What Is Airplane Mode?

What is airplane mode?

Airplane mode is a setting on phones, tablets, and laptops that disables all of the device's wireless radios at once. When you switch it on, your device stops transmitting and receiving on cellular networks, and it also turns off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth by default. The point is to silence the signals your device would normally send out to connect to cell towers and other networks. Your phone still works as an offline device: you can take photos, play downloaded games, read, and listen to saved music. It just cannot make calls, send texts over the cellular network, or reach the internet unless you re-enable Wi-Fi separately, which is allowed on many flights.

Why do you have to use airplane mode on a plane?

It is a precaution against interference. According to the FAA, airlines can allow passengers to use portable electronic devices throughout the flight, but those devices should be in airplane mode so their transmitting and receiving functions are off. The concern is that signals from many phones searching for distant cell towers could, in theory, interfere with sensitive navigation and communication equipment, and keeping devices in airplane mode removes that possibility. Separately, the Federal Communications Commission prohibits using cell phones for voice calls in flight, partly because a plane full of phones can disrupt cellular networks on the ground. So airplane mode satisfies both the interference precaution and the ban on in-flight cellular calls.

Can you use Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in airplane mode?

Yes, and this is the part many travelers miss. After you enable airplane mode, you can turn Wi-Fi and Bluetooth back on individually while leaving cellular off. That lets you connect to an airline's onboard Wi-Fi network if the flight offers one, and pair wireless headphones or a keyboard over Bluetooth. Most airlines explicitly permit this, since Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are short-range and low-power compared with cellular. So the practical routine is: switch on airplane mode to kill the cellular signal, then re-enable Wi-Fi to get online and Bluetooth for your headphones. Your device stays compliant with the rules while you stream, browse, and listen throughout the flight.

What happens if you don't turn on airplane mode?

In practice, a single phone left on will not bring down an airplane; there is no proven case of a passenger device causing a crash. But leaving cellular on is still a problem for a few reasons. Your phone will constantly search for cell towers it cannot reach at altitude, which drains your battery quickly and can cause annoying interference noise in headsets. It also violates airline rules and the FCC restriction on in-flight calls, and a cabin full of transmitting phones is exactly the aggregate the interference precaution is meant to avoid. Flight attendants will ask you to switch it on, and it is a simple courtesy and safety step. The easy move is to enable it before takeoff.