How to Disable 5G on iPhone 12 to Save Data and Battery

by Sophie Green   Updated on 2020-10-26 / Update for  iPhone 12

Is it possible to disable 5G on the iPhone 12, and just use LTE? Most of the time I'm away from Wi-Fi I don't need any faster speeds."

While 5G provides you great download and upload speeds on your iPhone 12, it consumes significantly more battery juice on your phone. If you are not a big fan of 5G and you do not use the features that it offers, it is a good idea to keep 5G disabled and use LTE on your device.

On an iPhone 12, you have the option to disable 5G and use other network generations, like LTE. This way, you can enjoy the speeds that you are actually looking for and make your iPhone last longer on a single battery charge.

This guide will teach you how you can disable 5G on an iPhone 12, 12 Mini, 12 Pro, or 12 Pro Max.

Method 1. Disable 5G on iPhone 12 (Mini)/ 12 Pro (Max) from Settings

One of the quickest ways to turn off 5G and use LTE on your iPhone is to use the Settings app. Apple has included an option in the settings to let you toggle 5G services on your phone. Using this option, you can switch from 5G to LTE and back to 5G with just a single tap.

Once you are back to LTE, your iPhone 12 can be used for much longer with a single battery charge than if you were using 5G. The following is how you go about switching the network generation on your shiny new device.

  • Launch the Settings app from the home screen on your iPhone.
  • Tap the option that says Cellular and then tap Cellular Data Options.
  • You will see an option that says Voice & Data. Tap on this option to open it.
  • On the resulting screen, choose the LTE option to turn off 5G and use LTE instead.

    disable 5g on iphone 12

You are all set. Your iPhone 12 should now use LTE to communicate with your provider and to provide you with voice and data services.

Method 2. Disable 5G on iPhone 12 (Mini)/ 12 Pro (Max) from Verizon/AT&T

If your iPhone 12 comes from Verizon or AT&T, you can actually call your carrier and request them to disable 5G in your account. This way, once your carrier has turned off 5G services for your account, your phone will no longer receive 5G signals.

As a result, you will be automatically switched to LTE and that will be then your primary network connection option. To do this, the following are the steps on how you can get in touch with these carriers.

Contact Verizon to Disable 5G on the iPhone 12

Verizon provides you with multiple options to contact the support team. You can chat with them, send them a text message, call them, and even visit their offline store.

Head to the Verizon contact page, choose your preferred option to contact them, and you will be on your way to turn off 5G for your account.

Contact AT&T to Turn Off 5G on your iPhone 12

Like Verizon, AT&T also offers various ways for you to contact their support team and disable 5G for your iPhone 12.

Simply head over to the AT&T contact page, scroll down, and you will see the options to contact the support team.

People Also Asked about iPhone 12 and 5G

Since both iPhone 12 and 5G are new to most people, people often have questions about these items. Here we try to answer some of these questions for you.

1. How fast will my 5G iPhone be?

On the iPhone, you can expect 5G to provide speeds in the range of 100 Mbps to several Gbps. Depending on where you are located and certain other conditions, you will get the speeds accordingly.

2. How much does 5G impact my battery?

5G impacts your device’s battery quite a lot. On an average, a 5G phone uses about 20% more battery juice than a 4G phone.

3. What US carriers will offer a 5G iPhone?

Most US carriers will offer a 5G iPhone and the list includes AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile. This is not a comprehensive list as 5G is offered by other carriers as well.

Bonus Tips: How to Free Backup iPhone 12 without iTunes or iCloud?

When you get your hands on the iPhone 12 and you start using it, one of the things you would want to do is to make a backup of your device. A backup will ensure that all your data is protected and that you can restore it when things get deleted from your phone.

Tenorshare iCareFone is an excellent tool to make iPhone backups without using iTunes or iCloud. You no longer need to use Apple’s own backup methods when you have iCareFone with you. The following are the steps on how you can go about making a backup with this tool.

  • Connect your iPhone 12 to your computer using a USB cable and run the aforementioned software.
  • Click on Backup & Restore at the top of the software interface.

    backup iphone 12 without itunes
  • The following screen lets you select the items you want to back up from your iPhone. Tick all the boxes that apply and then click Backup at the bottom.

    back up iphone 12
  • Your iPhone 12’s backup will be created and you will see the following message on your screen.

    backup iphone 12 without icloud

You can now play around with your new iPhone however you want as a safe backup of your data has now been created.

Summary

If you do not use 5G on your iPhone 12, you should keep it disabled so that it does not unnecessarily eat up your phone's battery charge. The above guide shows how to disable 5G on your iPhone with various carriers. Also, make sure to keep a backup of your new device with Tenorshare iCareFone in case things go south and you need to restore your data.