior to this) and when I switch to 4g or 'auto' I would only have 1 bar or no reception, and could hear nothing when on talking on the phone.

I will remove my account from this forum and throw my new brick in the river.

POLEKING wrote:

How do I turn notifications off for this thread. It is just going round and round in circles with the same info and people just do not understand 🤦🏻‍♂️

::sigh:: There’s a major bug in the forum software that complicates the process. Ideally, you just click “Following” at the top of the page. But if you have made a lot of posts to the thread you need to repeat this as many times as you have posted in the thread. So here is the algorithm:

1. Click Following - it will change to “Follow"
2. Click to refresh the page
3. If it says “Following” again GOTO 1.
4. If it says “Follow” after refreshing the page you have been unsubscribed.

BTW, part of the problem with threads like this is people post to them without reading the thread, so they are starting over each time. We have one thread with 80 pages currently that just keep repeating the same question followed by the same answer.

TheSpudMan wrote:

How do you know Apple have not removed it completely?

Because in the Tech Specs 3G support is listed. So maybe Apple is lying. Does that seem like a reasonable answer to you?

• 5G NR (Bands n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n20, n25, n28, n38, n40, n41, n66, n71, n77, n78, n79)
• 5G NR mmWave (Bands n260, n261)
• FDD‑LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 66, 71)
• TD‑LTE (Bands 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 48)
• CDMA EV‑DO Rev. A (800, 1900 MHz) [3G-CDMA]
• UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz) [3G-TDMA; AT&T calls HSPA+”4G"]
• GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) [2G]

[Emphasis added]

And users in 3G only areas still report that their phones work on 3G.

POLEKING wrote:

can someone get an official statement from Apple just to tell you all that the 12 series do support 3G and why the option has been removed.

Thank you for a sane answer; I will try to summarize for people who don’t read threads before posting “me too” replies.

This is a user-to-user forum. Apple does not respond in it. To get an official answer you can use the contact support link at the top of this page. However, the information has been published by Apple in the tech specs for the iPhone 12 series, which I have reposted in this very thread. Repeated here:

• 5G NR (Bands n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n20, n25, n28, n38, n40, n41, n66, n71, n77, n78, n79) [comparable performance to LTE]
• 5G NR mmWave (Bands n260, n261) [gigabyte speeds, but very short range]
• FDD‑LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 66, 71) [AKA “4G”, except for AT&T]
• TD‑LTE (Bands 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 48) [AKA “4G”, except for AT&T]
• CDMA EV‑DO Rev. A (800, 1900 MHz) [3G-CDMA, Verizon & Sprint]
• UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz) [3G-TDMA; Most carriers worldwide, T-Mobile , AT&T who call HSPA+”4G"]
• GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) [2G]

The bold notes are mine, for those who are not familiar with the technical names for 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G

The “option” as you call it is a switch that lets you select 3G and exclude 4G/LTE and 5G. Apple has no control over that switch; it is included or excluded in the carrier settings file that the carrier installs when you activate the phone on that carrier’s network. That’s why Apple doesn’t provide that option; it isn’t their’s to provide.

As to why the carrier doesn’t want you to have that option, I can speculate. Every carrier in the US and Europe has announced that they are shutting down 3G in the near future. Some as soon as the end of this year. But all by mid-2022.

The reason they are shutting down 3G is to expand 4G/LTE coverage, because LTE uses the same frequencies as 3G. So for every 3G channel on a tower there is one less LTE channel that the tower can support. And for every 3G channel they shut down they can add an LTE channel. (Okay, it isn’t quite that simple, but the principle is correct; The more 3G coverage an area has the less LTE coverage it can have). And LTE coverage is important, because it supports digital voice (VoLTE), which requires much less bandwidth than analog voice so more users can share a tower.

Most areas will still keep 2G because it supports almost every phone of any age, as well as emergency services, so it is the lowest common denominator for voice, and it doesn’t conflict with LTE. However, 2G data speeds (EDGE) are less than 1 mbps.

