How to Switch from 4G to 3G on Android

Last Updated: July 28, 2015

A 4G connection heavily drains a device’s battery life, but provides superior speed compare to 3G as long as there is a good signal. Some users may want to switch from an LTE/4G connection to a 3G connection on their devices for this reason. The most effective way of switching connection is setting your Preferred Network Mode to 3G so the device will always connect to a 3G network.

Steps

1
Go to Settings. Swipe down from the top of your screen to bring up the notification panel then tap the “Settings” button at the upper right corner of the panel to launch the Settings app.
- Alternatively, you can tap the Settings app if it is on your home screen. If not, tap on Applications, and tap on the Settings app icon from your app drawer.
2
Go to Mobile Networks. Under Wireless and Networks, tap on Mobile Networks. This should bring up the configuration screen for using the Internet through a carrier.

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3
Tap on Preferred network type. Here you’ll get options for the type of connections your device will always use.
4
Switch to 3G. From the options, tap on “CDMA only” or “3G.” This will ensure that your device will use only 3G instead of 4G.

Community Q&A

Question

How do I find out if my Android accepts 2G, 3G, 4G,?

Community Answer

Check with your phone company or service provider to see if your device can accept 2G, 3G, or 4G.
Question

Can I convert a 3G Android to 4G?

Community Answer

You only can do this if your phone accepts 2G, 3G and 4G at the same time.
Question

What if my phone doesn't have network mode?

Community Answer

It must work only on 2G, then.