How to turn off LTE on iPhone iOS 15

I am highly irritated at this subject this morning as well. At my workplace, and even some areas in my community, nothing will load on LTE. For the last two years, I have made it habit to leave my phone on 4G unless I am near a big city with good LTE service. I installed the iOS 15 update last night, and now today my phone is essentially useless at work. Not only is it an inconvenience because I cant use any apps that use data, it also bothers me thinking that my pregnant wife might not get a hold of me immediately during an emergency. Apple really needs to quit taking things out of their OS updates without letting the end user know before installing.

I too have this same exact problem after upgrading to iOS 15.1. I called my carrier and they told me they wouldn’t have changed that in the carrier file and it must be a Apple decision to make the LTE option unavailable now. I understand that there are such things as carrier files but this change doesn’t make any sense from a carrier perspective. They would want you to be able to use their service.

So… after some digging, I found this article and followed the steps listed which resulted in getting the option to switch between LTE and 5G just like before. Enjoy!

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253376346

I too have this same exact problem after upgrading to iOS 15.1. I called my carrier and they told me they wouldn’t have changed that in the carrier file and it must be a Apple decision to make the LTE option unavailable now. I understand that there are such things as carrier files but this change doesn’t make any sense from a carrier perspective. They would want you to be able to use their service.

So… after some digging, I found this article and followed the steps listed which resulted in getting the option to switch between LTE and 5G just like before. Enjoy!

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253376346

Except on AT&T where their "LTE" network is really 3G+features and their "5G E" network is really LTE+features.

When on actual 5G with AT&T you will see just "5G" rather than "5G E."

Learn the meaning of the iPhone status icons - Apple Support

Options under the "cellular" menu are controlled by the carrier, not by Apple.

For example, AT&T removed the option to shut off LTE and have phones drop back to 4G as part of their work to decommission their 3G networks later this year.

This is because on AT&T, when your annunciator reads "5G E" it's really "5G Evolution" which is really LTE plus some 5G extensions.

When your annunciator reads "LTE" it's actually 4G + LTE extensions, and when it says "4G" it's really 3G + some 4G features.

AT&T did this for their own marketing reasons, but the bottom line is that you can't "shut off" LTE any more because that would in reality drop you to their "3G + 4G extensions" network, and the AT&T 3G network is scheduled to be shut down on February 22, 2022.

After February 22, 2022 some 4G LTE modules and devices that request 3G voice services and data-only services to connect to the AT&T network will no longer work. You don't want to be left without service.

https://www.business.att.com/explore/make-the-switch.html

After that any networks that currently show "4G" on your phone will simply no longer exist on AT&T, there will only be LTE, 5G E, 5G and 5G+.

Status icons and symbols on your iPhone - Apple Support

Here’s a crowd-sourced way to check on the status of a carrier→Down Detector - outages. Some AT&T users have said they needed a replacement SIM to access the network after Feb. 28. Also, have you checked for an updated carrier file→Update your carrier settings on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

That's pretty much it for AT&T:

• 5G+ is 5G Millimeter Wave
• 5G is 5G.
• 5GE is LTE + 5G Extensions
• LTE is 4G + LTE Extensions
• 4G is 3G + 4G Extensions (sometimes called "3.5 G")

So, when AT&T shuts down their 3G network in February, 3G and 4G will be going away.

All that will be available is LTE, 5GE, 5G and 5G+.

If there were a switch to disable LTE, all you would be left with would be 5G and 5G+ unless it shut off 4G + LTE leaving 5GE (which is still LTE.)

It becomes nonsensical to even offer the option.

That’s all well and good, but 3G is going away nationwide starting next month:

• AT&T's 3G network retirement plan.
• Verizon's network retirement plan.
• T-Mobile's network retirement plan.

Since AT&T’s 4G network is really 3G + extensions, they’ve further made it clear that any phone that does not support VoLTE will no longer work.

Since shutting off LTE would disable VoLTE, providing that capability would leave you unable to place or receive calls.

Its a IOS specific thing. Nothing you can do to it, your carrier can disable VoLTE from you subscription since Apple won’t give you the option. Or at least we do don’t know about your carrier.

Hotspot issues are quite common on apple devices, below are the most common fixes.

1. Reset your network settings.
2. Or try changing your hotspot name/password.

I'm glad your provider can still do this.

As I stated above:

• As of February 22, 2022 VoLTE will be required to make voice calls on AT&T's network.

• T-Mobile has already warned VoLTE will be required for voice calls as of March 31, 2022 for Sprint customers and July 31, 2022 for T-Mobile customers.

• Verizon customers have a little more wiggle room, telling their customers VoLTE will be required for voice calls after December 31, 2022.

Having an LTE off switch at this point would be irresponsible as it could easily leave customers unknowingly without voice service unless they have the ability to use WiFi Calling.

JeremyWiseman wrote:

I am highly irritated at this subject this morning as well. At my workplace, and even some areas in my community, nothing will load on LTE. For the last two years, I have made it habit to leave my phone on 4G unless I am near a big city with good LTE service. I installed the iOS 15 update last night, and now today my phone is essentially useless at work. Not only is it an inconvenience because I cant use any apps that use data, it also bothers me thinking that my pregnant wife might not get a hold of me immediately during an emergency. Apple really needs to quit taking things out of their OS updates without letting the end user know before installing.

Ummm.... I hate to break it to you, but LTE is 4G...

Unless you are an AT&T customer, in which case 4G is not 4G, it is 3.5G, HSPA+, which is not 4G according to the standard...

AT&T has removed the option to disable LTE. AT&T is in the process of shutting down their 3G network entirely.

I am an AT&T customer (Cricket Wireless). All I can say is that I have kept my iPhone 11 Pro on 4g since buying it new years eve of 2019 and it works great in my area and workplace. Even yesterday, I switched it from LTE to 4G as I walked into my jobsite and used my phone all day. Last night I upgraded to ios 15 and now this morning, I no longer have the option to use 4g instead of lte and my phone is basically useless today. Nothing will load.

That’s weird, I have two numbers on the same plan/carrier both IPhone 11’s, updated 1 phone to 15.1, other is still on older version. 15.1 won’t let me disable LTE, other phone still does. Explain how that is carrier related?

As I explained to others earlier, the carrier provides what is called a carrier file that is installed on your iPhone. Whenever they make a change, it will be updated at the same time that you update iOS. Updates have been made, so that file would be installed on your phone, and it controls those settings as well as others. Believe me, it is carrier related.

Just adding this note to hopefully clear things up and summarize some info already presented in this thread.

I have an iPhone 8, which is not 5G compatible. A few days after upgrading my phone to iOS 15 I discovered that the option to switch between networks in the Cellular Data Options window was missing. I naturally assumed it was a feature Apple had removed, since they're kind of notorious for taking away features without offering any warning or replacement.

Some folks in this thread mentioned it was because AT&T is preparing to shut down their 3G network, which didn't make sense to me, because the options available to me in that screen before the iOS upgrade were: 4G and LTE. Why should AT&T shutting down 3G services change that?

Well it's apparently because the option labeled "4G" on that screen was AT&T's misleadingly-branded network that's actually a 3G variant. So when I selected "4G" on my phone, I was actually choosing 3G, and the "LTE" option was real 4G.

To summarize: If you're an AT&T iPhone user who used to be able to switch networks in your data options, it's because our 4G option was REALLY 3G, and AT&T is going to turn 3G off in February 2022. In order to get back the ability to switch networks, we'll have to get newer phones with 4G/5G support. It still sucks, but at least it makes sense now.