POLEKING wrote:

I have tried to unfollow this thread but I get emails about it daily with the same replies 🥱

You have my sympathy, but I can help solve the problem. There’s a bug in the forum software that has been around for many years, and I have my doubts that it will ever be fixed. To unfollow a thread you must unfollow for as many times as you have posted in the thread. So here is the algorithm:

1. Click “Following" at the top of the page and it will change to “Follow"
2. Refresh the page and it may change back to “Following"

Repeat 1. and 2. until it still says “Follow” in step 2.

Abrartahli wrote:

No it doesn’t support 3G I have spoken to apple customer service they checked in and confirm that iPhone 12 doesn’t support and I checked with my carrier as well they said we support but in iPhone 12 doesn’t have this option,it is causing a big issue,apple software engineer should look in to and send updates

WRONG. Here are the specifications for the iPhone 12, with added notes:

• 5G NR (Bands n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n20, n25, n28, n38, n40, n41, n66, n71, n77, n78, n79) [comparable performance to LTE]
• 5G NR mmWave (Bands n260, n261) [gigabyte speeds, but very short range]
• FDD‑LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 66, 71) [AKA “4G”, except for AT&T]
• TD‑LTE (Bands 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 48) [AKA “4G”, except for AT&T]
• CDMA EV‑DO Rev. A (800, 1900 MHz) [3G-CDMA, Verizon & Sprint]
• UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz) [3G-TDMA; Most carriers worldwide, T-Mobile , AT&T who call HSPA+”4G"]
• GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) [2G]

The bold notes are mine, for those who are not familiar with the technical names for 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G

But it is clear that the iPhone 12 supports 3G, and if you bother to read the thread you will see people who have reported seeing 3G when 4G/5G was not available. What’s missing is the switch to force 3G, because your carrier’s don’t want you to use it.

MadParty wrote:

Is there any way to get this thread to stop sending me emails? I have in-followed but still getting them. Thanks.

You have encountered the Great Unfollow Bug. Here is the workaround algorithm:

1. Click Following (it changes to Follow)
2. Refresh the page
3. If it changes back to Following, go to step 1.
4. When it no longer changes back to Following after refreshing the page you are done.

Additional info: The number of cycles of the loop is roughly (but not exactly) the number of times you have posted in the thread.

It is crystal clear that you believe it.

I will once you provide some evidence. You guys keep repeating it but I asked several times as to what the format/protocol of these files are and got nothing. My current evidence is:

• 30+ years in telecoms software development and sales engineering in close contact with product/development teams. Integrating products into carrier networks and inter carrier negotiations. I know there is a way of doing things and what you are saying doesn't resonate with this.
• When it comes to these integrations, the company with more influence would have the upperhand and dictate the agreement. And guess who would that be, not my backwater service provider unless they can afford not to support apple phones...
• On the other hand, Android phones can do it. And guess which of the many manufacturers be able to dictate terms to a carrier? One+? Xiaomi?
• My carrier and several others' in this thread confirmed that it has got nothing to do with them.
• All I hear is some workaround suggestions for what appears to be poor Apple design.
• From where I stand, Apple chose to implement only N'G and N-1'G (5G and 4G if 5G available and 4G and 3G if 5G not available) in the phone menu and the workaround you are suggesting is to pester you carrier to send you a special profile with 5G omitted rather than fixing the menu software.

I will agree with you if you can provide any actual evidence/proof of what you are saying. Otherwise please stop flooding the group with, in absence of evidence, hearsay...

It’s not so much a worry, rather a reality. My iPhone Pro 12, and many others’, do not connect to 3G networks.

if you were able to go to the place in the settings that I outlined above and let us know what your phone shows for options I’d be curious how they compare to the attached screenshot of mine. If you have 3G as an option that would explain why your phone is connecting, however mine does not.

I would like to know as I’m getting ready to return my iPhone 12 but if it seems like a fix is on the horizon I might keep it

thanks

brian