Airplane mode is a setting on smartphones and laptops that turns off Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and cellular services. It is mainly used on flights to avoid interfering with aircraft systems, but it has other benefits too. In this guide, we will explain how airplane mode works, how it can save your device battery life, and other additional tips to maximize its benefits.

 

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What is Airplane Mode?

Airplane mode, also known as flight mode, is a setting in smartphones and portable computers that temporarily disables wireless signal transmissions coming from your phone. When you activate it features like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and all phone services are turned off. The primary purpose of Airplane Mode is to prevent signals from interfering with an aircraft’s systems during flight.

 

How Does Airplane Mode Work?

Airplane Mode turns off the phone’s cellular radio and prevents it from sending or receiving calls, texts, or mobile data. It’s mostly used during flights because the long-range waves produced by cell phones could potentially interfere with the aircraft’s communication systems.

While cellular signals are prohibited, Bluetooth (which uses short-range waves) is allowed. Wi-Fi, however, depends on the specific aircraft and if the plane has the necessary hardware to make Wi-Fi safe. You should always check with the flight crew before enabling Wi-Fi.

 

Related: How to Set Up and Use An eSIM Hotspot

 

The Science Behind Battery Savings in Airplane Mode

We’ve always heard that by putting our phones in airplane mode, our battery life will last longer. But does it work? The simple answer is yes. Yes, by turning on the flight mode on our phones we can save battery.

This happens because when the phone is on cellular data it is doing a lot more. After all, most services use cellular data and they can run in the background of the phone meaning that the battery can be constantly losing health.

 

When Should You Use Airplane Mode?

• Traveling: When traveling you should always turn on your airplane mode as a safety measure.
• Saving Battery: Your battery will last longer in airplane mode, this is because it will no longer be looking for radio connections so you will prolong your phone’s battery life.
• Child’s Control: If your kids are playing on your phone or tablet, you should consider turning on airplane mode to avoid accidental calls, messages, or photos sent to your contacts.
• Peace of Mind: No calls, no texts, no emails. Sometimes you just want to take a break and it seems impossible. Use this silence to focus on yourself, to get some work done, to get a nice sleep.
   

When should you use airplane mode for optimal battery performance?

• Low Reception Areas: Your phone will stop trying to connect to a network or looking for reception, and your battery life will last longer.
• Faster Charging: As mentioned before, your phone in airplane mode is not doing much, so it will charge a little more quickly than usual.
• Extend Battery Life: If your battery is running low, consider the airplane mode until you can charge it properly.

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Common Myths About Airplane Mode and Battery Life

 

Does Airplane Mode save battery?

Yes, airplane mode does save battery on various devices. On an Apple Watch, it conserves battery life by turning off all notifications and network-dependent features. For an iPad, activating airplane mode and manually turning off Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, or the hotspot can significantly extend battery life. Similarly, on a Kindle, using airplane mode when you’re not actively using the internet or other wireless features can enhance privacy, reduce distractions, and help your battery last longer.

 

Related: LTE vs 5G: Key Differences and Why They Matter

 

Does Airplane Mode charge faster?

If you’re in a rush and need to charge your phone quickly, turning on the airplane mode is an excellent trick. With all the radio transmissions turned off, your device can focus only on charging. It’s important to know, that although it does charge faster, it will not save you much time, just reduce the charging time a little bit.

 

Do phones charge faster in low-power mode?

The quick answer is No. low power mode doesn’t help your phone to charge faster.  This mode limits background features to extend battery life, but the charging speed remains unaffected.

Low Power Mode conserves energy, but it doesn’t speed up charging to a great extent.

 

Is charging your phone on a low battery bad?

The answer is another No. Low Power Mode is safe to leave on for long periods and won’t damage your battery.  What can damage your battery is leaving your phone plugged in for too long.
 

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Additional Tips for Extending Your Phone Battery Life

 

General Tips to Save Battery:

• Reduce screen brightness.
• Let your screen turn off sooner.
• Set the brightness to change automatically.
• Use Power Saving Mode.
• Delete unused accounts.
• Limit notifications.
• Don’t overcharge your battery.
   

Tips to Save Battery in Android and iPhone Smartphones:

• Turn off keyboard sounds or vibrations.
• Restrict apps with high battery use.
• Turn on the adaptive battery (Android).
• Turn on the dark theme (Android).
• Turn off the Always On feature (iPhone).
• Avoid live wallpapers (iPhone).
• Turn off Live Voicemail (iPhone).
• Adjust Location Services.
   

Tips to Save Battery For Laptops:

• Optimize Battery Usage and Performance.
• Adjust Graphics and Display Settings.
• Close Resource-Intensive Applications.
• Ensure proper ventilation.
• Check your laptop battery health.
• Activate Battery Saving Mode.
• Reduce the display and sleep timeout.
• Reduce screen brightness.
• Turn off keyboard backlights.
• Turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when not needed.
• Disable UI animations and shadows.

 

Related: How Much Data Does Google Maps Use? + Tips to Save Data

 

Airplane Mode vs. Power Off: Which is better?

The first thing to know is that Airplane Mode is not the same thing as Power Off, and they also have different functions on our phones. So, when should we use them, and which one is better?
 

For battery saving: When our phone is completely turned off, it uses less power than when it is on standby. So, if you’re looking to extend your phone’s battery life, this is surely the best option.

 
For safe traveling: When turning off our phone it’s still possible that it emits signals that could interfere with the aircraft’s system. So, for safe traveling, we recommend using Airplane Mode, so your device won’t connect to cellular networks, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth and prevent interfering with the aircraft’s systems
 

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FAQs

 

Can you tell if someone´s phone is on Airplane Mode?

If you suspect that someone’s on Airplane Mode, there are a few tricks that can help you to confirm your suspicion. For example, if you try calling the person and it goes straight to voicemail without ringing, or if you send a text message and it doesn’t get delivered or get a response. You can also check through messaging apps like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger.

 

Does Airplane Mode turn off the location?

Airplane Mode doesn’t turn off your device’s GPS, but it disables internet access, so your device will not update its location on the internet. If you want to prevent your phone from being tracked, you should turn off your Location Services and GPS.

 

What is the difference between Airplane Mode and Do Not Disturb?

Do Not Disturb stops calls and notifications on your phone, except for the allowed ones. You can also choose the apps or contacts that can keep working while it’s on. In contrast, Airplane mode completely stops the SIM card and Wi-Fi services so you would not receive notifications or calls at all.

 

Does Bluetooth drain the battery on iPhones?

Bluetooth is a low-power consumption technology and therefore has a very low impact on your device’s battery life, so it really doesn’t matter if you disable it to save battery life.