Android now allows both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to be on when Airplane mode is enabled
Google is making a small but useful change to Android handsets. If you turn on Wi-Fi while Airplane mode is enabled, the first time you do this, you will see a notification that says "Wi-Fi on in airplane mode / If you keep Wi-Fi on, it will stay on the next time you’re in airplane mode." If you tap on the notification, you are whisked away to a support page titled "Keep your Android's wireless connections on in Airplane mode."
Google says that when you first enable Airplane mode on your Android device, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are shut off. Previously, Google allowed users to keep Bluetooth running even in Airplane mode in order to keep their Bluetooth-powered earbuds or smartwatch from shutting down whenever Airplane mode is turned on. In other words, why lose the ability to use your Bluetooth wearables just because you're flying?
Now, Google is offering the same feature for Wi-Fi. If you have Wi-Fi turned on while Airplane mode is enabled, your phone will remember this and will keep Wi-Fi on the next time you activate Airplane mode. With so many airlines offering Wi-Fi these days, you can still connect to a signal even when Airplane Mode is shutting down your cellular radios.
Now Android users will be able to keep Bluetooth and Wi-Fi both on when Airplane mode is enabled
To turn Airplane mode on, go to Settings > Network & internet > Turn Airplane mode on or off. Another way to enable it is to swipe down from the top center of your display to Quick Settings. Swipe down again and you should see the button that will turn on and off Airplane mode. To connect to a Wi-Fi network go to Settings > Network & internet > Turn Wi-Fi on. Select the correct Wi-Fi network from the list and you'll need to type in the password if it is protected by one. To turn Bluetooth on go to Settings > Connected devices > Connection preferences > Bluetooth. Turn Bluetooth on or off.
Just remember that whether you have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi both on or both off, or one enabled and the other disabled, your Android phone will remember how you had the settings the last time that Android mode was enabled. The next time you turn on Airplane mode, the phone will return to that configuration.
Judging by the way Google wrote the support page, this feature should be available to all Android phones. Right now though, we can confirm that this writer has received it on his Pixel 6 Pro.
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