[How to] disable LTE on AT&T S3 (you can disable HSPA+ too)

**jeffreii** · 08-16-2012, 09:01 AM

I have read that you can change your APN settings to turn off LTE. However, I found another way (with the help of carefreelife). Use at your own risk! I am not responsible for any harm you may do though it seems fairly safe to me!:

UPDATE: THERE IS NOW AN EASIER METHOD TO DO THIS WITHOUT PULLING THE SIM AND REBOOTING (check out post #34 below or use this link)
[How to] disable LTE on AT&T S3 (you can disable HSPA+ too)

1) With phone on, take off back cover and press your SIM card so it releases from the spring. It won't come all the way out as it's blocked by the battery. This seems fine - I didn't bother trying to force it out as I didn't want to break anything...
2) Once you see the message that the SIM card is removed, go to the dialer and dial *#2263#
3) You should see a menu with band selections. The current setting is "Automatic". If you switch to "GSM All", you will be EDGE (2G). If you switch to "WCDMA All", you will be on HSPA+ (3G, though AT&T and others call it 4G).
4) Press the SIM card back into place until it clicks. For whatever reason the phone will not recognize it until you reboot. Upon reboot you should see your new setting in effect.

I was attempting to follow this procedure for the S2:

...but I couldn't get the SIM out easily so I left it in...and followed the steps. It wouldn't recognize that the SIM had been reinserted so I gave up and rebooted...and it worked! No need to mess with airplane mode or anything just follow the steps above.

I was then able to follow the same procedure and turn back on the default setting which was "1) Automatic". After a reboot I am again connected to LTE.

Reason I'm using this: I'm testing a major battery drain issue that might be related to LTE/HSPA+ switching.

Reason you might want this: If you have poor LTE signal or even poor HSPA+ signal and want your phone to stop trying to connect to that network, this will stop it.

UPDATE:

Originally Posted by jeffreii

A little bit of bad news here:

I have been on "WCDMA All" (HSPA+ aka 3G4/G, with LTE disabled) for 10 days now with ZERO problems whatsoever.

However, I am pretty sure that whichever you choose, if not "Automatic", you will be locked to ONLY that band:

i.e. if you choose "WCDMA All" you will not only be disabling LTE, but also 2G (EDGE) as well. You may not need it (and if so, it will not effect you) - but if your phone loses the HSPA+ signal, it will not fall back to 2G unless you change the setting.

I tested this theory by setting my phone to "LTE all" and trying to call myself from another phone. The call went straight to my voicemail. LTE is data only (for now) and when you receive a call, it switches to HSPA+. Unfortunately, since I had set my phone to "LTE All", it stayed on LTE and could not receive the call.

This may not be a deal-breaker but it's something to be aware of, for sure. I only tested "LTE All" because it was easy to do so, but I am assuming the same applies for the other settings...only "Automatic" would seem to pick the best available network.

**carefreelife** · 08-16-2012, 01:34 PM

Choose WCDMA, and you get HSPA

!!!!!!

**jeffreii** · 08-16-2012, 07:13 PM

Originally Posted by carefreelife

Choose WCDMA, and you get HSPA

!!!!!!

Thanks - I finally got around to testing it and you're right! I have strong LTE signal at my house and once I switched to WCDMA All instead of Automatic, I am locked on "4g" (which is actually HSPA 3G).

Updating the OP with your findings. Thank you again - report here if you have any negative effects from this...but I like this method a lot more than the APN switch.

**MattMJB0188** · 08-16-2012, 07:37 PM

Absolutely ridiculous they don't include a GSM toggle for this. There are people like myself that get a wonderful EDGE signal but a crappy 3G/4G signal. Using EDGE only would be great.

**jeffreii** · 08-16-2012, 07:45 PM

Originally Posted by MattMJB0188

Absolutely ridiculous they don't include a GSM toggle for this. There are people like myself that get a wonderful EDGE signal but a crappy 3G/4G signal. Using EDGE only would be great.

Agreed but if we don't find any downside to this method then it's a fairly easy fix - can be done in 2 minutes.

Use the GSM All setting and your phone will stop trying to get on 3G/4G/LTE.

**LCAcor** · 08-17-2012, 12:18 AM

Awesome. Thanks so much. This is gonna save my battery tons.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Android Central Forums

**lancer0123** · 08-17-2012, 07:08 AM

Did you notice any improvement in battery life ?

**jeffreii** · 08-17-2012, 09:04 AM

Originally Posted by lancer0123

Did you notice any improvement in battery life ?

I doubt it will make much of a difference for me unless it fixes my "plummet" issue as I have (had) a strong LTE signal.

If you're someone in an area with poor LTE or poor HSPA+ and your phone keeps trying to stay connected but can't - this might help a good bit.

Unlike older phones, the S3 has the LTE integrated into the SoC (system on chip). As an integrated component and not a separate radio, LTE uses much less battery than it has in the past on older devices. It used to be so bad that LTE was a total trade-off between speed and battery.

This is definitely one way to put that to rest, however - as it's certainly possible that turning off LTE could increase battery life...I just don't think it will be much.

**Joelist** · 08-17-2012, 11:54 PM

Originally Posted by jeffreii

I doubt it will make much of a difference for me unless it fixes my "plummet" issue as I have (had) a strong LTE signal.

If you're someone in an area with poor LTE or poor HSPA+ and your phone keeps trying to stay connected but can't - this might help a good bit.

