Please sign in to post.

iPhone in Airplane Mode

Has anyone planned to keep their iPhones in airplane mode except when WIFI is available while in Europe?

Posted by
82 posts

You can use WiFi while in airplane mode. Just manually switch WiFi back on. We do it with our iPhones when abroad.

Posted by
1792 posts

Just an FYI. There is no need to turn airplane mode off to connect to WiFi. Once in airplane mode either toggle WiFi on and off as needed or just leave it on if you want.

Posted by
173 posts

You can use wifi in airplane mode. I do this often in Europe and Mexico to save data. Very helpful feature.

Posted by
2461 posts

I leave my iPhone in Airplane mode so Verizon doesn’t charge me for the $10 daily international fee. I use WiFi and Bluetooth when I’m in range.

Posted by
372 posts

My husband and I left our iPhones in airplane mode for the 3 weeks we were in Italy. Turned on the WiFi when available without having to leave airplane mode. No problems, no charges. Probably doesn't make any difference to this topic, but we have AT&T.

Posted by
2767 posts

Yes, if you don’t have an international data plan this is a good idea. Just be sure to download as much as possible while on WiFi to make the phone useful. You can still use WiFi and the offline phone features, like camera, clock, books and notes you download ahead of time, and many apps. If you download your languages ahead of time, you can also use google translate offline.

As others pointed out, WiFi works on airplane mode. So does GPS so if you download a map (in an offline app or on google with WiFi) the blue dot marking your location still moves in real time. GPS is not cellular data so you won’t be charged for using it.

Depending on your carrier look into charges to use the phone to call/text/use the Internet. In an emergency you may want to do this.

Posted by
2067 posts

One does not “ALWAYS” have to have airplane mode on at all times. If your data plan is sufficient enough to handle turning AP off for a need to get info when WiFi isn’t available, do so! But, don’t forget to turn it back on when done with whatever you needed to look up.

Posted by
32173 posts

I often leave cellular data switched off when I'm out touring, but rarely put the phone in "Airplane mode" unless I'm actually on a plane. Some data activity occurs in the background, so I want to ensure that I don't go over my limit.

Posted by
996 posts

My other half goes this route. I'm the one who keeps my phone on with a calling/data plan.

Posted by
888 posts

Can't speak for Apples, but we do so for our Android phones for many of the same reasons plus to save battery life. If the phone isn't searching for a tower it saves a lot of battery power. Until the last couple of years we traveled Europe without international service and kept our phones in airplane mode the entire trip. Would use Wi-Fi if there was a safe connection.

Posted by
3514 posts

Put my iPhone in Airplane mode when I get on the plane going to Europe. Turn airplane mode off when I step off the plane back in the US. I manually switch WiFi and Bluetooth on as needed without ever touching the airplane mode switch. Works great.

Posted by
3985 posts

I keep my iPhone in airplane mode 100% of the time while overseas regardless of whether I’m using Wi-Fi or not. I also turn off cell data as an extra step in case I turn off airplane mode by mistake.

When your phone is on airplane mode, Wi-Fi certainly works.

Posted by
5697 posts

For many trips, we went even further -- had our carrier put phones (android) in "vacation mode" so there was NO chance of running up phone bills. Used hotel Wi-Fi to keep in touch with family at home.