Juststock/Getty Images Airplane mode and Do not disturb mode are two common options on modern mobile devices, which many of us use often in our daily lives. Although Airplane Mode is typically associated with traveling on an airplane and suspending your phone’s wireless capabilities to stop any potential interference with the plane’s communications systems, it can be used anytime and anywhere. It’s even used as a trick to get a stronger signal on any phone. Although Do Not Disturb mode does not have a specific association to a location, it is very useful and commonly used by people to silence notifications whenever they need to. For example, Do Not Disturb mode is often used when people are falling asleep or when they are in a meeting. These are two very different use cases, and beyond these use cases, using these modes also extends the battery life of a phone. However, while Do Not Disturb mode can help you save some battery life, Airplane mode has a significantly greater impact on a phone’s battery backup. The reason for this is exactly what the two modes do and how it changes the behavior of your phone’s hardware when these modes are deployed. Why is airplane mode better for your phone battery? Photo by teacher/Shutterstock Airplane mode further saves a phone’s battery life because it is designed to remove all connectivity radios from a device, such as cellular modem, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. This effectively stops any battery consumption by these components of your phone. Although you can usually turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth manually after enabling Airplane mode, the cellular modem always remains turned off. This can help reduce your phone’s battery consumption because these communication radios consume a lot of battery. Battery savings can be even greater if you’re in an area with poor cellular coverage and your phone’s cellular modem is forced to constantly scan for a network and maintain connectivity. Unlike Airplane mode, Do not disturb mode does not disable your phone’s connectivity. It only limits audio, visual or haptic signals that indicate the arrival of notifications. This means your phone screen doesn’t need to wake up every time there’s a notification; the vibrating motor does not need to work; and the speaker does not need to produce sound. All this can also reduce the phone’s battery consumption a bit. However, since your phone’s cellular modem is still working, Wi-Fi is connected, and apps are still communicating over the Internet to periodically fetch updates, the battery savings are rather negligible. All the savings you get in Do Not Disturb mode are mostly also available in Airplane mode. So while Do Not Disturb mode can help save power, Airplane mode is still the champion when it comes to improving a phone’s battery life. Post navigation 5 Things the iPad Pro Can Do That an iPad Air Can’t
Juststock/Getty Images Airplane mode and Do not disturb mode are two common options on modern mobile devices, which many of us use often in our daily lives. Although Airplane Mode is typically associated with traveling on an airplane and suspending your phone’s wireless capabilities to stop any potential interference with the plane’s communications systems, it can be used anytime and anywhere. It’s even used as a trick to get a stronger signal on any phone. Although Do Not Disturb mode does not have a specific association to a location, it is very useful and commonly used by people to silence notifications whenever they need to. For example, Do Not Disturb mode is often used when people are falling asleep or when they are in a meeting. These are two very different use cases, and beyond these use cases, using these modes also extends the battery life of a phone. However, while Do Not Disturb mode can help you save some battery life, Airplane mode has a significantly greater impact on a phone’s battery backup. The reason for this is exactly what the two modes do and how it changes the behavior of your phone’s hardware when these modes are deployed. Why is airplane mode better for your phone battery? Photo by teacher/Shutterstock Airplane mode further saves a phone’s battery life because it is designed to remove all connectivity radios from a device, such as cellular modem, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. This effectively stops any battery consumption by these components of your phone. Although you can usually turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth manually after enabling Airplane mode, the cellular modem always remains turned off. This can help reduce your phone’s battery consumption because these communication radios consume a lot of battery. Battery savings can be even greater if you’re in an area with poor cellular coverage and your phone’s cellular modem is forced to constantly scan for a network and maintain connectivity. Unlike Airplane mode, Do not disturb mode does not disable your phone’s connectivity. It only limits audio, visual or haptic signals that indicate the arrival of notifications. This means your phone screen doesn’t need to wake up every time there’s a notification; the vibrating motor does not need to work; and the speaker does not need to produce sound. All this can also reduce the phone’s battery consumption a bit. However, since your phone’s cellular modem is still working, Wi-Fi is connected, and apps are still communicating over the Internet to periodically fetch updates, the battery savings are rather negligible. All the savings you get in Do Not Disturb mode are mostly also available in Airplane mode. So while Do Not Disturb mode can help save power, Airplane mode is still the champion when it comes to improving a phone’s battery life.
