Your battery is at 18% on a long day out and 5G is quietly draining it, but the switch is buried four screens deep in Settings. This shortcut flips your iPhone between 5G and 4G/LTE in one tap.
What it actually does
Run it and the shortcut switches your cellular mode: on 5G it drops you to 4G, on 4G it moves you back to 5G. Give it a few seconds to settle after each switch while your phone reconnects.
Doing it by hand means going to Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Voice & Data, and then picking a mode. Repeating that several times a day gets old fast, which is the whole reason this shortcut exists.
Why switch at all? There are a few good reasons:
- Battery. 5G radios generally use more power, especially where coverage is patchy and the phone keeps hunting for a signal.
- Stability. In areas with weak 5G, a solid 4G connection often feels faster than a struggling 5G one.
- Speed. Where 5G coverage is strong, switching back gets you the higher throughput.
Getting it set up
- Run it once by hand and choose Always Allow for every permission it asks for.
- Lock your phone and approve any remaining prompts that appear.
That last step matters: once every permission is granted, it runs without interruptions.
Running the shortcut
Opening the Shortcuts app each time is the slow route. Two faster options:
Control Center (iOS 18 and later): open Control Center, tap the + in the top-left corner, choose Add a Control, pick Shortcuts and select the toggle.
Home Screen: in the Shortcuts app, tap the three-dot menu on the shortcut, tap the Share icon, choose Add to Home Screen and tap Add.
The Control Center route is the better one for most people, since it works from anywhere, including the Lock Screen.
Use cases
- Saving battery on a travel day when you don’t need top speed.
- Escaping a weak 5G signal that keeps dropping during a call.
- Switching back to 5G for a large download when coverage is good.
Limits
It only changes the network mode. It can’t create 5G coverage where your carrier has none, and your phone and plan need to support 5G in the first place.
Common questions
Does it work with dual SIM?
Dual-SIM behavior isn’t documented. Test it once and check which line changed in Settings.
Why do I keep getting permission prompts?
Keep choosing Always Allow. The prompts stop once every permission has been approved.
Will my calls drop when it switches?
Expect a brief reconnection while the network adjusts, so avoid switching mid-call.
First time adding a shortcut from a website? Here's what each prompt means.
