Turning off 4G

[Charmed Juan]

Hey Everyjuan,
A very helpful Verizon tech support crew gave me this method for turning off 4G

For folks that are reporting poor battery life on the Thunderbolt who DON'T live in a 4G area, they might be interested in turning off the 4G antenna. If the 4G antenna is on while the customer is exclusively in 3G coverage, the battery wears down as it constantly searches for the 4G network. Here's how to do it:

? From the dialer, dial * # * # 4 6 3 6 # * # * to enter "Testing Mode"

? Select "Phone Information"

? Scroll down to "Preferred Network Type"

? Select "CDMA auto (PRL)"

Note: This is not in our Troubleshooting Guides or Knowledge Base. Customers should be advised that this method is not Verizon Wireless advised - that some customers have reported better battery performance after this procedure.

To re-enable 4G, the customer simply repeats the steps above, but selects "CDMA + LTE/EvDo auto" as the Network Type.

 

[RetiredJedi]

Sorry but this has been on here a couple of times and there are actually two apps I've seen (so far) that can do this also.

 

[Charmed Juan]

OK, Sorry, I did a search for "turning off 4G" and didn't find anything

 

[RetiredJedi]

It's ok, I was trying to find the discussion on it to link you to but no luck... I think one is called "poor man's 4G switch" or something and theres one or two others.

EDIT: Found one of them right HERE. The app is called Phone Info and I saw another app but I can't remember the exact name. I think it is actually called $G toggle or something to that affect.

 

[theGman911]

Cool story bro.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

 

[Charmed Juan]

One is 4G switch, $0.99. Another is LTE onOFF TeamAndirc, Free.

 

[Carbon Stig]

Jus curious, what are the other options for? Well LTE mode seems pretty self explanatory... But what is CDMA auto, EvDo only. I get poor verizon signal at my office, wwhich should i pick to keep up battery life?

 

[FrankXS]

Jus curious, what are the other options for? Well LTE mode seems pretty self explanatory... But what is CDMA auto, EvDo only. I get poor verizon signal at my office, wwhich should i pick to keep up battery life?

-CDMA auto (PRL) = Normal 3G with auto-pushed PRL (normal for 3G Android)
-CDMA only = 3G data only. No auto PRL. Not a good idea since there is no way I know of to specifically trigger a PRL update on the ThunderBolt, aside from calling Customer Support anyway. *228 does not work on the ThunderBolt
-EvDo only = 3G data only. No voice calls can be made/received
-CDMA + LTE/EvDo auto = Normal 1X/3G/4G/LTE operation
-LTE Mode = 4G/LTE only with no fall-back to 3G/1X.

More info on my personal situation...

I find the "Phone Info" app in the Market very convenient. I use this a lot because I am running a 3G Network Extender which puts out a strong 3G signal within my house, but I have a very weak 4G signal (not useful) outside my upstairs windows which contributes to loss of all data when the phone is trying to decide to use the very weak 4G signal or the very strong 3G signal. So, in my case, by setting it at 3G at home I have good signal and data all the time. I change it to CDMA+LTE (normal) when I go out because I live and travel in a 4G area every day. That works well too.

-Frank

 

[TBoltJ]

Thanks for the details. If we select CDMA auto (PRL) then will the ability to use data (internet, etc) while on a call still work? I dont think so.

 

[FrankXS]

Thanks for the details. If we select CDMA auto (PRL) then will the ability to use data (internet, etc) while on a call still work? I dont think so.

Yes. I tested. Well, it does here at least. I understand some of this simultaneous data/voice use may depend on your local towers.

-Frank

 

[TBoltJ]

I just changed it using phone info to -CDMA auto (PRL) but it still shows as CDMA + ehprd. Do I need to turn off/on, etc.? Thanks for the tips btw.

 

[FrankXS]

I just changed it using phone info to -CDMA auto (PRL) but it still shows as CDMA + ehprd. Do I need to turn off/on, etc.? Thanks for the tips btw.

Just for clarity, the setting being discussed in this thread ("Turning Off 4G" - i.e. *#*#4636#*#*) actually has nothing whatsover to do with eHRPD. You are talking about the EPST menu (##778#[send]). That menu actually only affects the 3G CDMA RevA behavior. Not 4G. You might find it useful, or not. Just depends. I left mine at the default (i.e. includes eHRPD). Works fine for me that way.

-Frank

 

[SPD]

The LTE on/off app works great. They may be coming out with a toggle widget in the near future too.

 

[TBoltJ]

Thanks I will leave it all alone and see what happens with the 4g turned off. I keep it on wifi at work and home so dont use too much antenna anyway.