Can you get signal on a plane

MH's lack of cell traffic is a mystery Story highlights New reports claim cell towers recorded the phone of the co-pilot of MH There are a number of factors that determine if and when phones can work from airplanes Location, speed, on-board technology and altitude could all affect cell service in the air. The lack of phone calls, texts or social media postings from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight has raised a number of questions about how cell phones work on airplanes. Here's a quick primer on how and when phones can make a connection from the air:.

How high in the air can a cell phone work? Despite the urgings of flight crews to turn off all phones or put them in airplane mode, cell phones can continue to work after a plane takes off, but only while in range of a cellular tower. Cell phones communicate through cell towers, which are located on the ground but can stretch hundreds of feet into the air.

As an airplane rises, it gets further from these towers and eventually moves out of contact range. For efficiency, many towers are designed to direct their signal where its most useful: on the ground, not into the sky above.

The maximum distance at which a phone can still make calls and send texts varies depending on the type of tower and transmitter, but an airplane would have to be no more than 10, feet in the air for any cell phones on board to still have a signal, according to Bill Rojas , director of telecom research at IDC Asia Pacific. MH co-pilot's cell phone was on Why were no calls made from Flight ? Photos: The search for MH Two years after Malaysia Airlines Flight went missing, a relative of one of the passengers burns incense in Beijing on March 8, There were people on board.

Hide Caption. A week later, authorities confirmed that the debris was from the missing flight. Staff members with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau examine a piece of aircraft debris at their laboratory in Canberra, Australia, on July The flap was found in June by residents on Pemba Island off the coast of Tanzania, and officials had said it was highly likely to have come from Flight Experts at the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is heading up the search for the plane, confirmed that the part was indeed from the missing aircraft.

In late February, American tourist Blaine Gibson found a piece of plane debris off Mozambique, a discovery that renewed hope of solving the mystery of the missing flight. The piece measured 35 inches by 22 inches. Relatives of the flight's passengers console each other outside the Malaysia Airlines office in Subang, Malaysia, on February 12, Protesters had demanded that the airline withdraw the statement that all people aboard the plane were dead.

A police officer watches a couple cry outside the airline's office building in Beijing after officials refused to meet with them on June 11, The couple's son was on the plane. Data from communications between satellites and the missing flight was released the day before, more than two months after relatives of passengers said they requested it be made public.

Navy's autonomous underwater vehicle, into position to search for the jet on April 14, A member of the Royal New Zealand Air Force looks out of a window while searching for debris off the coast of western Australia on April 13, A relative of a missing passenger cries at a vigil in Beijing on April 8, Australian Defense Force divers scan the water for debris in the southern Indian Ocean on April 7, Fliers can enable Wi-Fi at any time , but likely won't be able to access the in-flight network until an announcement is made that the service is active—usually when the plane goes above 10, feet.

Although that could soon be changing: last month, Norwegian Airlines launched "gate-to-gate" Wi-Fi , which will work during both take-off and landing. Yes, but only using a Wi-Fi connection. Any communication has to be over Wi-Fi with a messaging app that provides similar functionality like iMessage, WhatsApp, or Viber. Of course, if your fare includes access to the plane's Wi-Fi, you can also email, tweet, and update Facebook as much as the bandwidth allows.

To see if the aircraft operating your flight has plugs—or those handy USB ports —check with your airline or consult SeatGuru. To make sure you're not at risk of a dead device, a portable phone charger will guarantee you have enough juice to reach your final destination. Cellular calls are not allowed on domestic airlines , but lots of international airlines , including British Airways, Emirates, and Etihad allow fliers to chat on a voice call in addition to texting and browsing the web.

So far, there have been no major incidents traced to the fact that phone calls are allowed. Another criticism was that if passengers had phones pressed to their ears, they might not hear important safety instructions from flight attendants. Others objected because they saw passengers talking on phones as an annoyance inside the cramped confines of an airliner. A study by an in-flight internet service provider found that only 49 percent of U.

Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. Tech Myths. Do cellphones really need to be in airplane mode on planes?

Now That's Interesting. Cite This!