Switching your smartphone into Airplane Mode does not mean you can fly a plane with it. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. It temporarily turns off your device’s calling and data features, so that when you’re on a plane it won’t interfere with any communications between the airplane and the control tower. Pretty important stuff, to be sure!
But does it serve any purpose when you’re not actually on an airplane? Surprisingly, the answer is yes! Switching to Airplane Mode significantly reduces the amount of background work your phone or tablet is doing, which helps your battery stay charged longer, and also require far less time for it to recharge.
And though you’ll be prevented from making calls or sending text messages, there’s still plenty you can do with a modern smartphone, even when it’s in Airplane Mode. By connecting to Wi-Fi, which is now widely available in most hotels, coffee shops, vacation spots, and even on some airplanes, you can still access streaming music and video, check the Internet and social media, and use most of your favorite apps.
You can even still easily keep in touch. With a Wi-Fi connection, you’re able to use messaging apps like iMessage for iPhone, Google’s Google Hangouts or Duo, or Facebook’s Messenger. You’re also able to use video chat, so if you’ve downloaded the Skype app or, for iPhone users, have the Facetime feature, you’ve got an especially handy way to check in with your contacts back home. Plus, you can always let friends keep up with everything you see and do on your travels by posting photos and messages to social media.
Finally, if you use your smartphone as your alarm clock, putting it in Airplane Mode can also help you get a peaceful night’s sleep. With the messaging functions turned off, you avoid the noisy notification sounds that can suddenly pop on in the middle of the night and snap you out of gloriously deep slumber!
So while it won’t let you actually pilot a jumbo jet, Airplane Mode will help your flight get safely into the air, while also serving as a handy battery saver and a helpful sleep aid—an impressive number of benefits for changing one simple setting!
Your commercial support of the O’Reilly Factor show needs to be re-evaluated.
We appreciate your feedback, Mark. In light of recent allegations about the Fox News show, “The O’Reilly Factor”, Consumer Cellular has removed all our scheduled advertising from that program; our commercials will no longer air during that program moving forward. If we can answer any questions you may have regarding our service or your device, we’re happy to help you at 888-345-5509. Thank you for posting today!
I am a fan of Consumer Cellular and have recommended your services to my friends. I do have a question concerning your policy of capping data speeds. You recently raised your plan maximum to 5GB per month (yea!). Everybody loves the internet, but if I go over the maximum, the internet becomes unusable, even though you charge for the overage. Even bad old AT&T and Verizon, don’t do that any more. Why not just charge a premium to discourage use over 5GB and give your customers good connection speeds throughout the month?
Thank you for commenting, Russ. We’re glad to hear that you’re a fan, and that you enjoy our service. We know that sometimes, you need a bit more data, which is why we now offer additional gigabytes of data for purchase when you’ve exceeded our plans. I’m happy to pass your suggestion regarding additional data options on to our management team. In the meantime, we recommend using Wi-Fi whenever you can, so that you can save your data for the times you really need it, such as when you’re traveling or away from home. We’re also happy to discuss this with you over the phone if you like, so feel free to call us at 888-345-5509. We appreciate your feedback, and we appreciate having you as a customer!
I’ll give you a little time to pull your ads from the sexual abuser Bill Riley show before I switch accounts.
Thank you for your consideration.
Mary ellen
Thank you for reaching out to us, Mary, and we appreciate your feedback regarding this matter. In light of recent allegations about the Fox News show, “The O’Reilly Factor”, Consumer Cellular has removed all our scheduled advertising from that program; our commercials will no longer air during that program moving forward. We appreciate you posting today!
I generally keep my data plan off and use wifi whenever possible turning on data only when needed. I really like the plans you have now set up and it works well for me. I feel worry free when it comes to my phone service. Thank you.
That’s wonderful to hear, Alice! We’re glad that Consumer Cellular is a really good fit for your needs. Thank you for posting!
What is the cost for a new phone if I want to change my flip-phone??????????
