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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

Oct 25, 2011 12:55 PM in response to g4vin

That just confirms the problem that we already know about which is that you can't turn off 3G on the 4S. I'm gald I found out about it before I upgraded my phone. There's no way I'll be buying a 4S until I have the option to disable 3G. It's got nothing to do with battery life but when I place a call it's nice to have it actually go through and then not drop when it does. Due to the crap 3G near my home this is just a deal breaker.

Oct 25, 2011 8:28 PM in response to ZSquared

3 coleagues and myself all eagerly upgraded from iphone4 to iphone4s on the release date. Where we are situated we have a 3G mast 5 miles away and a 2G mast 150 meters away. The iphone4s prioritises the 3G signal which has 2major effects,

1. Gives 1bar signal whichs drops out if you try to make or receive a call

2. Takes the phone from full charge to empty in 7 to 8 hours

I have yet to find a good reason for Apple to have removed the 3G disable option from the 4s. Doing this has rendered what could be the best phone on the market, a useless lump of technology, after all what is the use of a mobile phone that you can't make or receive calls on! We rely on these phones to communicat and do business, this issue is costing my business time , efficiency and therefore money!

Apple! If you are reading this, please get this sorted PDQ or we will have no option but return these phones and replace them with ones that we can actually use!

Oct 26, 2011 1:25 AM in response to ZSquared

Come on Apple, this has to be addressed! Battery life compared to iPhone4 now ***** and call reliability has dropped (owing to low consistency of 3G signals in the UK).


I'm now regretting a move to iPhone 4S. Please provide some useful feedback! For the 4S to be viable for many we need the option to switch off 3G in IOS5, just like there is on the 4.

Oct 26, 2011 8:48 AM in response to FelipeV

As FelipeV has commented, I have been looking at both the 4 and 4S side by side in a UK O2 shop, both were running iOS5. The 4 running iOS5 still has the ability to turn off 3G yet the the 4S does not, so it must be a hardware change not a software change, in which case there will be no option available on the 4S.


Finding this out has just turned me off upgrading to a 4S, rather think I will be heading in Samsung's or back to Sony Ericsson's direction in future.


😟

Oct 26, 2011 9:59 AM in response to AndyPandy2510

I live in the UK. I have a 4S and Ive been in areas that have patchy or no 3G coverage and my 4S has no problem switching to an alternative connection method when the 3G signal fades away or is non existent. I find my 4S much better at holding onto a 3G signal longer and getting a stronger signal generally than my iPhone 4 was.


I think your comment 'if you are in a area with poor 3G coverage it will render the phone useless' is a bit overboard and not necessarily correct.

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

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