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iPhone 4S unable to turn off 3G?!

How on earth do you turn off 3G on the iPhone 4S that is really stupid if they actually disabled even if it is to make Siri better

iOS 5

Posted on Oct 14, 2011 6:15 AM

Reply
615 replies

Feb 26, 2012 6:57 PM in response to waterblaze123

Ok I have read through this entire post and as someone who works with and studying cellular technology, I hope I can shed some light on this discussion:


2G : voice - GSM (AT&T , T-Mobile) : CDMA (sprint, Verizon)

2G : data. - EDGE (AT&T , T-Mobile) : EVDO (sprint, Verizon)


AT&T 3G : uses UMTS for both voice and data which is why you can use voice and data at the same time

Verizon 3G: 3xEVDO for data (voice is still 2G CDMA)


On AT&T , the reason your call on 3G (UMTS) drops instead of switching to 2g (gsm) is because the protocols and even the type of receiver required are completley different . In gsm you are given a times lot to talk on (transparent to the user) and everything is time dependant. The phone is not capable of switching while in a active traffic channel.


Also, unlike gsm, a phone on UMTS will not always choose the best signal to listen on. It will wait until the signal is degraded to a certain point before it scans for a new signal. This leads to calls starting on a poor quality signal and the dropping when there is not another UMTS carrier to use.

Mar 2, 2012 11:27 AM in response to waterblaze123

My 5 cents: I got the same problem but I remember when I got my iPhone 4 there was the same problem of battery drain due to the Ping service. Once I disabled it, the problem was solved.

I did the same for the iPhone 4S and the issue seems to be solved as well, even though I still can't understand why Apple decided to remove the switch.


For disabling the Ping service, go to Settings -> General -> Restrictions and enable it. Then in the Allow list, switch off Ping.


Let me know if this solves partially or completely this issue.

Mar 3, 2012 4:25 PM in response to 3dpaint

Check the specs here:


http://www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html


You'll see:


UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz);

GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)


As I said before if the phone did not have GSM or EDGE capabilities then it would not work where there is no 3G coverage. Like my house for instance there is 3G coverage but it is poor so the phone will drop calls if they are connected via 3G at whick point the phone will take forever to drop back to a 2G service.


Have fun with your new phone.

iPhone 4S unable to turn off 3G?!

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