Q: iPhone 4S unable to turn off 3G?!

This discussion also points out potentially problematic issues for me about upgrading from my 3GS (w/iOS 4.3.5) to the 4S and switching from ATT to Verizon at the same time.  Since my first iPhone I have wanted to get away from ATT, after so many city + countryside connection & coverage issues and consequently using their Mark the Spot app way too many times.

My use includes city (mostly decent ATT coverage but still gaps and dropped calls) + rural countryside where coverage is sparse and the service level commonly drops back (from 3G to E or o, with very widely varying functionality of voicemail, text and data) and ATT evidently providing service via others' towers. What good is a cell phone if I have to go somewhere with 50 mile views toward a city or Interstate to make a call or see if there's a voicemail?!  Waiting for any WiFi connection is a DOA idea.  Being able to communicate outside cities & off Interstates is crucial to my (& a whole lot of others!) occupation & Verizon users often have equal or better service than ATT - which appears to be my only comfort, even if I have only one example of an iPhone 4 user.  Plus, when I had Verizon years ago I had good city coverage (from a different house then) and countryside use would commonly switch to analog (real nice to have _swapable_ large capacity battery then!). Plus Verizon consistently scores much higher in service and customer satisfaction than ATT (Consumer Reports)

Getting a home cellular repeater doesn't address my issues, but a mobile one might help.  I used to use a plug-in external antenna with a mag mount on the roof of the rental car, which helped a lot, but is useless with the iPhone.  I still wish the iPhone had an external antenna jack!

I also have not seen any clarity about the ability of the 4S to use, say, a Verizon standard account + buy a GSM SIM card for domestic (Xc/min) use and being able to switch between them as needed or useful.  This capability would add another option to the menu of choices here and might be a way to address many of the reception issues which complicate the 4S/Verizon iPhone choice.  I could use Verizon in-city and have better coverage alternatives while in the countryside.

So, what to do?  Stay with ATT & 3GS or upgrade to a 4S?  If upgrade to a 4S, will I be better off with Verizon or ATT?  Or postpone decisions for an iOS5 update to see if the options landscape changes? Its clear from the uncertainties explained in these discussions that there's issues which are not yet transparent (Apple?!) or settled which affect such choices.  I, like any consumer, when faced with such situations won't budge until there's more comfort about all this - hear that Apple???

Overall, Apple's making these devices for only the mass market.  The cell companies invest in the mass market too, i.e., coverage & capability wherever the customer base is most dense.  These two factors stack up against all of us who's situations, use or needs are at the margins of the mass market.  It appears Apple's mainly interested in enabling users who want to travel, i.e., the world phone feature, while leaving the 'rest of us' rural area users out on a limb.  Apple's 'solutions' are limited to using WiFi, let us turn off a few features to better avoid high cell provider bills or allow a few choices among carriers.  Apple's dumbed down OS management of hardware we own to the point we cannot retrofit a prior functional OS in the same device, an example of mass market-only idiotology.  Ditto for having the option to upgrade iOS from 4.x.x to 4.3.5 now that 5 is available, except for devices which won't run on 5.  We really have very limited flexibility here, which is fundamental to what everyone's complaining about in this and other related threads.

This is all why its becoming increasingly unwise to jump on the latest OS or hardware - mass marketing does not serve marginal users, even with transparent and complete information about the choice at hand.  I'm seeing the same phenomenon in the iOSification of the Mac OSX (Lion) - with similar complaints about loss of flexibility and ability for power & network users to modify & maintain their OS as they've long done.  Apple is at the forefront of this mass market trend in tech, but the rest of the market isn't far behind, so switching brands is at best a delay tactic.  All these companies need to realize users are widely stratified so need a range of OS/device management/control options, and the # of users in marginal situations are legion - so design for and give us what we too need and want - even if our marginal situation is caused by somebody else: the cell provider(s).

This is extremely frustrating.

I live in a big city.  I am frequently in areas/events where there are a TON of people using the 3G network at the same time.  This often makes 3G incredibly difficult/impossible to use.  As a workaround, I frequently turn off 3G to get to  EDGE so that my texts will send/calls will go through.  It works like a charm.

Now I don't have this option.  I just don't understand why Apple can't offer ATT users this option.  Seems simple enough and crucial for many.

Somebody needs to find the Qualcomm MDM6610 programming model. It would be very unusual if there was not an option to disable it's UMTS baseband.

Even if the Qualcomm device has been designed so tightly that the W-CDMA section can't actually be powered down, there will always be a way to reduce its capability logically so that it ignores 3G neighbours indicated in the SYS_INFOs and doesn't reselect to or report measurements on them. Lots of things are possible.

Even if Qualcomm need to be involved to tweak their DSP code, it's usually possible to make such a simple change without requiring a hardware respin.

Hi peelmanG4, while I respect your beacon of light shining through the ignorant hoardes ... I have to pick you up on a small point...

1G is not 1st generation GSM.

Examples of 1G cellular standards are AMPS(American) and TACS(European). These were the old Analog standards.

2G is IS-95(in America), and good old GSM (in the civilised world)

2.5G is slang for GPRS.

2.75G is slang for EDGE..

3G can refer to the 3GPP W-CDMA(UMTS), or CDMA2000(evolved version of IS-95). And perhaps some other Asian variants.

4G usually refers to LTE(the 3GPP 4G), or WiMAX (IEEE not-so-cellular standard).

We also have to consider the possibility that Apple knew EXACTLY what they were doing, and it is a move to pressure operators into sorting their shameful 3G networks out.

