Airplane Mode is available on virtually every smartphone in the globe, and many of us use it to quickly disable cellular and social media notifications so we can focus on other things. Though it appears to be superfluous considering that virtually all cellphones feature a 'Do Not Disturb' setting. As a result, we may state that the mode is for when we fly on an airplane. But why is it so important? Will an iPhone truly disrupt a complete plane if it is not in airplane mode?
To address all of these concerns, we must go back to 1991, when the United States' Federal Communication Commission (FCC) outlawed phone conversations on flights, which was then followed internationally. This restriction was enacted because the radio waves generated by a phone might interfere with airline transmissions such as communication between air traffic and pilots. This is done to guarantee that the plane can avoid impediments like thunderstorms and mountains.
This worry grew to the point that audio and video players were thought to interfere with a plane's avionics.
However, avionics have improved to the point where they can resist interference from a phone, thus the restriction of turning off your smartphone during air travel was later eased in 2013 and passengers may use their electronics without creating any disturbance.
Although you can use normal devices, such as an iPad, to watch a movie that is locally stored in your phone, it is still considered dangerous to stream movies or play online games on a plane, which is why the feature known as ‘Airplane mode' was developed, which blocks all radio transmissions from your phone while allowing you to use your phone safely.
The bad news for users is that you cannot connect to social media through a cellphone network; instead, most flights provide in-flight WiFi for you to utilize. However, this does not imply you may make voice calls, as this occurs only in extremely unusual circumstances.
Overall, before you board an aircraft, make sure you're in Airplane mode so that your phone doesn't become the source of all transmission problems.
