The iPhone 12 series is the first to be equipped with 5G connectivity. This means that these phones are also the first from Apple to introduce different settings related to this technology that, whoever buys one, should learn about in order to use them at their best.
For example, by default, when you configure a new iPhone on the 12th evening, the automatic 5G mode is activated: this means that the phone switches to 5G only when needed and when its use does not negatively impact the battery excessively (of this look we talked about it better here ). This mode can be disabled so that the iPhone is always connected to 5G or you can also choose other options.
How to adjust iPhone 12 5G settings
For example, to adjust the operation of 5G you need to go to Settings> Mobile, then select your operator and click on Voice and data. Inside this panel there are three options: 5G On, 5G Auto and LTE.
The automatic mode , as we said earlier, uses 5G only when this does not significantly reduce battery life. This is a kind of data / power saving mode which is meant to hook the iPhone to LTE networks when 5G speed is not needed. An example is when the phone updates in the background: in this case it uses LTE because super-speed is not needed. Conversely, when you are watching a streaming movie, the 12 series iPhones will automatically switch to 5G.
The 5G On option instead keeps this connection always active, while on the contrary the LTE mode avoids 5G connectivity even when available, leaving the phone to be connected to the network only in 4G.
Data mode
In the iPhone 12 series there are also several data modes to choose from. By default, the phones are set to Allow more data over 5G which means it offers superior video quality and the use of FaceTime in 5G. This is an option that should not displease those who have a telephone plan with unlimited data, while those with a few GB available can choose the Standard option which in fact still guarantees automatic updating and background activities but limits the quality of streaming video and FaceTime.
There is also Reduced Data Mode which further reduces GB consumption by suspending updates and background tasks when connected to the cellular network.
To adjust this setting, you need to open the Settings app, select the Cellular panel, then click on the item relating to your telephone operator and then on the Data mode panel.
What the various symbols of 5G mean
5G is still a fairly new technology, which means that it is not present in all cities and the frequencies used vary from region to region and from one operator to another. For example , most US telecom operators hook into sub-6GHz 5G networks while 5G mmWave, which is faster, is still a rather limited option.
This means that when connecting to a 5G network, the symbol displayed in the upper left corner may vary. For example in the USA if the 5G + mark is visible it means that you are traveling on the 5G mmWave network with AT&T while for Verizon the symbol of the same connectivity is 5G UW . On the other hand, when the speed is “standard”, the symbol shown will only be 5G . It remains to be seen if and what differentiation, from this point of view, will be present in our country.
