iPhone 4S unable to turn off 3G?!

No doubt BUT there was a reasonable work-a-round for the failed network with the 3G/2G toggle. Not sure why Apple had to remove it. 😠

ok, heres the thing

Original Post Oct 14, 2011 6:15 AM

21005 Views 139 Replies later

I find it hard to believe that someone from apple hasn't seen this discussion, after all it is linked directly to their web site.

So I'll throw down the gauntlet to apple to answer a few straight forward questions with straight answers

1) did apple intentionally remove this option to disable/enable 3G and if so what was the logic behind that decision?

2) is this ios5 related or iphone 4s hardware specific?

3) Can this option be returned via a software update?

4) will it ever be fixed?

and last but not least

5) does anyone at apple really give a rats arse about the views and gripes of the people who loyally purchase their products which keep the company in business and its employees in jobs?

They likley have seen this discussion but they will never repsond and they certainly won't answer any of your questions.

Send them feedback here... http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

BTW, the switch is only missing from the 4S, not the 4 or 3GS.

The feature that turns off the 3G service no longer exists! This option hasbeen on all the previous models allowing you to still utilize your data packagewhile using less of the battery’s power. There is only the option to turn offthe data, which turns it off all together! Meaning unless you’re in a wifi areayou cannot utilize data at all… It is also falsely advertised because on theApple web site they advertise that you can talk up to 14 hrs using 2G'Edge"(GSM) which is not possible due to the feature no longer being availableunder the network settings.....

I tried explaining this to them yet they still do not understand! I believeSteve's passing is going to be the downfall of Apple, because things are reallymessed up on the new OS.... Either way they have sold over 6 million iPhone 4'sunder false pretense. So in actuality if it's not brought back they are openingthe door for a lawsuit because, it's impossible to utilize the phone with theadvertised feature, meaning unless you’re willing to turn off the data alltogether you will not get up to 14 hrs talk time due to their being no optionto turn off 3g which should auto default to 2G “Edge”.

Omg. Thank you for this post. I could kiss you! This is EXACTLY what I've been saying! It's fraud. I stated in this thread about the advertisement about talktime and data on 2G but you can't CHOOSE to use it. Turning off cellular data negates having a smartphone and the fee we pay for it.

My 4s was returned. I'm back on my iPhone 4 where I can happily CHOOSE to switch between 3G and 2G.

FStClair wrote:

The feature that turns off the 3G service no longer exists! This option hasbeen on all the previous models allowing you to still utilize your data packagewhile using less of the battery’s power. There is only the option to turn offthe data, which turns it off all together! Meaning unless you’re in a wifi areayou cannot utilize data at all… It is also falsely advertised because on theApple web site they advertise that you can talk up to 14 hrs using 2G'Edge"(GSM) which is not possible due to the feature no longer being availableunder the network settings.....

I tried explaining this to them yet they still do not understand! I believeSteve's passing is going to be the downfall of Apple, because things are reallymessed up on the new OS.... Either way they have sold over 6 million iPhone 4'sunder false pretense. So in actuality if it's not brought back they are openingthe door for a lawsuit because, it's impossible to utilize the phone with theadvertised feature, meaning unless you’re willing to turn off the data alltogether you will not get up to 14 hrs talk time due to their being no optionto turn off 3g which should auto default to 2G “Edge”.

It's not false advertising because if you are in a area where there is no 3G only edge you phone will use edge.

you sure about this? on 2G... that precious gadget will continously scan for 3G network..... using more battery as a result..... that's entirely my opinion.. I may be wrong...

Your phone will only ever "continuously scan for 3G" if it has no signal at all and is hunting around for your network (or a network that it is allowed to roam to).

If you do have some form of signal (your phone does not show "no signal") then it will only be trying to find and make measurements on a set of neighbours that are defined by the info provided by the cell that it is currently sat on. This is how proper cellular networks work. The phone doesn't blindly scan, but only flips around looking for the few known neighbours that are actually likely to be visible.

If you are on a GSM network far away from any 3G overlay then there are not likely to be any defined 3G neighbour cells and therefore your phone won't try to look for them.

