With many phone companies now offering 5G bandwidth, that has the potential to interfere with the radio altimeter, which is the instrument upon which pilots rely to indicate when they need to flare, or lift the airplane's nose wheel, to land the plane, says Bubb.
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Here is what happens on the telco side: Your phone will attempt to connect to a tower by upping its transmission power and “pinging” for a tower. This will drain your battery more than normal so you may not have a charge upon landing.
It's safer for everyone if you put your phone in airplane mode when you're flying. Cell phone signals can interfere with some of an airplane's crucial systems.
Do pilots know if your phone isn't on airplane mode? Well, sort of. “The flight attendants or the pilots are not going to get an indicator that says 13A has their cell phone on,” Laurie says. “But if there's enough people that they still have it on, and they're encountering that interference, then, yes.”
Why are airplane passengers asked to put their phones in airplane mode? Per the FAA website's Safety Information page, “The FCC and FAA ban cell phones for airborne use because its signals could interfere with critical aircraft instruments. Devices must be used in airplane mode or with the cellular connection disabled.
In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) restricts cell phone usage on aircraft in order to prevent disruption to cellular towers on the ground.