Do regular cell phones work well in airplanes?

[RawHawg]

I have heard they do not, and that it takes a specific type of satellite phone to get a good connection in a moving, flying plane. Has anyone ever had any luck talking on their normal cell phone mid-flight?

ty

 

[metal]

Had a motorola flip phone back in 2005-06, and it had service on a plane. Dont remember if i tried to make a call though.

 

[mushishi]

Really? Always thought the distance was too great to get reception from the cell towers, but I guess cell tower range is greater than cruising altitude and there aren't many sources of interference 7 miles up. Going to have to leave my phone on and check if I get signal.

As for actually making a call, maybe you'll be traveling too fast to get good reception from one tower to the next.

 

[JLBN]

A regular phone does not work mid flight.

 

[Heisenberg]

Because of my fear of flying, I would be too scared that my phone would interfere with the engines.

 

[TSO]

A regular phone does not work mid flight.

Every phone ive had after about 2002 has had no problem making calls in a plane.

 

[RawHawg]

Every phone ive had after about 2002 has had no problem making calls in a plane.

That's cool, ty, I thought they had to hit a specific tower or would lose reception. I guess with the advent of ip based calls, if you can now connect to a satellite it is more stable in a plane. Anyone have any luck making calls way out to sea on a cruise ship on their cell phone?

 

[Cajun]

Never had one that worked. Sometimes it will flicker in and out so a text or something comes through but that's all.

 

[jmac98]

I've never tried to place a call while on a plane. I usually just advise those in the need to know that I'm going on a plane and will talk in a few hours.

 

[TSO]

That's cool, ty, I thought they had to hit a specific tower or would lose reception. I guess with the advent of ip based calls, if you can now connect to a satellite it is more stable in a plane. Anyone have any luck making calls way out to sea on a cruise ship on their cell phone?

You do have to hit a cell tower, cell phones do not operate in a way that they can communicate with satellites. The reason they operate on a plane is that most of them have a ten mile range and you're only around seven miles up a cruising altitude and you have no obstructions blocking the signal.

Even if your phone could communicate with a satellite, you're pretty far out of range in the air. They orbit at a minimum of 160 miles up.

 

[Zer]

People were making calls on 9/11 before the planes hit. You'll be fine

 

[jefferz]

Works best if you chant Allah Akbar before using it.

 

[SiKnSiN]

I have heard they do not, and that it takes a specific type of satellite phone to get a good connection in a moving, flying plane. Has anyone ever had any luck talking on their normal cell phone mid-flight?

ty

It depends on the distance of the flight. Most of my flights are long distance flights, and there's no way a normal cell is going to work mid flight. The cruising altitude is just way out of range.

 

[JudoThrowFiasco]

You're only about 5.6 miles above cell towers, so usually you will get coverage - just depends on the quality of your network.