Apple Watch 5 getting alerts in airplane mode

[pmcdn]

I have been searching, but cannot find the answer.

I put my Apple Watch 5 (with latest software updates) in airplane mode and I’m still getting alerts on the watch. I don’t want this.

Does anyone know why this is happening and how I can fix it?

 

[Davidalan]

Is the iPhone that is paired to the Watch in airplane mode?

 

[chabig]

That's the answer. It's communicating with your phone over bluetooth.

 

[pmcdn]

Is the iPhone that is paired to the Watch in airplane mode?

No. The phone is not an airplane mode. The watch is. Previously, and on my other Apple watches when I put the watch in airplane mode it’s no longer connecting via Bluetooth and is no longer getting in mirroring the alerts. Now when I put the watch in airplane mode, it’s as if it is not an airplane mode. The whole point of airplane mode is to disconnect its radio connecting services just like on the iPhone itself.

 

[pmcdn]

That's the answer. It's communicating with your phone over bluetooth.

Airplane mode disables this. That’s how it works. However, this is not the case now.

 

[chabig]

Airplane mode on Watch doesn't turn off BlueTooth, just cellular. It used to also turn off BlueTooth, but Apple changed that behavior (a few years ago, I think).

My Watch is set to mirror my iPhone. In the early days of Apple Watch, I remember that setting the phone to airplane mode turned off all of the Watch radios. Then I'd turn airplane mode off on the phone and the Watch remained, because it couldn't communicate with the phone. I was happy when Apple kept BlueTooth on in airplane mode because my Watch could truly mirror my phone and I didn't have to remember to turn airplane mode off on two devices.

 

[pmcdn]

Airplane mode on Watch doesn't turn off BlueTooth, just cellular. It used to also turn off BlueTooth, but Apple changed that behavior (a few years ago, I think).

My Watch is set to mirror my iPhone. In the early days of Apple Watch, I remember that setting the phone to airplane mode turned off all of the Watch radios. Then I'd turn airplane mode off on the phone and the Watch remained, because it couldn't communicate with the phone. I was happy when Apple kept BlueTooth on in airplane mode because my Watch could truly mirror my phone and I didn't have to remember to turn airplane mode off on two devices.

I appreciate your reply, and I’m not trying to sound argumentative. However, in the past when I would put my watch on airplane mode, it got zero alerts. But ever since the more recent update, it’s like that doesn’t matter. Anyway, it’s a different type of behavior now, and it doesn’t make sense to me. It defeats the purpose of those settings.

 

[chabig]

No problem. I'm just describing how it behaves. It didn't always behave that way. Now it does.

Now for my opinion...I don't think the vast majority of users ever decide to turn off their radios. I'll suggest that airplane was mode originally intended for airplanes, when the government told us we couldn't use cellular radios during flight. That's not the case anymore. I turn airplane mode on to save battery, but I still want my Watch connected to my phone for alerts (over wifi), and so I can control my AirPods with my Watch. For those reasons I like it the way it is.

You can have a differing opinion and get no argument from me. To each his own. But if you want BlueTooth off on the watch, you have to explicitly turn it off in Watch settings.

 

[FSMBP]

No problem. I'm just describing how it behaves. It didn't always behave that way. Now it does.

Now for my opinion...I don't think the vast majority of users ever decide to turn off their radios. I'll suggest that airplane was mode originally intended for airplanes, when the government told us we couldn't use cellular radios during flight. That's not the case anymore. I turn airplane mode on to save battery, but I still want my Watch connected to my phone for alerts (over wifi), and so I can control my AirPods with my Watch. For those reasons I like it the way it is.

You can have a differing opinion and get no argument from me. To each his own. But if you want BlueTooth off on the watch, you have to explicitly turn it off in Watch settings.

If you go into the Settings on your Watch, go to Airplane Mode settings, you can select what it disables. As mentioned, by default now, it leaves Bluetooth on.

So, go into the settings and toggle Bluetooth off. Now, whenever you go into Airplane mode in the future, it will disable Wifi/Cell/Bluetooth.

Hope that helps.

 

[chabig]

If you go into the Settings on your Watch, go to Airplane Mode settings, you can select what it disables.

