How to disable LTE? (Uk)

[randomnut]

Hi,
I have an iPhone 5 on Three. My battery life isn't great, so I thought I'd check to see if I can disable LTE to stop it searching for it since Three doesn't have an LTE network just yet to save some power.

Looking it up online apparently there's a disable LTE option under the Cellular menu. My phone doesn't even have the Cellular menu?

Does the iPhone automatically disable LTE and remove the option anyway if there isn't an LTE network available from your network? In which case my battery issues are stemming elsewhere?

Thanks

 

[stridemat]

I would imagine that you would need a carrier update of some sort to 'activate' it, so at the moment the iPhone isn't looking for it.

 

[Mercenary]

I would imagine that you would need a carrier update of some sort to 'activate' it, so at the moment the iPhone isn't looking for it.

USA= Settings > General > Cellular
UK = Settings > General > Mobile Data

As three doesn't support LTE (no one but EE who will soon) the phone isn't looking for LTE so the LTE chipset won't be drawing power.

 

[randomnut]

Cool, thanks for the confirmation.

Is there a way to identify what 3G network it is connected to? E.g HSPA+ or DC-HSDPA? If not on the phone is there an app which will tell you? I have searched but not sure if I'm using the best terms to find such an app...

Thanks

 

[stridemat]

I guess you could use the speedtest app to see what speeds you're getting and relate this too the type of connection you have.

 

[Mercenary]

It won't be DC-HSDPA as they only have that on parts of the M3 corridor and parts of south west London. HSPA+ is across most of the country http://blog.three.co.uk/2012/02/29/leading-edge-3g-service/

Don't forget that speeds depend on signal strength and the number of people 'homed' to your mast.

 

[d123]

Cool, thanks for the confirmation.

Is there a way to identify what 3G network it is connected to? E.g HSPA+ or DC-HSDPA?

There are no separate networks, if you are on 3UK you are on 3UK, that is the network.

Data will run at different speeds depending on protocols and base station infrastructure. Do a speed test and the answer should tell you what protocol you are connecting with (even though base station congestion could still influence the speed)..

 

[randomnut]

There are no separate networks, if you are on 3UK you are on 3UK, that is the network.

Data will run at different speeds depending on protocols and base station infrastructure. Do a speed test and the answer should tell you what protocol you are connecting with (even though base station congestion could still influence the speed)..

Wow talk about splitting hairs. Hope your e-peen feels bigger now, at least every one else seemed to understand exactly what I was getting at, with them having seperate hsdpa, dc-hsdpa and HSPA+ connectivity across the UK.

Thanks to those who replied constructively.

 

[dchao]

Cool, thanks for the confirmation.

Is there a way to identify what 3G network it is connected to? E.g HSPA+ or DC-HSDPA? If not on the phone is there an app which will tell you? I have searched but not sure if I'm using the best terms to find such an app...

In the US, HSPA+ is shown as "4G", and LTE is shown as "4G LTE". However, in the UK, HSPA and GPRS are both shown as just "3G", and you can't tell the difference from looking at the network indicator.

I hope Apple will change the way iPhone displays the network type in GSM territories in the future, and shows HSPA+ network as "3G HSPA" instead.

Also, if the network doesn't support LTE yet, then the option for turning LTE off is disabled as well.