What Does Airplane Mode Do? Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Roaming and Your Travel eSIM on a Flight (2026)

Summary

Airplane mode switches off the cellular radio and, by default, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Both of those can be turned straight back on while airplane mode stays active, and the phone remembers the choice. Apple's wording: “If the airline allows it, you can still use Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in Airplane Mode.” Nothing else changes: the eSIM profile, apps and photos stay exactly as they were.

In the US, cellular use in the air is still prohibited by FCC rule 47 CFR 22.925; in Europe each airline decides. On landing, the order is: home SIM data roaming off, travel eSIM set as the data line, then airplane mode off. That sequence avoids a roaming day pass and has the eSIM online in about a minute.

What airplane mode actually switches off

Radio or feature	In airplane mode	Can you turn it back on?
Cellular voice, SMS, mobile data	Off	Yes on iPhone (Apple's guide notes cellular can be re-enabled), but doing so defeats the point and breaks airline rules
Wi-Fi	Off by default	Yes, from Control Center or Quick Settings; remembered next time
Bluetooth	Off by default	Yes; headphones, watches and keyboards work normally
GPS	Stays on in practice on current phones	Receive-only; position works, first fix is slower without cellular assistance
NFC and Apple Pay / Google Wallet	Stays on	Tap to pay works on the ground; cards need no connection
Ultra-wideband (Find My precision, car keys)	Off (Samsung: not permitted on aircraft)	No
eSIM profiles, apps, photos, downloads	Unchanged	Nothing to turn on; they were never off

Compiled from Apple's Airplane Mode support article, Google's Pixel help and Samsung's US support page, checked November 2026.

iPhone

Settings

Radios, not data

Airplane Mode on, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth back on. Apple: if the airline allows it, both can be used in Airplane Mode, and the phone keeps the choice next time.

The in-flight state: cellular off, cabin Wi-Fi and headphones on. The eSIM under Cellular is paused, not removed.

Android (Pixel)

Settings › Network & internet

Remembers your choice

Google: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are off the first time airplane mode is turned on; switch them back on and the phone remembers that setting next time (Android 14 and up).

Google's documented behaviour for Pixel. Samsung notes Ultra-wideband stays off in Airplane mode because it is not permitted on aircraft.

The two vendor pages agree on the mechanics. Apple's Use Airplane Mode article says that if you turn Bluetooth off while in Airplane Mode, the device turns it off again the next time Airplane Mode is enabled; Google's Pixel help says Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are off the first time you use airplane mode and that the phone remembers your previous setting after that, on Android 14 and up. Samsung lists the same radios and adds that Ultra-wideband is disabled because it is not permitted on aircraft.

Is airplane mode still required in 2026?

Jurisdiction	Rule	What it means for you	Source
United States	FCC rule 47 CFR 22.925 prohibits operating cellular phones aboard airborne aircraft (adopted 1991). The FAA allowed gate-to-gate use of devices in airplane mode from 31 Oct 2013	Cellular off from door close to door open; Wi-Fi and Bluetooth allowed if the airline permits	eCFR
European Union	EASA has let airlines permit devices throughout the flight, transmitting or not, since 26 Sept 2014. Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2324 (23 Nov 2022) allows 5G picocells on board	No EU-wide mandate; each airline sets its own policy, and almost all still ask for airplane mode because few aircraft carry the onboard cell equipment	EASA
Everywhere	The captain and crew can restrict devices at any time, for example during a low-visibility landing	Airplane mode when asked, regardless of jurisdiction	FAA

Checked 3 November 2026. The FAA's passenger page: devices 'must be used in airplane mode or with the cellular connection disabled', and Wi-Fi may be used if the aircraft has it and the airline allows.

The EU decision gets reported as “5G on planes, airplane mode is over,” which overstates it. The Commission's 24 November 2022 decision lets airlines install picocells that route your phone's signal via satellite, at a power far below what a phone uses hunting for a ground tower. Where an aircraft has one, the airline may tell you to leave cellular on. Where it does not, which is most aircraft in 2026, the airline's briefing still says airplane mode, and EASA's own guidance is that any airline may apply the more restrictive policy.

Does airplane mode stop roaming charges?

While it is on, yes: with the cellular radio off, the phone cannot register on a foreign network, so there is nothing to bill. AT&T's International Day Pass page gives exactly that advice for avoiding its daily fee: put the phone in airplane mode and turn on Wi-Fi, and turn off Wi-Fi Calling. T-Mobile's roaming checklist notes you are not charged for voicemail while the phone stays powered off or in airplane mode.

The charge happens in the second after you switch it off. If the home SIM still has Data Roaming enabled, it finds a local partner network before you have unlocked the phone, and a single background sync is enough to start a day pass. That is why the landing sequence below puts the roaming toggle first. The full logic of which line gets which toggle is in data roaming on or off.

The landing sequence for a travel eSIM

Still in airplane mode: open Settings › Cellular (Network & internet › SIMs on Android). On the home line, make sure Data Roaming is off.
Set the travel eSIM as the cellular data line, with Data Roaming on for that line (a travel eSIM is technically roaming on the local network; it needs the switch).
Leave the home line turned on for calls and texts if you want to keep receiving verification codes; data stays on the eSIM.
Switch Airplane Mode off. The phone searches for networks for 10–60 seconds, then the travel eSIM registers. A profile that showed “Activating” before the flight finishes now, in coverage.
If nothing connects after two minutes, toggle airplane mode on and off once more; Apple's eSIM troubleshooting page lists it as the first fix. Then check the line under Settings › Cellular.