Unlike older phones, the S3 has the LTE integrated into the SoC (system on chip). As an integrated component and not a separate radio, LTE uses much less battery than it has in the past on older devices. It used to be so bad that LTE was a total trade-off between speed and battery.

This is definitely one way to put that to rest, however - as it's certainly possible that turning off LTE could increase battery life...I just don't think it will be much.

I think you're likely correct.

I don't really like the S3 (Samsungs to me are plasticky) but I cannot deny Krait's superb battery life both on the S3 and the Dinc 4G on VZW. And two big reasons are the die shrink to 28nm and having the radios on die with the processor. Of course putting the radios on die does serve both to save power and to minimize the benefits of turning them off.

**jev3gs** · 08-18-2012, 12:06 PM

I am going to test battery life on Monday. For me this was something I was looking for for a while now because at my office at work I am bouncing off of LTE/4G all day. My battery life at work is terrible! My friend who has a VZW S3 though, LTE is strong and his battery lasts twice as long as mine does at work. If I can get that experience I will be a happy camper.

**louie77** · 08-24-2012, 07:52 PM

Worked great. Now lets see if it helps extend battery life.

**jeffreii** · 08-27-2012, 09:50 PM

A little bit of bad news here:

I have been on "WCDMA All" (HSPA+ aka 3G4/G, with LTE disabled) for 10 days now with ZERO problems whatsoever.

However, I am pretty sure that whichever you choose, if not "Automatic", you will be locked to ONLY that band:

i.e. if you choose "WCDMA All" you will not only be disabling LTE, but also 2G (EDGE) as well. You may not need it (and if so, it will not effect you) - but if your phone loses the HSPA+ signal, it will not fall back to 2G unless you change the setting.

I tested this theory by setting my phone to "LTE all" and trying to call myself from another phone. The call went straight to my voicemail. LTE is data only (for now) and when you receive a call, it switches to HSPA+. Unfortunately, since I had set my phone to "LTE All", it stayed on LTE and could not receive the call.

This may not be a deal-breaker but it's something to be aware of, for sure. I only tested "LTE All" because it was easy to do so, but I am assuming the same applies for the other settings...only "Automatic" would seem to pick the best available network.

**smooth4lyfe** · 10-10-2012, 03:19 PM

Is there a way to turn LTE back on with this method?

**SenseMonkey** · 10-10-2012, 03:21 PM

Originally Posted by smooth4lyfe

Is there a way to turn LTE back on with this method?

Yea,do the same thing with popping the sim card out a lil then do to dialer,type the #s in and then choose automatic. Pop the sim back in,reset phone and your good to go. And lte will only show if you have it in your area.

Sent from my S3(:

**jeffreii** · 10-10-2012, 03:22 PM

Originally Posted by smooth4lyfe

Is there a way to turn LTE back on with this method?

Yep just change the setting back to automatic and it's back to normal. Same procedure.

**smooth4lyfe** · 10-10-2012, 03:31 PM

Seems to be working great! Thanks so much for this!!!

**smooth4lyfe** · 10-10-2012, 08:00 PM

Is it just me, but when I am off Wifi, I cannot play any streaming radio (Pandora, Spotify, etc.) or use the internet, as if my data is off...I do not even see 4G, but I did "WCDMA ALL"...looks like Ill have to put LTE back on dangit!

NVM I figured it out...its working sweet!!!

**spartanrob1** · 10-12-2012, 08:38 PM

Trying now, Thank you. LTE is spotty in my area and my phone would get really hot, also only had 2 bars on LTE. Now, it shows 4G (no LTE) and I have full signal. Hoping this helps my battery and heat issue.

**smooth4lyfe** · 10-12-2012, 08:54 PM

I don't really see a huge noticeable improvement with battery life after a few days with this...either way I know it has other benefits, such as using less data on my bill...I'll stick with it

**Millissa Blair** · 11-11-2012, 10:58 AM

Here at the house the network is edge 2g, I want to upgrade my phone to the pantech burst, do you know if it compatible to work on the edge network?

**jeffreii** · 11-11-2012, 11:29 AM

Originally Posted by Millissa Blair

Here at the house the network is edge 2g, I want to upgrade my phone to the pantech burst, do you know if it compatible to work on the edge network?

I'm not sure how you wound up in this thread or even in the Galaxy S3 forum...but 2g EDGE is an AT&T network and any AT&T phone will work with that.

**jdauria** · 11-16-2012, 02:37 PM

Awesome, I used to do this with my blackberry back in the day but there was an option to choose between 2g and 3g haha

**ItnStln511** · 11-16-2012, 08:39 PM

Does the app "Phone Info" work to disable LTE on AT&T's S3?

**Targon** · 11-20-2012, 11:14 AM

Going to a Pantech is a downgrade, not upgrade.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Android Central Forums

**maskedcarrot** · 11-23-2012, 10:52 PM

Wow! Thanks for the details on this. It helped out a lot.

I get great LTE signal all around my work, but at home I get like 2 bars from a distant LTE tower which I think is draining my battery more than it should on my GS3 being as I technically don't even know how I am picking it up at my house. I would think I am out of range. I dunno.

So now after doing this I am going to see how my battery life it, being as I am going to keep it on HSPA+.

On a side note, I couldn't get my sim to actually move out far enough for my phone to recognize that it was removed. So I just removed the battery and started up the phone without the sim card in. Did the code trick, turned off the phone, reinserted the sim, booted back up and it worked fine.