Where I work the LTE service it terrible and I have to disable it to use 4G. After installing iOS 15 I no longer have the option to do that which makes my iPhone 11 Pro Max unusable. Is there a way to do this I'm not aware of in this version of iOS?? Also whoever decided to change this is a bonehead.
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
iPhone 11 Pro Max, iOS 15
You do know this is BS and it was actually Apple who removed the user control, since this is a worldwide issue after the IOS15 update.
I work for a operator and now to disable VoLTE for customers we have to reconfigure Apple users who don't want VoLTE for their subscriptions.
Simple answer is you can't disable this in your settings on IOS15 or newer anymore. Because Apple removed the possibility from their customers.
Your operator may be able to disable VoLTE if you don't want to use VoLTE, even tho this issue is not caused by them.
"5Ge" is "4G". Both are LTE.
"5G" is 5G...
After an admittedly brief scan of this thread, it bears mentioning that there will very soon be absolutely no purpose in disabling LTE, since the ONLY networks that will exist will be either LTE (4G) or 5G. The whole point if disabling LTE would be to force the phone down to 3G, which will not exist any more at all. The carriers are shutting it down.
That’s all well and good, but 3G is going away nationwide starting next month:
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.
I’m not sorry, since this is literally a part of my job at a carrier.
We can disable this option for you, but we can only either enable or disable VoLTE calls. If we disable this you won’t have a option to switch it on. But if it’s enabled you have a option to either enable or disable it.
I literally did it with my subscription with an android device and my IPhone 13.
This is a IOS specific thing. And you can easily switch your SIM card to an android device and see that the option is there while a IOS 15 or newer won’t.
We really don’t want customers calling about voice issues since we still use 2G/3G and will still have 2G when 3G is eventually dismantled.
Operator22 wrote:
We really don’t want customers calling about voice issues since we still use 2G/3G and will still have 2G when 3G is eventually dismantled.
Then you must either work for T-Mobile or a carrier in a different country.
Networking business site Digi summarizes the issue nicely:
Most of America’s largest carriers have already shuttered their 2G service or plan to soon:
+ AT&T stopped servicing its 2G network back in 2017.
+ Verizon Wireless phased out its 2G CDMA network at the end of 2020.
+ Sprint sunsetted their 2G CDMA network in December of 2021.
+ T-Mobile plans to sunset their 2G network in December of 2022.
[ …]
In Canada, Bell shut down their 2G network in June of 2018. Both Telus and Rogers have also stopped supporting 2G devices. In Europe, where active 2G installations continued longer, Vodafone has promised that they won’t sunset their 2G service until at least 2025, but they will likely start re-farming spectrum ahead of that date.
[…]
+ Verizon will sunset its CDMA network at the end of 2022.
+ AT&T has stated they will sunset their 3G network in February of 2022 with the last date for phone activation on the 3G network being already past.
+ T-Mobile has stated that they will shutter their 3G networks in April, 2022.
+ The last activation date for 3G on the Sprint network was April 2019 and the Sprint 3G network will be shut down in December of 2022.
More information on 3G sunset dates for Canadian and European carriers.
https://www.digi.com/blog/post/2g-3g-4g-lte-network-shutdown-updates
Note as I posted above, AT&T will now require VoLTE to make or receive calls on their network as of the February 22, 2022, so it's not surprising why they removed the ability to shut LTE off.
They even have a list of devices that will continue to work with their network after February:
https://www.att.com/idpassets/images/support/pdf/Devices-Working-on-ATT-Network.pdf
It’s not Apple that removed it, it’s The carrier settings files that get installed after a new update, which removed the ability to disable LTE because 3G will be nonexistent by the end of 2022
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.
tmmatheny wrote:
I find it hard - no, impossible to believe AT&T changed their data setup at the exact same time Apple rolled out a new version of iOS
The thing is, T-Mobile iPhone 12 users with iOS 15 still have the option to switch networks, but AT&T users don't. If it is indeed a carrier-specific issue, my take is that AT&T had to provide new configuration files for iOS 15 builds versus whatever they provided for iOS 14 (possibly a different file format or new options unique to iOS 15?), and the configuration they provided Apple for iOS 15 lacks the network switching options.
But that could explain how the change could coincide with the iOS update; a new config file for a new OS.
If you have read through this, you will see that the carrier, in your case AT&T provides a carrier file to Apple to send with iOS updates. Your phone has a new carrier update. For AT&T, which I also have, it is probably 48.0. You can verify that by going to Settings>General>Carrier. What are you seeing there now? LTE is 4G, what AT&T labeled as 4G in the past was actually an enhanced 3G network, and they are closing down all of their 3G networks. AT&T is the one that chooses what settings you see in the cellular section, not Apple, nor is it linked to an iOS update.
AT&T is not the only carrier in the world, only a handful of carriers have already shut down the 3G network in Europe.
I literally tried this with an Oneplus 8 and my Iphone 13, and since i had the option to check this out from both my apple device and the carrier side (I work for a carrier). I disabled VoLTE on my subscription from the carrier side. Oneplus the options to change VoLTE settings disappeared but there was no option for this on the IOS side whichever way i enabled/disabled the VoLTE from the carrier side. ergo, this has been removed by IOS. Since this options can be changed on a IOS 15 or older.
Operator22 wrote:
Nope.
its apple that removed it.
I'm sorry but you're wrong. There are a number of features of iPhones that are controlled by the carrier. In addition to which networks you can access, they control things like how you turn caller ID on or off. Because my phone is active on Verizon, I have no switches for turning it on or off on my phone. My carrier doesn't allow it to be done that way.
Some carriers only made the change applicable for newer phones. Some have been slowly implementing the change for older phones as well.
You still have one bar on 5G E (which is really a marketing term for an LTE network with 5G features, not true 5G, as compared to 4G, which is really 3G with 4G features, thanks AT&T.)
If you had a switch to turn off LTE you might be left with no signal at all as of the end of February and would not be able to make or receive voice calls as AT&T will require all devices on their network to use VoLTE.
Hopefully AT&T will get your local cell tower properly optimized before their 3G sunset date.
No, Apple took away the LTE control feature. It’s not wireless carrier. LTE is not the same as 4G. Next these people will tell you that the ability to rewind 5 seconds in iPod is still there. I finally upgraded from 14 to 15.3 today because the stupid Apple Watch won’t sync without it. Luckily I made a backup before the upgrade of course. I can tell you now that LTE switch off/on works just fine in 14 when I reloaded my backup since LTE drains my battery and does not have a good signal where I live. Switching to LTE basically turns off my ATT connection. Only 4G works. So for all the naysayers, thanks for trying to help but you are wrong.
[Edited by Moderator]
Which problem are you referring to and on what date? AT&T has turned off their 3G network so the only options available are LTE, 5Ge (a marketing gimmick) and 5G. Did they tell you that? Did they tell you those are in your Carrier Settings file that AT&T provides to Apple?
Bob Timmons wrote:
I find it hard - no, impossible to believe AT&T changed their data setup at the exact same time Apple rolled out a new version of iOS
Yet, they did.
And actually, they changed it BEFORE the new version of iOS. Straight from the horse’s mouth→https://www.att.com/support/article/wireless/KM1324171
And→AT&T 3G Shutdown
You can argue all you want about it here. But, as has been explained, this feature is determined by the carrier. So, take it it with them.
How to turn off LTE on iPhone iOS 15
