What is Airplane Mode on a Cell Phone?

Cell phones when used in planes and trains disrupt other passengers who want refuge from these yappers!

Can you imagine some moron close to you yapping for six hours incessantly. It may force some people to take drastic action. Be safe! Avoid possible accidents. No cell phones on planes!

Does the airport mode on my desktop computer need to be on for any reason? I noticed that the ipod has an airport mode but never noticed it on my home computer. Was it transferred by downloading dropbox?

The only reason not to allow cell phones to function on a plane are the obnoxious, loudmouthed morons who think they have to speak as if only then could the people they call hear them.

A cell phone is a radio! In airplane mode, the radio portion is disabled. You can play games, etc. If your phone works on an airplane, you may be interrupting guidance systems, even though the frequencies are far apart. The cell system is complex. You are not getting free calls.

Because you are higher than normal, strong signals to different towers far apart would indicate your ESN has been stolen, putting it on the fraud list and disabled!

If the phone is in airplane mode, say while on a cruise ship, would it prevent the excessive roaming charges incurred while aboard?

In response to anon156670, they were able to use their phones because they weren't traveling at their usual height, hence being able to crash into a building.

Can anyone explain that since cellphone coverage is not possible when flying on a commercial airliner operating at normal altitude (because of the reasons given in many of the above answers), then how come cellphone messages were claimed to have been received from airliners caught up in the events of 9-11?

Not only are some of these 'messages' highly suspicious in themselves (one claims a son calls his mother and says 'Hello, this is John Smith'.. when was the last time you called your mom and used your full name?) but it's clear from many engineering reports that you just can't make reliable cell calls from an airline at altitude. So what were these calls? And why hasn't the subject been properly investigated?

Very silly that people still think cellphones can interfere with electronics on a plane.

There is no basis for this theory, and it has in fact been disproven by several independent tests, most notably MythBusters which airs on Discovery Channel.

Cellphones don't do anything to interfere with a plane. Period.

How about your cell phone in offline or airplane mode accessing the planes wi fi if available and your phone has skype and making a skype call, either skype to skype or skype to a landline with skype credit?

If someone actually believes if you call from a plane the call is free, they are actually a moron. I have placed many calls from private planes, and they always show up on my verizon bill. So don't speak if you don't know what you are talking about.

If my phone is in Airplane Mode, with no signals coming in or out, will any calls made to me still make it to my cell phone?

The article is accurate. And don't believe the comments about phone calls would be free if we used phones on planes, that's not true at all. --Cell phone engineer.

anon94575: Has it occurred to you that many companies give unlimited text messaging? It's in order to not interfere with radio frequencies. If you want to endanger your life by using your phone on a plane, by all means, be my guest.

No. Airplane mode simply turns off the communication functions on your phone so as to keep it from interfering with the guidance and communications of the plane.

Even with airplane mode off, you would call normally because the networks are created by satellite. The network you connect to simply depends on your service provider. So, basically, the reason we are told to turn our phones off is to keep everyone on the plane safe and not because your calls will go free if you leave it on, which, by the way, will not happen.

Airplane mode was created for hardworking people to continue working on their phone during the flight.

Okay basically, "Airplane mode" means that you can't send or receive messages 'because of interference with the aircraft.' However, the real reason is that because the cell doesn't know which network to use, the message you send would go for free. And therefore the network companies would be losing money. Simple. It's fine to use your phone.

thanks it makes sense. I was going crazy.

Thanks. This helped me so much. I was going on an airplane in a few days and I didn't know what it was.

if someone texts you when your phone is in flight mode, will you receive the test when you turn flight mode off? Also, will it provide the accurate time that the message was sent?

That was a clear and straight to the point answer and gave me all the info I needed. Thank you so much for that and keep up the good work as this is a straight to the point and not a lot of run around like other sites. thank you.

i tried to turn my phone to the airplane mode and turn my wireless on then i can connect to the wireless and it allows me to make calls anywhere. i would like to know if my phone company can start charging me for that.

Thank you for giving a great response to my question!

I have a samsung sgh-a137 Go-Phone and it appears to be on "airplane mode and i cannot figure out how to change it. My 79 page manual does not help. Please help. I can't use my phone.

I would like to know what someone who dials a phone that is set on Airplane mode hears. Is it a "Sorry, the mobile subsciber cannot be reached?"

Thanks, just what I wanted to know.

i wish it was on a timer. That way I can have my kids' phones turn off automatically during school hours.

Answered my question perfectly. All I wanted to know is "the purpose of airplane mode." Your answer was the first one I found that actually answered that question, instead of giving me a list of what airplane mode allows you to do.

Thank you so much, yes big help! That is a cool feature! Thank you for taking time to explain it! helped me a lot. thanks. --GBU

Yeah, it does help. Thanks! :)

thanks. that helped.

thanks very much :) it definitely helped.

Thanks!

thanks. it helped!!

Does airplane mode stop the cell phone from giving off radiation ?