Contents
- 1 How to Turn on or off or Airplane mode via Action Center
- 2 How to turn Windows 10 Airplane Mode on or off via the Network Flyout
- 3 How to Turn Airplane Mode On or Off via Settings
- 4 How to Enable or Disable Airplane Mode from the Lock screen
- 5 How to Enable or Disable Airplane Mode via Command Prompt
- 6 Extra: How to Enable or Disable a WiFi Adapter on Windows
- 7 Extra: How to Block a WiFi Network in Windows 10
Airplane mode is a feature many will be used to on their phone, but may be surprised to see on their desktop or laptop PC. This setting appears regardless of whether your device has a mobile chip or not, leaving many to question what it does, and how to turn off airplane mode in Windows 10.
What is airplane mode for in Windows 10?
Airplane mode delivers an easy toggle to turn off all wireless communications on your PC. Though traditionally used on a phone during a flight, Airplane mode can be useful in a variety of situations, not least to save battery life.
Though those with a PC and no LTE chip may see little outward difference between when they enable Airplane mode in Windows 10 and turn off their WiFi, it's doing more in the background. As well as disconnecting your WiFi, Airplane mode disables Bluetooth, NFC, GPS, and other wireless communications.
Unfortunately, problems occasionally arise with Windows 10 Airplane mode. Some users find that Windows 10 is stuck in Airplane mode after they turn it on or it's enabled automatically. As a result, today we'll be showing you how to turn off Airplane mode in Windows 10 using four different methods (or enable it for that matter):
How to Turn on or off or Airplane mode via Action Center
By far the fastest and easiest way to turn off Airplane mode in Windows 10, or enable it, it through the Action Center toggle. This takes around a second and is your best bet so long as the option isn't greyed out. Here's how you can do it:
- Press the message bubble in your taskbar to open Action Center and click the Airplane Mode icon
If the icon is highlighted with your accent colour, it's on. If it's grey, then airplane mode in Windows 10 is off. You may have to press the expand button if it's available to see the option.
For future reference, you can also press Windows + A on your keyboard to open the Action Center faster.
How to turn Windows 10 Airplane Mode on or off via the Network Flyout
Another quite natural way to toggle Airplane mode is through the network flyout, which is also quickly accessible. Here's where to find the toggle:
- Turn Airplane mode on by pressing the WiFi button and clicking the airplane icon
If it's grey, Airplane mode is turned off. You should notice that turning on Airplane mode will also turn your WiFi and mobile hotspot icons grey.
- Turn off Airplane mode by press the airplane icon and clicking the Airplane mode toggle
How to Turn Airplane Mode On or Off via Settings
If the above options aren't working for you or you've disabled your Action Center, you can take the longer route of adjust your Windows 10 Airplane mode via Settings:
- Open Settings
Press the Start button, then click the settings cog, above the power button. Alternatively, press Windows + I.
- Click on “Network & Internet”
- Click “Airplane mode” in the sidebar and switch the toggle to “On” or “Off”
The toggle should be under a description that reads, “Turn this on to stop all wireless communication, such as Wi-Fi, cellular, and Bluetooth”.
- Optional: Turn on WiFi and Bluetooth separately
After you turn on Windows 10 Airplane mode, you can optionally enable Wi-Fi or Bluetooth separately to suit your needs. This is possible via the toggles under “Wireless devices”.
How to Enable or Disable Airplane Mode from the Lock screen
If you don't have time to unlock your PC, it's possible to quickly enable or disable Airplane mode from the Lockscreen. Here's how:
- How to turn on Airplane mode from the lockscreen
To turn on Airplane mode from your lockscreen you can press the WiFi or Ethernet icon in the bottom-right corner and click the “Airplane mode” toggle. It'll turn blue once it's on.
- How to turn off Airplane mode from the lockscreen
To turn off Airplane mode from the lockscreen, press the airplane button in the bottom right and press the blue Airplane mode toggle.
How to Enable or Disable Airplane Mode via Command Prompt
If Windows 10 is stuck in Airplane mode and your toggles are greyed out, you may have success using Command Prompt instead. To do so, we'll be running a command to modify the registry, so be sure to read our safe registry editing guide and back up your registry first.
Here's how you can toggle it using the command line:
- Open Command Prompt as an admin
Press the Start button and type “Command Prompt”, then click “Run as administrator” on the right-hand side.
- How to enable airplane mode in Windows 10 via Command Prompt
You can paste the following command and press Enter to turn Aeroplane mode on:
reg add HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\RadioManagement\SystemRadioState /ve /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
Restart your machine for the changes to take effect.
- How to turn off Airplane mode with Command Prompt
Or, to turn airplane mode off, paste the following and press Enter:
reg add HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\RadioManagement\SystemRadioState /ve /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
Restart your machine for the changes to take effect.
Extra: How to Enable or Disable a WiFi Adapter on Windows
Network adapters are vital. They enable your connection to the internet and local network. However, they can also go awry. At times you may need to know how to disable or enable your WiFi adapter in Windows because it has automatically turned on or off.
Extra: How to Block a WiFi Network in Windows 10
As smartphones and other devices with wireless network adapters, computers with Windows will show you a list of available WiFi networks in your surrounding. With many reachable wireless access points popping up and disappearing again, the available networks list can become quite annoying. If needed you can use the allowed and blocked filter list of Windows to block certain WiFi networks or all unknown WiFi networks.