The new 5G wireless standard holds great promise in speeding up your iPhone’s wireless data transfer rates, but it also can take a heavy toll on your battery, quickly draining battery life while enabled. Here’s how to turn it off when you don’t need it.
First, open Settings on your iPhone.
In Settings, tap “Cellular.”
In “Cellular,” tap “Cellular Data Options.”
In “Cellular Data Options,” tap “Voice & Data.”
In “Voice & Data,” select “LTE” from the list to disable 5G completely.
(Alternately, you can select “5G Auto” from this list, which will let the iPhone automatically deactivate 5G to save battery life when it’s not needed.)
Note: If your iPhone doesn’t include 5G hardware, you won’t see 5G as an option here. Apple added 5G support when it launched the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max in 2020. Older iPhones do not support 5G.
After that, exit Settings. 5G is now disabled on your iPhone. If you ever need to turn it back on, just revisit “Settings” > “Cellular” > “Cellular Data Options” > “Voice & Data” and select “5G On” or “5G Auto.”
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How do I turn 5G off on my iPhone 12?
1. Go to Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options.
2. Choose the Voice & Data option.
3. Tap on the LTE option to switch off the default 5G Auto and make your iPhone 12 roam with 4G connectivity only.
4. Enjoy 20% battery gains
compared to browsing or downloading when connected to a 5G network.
Tap on LTE to turn off the default iPhone 12 5G Auto connectivity mode
Choosing between the iPhone 12 automatic 5G settings and Smart Data
Even if you choose to keep your iPhone 12 in the default 5G Auto mode, Apple's new Smart Data Mode in Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Data Mode has been specifically crafted for the 5G era.
Apple knows that you only need to be on 5G speeds when streaming or downloading something, so it provided an extra 5G setting to manage data on the iPhone 12:
- Allow more data on 5G: this one is the heavy 5G hitter that lets you FaceTime or stream video in high definition, or download OTA iOS updates.
- Standard: here you keep the automatic updates feature, but lose FaceTime and video streaming quality.
- Low Data Mode: automatic updates and background tasks are put on pause to save your precious data allotments.
Chose the iPhone 12's Smart Data Mode option that is most suitable for your carrier plan
How can I tell if my iPhone 12 is on 5G/4G?
Apple is providing a few visual cues on the iPhone 12, 12 mini, Pro and Max models to tell you whether you are connected to a 5G network. Here's how to tell when your iPhone 12 is using T-Mobile, Verizon or AT&T's 5G network:
- 5G status bar icon: your carrier’s 5G network is available, and your iPhone can connect to the Internet over that network. Works with iPhone 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max.
- 5G+/5GUW icon: your carrier’s 5G network with higher frequency (Verizon's Ultrawide Band) is available, and your iPhone can connect to the Internet over that network.
- 5G E icon: your carrier’s 5G E network (AT&T) is available, and your iPhone can connect to the Internet over that network. Works with iPhone 8 and later.
- 4G or LTE icon: our carrier’s 4G UMTS (GSM) or LTE
network is available, and your iPhone can connect to the Internet over that network. Works with iPhone 5 and later.
If you’re looking to get an iPhone 12 at a lower price, make sure to check our best iPhone 12 Black Friday deals and other major shopping events pages.