What does offline mode mean? A simple explanation of the function

Your smartphone has an offline mode, but what this means and when you should use it is not entirely clear to many people.

Offline mode: what this expression means

If you’re not online, you’re offline. These two little words describe whether your smartphone is connected to the internet or not. But there is also a special offline mode on your phone, also known as flight mode.

• In general, you can say that you are in offline mode when you deactivate mobile data on your cell phone while on the go. Offline means not being connected to the internet.

• As soon as you disconnect your phone from the internet, no more internet data will be transferred. However, your phone is still connected to the mobile network and you can make phone calls and use all other applications that work offline.

• Activate flight mode on your cell phone, which is also known as offline mode. This disables all wireless radio connections such as LTE, UMTS, WLAN and Bluetooth. You can still use music, videos, the camera on your cell phone or games.

When you need offline mode on your cell phone

Offline mode either disconnects your smartphone from the internet or from all radio connections. But what is this mode good for?

• Flight mode is pretty self-explanatory – you should switch this on when you’re on a plane. Since radio waves can interfere with the sensitive electronics on board, it’s advisable to switch your cell phone to offline mode.

• But you can also switch your phone to offline mode if you want to save battery power or if you don’t want to receive calls or messages during an important appointment. Activating flight mode is quicker than turning your phone off and on again.

• Simply by switching off mobile data and putting your phone in offline mode, you can save a lot of data volume. This means that your phone will only connect to the internet if you have access to Wi-Fi. Otherwise, you will have to pay for the data used, depending on your phone plan.