Received text message in flight NOT connected to wifi
Jun 11, 2022, 9:21 am
#1
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Received text message in flight NOT connected to wifi
On WED 6/8 i was flying on DL 1104 from, JFK to LAS, my cellphone was NOT connected to Wi-Fi,in mid flight my iPHONE was in my shirt pocket signaled that a text message had been received, four attempts to respond failed.
I noticed there was one “bar” showing which then disappeared for the rest of the flight.
I was under the impression that cellular only worked via Wi-Fi while flying.
I noticed there was one “bar” showing which then disappeared for the rest of the flight.
I was under the impression that cellular only worked via Wi-Fi while flying.
Jun 11, 2022, 9:41 am
#2
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Delta’s in-flight messaging is for internet messaging only (iMessage, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp), not SMS, and you must be connected to the Wi-Fi to use it.
If you had one bar of cellular signal showing, it sounds like you forgot to put your phone into airplane mode and it momentarily contacted a ground tower.
If you had one bar of cellular signal showing, it sounds like you forgot to put your phone into airplane mode and it momentarily contacted a ground tower.
Jun 11, 2022, 5:14 pm
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Surprised your battery didn't drain completely before you got to LAS. Constant hunting for a tower connection typically kills battery life.
Jun 11, 2022, 8:19 pm
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Delta’s in-flight messaging is for internet messaging only (iMessage, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp), not SMS, and you must be connected to the Wi-Fi to use it.
If you had one bar of cellular signal showing, it sounds like you forgot to put your phone into airplane mode and it momentarily contacted a ground tower.
If you had one bar of cellular signal showing, it sounds like you forgot to put your phone into airplane mode and it momentarily contacted a ground tower.
On WED 6/8 i was flying on DL 1104 from, JFK to LAS, my cellphone was NOT connected to Wi-Fi,in mid flight my iPHONE was in my shirt pocket signaled that a text message had been received, four attempts to respond failed.
I noticed there was one “bar” showing which then disappeared for the rest of the flight.
I was under the impression that cellular only worked via Wi-Fi while flying.
I noticed there was one “bar” showing which then disappeared for the rest of the flight.
I was under the impression that cellular only worked via Wi-Fi while flying.
Jun 11, 2022, 9:30 pm
#5
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True, it could, though that would require not just connecting to the Wifi network but also buying internet access, which it seems OP did not do.
Jun 11, 2022, 10:06 pm
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But in this case the OP may have had one bar of cellular service for long enough to get an SMS.
Last edited by GUWonder; Jun 11, 2022 at 10:12 pm
Jun 15, 2022, 1:10 am
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Yep, it's possible. Usually cell service (at least in the USA) cuts off around 2,000' AGL. Many factors involved here. I've had SMS come in at 8,000' AGL, but replying took a bit of effort. I've heard of it working much higher in rare cases.
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but don't iPhones route all SMS through Apple's servers? If that's the case, I'd imagine SMS messages would be more than happy to be transmitted via WiFi. I know my T-Mobile Samsung S10+ works fine on Gogo for all its functions, even phone calls. I also know that Android phones also can turn on WiFi in the background. Not sure if iPhones do this.
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but don't iPhones route all SMS through Apple's servers? If that's the case, I'd imagine SMS messages would be more than happy to be transmitted via WiFi. I know my T-Mobile Samsung S10+ works fine on Gogo for all its functions, even phone calls. I also know that Android phones also can turn on WiFi in the background. Not sure if iPhones do this.
Jun 15, 2022, 4:15 am
#10
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That’s not correct. Even if both the sender and receiver are using iMessage, the message is sent as Green SMS if the data connection is poor. iMessage can be turned off for all text messages to send as SMS.
Last edited by TGarza; Jun 15, 2022 at 9:35 am
Jun 15, 2022, 4:28 am
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I can attest to the occasional longevity of cell phone network. I was able to receive and send both text and data for twenty minutes after takeoff from SEA to SFO, till about the time we passed Mt St Helens.
Jun 15, 2022, 11:17 pm
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It’s with TMobile WiFi enabled and active on the in-flight internet-connected iPhone that SMS gets routed via T-Mobile’s servers while the phone’s connection to the ground cells is non-existent or extremely poor.
SMS can be transmitted via WiFi. I do it routinely, as my Wi-Fi calling devices are most often in airplane mode even on the ground; and the calls and SMS and iMessages come in and go out via the WiFi, not cell phone service when in “airplane mode”. But in such case, it would show something like “T-Mobile WiFi” squeezed in between the airplane symbol and the Wi-Fi signal arc bars on the phone.
Last edited by GUWonder; Jun 15, 2022 at 11:28 pm
Jun 16, 2022, 10:26 am
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Many years ago, I was flying ARN to either ORD or EWR. I forgot to turn off my flip phone. When I got it out of my carry-on, I had a text message saying, "Welcome to the Azores". We were no where close to that country.
Jun 16, 2022, 2:21 pm
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Maybe you got the message around Massachusetts en route to EWR? There is the 351 phone area code in the north east part of MA there. And Azores come up with 351 for the international country phone code first in alphabetical order.
Last edited by GUWonder; Jun 16, 2022 at 2:27 pm