[2G NETWORK] - WHEN? HOW? WHY?

[GoanGeek]

Hi lovely People.

So curious to know when this option came back.

Anyone else noticed this 2g option ?

[Piper123]

Does appear to be an "unnecessary" setting.

[GoanGeek]

Well it was removed from the network mode and now it's back as a separate option which is weird.

[arianwen27]

It's been on my phone since getting it from the box. It's been in samsung for a few years now.

2g is still all over the uk. In the US I believe 2g and 3g are fully shut down, same for Australia. But we still have it here.

Auto Blocker with maximum restrictions disables it. For normal life it's safer being off. But there are some rural parts of the uk that only have 2g signal.

For reasons to disable it. Serious security risk. The encryption between your phone and a cell tower on 2g is not secure, assume anyone can intercept what is sent over 2g. It also allows someone to act as a cell towers, then send you fake texts and calls

[GoanGeek]

It was removed from the network mode and has come back with its own option which seems strange.

[arianwen27]

Little explainer.

Network mode is a preference. You're telling the phone what network type you prefer. It does not disable the others.

As of a few years ago, the cell chip in your phone got the ability to hard disable certain network types. The hard disable is the 2g disable toggle. Network providers are allowed to hide the option from you if they believe 2g is still important.

My s25 has always had it, my s22 got it with the one ui 7 update.

If your s25 didn't have it, must be your network provider doing that

[GoanGeek]

Must be a one ui 7 thing. Then. Samsung does have a habit of removing and. Bringing back stuff and yeah I guess it's still handy for rural places .

[Sonora]

It's came with OneUI 7 on my S24 ultra. I didn't have that option on OneUI 6.1. (Only 4G or 5G on OneUI 6.1)

 

[JSimpson356]

2G is being switched off on o2/Virgin in the UK

[Brooklin]

Oddly enough yeah