Post from Belgium:

I just purchased the 4s upgrading from my 3gs, excellent phone... only drawback is battery life, just like the 3Gs.

As many other Belgians, we're subscribed on the BASE cellular network. Has excellent, FULL coverage of EDGE in the whole country and only 3G in main cities.

On my older 3G phone I frequently disabled this to extend the battery time and still obtaining internet-connectivity (facebook, twitter, etc.). As I learned (since we used only EDGE in the past when 3G was not here yet), that it saves almost 2 times (!!) the amount of battery power on my iPhone 3Gs!

This should be also extremely useful for the 4s you know, why has it been disabled?

EDGE works quite well in Belgium, when moving around, taking the train, etc. EDGE is indeed much more robust than 3G with less disconnects and the network-coverage here is excellent.

I have noticed and learned in this support thread that this option is indeed not there anymore, which is very sad.. Having the option to disable 3G so using EDGE instead, *drastically* improved the battery life of my older iPhone.

It's (for Belgian users on the BASE and MOBISTAR network) very desirable that this option enabled again in order to extend the battery-life to the maxx...

Well I've given up on Apple fixing this and switched network providers from Orange to Vodafone. I still can't turn 3G off but at least I get a signal at home!

My problem is I work in the lab at Virginia Hospital and have no reception (in the basemant) so the first few days with the new 4S my battery was drained. I decided to turn it on "airplane mode" and to my surprise I was able to manually turn on the wifi. I get to do everything I need over the wifi without the phone trying to conect to the non existant 3G in the basement. I turn on " the network" as soon as I can see the outside. This solved my battery issue because I did not need to make phone calls so I understand THIS solution does not apply to all of you. But I thought I shared anyway.

Good luck!

In my office, wifi is locked down and will not allow streaming internet radio. 3G, while showing full bars, will not allow the streaming radio through, it is choppy at best and usually just doesnt work. I come in, switch off 3G for edge, and the internet radio streams perfectly with no issues. It's been this way with my last 3 iphones. Now I dont have the option and I can no longer stream the radio from my phone like I want.

Really, i'm so disappointed that I let myself upgrade to the 4s this week. It's been nothing but trouble, with wifi issues, battery issues and now my ability to switch back to edge is gone. Sure, some may argue it's older tech, but it is still very useful for many of us who have spotty coverage.

Dears, I have the same problem in Romania ( Europe ) ! On my old 4 was working on 2G because of better signal and better batery lifetime ! Now, with the new 4s I can't go only on 2G and on 3G I have big problems : shorter liftime of battery, bad phone conversation because of bed signal, unwanted data trafic ! I have to swith off the data trafic not to have huge unwanted data trafic ! WE NEED THE 2G/3G SWICH BACK !!!

Hi! For me,there's another problem! On my iPad 2 WiFi + 3G before updating to iOS 5, my internet signalnwas always full 3G,but now it's always on EDGE, and the connection is very poor...I've wrote this letter to Apple yesterday!

Hi! Today I've updated my iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G and now I'm very,very dissapointed!

I'm living in Armenia and have internet data plan SIM. Before updating to iOS 5 my connection was always 3G full signal, but after updating there is only EDGE now, and you've disabled the 3G toggle in the Network. Now my internet data plan is just useless,because I can't even surf the internet for the speed that I'm paying for. I realy hope that you will fix your mistake in the upcomming update!!! I was always against jailbreaking the idevices,but you just motivating people to do that because you're letting them no choice,but jailbreaking is giving them the choise how they want to use their devices.

It's very sad! Please be informed that there are many minuses in iOS, but turning off the important setting which can prevent your consumer from work, or from what he has payed extra money (3G option) is just silly. Thank you!

well, that's a nice hypothesis - I do appreciate such info unfortunately that doesn't seems to be the case here for me.

My home in Singapore got extremely poor 3G coverage ..... IP4S keep toggling between 2G and 3G .....

and you know what? It about 7% drain per 15mins at certain spot at home on standby