Not only smartphones and operating systems have developed rapidly, but also mobile phone standards have made great strides in the last three decades, with 4G and 5G playing a particularly important role in this country. But because smartphones should be backward compatible as far as possible, 2G is still supported. Android 12 lets you disable support for the old standard — and maybe you should.
The G abbreviation may be associated with something else due to the pandemic, but 2G, 3G, 4G and probably the best known 5G are short names for mobile phone standards. The vast majority of smartphones still support 2G for the greatest possible worldwide compatibility, although it has long since been switched off in many countries.
As the @EFF points out, Android 12 adds a toggle to disable the 2G modem. 2G is insecure and vulnerable to interception, so you’re advised to avoid it.https://t.co/26YFMVtTHt
Unfortunately, this feature requires version 1.6 of the Radio HAL, and many devices don’t have that. pic.twitter.com/oxyOFkyiVA
— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) January 13, 2022
But the standard dates back to 1991 and by no means offers the security and encryption of modern standards. Therefore, it can actually become a gateway for an attack. With Android 12 you have the option of deactivating 2G support and thus protecting yourself from an unnecessary gateway for attacks. This is needed because smartphones can still switch back to the other standards if 5G or 4G reception is poor.
This is how 2G can be deactivated
If you would like to deactivate this, then look for the following setting: Settings -> Network and Internet -> SIM and then look for the sub-item for using 2G, which you simply have to switch off. It can be called a little differently for every smartphone, so check for yourself whether you have this point.