The airplane mode of smartphones has ancient origins, it was already present on the first cell phones, so you can keep the phone on even if offline, without internet and without connection to the cellular network. Airplane mode is now also called offline mode and is a setting still available on all smartphones and also on laptops and tablets, which when activated interrupts all the transmission of the signal from your device.
The feature is known as airplane mode because many airlines prohibit the use of cell phones and wireless devices on their aircraft, maintaining a cautious stance even though it has not actually been proven that phones can interfere with radio equipment.
In addition to use on an airplane, airplane mode is also useful in everyday life, to disable all radio connections in one touch, when you don't want to be disturbed, especially during the night.
The Airplane mode, therefore, allows you to disable networks without turning off the phone, thus maintaining the ability to use applications, including the alarm clock that does not work with the smartphone turned off.
When you activate Airplane mode on a phone, both Android and iPhone, you get the result of deactivating the following services:
- The cellular network (UMTS, LTE and GSM): for which it is not possible to make calls, send SMS messages or use the mobile data connection to access the Internet.
- The Wi-Fi connection.
- Bluetooth and all connections to external speakers, wireless headphones, smartwatches or other devices.
- GPS is deactivated only in some smartphone models, while for others it remains active with Airplane mode, also because GPS does not transmit radio waves.
As a result, apps like Google Maps work without an Internet connection, although things like real-time traffic don't work in airplane mode.
Activating or deactivating airplane mode is very simple on Android smartphones (samsung, Huawei and others) and on iPhone, because it is always one of the buttons on the main switch bar.
On Android it is found by dragging down the notification bar at the top, while on iPhone you have to drag your finger from the bottom up. If your Android phone does not have the Airplane mode button, you can add it by tapping on the pencil icon that you see above the other switches or go to Settings> Network and Internet> Airplane mode .
In airplane mode, the connections of the mobile phone do not work, but it is still possible to listen to the music saved on the mobile phone, the music offline if you have subscribed to Spotify Premium and then see the episodes of the TV series downloaded from Netflix, read emails and messages already received and also see the latest updates downloaded from apps like Facebook.
If you use the feature that saves Chrome web pages and videos, you can also read or re-read articles saved from blogs and newspapers.
With Airplane mode it is possible to activate it is still possible to connect to a wifi network to go on the internet. This possibility cannot be obtained on all smartphones, but on many (including the iPhone) it works. When you turn on airplane mode, Wi-Fi turns off, but it can be turned on again while leaving the phone offline (from the cellular network). This allows you to connect to aircraft wifi networks and also to keep call reception disabled when you land in a foreign place, however going online from a wifi network.
Bluetooth can also work in airplane mode on some smartphones, using the respective switch. Enabling Bluetooth allows you to pair with Bluetooth headsets, keyboard or other devices such as smartwatch or pedometer.
Airplane mode, in addition to not being disturbed, can also be used for other purposes .
1) To save battery
When you activate the airplane mode, the battery consumption of the mobile phone is greatly reduced, because there is no radio reception and because the apps can no longer synchronize online.
For the same reason, the phone's charging speed also increases.
2) To read the messages received on Whatsapp without sending the notification to who sent them .
This is one of the ways to read Whatsapp messages without opening them (and letting the sender know it).
3) To play on the cell phone
When playing on mobile, it is always advisable to put airplane mode to save energy and make the battery last longer, but above all not to display advertisements during games (if you can play offline).
For example, if you give a child a phone to play, it is always advisable to put it in airplane mode to avoid the appearance of banners and not to receive phone calls or messages that interrupt the game.
BONUS TRICK: On Android, there is a nice trick that is activated by activating the Airplane mode : if you try to open the Google app to do a search, the results do not appear because the phone is offline. Instead, a message appears with a little drawing next to it. Pressing on the sketch will open a little game with a cloud that flies, to get as far as possible.
