How do I turn on airplane mode on my MacBook?

MacOS doesn't have an "airplane mode" as with the iPhone and it's cellular radio.

On the iPhone, when you enable airplane mode, it kills the wi-fi and cell radios, but leaves bluetooth enabled.

On the Mac you can independently turn off Bluetooth and wi-fi if you wish. But turning off wi-fi kinda defeats the purpose of connecting to the in-flight network.

I don't understand why you cannot connect to the in-flight with the laptop. What happens when you try?

Lukcresdera wrote:

Now I feel stupid for answering.

There is not an "airplane mode" on the macs.

They don't have a cellular radio to turn off.

On iphones, the airplane mode turns off the cellular radio but leaves on the wifi radio.

Don't look for an airplane mode on a mac until they get built in cellular radios.

Use Airplane Mode on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro - Apple Support

By default, Airplane Mode disables both the cellular radio and Wi-Fi, while leaving Bluetooth enabled. You can override the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth behavior.

• "Turning on Airplane Mode turns off all radios except for Bluetooth."
• "If you turn off Bluetooth while you're in Airplane Mode, your device will remember that and will turn off Bluetooth the next time that you turn on AirPlane Mode."
• "If you turn on Wi-Fi or Bluetooth while you're in Airplane Mode, they'll be on the next time you use Airplane Mode, unless you turn them off while in Airplane Mode."

The only thing you can count on for sure – if you've forgotten how you left the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth settings – is that Airplane Mode disables the cellular radio.

Have you installed any sort of anti-virus or VPN apps?

If so, you might try connecting after disabling those.

Now I feel stupid for answering.

There is not an "airplane mode" on the macs.

They don't have a cellular radio to turn off.

On iphones, the airplane mode turns off the cellular radio but leaves on the wifi radio.

Don't look for an airplane mode on a mac until they get built in cellular radios.

On a phone, Airplane mode will turn off WiFi, Bluetooth, and the SIM.

As a Mac does not have a SIM that is not a factor. You can turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth quickly when directed by the aircraft crew by turning off these two services via the Menu Bar.

Click on the Bluetooth icon, toggle off Bluetooth. Click on the Wi-Fi icon, toggle off Wi-Fi.

Then when you are allowed to use Wi-Fi again you can turn it back on the same way.

EDIT - I see two others had made the same comments while I was typing mine. All good advice.

DarkPhoenix13 wrote:

When I try connecting to the in-flight WiFi, I get an error message saying I must be in airplane mode to enable it. Obviously I cannot be in airplane mode since Mac does not have one. 😑

I fly out again tonight (Southwest Airlines). I’ll attempt to get a picture of the error I am getting in hopes of a resolution.

You might also try asking the cabin personnel.

This is helpful context.

You need to use the Southwest Airlines app to connect to their wifi and watch the in flight entertainment.

Download the Southwest Airlines app before your trip.

With wifi turned on, open the southwest airlines app when on your trip.

If you want to send/receive email or use other data apps over their network, you will need to pay for it.

Remember, you are like at a hotel and have to use the hotel wifi to gain internet access, and in this case, pay for that service.

DarkPhoenix13 wrote:

When I try connecting to the in-flight WiFi, I get an error message saying I must be in airplane mode to enable it. Obviously I cannot be in airplane mode since Mac does not have one. 😑

That does not make any sense.

Airplane mode is not about enabling radio connections. It is about disabling them. Airplanes and pilots do not want the radios in passenger devices interfering with the operation of the plane, especially during take-off and landing. Maybe the chance of your radio messing up their instruments in such a way that the plane crashes are remote, but they would rather not die in a plane crash just because somebody could not stop talking on the cell phone, or browsing on the Web, for five minutes.

They also don't want passenger cell phones to constantly be trying to establish connections to towers located on the ground. A jet plane traveling at cruising speed moves between cells quickly. Neither the carriers nor the airline want the passengers' cell phones to be constantly roaming between towers on the ground, with transmit power on each phone cranked up to whatever maximum level that phone supports.

This is why airlines want you to (a) shut off your radios entirely, (b) connect to a captive cellular "tower" that's located on the airplane itself, or (c) connect to a captive Wi-Fi access point that's located on the airplane itself.

I fly out again tonight (Southwest Airlines). I’ll attempt to get a picture of the error I am getting in hopes of a resolution.

Southwest Airlines – Inflight Entertainment and Internet

"How to Get Connected" lists three steps, with illustrations of how to accomplish them on an iPhone.

Step 1 is "Head to Settings. Turn on Airplane mode."

The point of this is to disable a phone's cellular radios. Your Mac doesn't have any, so there is nothing to disable. Ignore this step and go on to the next one.

Step 2 is to "Turn on Wi-Fi. Choose SouthwestWiFi from the WiFi network list."

Step 3 is to "Tap Access the portal or open SouthwestWiFi.com in your browser directly.

These are the steps you need to carry out – using the Mac's counterparts to these controls.