In terms of speeds, 5G is much faster than 4G. If you have an iPhone 12 or a newer iPhone, you can access blazing-fast internet as long as your cell phone plan supports 5G speeds.

However, there are some instances where you might need to turn off 5G. For example, some plans limit how much 5G speed you can use, and you might want to save that for a later time.

So, if you need to turn off 5G on an iPhone 12 or later, read below, as this guide is just for you.

Turn Off 5G on Your iPhone in Settings

You can disable (or enable) 5G connectivity from your iPhone's Settings. Follow these simple instructions below:

  1. Open the Settings app and go to Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Voice & Data.
  2. Here, you will see several options. You can set your iPhone to use 5G all the time, use it when it will not significantly reduce your battery life, or switch to 4G LTE speeds.
  3. Since you want to turn 5G off, tap on LTE.

That's it! Your iPhone will no longer rely on 5G connectivity for cellular data. Remember that your browsing speeds will be lower due to this change.

How to Check if 5G Is Off

Once you turn off your 5G speeds, you may want to ensure it's off, just in case. To check this, you need to turn off Wi-Fi, after which you will see the LTE symbol in the status bar, confirming that the phone is indeed now on 4G speeds.

4g lte bar

If you want to turn 5G on again, you should return to Settings and re-enable the toggle. Remember that restarting your iPhone keeps 5G off until you manually turn it back on.

If you don't have an iPhone but still use a 5G-capable device, like an Android phone or a Wi-Fi router, feel free to check out how to turn off 5G on any device.

Should You Turn Off 5G Speeds?

There are several instances where it could be helpful to turn off 5G speeds. For example, 5G does use more battery than 4G LTE. So, if you need data and don't want to waste battery, LTE should be perfectly fine.

Some carriers also limit how much 5G speed you have, and you might want to save your 5G data for a trip. However, no matter your reasons for doing so, you now know how to turn off 5G on your iPhone.