As of August 3, no major US carrier runs a 2G network. AT&T pulled the plug first in 2017. Verizon’s CDMA network, which carried its 2G service, went dark at the end of 2022, and T-Mobile held out until this summer. My iPhone 16 Pro Max didn’t get the memo, though. It’ll still latch onto a 2G signal if it sees one, and around my house, any 2G signal is a red flag.
On Android, you flip one switch and forget about it. Apple makes you turn on Lockdown Mode instead, which drags a pile of restrictions along with it. I’m happy with my iPhone, but this is one spot where I’m jealous of Android, and I can’t think of a decent reason Apple hasn’t fixed it.
The only 2G towers left are the ones you shouldn’t trust
US carriers have retired 2G, but your phone hasn’t
Your phone still keeps 2G in its back pocket for spotty coverage, overseas roaming, and 911 calls. That made sense when carriers still ran 2G sites. It makes a lot less sense now that Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile have all decommissioned theirs.
The bigger problem is how 2G handles trust. With 3G and everything after it, your phone checks the network just as the network checks your phone. 2G skipped that step. The tower verifies you, but your phone simply trusts whatever tower answers.
Fake cell towers exploit exactly that gap. Someone with the right gear can put out a strong signal, coax phones off LTE or 5G, and park them on 2G, where nothing gets verified. Since Verizon no longer runs any 2G, my iPhone has no legitimate reason to land there at home. If it ever does, that’s a bad sign.
SMS blasters turn 2G into a scam delivery system
These fake towers skip carrier spam filters entirely
Right now, criminals mostly exploit this weakness with SMS blasters. An SMS blaster is a portable fake cell tower, often small enough to ride in a car trunk, that grabs nearby phones and fires off phishing texts. Those messages never pass through your carrier’s network, so they skip its spam filtering, and the sender can be spoofed to look like your bank or a parking authority.
Police have already caught people doing this. In April 2026, Toronto Police arrested three men in Canada’s first known SMS blaster case. Police tied the operation to tens of thousands of connected devices and more than 13 million network disruptions, and they warned the interference could even interrupt 911 calls. Earlier this year, Greek police found a similar rig hidden in a car, with its transmitter disguised as a shark fin antenna on the roof.
I haven’t seen a confirmed SMS blaster bust in the US yet. Given how portable this gear is, I wouldn’t count on that lasting.
Android users can block 2G with one toggle
Google has offered the switch since Android 12
Google added an Allow 2G toggle in Android 12 back in 2021, starting with the Pixel 6. On a Pixel, it sits under Settings > Network & internet > SIMs. Samsung phones have an Allow 2G service switch under Settings > Connections > Mobile networks. Android 16 went further by renaming the option 2G network protection, adding it to a new Mobile network security section in Safety Center, and blocking 2G automatically when you turn on Advanced Protection.
Google has also publicly encouraged Android owners to turn 2G off. That’s the part I envy most. It’s one low-risk setting that addresses a real threat, and it doesn’t ask you to give up anything else in return.
This isn’t the first time I’ve watched Android get something right first. I’ve already made a list of Android features Apple should borrow, and a 2G switch deserves a spot near the top of it.
Lockdown Mode is the only workaround on iPhone
Blocking 2G means giving up a lot more than 2G
Before writing this, I went digging through my own settings. I spend more time than most people poking around iPhone settings, and I hoped Apple had quietly slipped a 2G option into iOS 27. It hasn’t. I checked Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Voice & Data on my Verizon line, and 2G isn’t even listed. There’s nothing else under Cellular that lets you block it either.
Lockdown Mode lives under Settings > Privacy & Security, and Apple offers no other way to block 2G. Flip it on, and 2G and 3G go away, along with most Messages attachments, links, and link previews. FaceTime calls from people you haven’t contacted in the past 30 days get blocked, Shared Albums disappear from Photos, Game Center shuts off, and incoming calls stop ringing on a paired Apple Watch. Some websites load slowly or break altogether.
iOS 27 softened this a bit by letting you exclude specific contacts from the messaging limits. Still, Apple describes Lockdown Mode as protection for the very few people who might be personally targeted by sophisticated attacks. For most people, me included, that’s too steep a price for blocking one outdated network.
One switch would fix this for every iPhone owner
Lockdown Mode already proves Apple can block 2G. Splitting that piece out into its own toggle under Cellular settings would give every iPhone owner the protection Android users have had since 2021, without any of the collateral damage. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a digital rights nonprofit, publicly asked Apple for exactly that back in early 2022.
Until Apple listens, slow down before tapping a link in any text that claims to come from your bank, a toll agency, or a delivery service. Even with this gap, I’m sticking with my iPhone, but a 2G switch is one Android feature I’d happily take.
