Why do I have to put my Phone on airplane mode? All mobile phones (whether smartphones or feature phones) come with a flight mode or airplane mode feature. This mode basically turns off network connectivity on your device making it impossible for your device to connect to the internet or even send out wireless signals that could interfere with airplane’s radios.
What is airplane mode and why do you need to activate it while on a flight?
Putting your mobile electronic device to airplane mode simply prevents the device from sending network (wireless) signals. It is important to always activate airplane mode (a.k.a. flight mode) on mobile devices while flying. However, the attendants often remind passengers to activate this mode, but for one or more reasons, you may not hear when the announcement is made; thus, you didn’t turn on during the flight. This leads us to the question;
What Happens If You Don’t Switch Your Phone to Airplane Mode When You Fly?
Typically, the only issue that may occur as a result of not activating flight mode on your device is that your device may send wireless signals that may interfere with the airplane’s there are, and many pilots frown at this. If you fly always, on one or more occasions, you may have heard an unpleasant sound coming from the flight’s audio system; this noise only goes out when a mobile device is nearby and is trying to connect to a network signal because it is not on airplane mode.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published that the radio frequencies emitted by electronic devices during flight could interfere with cell tower networks on the ground. Hence, when you don’t turn on airplane mode, your device will always try to connect with any tower the airplane passes.
However, the issue isn’t only about your device trying to make connections; one of the things that happen when you do not turn on airplane mode is that your device’s battery will likely drain faster.
Also, if the signals sent by your device cause serious interference with that of the airplane, the pilot may inform the attendants to re-announce the information, this time around, you may hear and turn it on.
Would anyone know that you didn’t turn on airplane mode?
There’s no apparent possible means to indicate the exact passenger(s) who didn’t activate airplane mode on their mobile electronic devices.
Why is airplane mode so important?
It is among the safety rules of traveling with flights that all passengers in an airplane to activate flight mode on their devices to avoid interference with airport radio frequencies and signals. It is merely a safety precaution; however, it is also very important that you adhere to this so that you don’t put your life and the life of other passengers at risk.
What if I wanted to access the internet while flying?
Most aircraft nowadays have built-in Wi-Fi. You can connect to the built-in Wi-Fi and access the internet. It has been proved that Wi-Fi signals are not as strong as GSM signals. In-flight Wi-Fi may not be available on all aircraft, and those aircraft with this feature will cost you more.
10 ways of saving money while traveling