3G on iPhone 12

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.

abduljabbar114 wrote:

Me too. I was using an iPhone 11 Pro and set in mobile data “3G” because at work 4g isn’t good. But now I have only 5g, 5g auto and 4g. Could you please give us the choice to use only 3g?

Someone else who tagged on to a long thread without bothering to read it. Go back, read the thread, then if you have any questions that haven’t been answered please ask them.

I also just purchased a iPhone 12 pro max and concur immensely.... whilst it’s great to have the extra 5g and mmwave connectivity most places are only 3G. The problem being 4g can be very unstable. I’m sure like others I use only my mobile plan for data usage. Therefore if want to stream picture quality can be very blurry due to the instability of the 4g. And in Australia it will be very limited with 5g capabilities depending location for a few years.

If Apple can please fix this with a possible update... but have a feeling it’s more a hardware issue . I do plan to ask for a refund if this cannot be resurrected.

Apple if your listening this is a big issue

I just had issue my phone was showing 3G and I was on phone call with my friend and I tried to make second call but I could not make it then I told my friend that I will call you bk let me cut off call .then I finish phone call 4G came bk and I rung again my friend and then I tried again to make second call this time i did not have any issue,in my opinion you should make an experiment,stay on phone call and drive around when you see 3G on your screen then make second call

Im spending lots of time in outer Finish arcipelago. On summertime there are lot of turists and 4g slows down so that its useless.

I have tryed all 3 operators, but they all have same problem. I use the best one. But still 3g works much better.

Everybody doesnt live in 5g area.

Matias

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.

Verizon's 3G is EVDO using CDMA. You must have an iPhone specifically purchased for Verizon to access EVDO, and unlocked GSM iPhone will never be able to use it. That band will be shut down at the end of 2021 so use it while you can.

I heard this fact right before it came out and just couldn’t believe it ! It’s ridiculously so horrible. My IPhone 10 can get calls in Northern Michigan on 1x that AT&T and t/sprint can still not do nor ever probably will. I was all hyped to buy one. This makes the phone unusable to me and probably millions of people in rural America not even to say there’s still no 5G in the urban capital I currently live in, go figure ? Some places don’t even have 4G. Time for Apple Fi or Star link

3G will still work on T-Mobile and AT&T, but Verizon and sprint will not be compatible with 3G on iPhone 12, there is an article called wireless carrier support and features for iPhone in the United States and Canada, in this page you’ll find all the other cell phone carriers that does not support 5G, I know that C-Spire uses Verizon and does not support 5G, that one may work.

it’s just that 5G and LTE and UMTS is based off the GSM standards and GSM is an enemy of CDMA.

It’s just that if you are on a Verizon/Sprint/US cellular 5G plan, and your Sim card support 5G, the iPhone 12 will not fall back to 3G EVDO/1XRTT, it’s just a reality, 3GEVDO is barely used anywhere besides Asia and North America, and that’s why many people living in urban China do not have plans that support 5G on China Telecom.

I think America should do the same like allow people in urban areas to have plans that do not support 5G so the phones can still use 3G when available, but the reality is 3G CDMA is going away soon anyways. my suggestion for users in urban areas at this time is to try the three major networks to see which one works before making your decision to return the iPhone 12. in America we have AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, in some places there is US cellular.

hope I’m able to clear everything up

3G should work on T-Mobile, but it appears they've disabled data there. You can make phone calls, but don't expect to surf there. I've wasted a month with their "experts" and they claim it's working as expected.

For what it's worth..

I have a new Iphone12 in the UK on an 02 5G esim.

I then got a Vodafone standard non 5G PAYG sim for a bit of extra coverage, and in the Voice & Data settings on BOTH sims, my settings are 5G/5G auto and 4G only and no longer has the option for 3G only

I know the Vodafone sim is NON 5G as it costs extra to have 5G and is not available on this cheap sim.

Hi Lawrence, thanks for your response.

So, basically you are saying that the carrier sends the phone a set of supported bands and also a separately a subset of that which the iphone menu is allowed to display?

I looked around to find the parameters a carrier can set without much luck.

Can you point me to your data source.

Many thanks.

I understand that.

What are the actual parameters or "switches" as you put it in your post?

"... The switches are enabled or disabled by the carrier in the carrier settings file that is installed by the carrier when you activate the phone with that carrier..."

Yes, each model phone has specific settings. The big difference between the 12 and all other phones is the 12 is the only series that supports 5G. So it will be optimized for 5G. And if you don’t plan to use 5G there’s not much point in having any iPhone 12 model.