How to Enable or Disable Wi-Fi Radio and Airplane Mode On Your iPhone

Authored by: Support.com Tech Pro Team

1. Introduction: iPhone: Enable/Disable Wi-Fi and Airplane Mode

It can be useful to understand how to enable and disable both Wi-Fi and Airplane mode on your iPhone. These features allow you to control your connection to Wi-Fi networks or ensure that there is no communication at all.

iPhone with a Wi-Fi logo. Illustration.

2. Introduction: iPhone: Enable/Disable Wi-Fi

In iOS 11 and later, when the Wi-Fi button within the Control Center is toggled, your device will immediately disconnect from any Wi-Fi networks it is connected to at the time. Wi-Fi can be re-enabled at any time to re-establish this connection.

3. iPhone: Open Control Center

Depending on which model iPhone you have and which version of Apple's iOS your device is running, what you see on your screen may differ slightly from these photos. However, the steps outlined in this process should be very similar.

  1. Swipe up from the bottom edge of any screen.
iPhone with highlights indicating swiping upward. Illustration.
  1. On iPhone X, swipe down from the upper-right corner of the screen.
iPhone X with highlights indicating swiping from the upper-right corner.
  1. Control center will slide into view on your screen.
iPhone control center screen.

4. iPhone: Enable/Disable Wi-Fi

Depending on which model iPhone you have and which version of Apple's iOS your device is running, what you see on your screen may differ slightly from these photos. However, the steps outlined in this process should be very similar.

  1. With Control Center open, tap the Wi-Fi icon. The icon will dim and your device will disconnect from any network that you're connected to.
iPhone control center highlighting the Wi-Fi icon.
  1. To re-enable Wi-Fi, tap the Wi-Fi icon again. The icon will light back up to its blue color and your device will auto-join any nearby saved wireless networks.

While Wi-Fi is disabled, auto-join for any nearby Wi-Fi networks will also be disabled until:

  • You turn on Wi-Fi in Control Center.
  • You connect to a Wi-Fi network in Settings > Wi-Fi.
  • You walk or drive to a new location.
  • It's 5 AM local time.
  • You restart your device.

5. Introduction: iPhone: Enable/Disable Airplane Mode

Airplane mode turns off all wireless communication features on your device so that you comply with airline regulations. It is also a useful feature if you want to let a child use your device, but you don't want them to go online.

6. iPhone: Open Control Center

Depending on which model iPhone you have and which version of Apple's iOS your device is running, what you see on your screen may differ slightly from these photos. However, the steps outlined in this process should be very similar.

  1. Swipe up from the bottom edge of any screen.
iPhone with highlights indicating swiping upward. Illustration.
  1. On iPhone X, swipe down from the upper-right corner of the screen.
iPhone X with highlights indicating swiping from the upper-right corner.
  1. Control center will slide into view on your screen.
iPhone control center screen.

7. iPhone: Enable/Disable Airplane Mode

Depending on which model iPhone you have and which version of Apple's iOS your device is running, what you see on your screen may differ slightly from these photos. However, the steps outlined in this process should be very similar.

  1. With Control Center open, tap the Airplane mode icon. This will turn Airplane mode on.
iPhone control center highlighting the airplane mode icon.


  1. The Airplane mode icon will light up and all other communication buttons will dim to demonstrate that they have been disabled because Airplane mode is now on.
iPhone control center highlighting the airplane mode icon being engaged.


  1. To turn Airplane mode back off, tap the Airplane mode icon again. The button will dim once again, and other communication buttons will light back up to show that they are back on.
iPhone control center highlighting the airplane mode icon being disengaged.