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You can't turn 3G off on the iPhone 4S?

W

WilliamG

macrumors G4
Original poster
Mar 29, 2008
10,055
3,978
Seattle
Anyone else notice the option to disable 3G is no longer on the iPhone 4S? Is it still there on the iPhone 4 running iOS 5? I'm betting it's iPhone 4S only, this issue, because of Siri. But still..

This is definitely a bummer, since for traveling it's nice to save some battery life if possible by switching to EDGE but still having data.

:(

Apple giveth/taketh away.
 
WilliamG said:
Anyone else notice the option to disable 3G is no longer on the iPhone 4S? Is it still there on the iPhone 4 running iOS 5? I'm betting it's iPhone 4S only, this issue, because of Siri. But still..

This is definitely a bummer, since for traveling it's nice to save some battery life if possible by switching to EDGE but still having data.

:(

Apple giveth/taketh away.
Click to expand...

The 3G toggle is still available on my 3GS, under iOS 5.0.

Are you, by chance, using Verizon or Sprint?
The CDMA iPhone never had the 3G toggle since day one.
 
WilliamG said:
AT&T here.
Click to expand...

There has already been a number of threads on this subject. It is confirmed as missing on the 4S. The view seems to be that with the new hardware there is little battery saving to be made with turning off 3G.
 
Maybe the difference between 2G/3G standby time is nominal but once you're out of 3G coverage the phone looking for a 3G network is going to rape your battery.
 
Tell me this isn't true???????? :eek::eek::eek::eek:

I live in a basement where the 3g signal is really bad. I have my 3g turned off 80% of the time. This is a massive deal breaker for me
 
nwlondonlad said:
Tell me this isn't true???????? :eek::eek::eek::eek:

I live in a basement where the 3g signal is really bad. I have my 3g turned off 80% of the time. This is a massive deal breaker for me
Click to expand...

It's true...

BUT

It doesn't mean you're stuck on 3G. The phone automatically picks the strongest signal for you. For example, if the strongest signal you can get in your work is EDGE then that's what you'll be on and if the strongest signal you get at home is 3G then that's what you'll get.

At first I didn't like it but it seems that it doesn't really kill my battery having it on all the time AND it saves the hassle of going to settings and turning it on/off all the time. :cool:
 
ThetaSigma said:
It's true...

BUT

It doesn't mean you're stuck on 3G. The phone automatically picks the strongest signal for you. If the strongest signal you can get is EDGE then that's what the phone will set it to. If it's 3G then it'll set it to that.

At first I didn't like it but it seems that it doesn't really kill my battery having it on all the time AND it saves the hassle of going to settings and turning it on/off all the time. :cool:
Click to expand...

The phone prefers 3G. It connects to 3G whenever it can. If it is connected to EDGE or 1xRTT it is going to keep looking for a 3G network in the background and that will take a toll on your battery. I was out in the middle of nowhere (literally) during the summer and if I left "Enable 3G" on my battery would drain 2%-3% more an hour on standby.

Plus it's a dealbreaker for me since at sporting events I always switch to EDGE since everyone and their mothers are on 3G regardless of carrier.
 
I always thought that if you were on WiFi then 3G was turned off and if you are on 3G then WiFi was turned off. Is this incorrect?
 
nebo1ss said:
There has already been a number of threads on this subject. It is confirmed as missing on the 4S. The view seems to be that with the new hardware there is little battery saving to be made with turning off 3G.
Click to expand...

There was a 3G outage by me last year, and the only way I could get the internet to work at all was to disable 3G. The phone would still connect to 3G fine, I just couldn't use data. EDGE was fine, so I was still able to get internet. I guess if that happened again I would be screwed :(
 
So this is a huge problem for me as I am not using it to save battery, but rather to get a signal. My office is in the basement of a building. I frequently show 1 or 2 bars and a 3G signal but actually have no signal. I frequently change this to the EDGE network and connect to WiFi here at work to surf but still receive calls and texts (from my non-iOS5 friends). Now I am stuck with the phone thinking I have a usable signal and not really having one.

Apple please change this back (yes I know it's probably not seen here but still wanted to say that.)
 
It's a carrier thing. When I put my Three UK sim card, there's no 3G switch, but when I use my spanish movistar sim, it's there (on my iphone4).



zigzagg321 said:
I always thought that if you were on WiFi then 3G was turned off and if you are on 3G then WiFi was turned off. Is this incorrect?
Click to expand...

even when using wifi, the push connections (to gmail or iCloud for example) are kept live using the 3G network.
 
It was a carrier thing with the iPhone 4 meaning some networks like '3' in the UK would disable the 3G toggle whilst some networks didnt bother.

With the iPhone 4S it's an Apple thing where they seem to have permanently taken the 3G toggle of completely.

I'm yet to come across or heard from someone who owns an iPhone 4S with the 3G toggle switch.
 
It may be a hardware issue...

I read this in another forum...I can't verify it's accuracy, but it seems plausible.

"It is not an available option because the chipset is made by Qualcomm instead of Intel/Infineon, the way it's designed doesn't allow for it to shut off one part of the spectrum, that is why you cannot turn off the 3G"

I agree with others above that this a problem. I didn't even make it through 7pm with my 4S on 3G all day, and that's with minimal usage (I'm a public schoolteacher and rarely get a chance to look at my phone). Sure you can shut off cellular data to conserve power, but then using Siri isn't so intuitive as she needs a data connection to work, and you have to navigate in to settings-->network for it to function.

I am hoping that when the jailbreak is released that the 3G toggle in SBsettings is still there, and that it functions.
 
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