Google has added an option with Android 12 that allows you to disable 2G from the cellular network standards of an era.
Android 12, which appeared at last year’s Google I/O 2021 event, continues to be shipped to compatible devices around the world today. Taking user experience to the next level in important issues such as security, design, and performance, the new version recently decided to disable 2G, one of the cellular network standards of a period, for some reason.
Google adds Kill Switch for 2G networks to Android 12
Launched by Radiolinja in Finland in 1991 in a GSM standard, the end of the road began to appear for 2G networks that had been used for many years. Google has officially announced the launch of the Kill Switch switch, which allows you to disable 2G networks when necessary in the operating system.
Of course, Google’s move could be explained by the fact that 2G networks are no longer behind the technology and unsafe. As you know, operators around the world, especially in the US, shut down their 2G networks years ago. In fact, recently, 3G networks have been gradually being removed to the dusty pages of history. As such, it is quite natural to add the Kill Switch key for 2G networks to an up-to-date operating system such as Android 12.
Following Google’s move, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an international non-governmental organization set up to campaign to completely end 2G networks starting in 2020, said in a statement:
It’s a pretty good development that Google is adding a Kill Switch switch to its Android 12 operating system that can disable 2G networks. We expect the same move from Apple for the iOS operating system.
There are two main problems with 2G. First, between the tower and the device, there is an extremely weak encryption key that can be broken in real time by a hacker to intercept calls or text messages.
The second problem with 2G is that the tower cannot authenticate to the phone. This means that everyone will seamlessly impersonate a real 2G tower, causing a security breach to a phone that uses the 2G protocol. Therefore, there is a serious danger of privacy.