I wondered how long it would take for somebody to clarify. There was only so much light in my beacon And in terms of digital cellular service, GSM is still pretty first generation, though you're technically correct that in the entire cellular space, it was second-gen tech. It was a pitiful attempt to simpilfy things for the hoardes. The underlying point (what I was trying to avoid) is that its TDMA-based technology and not CDMA-based technology (though 3G and later are often hybrids), and comparing features/options available in one sector to those available in the other isn't what this thread was doing. My wireless education may be rusty, but such drastic differences as time-division and code-division aren't easily forgotten.

In light of James' clarification, let me reprhase: AT&T iPhone 4's had an option to FORCE the phone to ONLY use GSM 2.X services for data, including GSM, GPRS, and EDGE, and to NOT seek out 3G service, saving battery life where no 3G service existed, and indeed allowing service when the 3G network and its frequencies became overly crowded.  iOS 5 seems to be removing that option from some AT&T iPhone 4's, and the iPhone 4S has never had it.

I had a very interesting conversation with Apple US earlier today.  Firstly, considering I am in the UK I was a little surprised to be connect to the US at 09:15 this morning (making it 01:15 Pacific, 04:15 Eastern).  The conversation was quite a strange conversation but to paraphrase the response:

"Apple are aware of this emerging issue and a fix will be coming, however that will not be immediate and it may better that you return your handset and buy another in 2-3 months".

Hmm, very interesting.  Now remember I have paraphreased above.  As closely as I could do whilst leaving out irrelevancies.  So I would take from this that an update will be available in 2-3 months.  Of course you could also read this to mean that there is a hardware issue and the first 'fixed' handsets will come off the production line in 2-3 months - I will let you decide which.

I think the more annoying factor is that is is ONLY only the 4S that they made this change.

I have plenty of friends on 4 and with iOS5 and they still have it, I swtiched from my 3GS with iOS5 and still had it there, they have ONLY removed it for the 4S.

Yes, I've posted on feedback, and I'm on the phone with Apple Care now to launch a voiced complaint... this *****!! I work in a buildling where 3G has 5 bars, but no data actually flows thru... I need to be on edge to do anything!! Come on Apple... PUT IT BACK!!!

Post here too... http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

Thanks for posting the link, paulcb.  I've just posted the following feedback:

"Okay guys, this is my fourth iPhone.  I think that earns me some points here.  I used to have the option to turn off 3G and save battery life and enhance call connectivity on my iPhones (3G, 3GS, 4...) and the day before my 4S arrived I upgraded the iOS on the 4 to iOS 5 and the toggle went away.  I couldn't quite believe my eyes.  And then on opening day, the iPhone 4S arrived, and same problem.  I know the phone is supposed to switch automatically to Edge when there isn't enough 3G strength for a call, but it doesn't happen soon enough.  I'm having massive numbers of dropped calls, unable to place calls, etc.  I've spoken to both Apple Support and AT&T support and have been told that once users upgrade to iOS 5 there is no going back.  So I can't return the 4S and go back to having this option on the 4, which I still own.

I know you're getting a massive amount of feedback all over your site as well as all over the web.  This has to be a software issue and it can be restored.   PLEASE! For some of us the phone is literally unusuable without this option.  For the rest of us, restoring it would greatly enhance the usability of this new model.  Yes, of course, there is no Siri without 3G or WiFi, but we can handle that from time to time."

I have to say that I do have improved battery life by following a suggestion in a different thread to delete all mail accounts, reboot the phone, and set up the mail again.  I've no idea why it helped, but it has.

Count another upset customer over this removal of control over 3G on the iPhone 4S.

Been an AT&T iPhone user since day one.  Now switched to Verizon to supposedly get the better network performance and have this shiny new iPhone 4S that is constantly switching between 3G and the slower network indicated by the little circle icon.

And I have yet to travel outside my area to see how bad this will get, and since I travel for a living all over the world I am having a sinking feeling that my love for all the other nice things about the iPhone and Apple ecosystem could be spoiled by this glaring lack of funcionality in the removal of the 3G switch.

Really don't want to go with an Android or WP7 device but may be forced to for phone reliablity.

Agreed! Bring it back please at least for ATT customers!!!

Mabye a jailbreak will fix this.

Ok guys, I think I've cracked part of the problem, well at least the battery drain issue. I was working night shift last night so I fully charged my iphone 4S before I left to start work at 10:30pm, I turned off the following, bluetooth, wi-fi, iMessage, siri, push notifications, auto brightness and  I lowered the brightness to 50% and switched the phone to silent with no vibrate, I didn't make or receive any calls or texts and didn't even check my email or facebook or search for anything on google.

Results: at 07:30am this morning my battery percentage was reading a whopping 88%, so over the period of my shift the phone used on average 1.33333333% per hour.

Conclusion: I now have a £500 useless piece of sh1t phone with an acceptable level of power consumption.

Think its time apple got their heads out of the sand and fixed this and give us back our 3G toggle.

The 3G toggle on the iPhone 4S(iri) was probably removed because of Siri. That little assistant we have come to test on the 4S needs 3G or wifi to work.

I have both the 4 on iOS 5 and the 4S on iOS 5. The 3G toggle is in fact on the 4 still and not on the 4S. What is the biggest software difference between those devices? Siri. Makes pretty good sense to me that the culprit probably is Siri herself/himself.

Also to add, the toggle can easily be added by with a software patch from Apple. I don't believe for a second Apple can't make that change due to the hardware. That doesn't make a bit of sense at all.

I urge you guys to speak up about this!  I started a new discussion. Please look.