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Jwilldj

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 12, 2011
18
0
I'm confused. What does the following do?

Settings->General->Network->Cellular data off
 
I'm confused. What does the following do?

Settings->General->Network->Cellular data off

That turns off cellular data. That means, you can't browse the web or use any mobile data. The switch to turn off 3G turns off 3G and allows you to still use mobile data on the EDGE network.
 
That turns off cellular data. That means, you can't browse the web or use any mobile data. The switch to turn off 3G turns off 3G and allows you to still use mobile data on the EDGE network.

:confused: Why would people want to do that? The data plan we sign with att or verizon does not distinguish between 3g or other network, right?
 
:confused: Why would people want to do that? The data plan we sign with att or verizon does not distinguish between 3g or other network, right?

3G can use up more battery life then EDGE. Some people live in an area that only has EDGE and they may want to turn off the 3G radio to save battery life. Verizon doesn't really have a 2G network. The closest thing is their voice network which is very slow, almost GPRS/1G slow. I'm not even sure if the Verizon iPhone 4 has a 3G switch.
 
3G can use up more battery life then EDGE. Some people live in an area that only has EDGE and they may want to turn off the 3G radio to save battery life. Verizon doesn't really have a 2G network. The closest thing is their voice network which is very slow, almost GPRS/1G slow. I'm not even sure if the Verizon iPhone 4 has a 3G switch.

I see. Thanks!!!
 
:confused: Why would people want to do that? The data plan we sign with att or verizon does not distinguish between 3g or other network, right?

Because in certain areas 3G reception isn't as great so they turn it off so they can use 2G or Edge.
 
3G can use up more battery life then EDGE. Some people live in an area that only has EDGE and they may want to turn off the 3G radio to save battery life. Verizon doesn't really have a 2G network. The closest thing is their voice network which is very slow, almost GPRS/1G slow. I'm not even sure if the Verizon iPhone 4 has a 3G switch.

I thought the Qualcomm MDM6610 does not make any distinction in power consumption between 3G and EDGE/1xRTT?
 
:confused: Why would people want to do that? The data plan we sign with att or verizon does not distinguish between 3g or other network, right?

Switching off 3G in an area without 3G coverage saves a TON of battery power. When there is no 3G coverage, a phone with 3G "on" will constantly look for a 3G signal, rapidly depleting the battery. If you live in an area without 3G coverage (or travel often in such areas as I do), turning off 3G allows a single charge to last for days instead of less than one full day.

Another plus to turning off 3G: with AT&T I have noticed that in large crowds (like at a football game or in the mall around Christmas) it is impossible to do anything on my phone requiring data. No surfing, no facebooking, no twitter, no mms, no texting. Switch the 3G off and *presto* everything works exactly like it is supposed to (only slower, obviously). Went to a football game with the 4S last weekend and I might as well have left my phone in the car.
 
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