EFF praises Android?s new 2G kill switch, wants Apple to follow suit

The digital rights group has been campaigning against the dated, insecure 2G cellular standard since 2020, and Android is the first mobile OS to take the group's advice and let users completely disable 2G.In the US, carriers shut down 2G years ago, and the 3G shutdown is already underway. The actual HALs don't get updated much, so your best bet for getting a 2G kill switch is buying a new Android phone launching with Android 12, not a phone that is being upgraded to Android 12.But wait, this is Android, so the carriers can get in the way, too. I can confirm the switch is on the Pixel 6, and the EFF says to check some newer Samsung phones.If you want to kill 2G and have a normal settings layout, the switch is at "Settings > Network & Internet > SIMs > Allow 2G." If your OEM scrambled the Android settings for the purposes of "differentiation," try searching for "2G" or hunting around the cellular settings.You must login or create an account to comment.Join the Ars Orbital Transmission mailing list to get weekly updates delivered to your inbox.