On iOS 26 and later Apple says the iPhone can automatically switch the travel eSIM off and the home line back on when you return, depending on country; on the way out you still do steps 1 and 2 by hand. Installing the eSIM itself happens before the trip, on home Wi-Fi, following the iPhone or Android guide.

In-flight Wi-Fi in 2026: who gives it away

Airline	Free?	Status, late 2026	Source
Delta	Free for SkyMiles members	Delta Sync Wi-Fi on more than 1,200 aircraft worldwide; full fleet including regional jets planned by early 2027	Delta
United	Free for MileagePlus members, every cabin	Starlink on the entire two-cabin regional fleet (300+ aircraft) and more than 280 mainline jets; full fleet expected 2027	United
JetBlue	Free for everyone, no sign-up	Fly-Fi on every aircraft since January 2017; Amazon Kuiper announced as the next generation	JetBlue
Qatar Airways	Free with Privilege Club login	Starlink on 150 widebodies, all Boeing 777s complete, 787s following; up to 500 Mbps per aircraft	Qatar Airways
Emirates	Free for all passengers, all cabins	Starlink rolling out across all 232 Boeing 777s and A380s from November 2025, completing by mid-2027	Emirates
Air France	Free with Flying Blue login	Starlink on 70% of the fleet, 80% by end of 2026, 100% targeted for 2027	Air France

Airline statements as of November 2026; coverage varies by aircraft and route, and gate-to-gate access is sometimes blocked by local regulation. Lufthansa Group, IAG, Southwest, American and Gulf Air have announced Starlink rollouts for 2026–2027.

Two practical notes. Free cabin Wi-Fi almost always wants a loyalty login, so create the account on the ground. And in-flight Wi-Fi is Wi-Fi, not cellular: your travel eSIM has nothing to do with it and uses no data while you are connected to the cabin network, which is one more reason to leave the eSIM paused until the wheels are down.

Airplane mode on the ground: three other uses

A clean reconnect. Toggling airplane mode forces the phone to re-register on the best available network. It is the fastest fix for a phone stuck on 3G or SOS after leaving a metro station or a ferry.
Charging faster and saving battery. A phone with no signal burns battery searching for one. On a long train with patchy coverage, airplane mode with Wi-Fi off is the lowest-power state short of switching off.
A hard stop on roaming. If the home line has started a day pass by mistake, airplane mode on, then roaming off on that line, then airplane mode off ends it without touching the travel eSIM.

FAQ

QWhat does airplane mode do?

AIt switches off the phone's wireless radios: cellular voice and data first, and by default Wi-Fi and Bluetooth as well. Apple's support page says that if the airline allows it you can still use Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in Airplane Mode, and Google's Pixel help says the same for Android: turn them back on once and the phone remembers that choice the next time airplane mode is enabled. The eSIM profile, your apps and your photos are untouched; only the radios change.

QDoes Bluetooth work in airplane mode?

AYes. Airplane mode turns Bluetooth off by default, but you can switch it back on from Control Center or Quick Settings while airplane mode stays active, and headphones, watches and keyboards work normally. The FAA's 2013 announcement expanding device use said passengers can continue to use short-range Bluetooth accessories; the crew can still ask for devices to be switched off during low-visibility landings.

QDoes airplane mode stop roaming charges?

AYes, while it is on, because the cellular radio is off and the phone cannot register on any foreign network. AT&T's own advice for avoiding its International Day Pass fee is to put the phone in airplane mode and turn on Wi-Fi. The risk is the moment you switch it off: if your home SIM still has data roaming enabled, it connects to a local network and the day pass is triggered. Set roaming off on the home line before you turn airplane mode off.

QDoes a travel eSIM still work after airplane mode?

AYes. The eSIM profile stays installed through airplane mode, restarts and flights; only the radio is paused. Apple's eSIM troubleshooting page lists toggling Airplane Mode on and off as a first fix when a line does not appear, precisely because the profile persists. Switch airplane mode off after landing, the phone searches for networks, and the travel eSIM registers within about a minute.

QDo planes have Wi-Fi, and is it free?

AMost large airlines now offer Wi-Fi, and in 2026 it is free on a growing list: Delta (free for SkyMiles members across more than 1,200 aircraft), United (free for MileagePlus members on Starlink-equipped aircraft, its whole two-cabin regional fleet and hundreds of mainline jets), JetBlue (free for everyone since 2017), Qatar Airways (free Starlink on 150 widebodies), Emirates (free Starlink rolling out across all 232 Boeing 777s and A380s by mid-2027) and Air France (free with a Flying Blue login, 70% of the fleet). Coverage varies by aircraft, and gate-to-gate access depends on local rules.

QDoes GPS work in airplane mode?

AOn most current phones the GPS receiver keeps working because it only listens; it transmits nothing. Apple's older support wording said airplane mode also turned GPS off on iOS 8.2 and earlier, and neither Apple nor Google publishes a clear current statement. In practice Maps shows your position in airplane mode but the first fix is slow without cellular assistance, and Google notes that Emergency SOS does not work in airplane mode.

Related guides

Originally published on www.yonosim.com/en/blog/airplane-mode-travel-esim-2026 · YonoSIM — You Only Need One SIM