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I would like to completely disable all 2g connections, but allow 3g and 4g connections. Is this possible? how would one go about doing such a thing?

I see options to disable 3g/4g to "save battery life", but I am looking for the opposite of this option.

command-line/root hacks are OK.

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  • Two questions you might wish to take a look at (of course on their answers, too): Simple way to toggle between 2G and 3G connection / How can I force 3G only on the Nexus S after the ICS update?
    – Izzy
    Aug 27, 2014 at 16:12
  • @Izzy - looking at them, but the first one seems to be a preference, rather than a full disable, and the second one only blocks data, not voice/text that may go through 2g connections as well. Aug 27, 2014 at 16:35
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    The second one mentions an "USSD code" which opens a kind of service menu. What's in there depends on device and Android version, but usually it lets you fix it to 2g/3g and possibly also 4g (on devices supporting that). Have you checked that?
    – Izzy
    Aug 27, 2014 at 16:39
  • @Izzy yup, that would be from the second answer - I get an option of "Set preferred network type", but that doesn't seem to guarantee that it won't connect to other networks, and it gives a lot of options that I am unfamiliar with (GSM only, WCDMA only, GSM auto(PRL), EvDo only, LTE only, LTE/WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, GSM, and LTE, Unknown). - that does seem to be getting close to what I am looking for though. Aug 27, 2014 at 16:47
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    I might need to leave the "affirmative answer" to someone else, but to me "LTE/WCDMA" sounds to be what you're after: LTE is 4G, WCMDA 3G. So "prefered" here means to take one of the two, as far as I understand this. Give it a try: Remember what it's set to currently, switch to "LTE/WCDMA", and watch your status bar. In the worst case, it shows "no connection" (if your carrier/SIM doesn't support the one or other), and you've got to "switch back".
    – Izzy
    Aug 27, 2014 at 16:50

3 Answers 3

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Yes it's possible but you need a rooted phone.

You can then install the Xposed framework, and the Intelli3G module (available on the Play Store or on xda). Inside the app, you can set any combination you want, like LTE/WCDMA which means 4G/3G but not 2G.

Intelli3G modes

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Izzy's comment to the original question is actually correct.

On your phone's dialler, dial *#*#4636#*#* and open the Phone information menu. In the Set preferred network type setting, you can now select the combination of network types that suits you most.

Unfortunately the list of network types uses fairly confusing abbreviations, I'll try to shed at least some light on it:

  • 2G: GSM
  • 3G: CDMA, EvDo, TD-SCDMA, UMTS, WCDMA (competing standards used in different countries)
  • 4G: LTE

I don't have the first idea what 'Global' and 'unknown' do.

Some entries have additional remarks:

  • only: use only this particular standard (d'uh 🙂)
  • auto (PRL): when your provider's network is unavailable, use the 'Preferred Roaming List' to determine roaming networks preferred by your provider (e.g. that your provider has partnered with)
  • preferred: probably means that other network types are not used unless the preferred are unavailable. This may differ from default behaviour because by default, a 2G network may be used even if a (weaker) 3G or 4G network is available.

Remember the original value, in case you pick one that doesn't work for you.

To downprioritize 2G, you might want to try LTE/CDMA/UMTS auto (PRL): It covers 4G and most 3G standards, falls back to 2G if nothing else is available, and uses a PRL for roaming.

If you're still frequently stuck in 2G mode because you're moving around in an area where 3G/4G is available, but sketchy (for example if you frequently pass through staircases that block all but 2G), you can completely disable 2G by selecting something like LTE/TD-SCDMA/UMTS and see if that works for you (depending on which network types are used in your country).

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    I'll just note that this apparently doesn't work with Samsung or Huawei dialers. (At least, it doesn't work on this old S6, & based on search results that's a known issue with Samsung's non-vanilla dialer.) Aug 18, 2023 at 16:10
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You don't need to root the phone. Just install some third-party app from the Play Store to generate an app shortcut (I used "Create Shortcut"). Then, under the application menu, search for 'Mobile Network'. Then, you can either execute it for one time or create a home screen shortcut. Inside this, you can force disable the 2G.

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