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

Be sure you show them a step-by-step procedure with the youtube or they won't use it. Also, I would include a speedtest check in the video with 3G and on E.

I wouldn't count on it exactly lighting a fire under Apple they usually play close to the vest (like they won't comment on it not being included on the 4s) and don't generally react to much in the way of outside pressure. I did find a brief reference from the UK that stated they were told by "sources within Apple" (whatever that means) that failure to enable 3G on the GSM side causes instability with the new antenna system.

"I have the full , hi res file for any one who wants to see it along with all the proper info in the pic file (time, location, device it was taken on, etc etc)"

If we are to assume this screen grab is from an iPhone 4S, why would you need to provide device info? Maybe because it's from a 3Gs or iPhone 4? Especially since the descriptor for "Data Roaming" in your provided screen grab is totally different than the "Data Roaming" descriptor iPhone 4S currently with iOS 5.0.1. I call scam, obviously.

Why not wait until he does his YouTube video and submits to CNET before making any decision either way?

@TallBearNC: You will post here when CNET has a link for your work? This should not be a violation of the ToU if you just state they have it on their site (I get their RSS feed and should see it anyway).

The phone is designed to work on GSM networks by just inserting a SIM card. How would you propose this happening? The phone OS is platform agnostic. Unfortunately, in the US, the official CDMA carriers will only activate an iPhone 4S purchased from them, and the SIM card is SIM locked, meaning it can't be used with domestic GSM carriers. The practicality of a platform agnostic OS is lost on carrier lock down here. No practical use domestically for a hybrid chipset, only if you plan on roaming internationally, where the use of GSM becomes more practical, though not for CDMA.

[Aside from that, I called ATT & Apple. Both confirmed the phone has to "give" up for quite some time on 3G if it detects a 3G tower before it will do E. ATT blames apple for not switching it over to E sooner and not a tower issue. Apple of course blames ATT 🙂

Before I restored the switch, the only way to get E was to be in an E ONLY area. Otherwise I'd go into places in my house and get 1 bar 3G and sometimes no service. On E, I get 4 bars. So apple needs to add logical that says if 3G drops to 1 bar, switch to edge or something like that...]

This is all true, I'm in Ireland and I often get 1-2 bars 3G with the phone stil saying no internet or data, then getting stuck on Searching... or No Service.

I'm tired of it, as my friends on other phones and iPhone 4's have full bars of EDGE while I'm stuck on No Service.

I've posted on my providers forums and still not received any feedback either.

It's certainly not a Signal Mast issue as they do not have the same problems.

I look forward to your vid, I hope you go step by step so I can get that switch back aswell.

I don't care about Siri as it doesn't do locations or businesses in Ireland, I just want a working smartphone.

TallBearNC,

Why don't you post the instructions to DSLreports. They will allow everything/anything (well almost) and it is free !!!

Here is the link to the correct forum on DSLreports to use for your post. All things Macintosh

I don't have 3G tower problems but I would prefer to put my phone on "E" to conserve battery and all this hype over "Siri" for me is just silly. She was fun to play with at first but now it is the next day and the beer has warn off, if you get my drift. Anything I can do with Siri I can do with Google Voice except I don't get the smart arse answers when Google doesn't understand what I am saying. Oh - and it really troubles me that Siri goes out and uses 3G data and extra battery to access the Siri server to come up with the wise-guy answers.

N19h7m4r3,

Now if we can get TallBearNC to post the instructions on www.dslreports.com we'll be Golden !!!

PS - I don't think it is necessary to go to all the trouble of doing a YouTube thing but whatever is easier for him is fine with me.

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. :)

Pretty poor taste.

The battery problem on the 4s is not universal so the size of the battery is not the issue (size doesn't matter?). Plus if the A5 is idling it pulls almost no more power than the A4.

Please don't interrupt TallBearNC so he can post his workaround.

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.

I'm of to the gym, and then a DR appt. after that I should be able to post on dslreports, etc sites

I have a few ways people can do this without JBing the device, and none violate your warranty or agreement with apple

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.

I agree entirely, I was frustrated that Apple removed the 3G toggle in iOS5. Unless they bring back that back the Data toggle is the only option.

The 3G toggle could also be listed with Data/Wi-Fi as in the mockup.

See, the problem is in the "modem firmware" for iPhone 4S. "Modem firmware" is the internal software that controls the phone or cell radio portion of the iPhone, and isn't compatible with previous iPhones. Nor is the "modem firmware from previous iPhones compatible with the iPhone 4S, because the 4S uses a different cell radio chipset, it is a hybrid cell radio. Also, the cell radios between the previous GSM iPhones are different manufactures, since the iPhone 4S was a departure from cell radio manufacturer Infineon, which adds to the modem firmware incompatibility.

The 3G/2G toggle API, most likely would be part of the modem firmware. When the GSM iPhone 4 gets iOS 5 installed, it a modem firmware written specifically for the Infineon cell radio chipset, while the iPhone 4S on iOS 5+ gets modem firmware specifically designed around the Qualcomm cell radio chipset. The question that should be asked is if the Qualcomm radio chipset hardware can even support such a 3G/2G toggle. Most likely it can't and may have been an oversight by Qualcomm or a technology hurtle that couldn't be overcome. There are competitor hybrid phones that also use the new Qualcomm manufactured hybrid radio chipsets. The key would be to find out if they have a GSM 3G/2G toggle like ordinary EDGE/UMTS/HSPA phones.

The same here, my 3G coverage is terrible. So bad that even when I have it the phone says no mobile data or internet.

Then drops to No Service or a constant Searching... when it can't auto switch to EDGE which is nearly always at Full bars.