To turn off 5G on the iPhone 13, go to Settings-->Mobile Data-->Mobile Data Options-->Voice & Data. You can now choose which 5G option you want or switch entirely to 4G LTE.
What to Know
You can turn off 5G by going to Settings > Connections > Mobile Networks > Network Mode.
To do this, we're going to repeat the first steps, this time switching the phone so that it's forced to use 5G.
Open the Settings app on your iPhone smartphone and tap Mobile. Tap Mobile Data Options. Tap Voice & Data. Tap 4G to keep 5G turned off all of the time.
You can customize these options for when to use 5G and how much data to use in some apps. However, inside the cellular settings, you can choose to turn 5G on/off on iPhone manually to optimize for speed or battery life.
How to turn off 5G on the iPhone 13. Open the Settings app then go to Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Voice & Data and tap LTE. Your phone will then turn off its 5G connection, reverting to (sometimes) slower LTE connection.
Since the infrastructure isn't there yet for 5G to take over completely, you may live in an area where 5G is very weak. If that's the case, your 4G LTE connection will most likely be faster and more stable. In that scenario, it makes sense to switch off 5G for the moment and benefit from your faster 4G LTE connection.
Apple's iPhone 12 series of smartphones were the first iPhones to support 5G cellular connectivity. As of April 2021, the iPhone 12 series contains the base iPhone 12 model, the iPhone 12 mini, the iPhone 12 Pro, and the iPhone 12 Pro Max. Every phone in the iPhone 12 series allows for the enabling and disabling of 5G.
Which iPhone models are 5G compatible?
iPhone 13 | Yes | 5G,> |
iPhone 13 mini | Yes | 5G,> |
iPhone SE (3rd Gen) | Yes | 5G,> |
iPhone 12 Pro Max | Yes | 5G,> |
iPhone 12 Pro | Yes | 5G,> |
How to turn off 5G on a Samsung phone
It's probably a good idea to leave the feature on. 5G isn't perfect and does use more battery, but in places where it works, it really works. That said, for folks who don't care about 5G and/or have limited access to it, switching to LTE is a smart move.
That said, if you don't want or need your phone to connect to a 5G network, you can disable 5G with just a few taps on your iPhone's screen. You don't have to do too much to turn 5G on or off, but there's more that you should know.