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LTE & 4G cellular data switching.

Why has apple removed the feature to switch between LTE & 4G in the 15.5.1 update? My phone is stuck on LTE.

iPhone 11, iOS 15

Posted on Jun 1, 2022 9:43 AM

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Posted on Jun 7, 2022 5:28 PM

Read the “Solved” post near the top of this page. That explains what happened. T-Mobile has switched their network to LTE exclusively; they no longer have a 3G or what they call 4G (which is actually 3.5G), so, because there is only LTE available from T-Mobile (and also AT&T now) there is no use for any switches to select a network. An Verizon will be making this change later this year. 2G, 3G, and “4G” (which was not really 4G) are things of the past.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 7, 2022 5:28 PM in response to lost_in_tech24

Read the “Solved” post near the top of this page. That explains what happened. T-Mobile has switched their network to LTE exclusively; they no longer have a 3G or what they call 4G (which is actually 3.5G), so, because there is only LTE available from T-Mobile (and also AT&T now) there is no use for any switches to select a network. An Verizon will be making this change later this year. 2G, 3G, and “4G” (which was not really 4G) are things of the past.

Jun 1, 2022 10:07 AM in response to Chuckjr_

FYI: 4G is LTE... or it's supposed to be, anyway... some carriers used "4G" to indicate a connection to an HSPA+ network, which is not 4G... It is 3.5G. All of those networks have been or are being shut down.


I see you have t-mobile. Their 3G network (including what they called "4G" will be shutdown completely as of July 1st this year.

There is nothing to switch to. It's LTE or nothing unless you upgrade and get a 5G phone.

Jun 1, 2022 10:18 AM in response to Chuckjr_

Chuckjr_ wrote:

I know that LTE & 4G use the same frequency but they ARE NOT THE SAME. 4G is like an upgraded version of LTE. It’s a step between LTE & 5G. 🤦🏾

Actually, no. It is not "like an upgraded version of LTE". In fact, it is an upgraded version of "3G".

4G was supposed to be part of the LTE specification, but carriers like T-Mobile and AT&T used it as a marketing term for their 3.5G networks.

It was a step between 3G and LTE, NOT between LTE and 5G.

5Ge (5G evolution) was a step between LTE and 5G.

Jun 7, 2022 5:23 PM in response to KiltedTim

it is crazy that as soon as I did the system update to 15.5 (not even 15.5.1 that the original poster had updated to) changed immediately to LTE. I also have Tmobile service and they were attempting to go through the setting motions with me but it didn’t have the options they were mentioning. They claimed LTE will allow service from

tower to tower depending where I am.. it sucks because sometimes I can’t get good signal when I’m in the store and my phone keeps playing the “dial up” motion with the circle ⭕️ showing like it’s waiting to catch signal. Did Tmobile send notice of this change? I know you mentioned it was going to be effect July of this year 2022. Thanks im

advance

LTE & 4G cellular data switching.

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