Essential Advantages of Activating Airplane Mode on Your E-Reader
In the world of e-readers, one simple setting can have a significant impact on your reading experience – Airplane Mode. This feature, commonly found on devices like the Amazon Kindle, conserves battery life, prevents automatic downloads of ads and unwanted cover art changes, and helps maintain jailbreaks for sideloading books.
When Airplane Mode is activated, it disables Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity, thus reducing background activity and interruptions. This is particularly beneficial for the Kindle, as turning on Airplane Mode stops periodic internet checks and data transfers, extending battery life since e-ink displays themselves consume very little power.
One of the key advantages of Airplane Mode is ad control. Many Kindle models show ads or “Special Offers” that update via internet downloads. With Airplane Mode enabled, these ads stop updating or eventually stop appearing altogether, providing a cleaner reading experience.
Airplane Mode also prevents cover art updates. Publishers sometimes remotely change book cover images to reflect movie adaptations or streaming releases, often adding distracting virtual stickers. Keeping the Kindle in Airplane Mode stops these cover updates, preserving the original look of your collection.
For users who jailbreak their Kindle to sideload books instead of purchasing via Amazon, Airplane Mode is crucial. It prevents automatic software updates that can break the jailbreak, maintaining functionality longer.
However, having Airplane Mode always on means you’ll miss out on features like wireless book delivery, software updates, syncing highlights, and dictionary translations that require internet connectivity. So it’s a trade-off based on whether you prioritize convenience and cloud features or battery life and control over ads and updates.
Airplane Mode is recommended for Kindle users who want to maximize battery, avoid ads and unwanted cover changes, and maintain jailbroken status, especially when they primarily read downloaded content without needing frequent online features.
On the other hand, e-readers like the Onyx Boox, Meebook, and Hyrad lose major functionality with airplane mode on, as they can't use Android apps without a persistent internet connection. Losing app support and failing to keep them updated poses a significant security risk for Android-driven e-readers.
In the case of public library e-books borrowed via OverDrive, disabling Wi-Fi or putting the e-reader in airplane mode can allow you to keep borrowed e-books indefinitely, although this practice is morally questionable.
Lastly, it's worth noting that e-readers like the Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble NOOK, Rakuten Kobo, and others do not require a persistent internet connection to enjoy reading e-books. However, features like Send to Kindle for delivering EPUB books or PDF files to a Kindle, and editing sideloaded PDF files on a Kindle Scribe, do require internet connectivity. Syncing is also disabled when an e-reader is in airplane mode, which prevents page tracking and highlight synchronization across devices.
In conclusion, the decision to keep Airplane Mode on or off on your e-reader depends on your priorities. For battery conservation, ad control, and maintaining jailbroken status, Airplane Mode is a valuable tool. But for those who value online features, it's a trade-off that needs careful consideration.
Activating Airplane Mode on an e-reader, such as the Kindle, can significantly improve its battery life by reducing background activity and interruptions, making it beneficial for prolonged reading sessions. Additionally, keeping Airplane Mode on aids in ad control, cover art preservation, and maintaining jailbreaks for sideloading books, offering more control to users over their reading experience.
