Airplane Mode is designed to turn off all the Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellular, and data connections on your mobile device, which might otherwise interfere with the various sensors and equipment on commercial airplanes. While needing to do this on a flight is still dubious, it’s a great feature to reduce battery drain.
Airplane Mode is commonly used at large music festivals and events with spotty cellular services, which leads to battery drain. But it can become a major hurdle in trying to reunite owners with the found phone, if you can accept phone calls you have a way higher chance of getting it back.
If you want to increase your chances of returning a lost phone, it’s best to keep phone calls enabled. Unfortunately, if the iPhone was turned off while in Airplane Mode, the control panel will be inaccessible, making it impossible to disable. But don’t worry, we’ve got a workaround that’s easy to follow!
Here’s what you need to do to turn off Airplane Mode when your iPhone is off:
- Swipe up or press the home button to access the passcode.
- Tap Emergency.
- Enter a phone number, like 555 555 5555, and hit the call button.
- A modal will appear, saying “No Network Connection,” with an option to disable Airplane Mode.
- Tap the “Disable Airplane Mode” option, and voila! The phone is ready to receive calls again.
With these simple steps, you can easily disable Airplane Mode and keep the phone connected to the network. Now keep it powered and it’ll be much easier to return.
