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How do I turn off 3G on the iPhone 4S?

I'm in an area with somewhat spotty 3G coverage. I used to leave my old iPhone on 2G/Edge most of the time, and when I needed data would turn on 3G. This saved my battery life quite a bit. However with the 4S (AT&T) I can't seem to find any sort of option to turn off 3G. Does anyone know if its somewhere else in the settings or if its been disabled?


Thanks!

iPhone 4S-OTHER, iOS 5, AT&T

Posted on Oct 14, 2011 5:53 PM

Reply
265 replies

Dec 8, 2011 8:26 AM in response to N19h7m4r3

One thing Apple can't fx is the 4S battery drain. 3G does tax it a bit, but the main issue is you have an iPad 2 inside an iPhone case with no advances in battery tech. The 4S simply lacks MilliAmpHours of capacity in its batter


The iPad 2 is a large device, and can phsyically hold a larger batter with more capacity. That's why it lasts so long.


IMO the only way to give a 4S the batt life of a 4 is to go by a 2000 mah (MilliAmpHours) capacity battery case. So far 2500 is the best I can find. Anything over that isn't a case but a battery brick u plug into the phone.


Output ma is important. The 4s needs 1000ma to charge fast and carge while using it. All batt cases do 500. So they work to recharge the 4s slowly. Or you can leave the pack on and the phone will just drain much slower


Anyway, off topic. :)

Dec 8, 2011 9:18 AM in response to TallBearNC

We can't wait for you to post this. Go ahead and post on MacRumors. I posted this there:


Some are questioning why some of us want to turn 3G off, and two points they are not getting:



1. WiFi is WAY faster than 3G, even 4G. If you have WiFi at work and at home, turning off 3G more than DOUBLES your battery life for talk time, and with WiFi, you still can talk and surf at the same time, and have Siri work great.



2. From Apple's website, iPhone 4 battery specs:



Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery

Charging via USB to computer system or power adapter

Talk time: Up to 7 hours on 3G, up to 14 hours on 2G (GSM)

Standby time: Up to 300 hours

Internet use: Up to 6 hours on 3G, up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi

Video playback: Up to 10 hours

Audio playback: Up to 40 hours



Notice the TALK TIME is 14 hours on 2G (Edge), vs 7 hours on 3G.



[B]THIS IS WHY IPHONE 4S GSM USERS WANT THE OPTION TO TURN OFF 3G![/B]



Also from Apple's website, the 4S specs:



Talk time: Up to 8 hours on 3G, up to 14 hours on 2G (GSM)



But Apple took away the option to put our iPhone 4Ss on 2G.



We would like it back!! It can be done, as you have shown us.


Please go to MacRumors and post how! Thanks in advance.

Dec 8, 2011 9:43 AM in response to TallBearNC

TallBearNC,


Thanks for the reply, now all I have to do is be patient - Ugh!


Oh - for me please only the alternate to JBing. Back in my Motorola days I did a lot of system hacking akin to JBing, still have more than my fair share of "Bricked Moto Phones" laying around. I am not the smartest kid on the block but I wouldn't "Truly" hack (i.e. JBing) my expensive iPhone on a bet. 😉 but a minor instruction change in a system inf file sounds reasonable and doable.


Thanks and I will be waiting with bated breath.

How do I turn off 3G on the iPhone 4S?

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