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iPhone 4S, cannot turn off 3G?

PracticalMac

PracticalMac

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Jan 22, 2009
2,857
5,246
Houston, TX
I noted my friends 4S cannot turn off 3G service like I can on my 4.

I turn off the 3G to save power and limit Cellular data between traveling to WiFi spots.
 
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 4s: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

Wait for ios 5.1
 
i have a 4s on att all i do is setting > general> network>and turn cellular data off
 
hasek3139 said:
i have a 4s on att all i do is setting > general> network>and turn cellular data off
Click to expand...

That doesn't turn off the 3G radio (your still using 3G to make phone calls)... that simply turns off the ability to get data.
 
hasek3139 said:
i have a 4s on att all i do is setting > general> network>and turn cellular data off
Click to expand...

Turning off cellular data and turning off 3G are not the same thing.

If your phone is in a spotty 3G area (and you don't need cellular data), it's generally better to turn off 3G and use EDGE for talking... that way your phone doesn't blow through the battery constantly trying to find and connect with 3G.

Hopefully today's iOS 5.1 update will bring that option back (as well as fix battery issues and a few other things).
 
Here's a rant of mine from a while ago to help clear up the confusion:

3G is not the same as data
2G is not the same as "EDGE"

3G UMTS networks can provide the ability to handle calls, SMS and data.
2G GSM networks can provide the ability to handle calls, SMS and data.

Turning off 3G will not turn off data access on your phone.

If your carrier allows you to connect to a 2G GSM network that offers data services through GPRS or EDGE, then you'll still be able to connect to the internet when the "Enable 3G" switch is toggled to off

Some carriers don't support EDGE at all and most don't have EDGE coverage across their entire 2G network.

iOS 5.0 and 5.0.1 do not support the 3G switch on the iPhone 4S only. The switch is re-enabled in iOS 5.1 which is being released today.
 
Daveoc64 said:
Here's a rant of mine from a while ago to help clear up the confusion:

3G is not the same as data
2G is not the same as "EDGE"

3G UMTS networks can provide the ability to handle calls, SMS and data.
2G GSM networks can provide the ability to handle calls, SMS and data.

Turning off 3G will not turn off data access on your phone.

If your carrier allows you to connect to a 2G GSM network that offers data services through GPRS or EDGE, then you'll still be able to connect to the internet when the "Enable 3G" switch is toggled to off

Some carriers don't support EDGE at all and most don't have EDGE coverage across their entire 2G network.

iOS 5.0 and 5.0.1 do not support the 3G switch on the iPhone 4S only. The switch is re-enabled in iOS 5.1 which is being released today.
Click to expand...

5.1 is being released today? Will that 3g switch function be enabled for both GSM & CDMA carriers?
 
wymi said:
5.1 is being released today? Will that 3g switch function be enabled on both the GSM & CDMA 4s phones?
Click to expand...

I'm not 100% sure about the "CDMA" phones, but I heard that disabling 3G on a CDMA iPhone will pretty much leave you with no coverage.

As for "GSM" iPhones, you'll see the Enable 3G toggle if your carrier allows it.
 
wymi said:
Thanks, I know. I was trying to put my many years of phone hacking behind me when I got the 4s. The hacker in me really wants control over 3g on the VZW network.
Click to expand...

If you are wanting to run stock, my understanding is that 5.1 has this feature, and it should be available today. Personally I am staying far away to preserve my jailbreak. :)
 
lordofthereef said:
If you are wanting to run stock, my understanding is that 5.1 has this feature, and it should be available today. Personally I am staying far away to preserve my jailbreak. :)
Click to expand...

Apparently if your on ATT then Apple disabled this feature from the 5.1 update to keep us from having this option...
 
Yep, this was the first thing I checked and no 3G toggle still on my 4S.
 
wymi said:
Thanks, I know. I was trying to put my many years of phone hacking behind me when I got the 4s. The hacker in me really wants control over 3g on the VZW network.
Click to expand...

Even if you were JB you canot turn off 3G on a CDMA 4S.
Option works fine on GSM iphone 4S models but if you try on a Verizon or Sprint 4S it crashes and causes problems.
I think its part of the network chip used that you cannot just disable EVDO use.
 
lordofthereef said:
Really? That's... weird... wonder why?
Click to expand...

Only reason I could guess is because ATT eventually (years from now) will shut down the 2G network to use for LTE...

... but in the meantime AT&T customers who don't currently get 3G at their house now have to let their batteries drain while their phones constantly search for a 3G signal that isn't there :(

All the while non-ATT iPhone 4S users get the option to save their battery life...
 
It's Siri

4s users cant turn off AT&T 3G because siri is installed with the os it performs poorly on edge :apple:
 
iostehk said:
4s users cant turn off AT&T 3G because siri is installed with the os it performs poorly on edge :apple:
Click to expand...

Not true.

I had my 4S jailbroken, turned off 3G with SBSettings, and Siri still worked perfectly fine over 2G Edge...
 
I want to turn 3G and mobile data off to restrict data to wifi when i am at home on the orange uk network. When i switch my iphone 4S off then back on 3G enables itself automatically again for some reason. Is there a way round this ?
 
Applejuiced said:
Siri works fine on Edge.
Good try though:)
Click to expand...

I don't have AT&T so I can't comment on edge but I found if I don't have 3G Siri function is very poor. I notice it while texting i get the three circles but they just disappear and what I said doesn't show up.
 
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