Why Do You Have to Turn Off Electronics on a Plane?

The Short Answer

The rule has evolved significantly. You are no longer required to turn off your phone, tablet, or laptop completely. You are required to put them in airplane mode during flight, which disables cellular transmission. This is primarily because transmitting cellular signals can potentially interfere with aircraft navigation and communication equipment — not because your device will crash the plane.

The History of the Rule

The original "turn off all electronics" rule dated from the 1990s and was based on precautionary concerns about electromagnetic interference. At the time, the specific effects of consumer electronics on avionics weren't fully understood, so regulators took a conservative approach: ban all of it.

By 2013, the FAA reconsidered. After an Aviation Rulemaking Committee review, the FAA determined that modern aircraft are designed and tested to handle interference from personal electronic devices. In 2013, the FAA updated its rules to allow broader use of personal electronics in flight — but still required airplane mode for cellular-transmitting devices.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) made similar changes around the same period.

What Airplane Mode Actually Does

Airplane mode disables:

• Cellular data transmission (4G, 5G)
• Voice calls
• SMS text messaging (which uses cell towers)

It leaves enabled (or you can manually re-enable after enabling airplane mode):

• Wi-Fi (if the aircraft has Wi-Fi and you want it)
• Bluetooth (for headphones, keyboards, etc.)
• Camera and offline apps
• Offline maps, downloaded music, and entertainment

The cellular transmission is what matters. Your device constantly pings cell towers when it has service — at 35,000 feet, this can create interference with certain radio frequencies used by aircraft communications and navigation systems. Airplane mode stops that pinging.

Does Your Phone Actually Affect the Plane?

The probability of a single phone causing a catastrophic navigation failure is extremely low. Commercial aircraft have multiple redundant navigation and communication systems precisely because individual interference events are possible. What concerns aviation authorities more is the cumulative effect of dozens or hundreds of phones all transmitting simultaneously, which can create low-level "noise" in certain frequency ranges used by aircraft systems.

The cases that have been documented are minor — occasional pilot reports of buzzing in headsets from cellular devices, or minor GPS signal disruption. Not crashes. But the rule exists as a precautionary standard, and airlines are required to enforce it.

When Do You Need to Be in Airplane Mode?

The requirement is from when the aircraft door closes until the crew announces it's safe to use cellular service. In practice:

• During taxi to the runway
• During takeoff
• During the entire flight (cellular transmitting disabled; device use otherwise is fine)
• During approach and landing
• Until the crew or a gate announcement says it's okay

Once the plane has landed and taxied to the gate, most airlines allow phones to come out of airplane mode when the crew makes the announcement.

What Happens If You Don't?

Practically speaking, if you forget to put your phone in airplane mode, nothing dramatic will happen. Your phone will attempt to ping cell towers and likely fail or cycle through networks constantly (draining your battery in the process). Airlines don't have equipment to detect individual non-compliant devices on most flights.

However, flight attendants can ask you to enable airplane mode and you're required to comply. Repeated non-compliance can be treated as interference with crew instructions, which is a federal offense in the US.

What About Laptops and Tablets?

Laptops and tablets that have cellular capability (built-in SIM cards) should also be in airplane mode. Laptops and tablets without cellular capability don't transmit and don't technically require airplane mode for interference reasons — though most airlines still ask you to disable cellular features on any device as a blanket rule.

Laptop use itself is generally fine during cruise. During takeoff and landing, some airlines ask you to stow large devices (laptops specifically) so they don't become projectiles in an abrupt maneuver. This is a physical safety consideration, not an electronics one.

In-Flight Wi-Fi

If the aircraft has Wi-Fi, you can connect to it while in airplane mode by manually re-enabling Wi-Fi after setting airplane mode. You can browse the internet, send messages via apps, and use online services — just not via your cellular carrier. In-flight Wi-Fi typically costs $8-30 for the flight depending on the airline.

The Bottom Line

The rule isn't about your device crashing the plane. It's about eliminating cellular transmission interference that, while unlikely to cause anything serious, could potentially affect navigation and communication systems on certain aircraft. Airplane mode is a simple precaution. Enable it when you board and you'll also save battery since your phone won't spend the whole flight trying (and failing) to find a cell tower at altitude.