To turn Airplane Mode on or off on an iPhone, open Control Center and tap the airplane button, or open Settings and use the Airplane Mode switch. Both routes do the same thing on current versions of iOS. Below you’ll find how to open Control Center on Face ID and Home button iPhones, which wireless connections switch off, how to bring Wi-Fi or Bluetooth back during a flight, and how to check that Airplane Mode is really on.
If your goal is only to keep the phone off Wi-Fi on the ground, see how to turn off Wi-Fi on iPhone without Airplane Mode.
The quickest route: Control Center
Control Center is a panel of shortcuts you can pull up from almost any screen, and Airplane Mode is one of its standard controls. How you open it depends on the type of iPhone you have:
- iPhone with Face ID (no Home button): swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen.
- iPhone with a Home button, such as iPhone SE: swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen.
Then follow these steps:
- Open Control Center with the gesture for your iPhone.
- Tap the Airplane Mode button (the airplane icon). When Airplane Mode is on, the airplane icon also appears in the status bar.
- Tap the same button again whenever you want to turn Airplane Mode off.
- Close Control Center: on a Face ID iPhone, swipe up from the bottom center of the screen; on iPhone SE, press the Home button.
Use the Settings switch instead
Settings is the better choice when Control Center won’t open, when you’re already in Settings changing something else, or when you find a labeled switch easier to work with than an icon.
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap Airplane Mode near the top of the main Settings screen.
- Tap the switch to turn Airplane Mode on or off.
The switch in Settings and the button in Control Center are linked, so turning Airplane Mode on in one place shows it as on in the other.
What switches off, and what you can turn back on
Airplane Mode stops your iPhone from connecting to the cellular network. That means no regular phone calls, no SMS texts over the cellular network and no mobile data. Wi-Fi turns off as well.
Bluetooth is less clear-cut, because Apple’s own pages describe it differently. Apple’s Airplane Mode support article says turning it on “turns off all radios except for Bluetooth,” while the travel section of the iPhone User Guide says Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and cellular networks turn off when you first turn on Airplane Mode. Either way, your iPhone remembers what you did last time: if you turn Wi-Fi or Bluetooth back on while in Airplane Mode, it may still be on the next time you use Airplane Mode, and if you turn Bluetooth off, it stays off next time. The simple check is to open Control Center after turning on Airplane Mode and look at the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth buttons.
| Connection | When you turn on Airplane Mode | Can you switch it back on? |
|---|---|---|
| Cellular (calls, SMS, mobile data) | Off | Yes, but that defeats the purpose on a flight |
| Wi-Fi | Off, unless you turned it back on during your last Airplane Mode session | Yes, from Control Center or Settings |
| Bluetooth | Apple’s pages differ; check the Bluetooth button in Control Center | Yes, from Control Center or Settings |
Turning Wi-Fi or Bluetooth back on while Airplane Mode stays on is useful on planes that offer in-flight Wi-Fi, or when you want to keep wireless headphones or a smartwatch connected. Apple notes that this lets you make or receive FaceTime calls and use accessories that need a wireless connection. Only do it if the airline allows it.
How to check that it’s on
When Airplane Mode is on, an airplane icon appears in the status bar. On Face ID iPhones the status bar is partly hidden, and the full set of status icons shows at the top of Control Center. For a closer look at the icon and the other ways to confirm the setting, see how to tell if your iPhone is in Airplane Mode.
Good reasons to switch it on, even on the ground
Apple points out three everyday uses besides flying:
- Save battery. With the radios off, the phone stops spending power on staying connected, which helps when you are low on charge and only need the camera or downloaded music.
- Lower roaming charges. Abroad, Airplane Mode with Wi-Fi turned back on keeps the phone off the foreign cellular network while you still use hotel or cafe Wi-Fi. For finer control over cellular use while traveling, see how to turn data roaming on or off.
- Force a signal refresh. If your phone shows weak or no service after moving to a new place, turning Airplane Mode on, waiting a few seconds and turning it off again makes the iPhone reconnect to the network.
Control Center won’t open inside apps
Go to Settings > Control Center and make sure Access Within Apps is turned on. If it’s off, Control Center only opens from the Home Screen.
Control Center won’t open on the Lock Screen
Access to Control Center from the Lock Screen is a separate passcode setting. Follow how to enable Control Center on the iPhone Lock Screen to turn it back on. Until then, use the Settings switch.
The Airplane Mode button isn’t where you expect
Control Center can be customized, so controls can be added, removed or rearranged. If the airplane button is gone or you’d like it somewhere easier to reach, see how to rearrange Control Center on iPhone. The Settings switch keeps working no matter how Control Center is arranged.
No service after turning Airplane Mode off
- Wait a minute. The iPhone needs a moment to find and register on the cellular network.
- Turn Airplane Mode on and off once more.
- Restart the iPhone.
- If service still doesn’t return, the problem is probably not Airplane Mode. Resetting network settings is a later step that also erases saved Wi-Fi networks and passwords; see how to reset network settings on an iPhone before you try it, or contact your carrier.
On a work or school iPhone, an administrator profile may restrict some settings. If a control is unavailable on a managed phone, ask the organization’s IT team.
Apple Watch can follow your iPhone
If you wear an Apple Watch, it can switch to Airplane Mode at the same moment as your iPhone. Open the Apple Watch app on the iPhone, tap General, tap Airplane Mode, and turn on Mirror iPhone. To control the watch on its own, see how to put an Apple Watch in Airplane Mode.
Airplane Mode questions answered
Can someone call me while Airplane Mode is on?
Regular cellular calls can’t reach the phone, and depending on your carrier, callers may be sent to voicemail. With Wi-Fi turned back on, FaceTime calls can still come through over Wi-Fi. If your carrier supports Wi-Fi Calling and you have set it up, regular calls may also work once Wi-Fi is back on; check with your carrier.
Why did Wi-Fi stay on when I switched Airplane Mode on?
Most likely you turned Wi-Fi on during an earlier Airplane Mode session, and the iPhone remembered it. Tap the Wi-Fi button in Control Center to turn it off.
Is turning Airplane Mode on the same as turning the phone off?
No. The screen, apps, camera and anything stored on the phone keep working. Only the wireless connections change.
Before your next flight, open Control Center once and make sure the Airplane Mode button is where you can reach it with one swipe.
Kermit Matthews runs Live2Tech from just outside Philadelphia. He is an IT specialist with over 20 years of experience, from a university help desk to small-business IT, IT management and his own consulting practice, and has written tech guides full time since 2020. Steps are checked against the current software on a real device or the maker’s official documentation. More about Kermit.