That’s neat. I didn’t know that.

 

[pmcdn]

No problem. I'm just describing how it behaves. It didn't always behave that way. Now it does.

Now for my opinion...I don't think the vast majority of users ever decide to turn off their radios. I'll suggest that airplane was mode originally intended for airplanes, when the government told us we couldn't use cellular radios during flight. That's not the case anymore. I turn airplane mode on to save battery, but I still want my Watch connected to my phone for alerts (over wifi), and so I can control my AirPods with my Watch. For those reasons I like it the way it is.

You can have a differing opinion and get no argument from me. To each his own. But if you want BlueTooth off on the watch, you have to explicitly turn it off in Watch settings.

That’s because you’re mature 🙂

Yeah, I fully understand airplane mode. It means it turns off the radio. My wife has an earlier model Apple Watch and I’ve had other Apple watches. I turn on airplane mode on the watch and it doesn’t get anything. Because there’s sometimes when I don’t want my watch, alerting I just want to hear everything on my phone. However, since the most recent update airplane mode, it’s like it doesn’t even exist anymore. When I turn it on, I still get alerts to my watch. So the bottom line is the last update changed airplane mode on the Apple Watch. I think we can agree that that is a fact. I appreciate your input. Thanks.

 

[pmcdn]

That’s neat. I didn’t know that.

Thank you! I don’t know how new that is but that’s exactly what it was. The Bluetooth portion of airplane mode was still turned on. Kudos!

 

[deebinem]

Stumbled across this and wasn't aware of the changes or the ability to customize Airplane mode, thank you!

Here's a question regarding cellular and Airplane: if I'm running a watch with cellular capability but don't have a plan that lets it work, is my watch just wasting battery trying to connect through a non-existent plan? And if so, I'm assuming Airplane should help with that? Thank you in advance!

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

Stumbled across this and wasn't aware of the changes or the ability to customize Airplane mode, thank you!

Here's a question regarding cellular and Airplane: if I'm running a watch with cellular capability but don't have a plan that lets it work, is my watch just wasting battery trying to connect through a non-existent plan? And if so, I'm assuming Airplane should help with that? Thank you in advance!

No, the Watch actually defaults to turning off its own cellular whenever your iPhone is near enough.

This effectively means that you'll only have your watch genuinely running on cellular when your iPhone is completely out of range, and you won't experience the extra strain that cellular puts on your Watch unless you bring it out of range of your iPhone's Bluetooth connection.

If you buy a cellular and don't have a plan for it then there's no strain.

However, in some countries around the World, the cellular models can actually make 911 calls (or your country's equivalent) without having a cellular plan for the Watch, and without having the paired iPhone within reach.

 

[deebinem]

No, the Watch actually defaults to turning off its own cellular whenever your iPhone is near enough.

This effectively means that you'll only have your watch genuinely running on cellular when your iPhone is completely out of range, and you won't experience the extra strain that cellular puts on your Watch unless you bring it out of range of your iPhone's Bluetooth connection.

Thank you. I figured it would revert to the phone whenever it was near but I'm wondering if, say when I'm out for a run without my phone, would the watch try to use cellular even if it wasn't set up?

 

[jdb8167]

Thank you. I figured it would revert to the phone whenever it was near but I'm wondering if, say when I'm out for a run without my phone, would the watch try to use cellular even if it wasn't set up?

With no plan, any emergency calls are outgoing only so there is no need to search for a network. I'd imagine that even if the watch leaves the radio on in that situation, it likely won't use much power. But you can always just turn off cellular if you are concerned.

 

[MallardDuck]

No. The phone is not an airplane mode. The watch is. Previously, and on my other Apple watches when I put the watch in airplane mode it’s no longer connecting via Bluetooth and is no longer getting in mirroring the alerts. Now when I put the watch in airplane mode, it’s as if it is not an airplane mode. The whole point of airplane mode is to disconnect its radio connecting services just like on the iPhone itself.

Airplane mode no longer disables wifi or bluetooth (and hasn't in years). It only turns off the cellular radio. You'll have to manually turn off wifi and bluetooth if you wan it to stop.