One of the biggest concerns about using 5G on the new iPhone 12 is how it will affect your phone speed and battery. In fact. Apple has included some options for users to customize their network usage. So in this article, we will guide you on how to manage 5G on your iPhone 12 to maximize its speed and battery life.
Smart Data Mode
Basically, Apple will handle this issue for you with the Smart Data mode. Smart Data is a new feature that Apple added to the iPhone 12 lineup. This mode will be activated by default and it will optimize your network usage to keep a balance between speed and battery life. In other words, this mode will detect if your iPhone 12 doesn’t need 5G and drop back to 4G/LTE to save energy. For example, If the display is off and the phone is asleep, Smart Data Mode will switch you back to 4G/LTE. But when you wake the phone and start playing games or watching videos, it will enable 5G network.
However, you can still customize the options when your phone should use 5G to suit your specific needs.
Manage 5G On Your iPhone 12 to Optimize speed
Here is what you need to do to optimize 5G speed on your iPhone 12:
- Go to Settings on your phone.
- Select Cellular
- Tap Cellular Data Options
- Hit Voice & Data
- Now you will see 3 options, select the 5G On option
The 5G On option allows your iPhone 12 to use 5G anytime when it is available. This option will keep your network speed high at the expense of your battery life.
To have the phone automatically drop down to 4G/LTE when the 5G is not available or doesn’t provide a noticeable difference, you will need to select the 5G Auto option. This option is selected by default and it will activate the Smart Data mode to balance your phone network usage.
Manage Your 5G On Your iPhone 12 to Optimize Battery Life
These following steps will help you to manually manage 5G to optimize the battery life:
- Open Settings on your iPhone 12.
- Choose Cellular.
- Touch the Cellular Data Options
- Hit Voice & Data.
- Now as you come across the 3 options again, Choose the third option – LTE
This option disables 5G completely, which sacrifices your network speed for conserving your iPhone 12 energy. Instead, the phone will switch to your carrier’s 4G/LTE network, which drains the battery life at a much lower rate. Your iPhone won’t use 5G unless you manually change the setting back to 5G On or 5G Auto.
The Verdict
Even though the settings may be unknown to some folks, manually optimizing 5G on your iPhone 12 is very simple. You just need to go to Settings>Cellular>Cellular Data Options> Voice & Data, and then select the option you want
- 5G On: keep 5G always on and keep your network speed high at the expense of your battery life
- 5G Auto: Balance your network usage by auto-switching back to 4G/LTE when 5G is not available
- LTE: Switch your data to 4G/ LTE networks, even when 5G is available to save more battery life
There you go, now you know how to manage 5G on your iPhone 12. If you have any questions, let us know in the comments!
