Hi, I recently went away and along the way there is always 3G areas. I purchased the new iPhone 13 last week and every time I was in a 3G area I had no internet it would convert to 3G but not work. Is this something that can be fixed?
Windows, Windows 6
Hello,
Are you by chance traveling internationally? Your phone carrier may require you to purchase or manually accept international data roaming for your plan for it to work.
About cellular data roaming options for your iPhone and iPad - Apple Support
Also, the 3G mobile network is being retired to allow 5G. You can find more info about that in recent news.
Rather than 3G is LTE a possible option in these areas?
View or change cellular data settings on iPhone - Apple Support
“On iPhone 12 models and later, you can do the following:
I hope this helps.
Hello,
Are you by chance traveling internationally? Your phone carrier may require you to purchase or manually accept international data roaming for your plan for it to work.
About cellular data roaming options for your iPhone and iPad - Apple Support
Also, the 3G mobile network is being retired to allow 5G. You can find more info about that in recent news.
Rather than 3G is LTE a possible option in these areas?
View or change cellular data settings on iPhone - Apple Support
“On iPhone 12 models and later, you can do the following:
I hope this helps.
We are in a regional area where there is no 5G available and the 4G is very limited. We need 3G to operate our business, personal lives and provide safety while being remote.
My recently purchased iphone 13 was advertised with 3G capacity but does not have this option. The LTE option is also not an option. Only 3G or 4G are available in our area.
On previous models (XS) I was able to select the Mobile Data Option of 3G. This was necessary as when I moved from one end of our house to the other, the phone would drop out as the mobile switched from 4G to 3G when it lost 4G signal.
As usual, there is a complete disregard for rural communities when "upgrading" technologies. The incompatibility of handsets to coverage is horrendous.
If you know, 4G and LTE are the same thing. Depending on your carrier, their decision to limit the choices that you have under Cellular on your iPhone is based on their network. Unless you have the iPhone set to only use 5G, then it should work with the other bands, unless they are using a non-standard band. However, may of the carriers are stopping or closing down their 3G bands. I would check with your carrier about the cellular selections you have in Settings, since they control that. Also check about the fact you are not connecting to their alternative bands. If your iPhone is designed for your area, it should connect to their lower service bands if you have it set to LTE.
I understand your frustration. The availability of different wireless network technologies is regulated by the FCC in coordination with national carriers. I highly recommend voicing this concern with your districts U.S. House Representative and States Senators
https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/plan-ahead-phase-out-3g-cellular-networks-and-service
Many carriers are in the process of completely shutting down their 3G networks.
iPhone 13 not supporting 3G
