iPhone 12 and 2G

Question

iPhone 12 and 2G

Does anyone else have an iPhone 12 series that won’t connect to 2G? I’m on Verizon and recently upgraded my girlfriend’s iPhone 6S to an iPhone 12 mini. I only get 1x (1xRTT or 2G) service at my house and the new phone will not connect to it. In fact it won’t connect to any 1x service anywhere. My 11pro still connects just fine. I can hold both phones in my hand and the 11Pro has 2 bars of 1x and the 12 gets nothing. She needs to be able to make phone calls at home. Believe it or not 1x is still widely relied on in rural areas.

Posted on Jan 12, 2021 9:58 AM

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Answer 1

Feb 3, 2021 7:43 PM in response to seamus277

Well, you could read the thread you posted to, but that might be too much trouble.

The iPhone 12 will only use 3G if neither 4G nor 5G is available. All carriers are phasing out 3G, and Verizon is leading the pack; they will be the first to eliminate 3G entirely in the next few months. AT&T will dump 3G early in 2022 and Sprint/T-Mobile some time next year also. Meanwhile, the carriers have removed the option to intentionally select 3G, because 3G network capacity is being scaled back so the bandwidth can be used for 5G. Thus, if you want a 5G phone you will have to give up 3G. This is true for all phones that support 5G.

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Answer 2

Feb 4, 2021 9:02 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

The phone will not connect to 2G or 3G, but the specs say it can. When I’ve asked Verizon sales associates if iPhone 12 series will receive 2G they all swear it will. Any time my 11 pro is receiving 2G my girlfriends 12 mini shows “no service”.

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Answer 3

jdo_apple

Community Specialist

Jan 14, 2021 9:22 AM in response to HitchhikersGuide

Hello HitchhikersGuide,

Welcome to Apple Support Communities! We understand how important it is for your girlfriend's iPhone to connect to your 2G service. We're happy to help you with this.

Let's start by following the steps in this article:

If you see No Service or Searching on your iPhone or iPad

Best Regards.

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Answer 4

KiltedTim

Level 10

203,434 points

Jan 14, 2021 9:33 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

Apparently, Verizon has decided to keep their CDMA network going, at least in some rural areas, indefinitely. Seems they have decided there are too many customers in those areas who are still on CDMA and they can't afford to alienate them...

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Answer 5

Feb 4, 2021 8:55 AM in response to seamus277

I haven’t got it figured out yet and Verizon is making it very difficult to get a straight answer from them. This much is clear: iPhone 12 series is capable of receiving 2G, but ours won’t.

The main problem is that she’s on her family’s plan and I’m on mine, which means to access tech support we need to have me, her and her mom (account owner) all together just to get them to talk to us. It’s super annoying.

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Answer 6

Jan 14, 2021 9:30 AM in response to HitchhikersGuide

Verizon shut down their 2G network at the end of last year. But the iPhone 12 will still support 2G where available; however, it will only connect to 2G if there is no 3G, 4G or 5G available.

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Answer 7

Jan 14, 2021 4:08 PM in response to jdo_apple

Thanks for the reply, as far as I can tell the issue is on Verizon’s end. I am currently working with them to try to sort it out. I have a report of at least one other person having this same issue

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Answer 8

Feb 3, 2021 7:13 PM in response to HitchhikersGuide

Did you ever get this figured out? My wife and I just got iPhone 12’s and are having the same issue. Verizon has been no help. I’m about 2 days away from returning these phones.

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iPhone 12 and 2G

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