There have been quite a few problems with iOS 8, which haven’t been fixed in iOS 8.0.2.
Our readers in India and other countries where there is still poor 3G coverage in some places were annoyed with the lack of an option to disable 3G. iOS 8 only came with an option to disable LTE.
Since there are still quite a few areas in India and other countries that have poor 3G coverage, iPhone users who lived in such areas used to disable 3G to extend their iPhone’s battery life, and relied on the slower 2G connection.
So they were annoyed when the option to disable 3G was not present in iOS 8. The fact that the carriers or Apple’s support staff couldn’t address the issue immediately left users frustrated.
The good news is that Apple is indeed listening to feedback and complaints, as iOS 8.1 which was seeded to developers two days back, will give users the option to either select LTE, 3G or 2G, which should address these concerns.
Cellular Settings in iOS 8.0 (left), Cellular Settings in iOS 8.1 (right)
As you can see below, in iOS 8.1, users will be able to switch to LTE, 3G or 2G via the new Voice & Data settings in the Settings app (Settings > Cellular/Mobile > Voice & Data).
You would however have to wait for some more time, as we expect iOS 8.1 to be released alongside the new iPads later this month. This issue also highlights the need for carriers to get their act together and improve 3G coverage. Forcing users to use the iPhone on a 2G connection in 2014 is just unacceptable.
Thanks a lot Kabali for the tip and the screenshots!