Thank you for asking, Donald. If you would like to use another flip phone, we offer two great options, the Consumer Cellular 101 and the Doro PhoneEasy 626. You can take a look at both of them here on our website. If you’re looking to try a smartphone, we have a variety of Android and iPhone options available as well. If you like, we’re happy to speak with you at 888-345-5509 and ask you a few questions about your usage needs. Then we can recommend the perfect device for you. We appreciate you taking the time to reach out to us today, and we look forward to assisting you soon!
What do I do when I am in Europe?
Thank you for asking, Sandra. We offer service within the United States only, so you won’t be able to use your phone to make calls while in Europe. However, if you have Wi-Fi access, you can use apps, such as Duo or Facebook to keep in touch. We’re happy to discuss your options with you over the phone at 888-345-5509. We appreciate you posting, and we hope you have a delightful time in Europe!
Does Consumer Cellular have any plans to start a program like “Friends and family?”, allowing Consumer Cellular customers the opportunity to call other Consumer Cellular customers without costing minutes? I know it can be done between phones within the same account, and that’s great, my sister-in-law, and her husband, are Consumer Cellular customers, and calling them for no cost would be fabulous. They’re the ones who got us started with Consumer Cellular, and 3 cell phones later, not having a family circle plan is our only issue.
Thanks
That’s a great suggestion, Fred. We’re glad to hear that your whole family is a part of Consumer Cellular, and I’ll make sure to pass your feedback on to our management team. We love hearing from customers like yourself, as your ideas help us create better plans. Thank you for posting today, and we hope you have a great day!
Do you plan on carrying the latest Samsung smartphone? Galaxy 8.
Great question, Sheila! At this time, we don’t have the Galaxy S8 available. If that changes in the future, we’ll be sure to let you know on our website, and especially here on the blog. You can always see our full line up here, or give us a call at 888-345-5509 to see what options are available. Thank you for posting, and we hope you have a great day!
I just got off phone with customer service, I should have ask her name but I did not because all people I have spoke with are excellent I needed to change time she made it very simple I have the Huawei phone it is very user friendly
Thank you for posting, Patricia! I’m happy to look and see who helped you, so we can tell them what a great job they did. We really appreciate you sharing your experience. Have a great day!
All that I have read on this site has been so helpful and answered many questions I would have asked had I knew about this site. Thanks for the Q&A facts, and for the people who think as I have about this service. It’s great!
You are very welcome, Shirley! If you ever have a question, be sure to post it here and we will help you find an answer. Thanks for posting!
Sorry, still confused, with regard to international use of my phone!
CC says, “And though you’ll be prevented from making calls or sending text messages, there’s still plenty you can do with a modern smartphone, even when it’s in Airplane Mode. By connecting to Wi-Fi, which is now widely available in most hotels, coffee shops, vacation spots, and even on some airplanes, you can still access streaming music and video, check the Internet and social media, and use most of your favorite apps.
You can even still easily keep in touch. With a Wi-Fi connection, you’re able to use messaging apps like iMessage for iPhone, Google’s Google Hangouts or Duo, or Facebook’s Messenger. You’re also able to use video chat, so if you’ve downloaded the Skype app or, for iPhone users, have the Facetime feature, you’ve got an especially handy way to check in with your contacts back home. Plus, you can always let friends keep up with everything you see and do on your travels by posting photos and messages to social media. HOWEVER, my understanding is that AIRPLANE MODE blocks my smartphone from connecting to networks, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. This means that I’ll be unable to make or receive calls, send or receive messages, or browse the internet.
HELP!!! I’m very confused.
Hi Susan, thanks for your questions! When your phone is on airplane mode, it can still connect to WiFi. What airplane mode does is it blocks the phone from connecting to cellular networks, thus blocking the phone from connecting to towers when you’re out of the country to keep you from paying those fees. However, with that WiFi connection, you can connect to things like email, messaging apps, and other apps on the phone without having to pay extra.
So, with airplane mode on, while located in Ecuador and with a connection to a local wifi, then a smartphone can make and receive a wifi call and text without using consumer cellular data? Therefore, while in Ecuador, there is no charge from consumer cellular for the wifi call and text while using the airplane mode and local wifi?