Reasons for Activating Airplane Mode on Your e-Reader During Flights
E-readers, such as Amazon's Kindle, Barnes and Noble NOOK, Rakuten Kobo, and others, offer a convenient way to read books on the go without the need for a persistent internet connection. However, enabling airplane mode on these devices can have both advantages and disadvantages.
Extended Battery Life and Preservation of Original Book Covers
Airplane mode disables Wi-Fi and other wireless connections, which reduces power consumption and helps the battery last longer since the device is not constantly searching for or maintaining a network connection [1]. Additionally, without airplane mode, publishers may update e-book cover art automatically, for example, to reflect a movie adaptation or streaming release. Activating airplane mode prevents these automatic changes, maintaining the original book covers without the 'virtual stickers' that sometimes appear on e-books [1].
Reduced Ads
Turning on airplane mode can block internet access and thus prevent downloading of ads or promotional content that might appear on free or subsidized e-readers like some Kindle models [1].
Disadvantages
The main downside is losing functionality that requires internet access. This includes purchasing new e-books directly on the device, downloading software updates, syncing reading progress, and updating apps. Continuous airplane mode means you have to manually connect to Wi-Fi to perform these updates and purchases [1].
Losing app support and failing to keep them updated poses a significant security risk for Android-driven e-readers. For instance, when a new software update is released for the Amazon Kindle, it can break the device, making it inoperable. Enabling airplane mode can help maintain a longer-lasting jailbreak [2].
Software Updates and Their Impact
E-reader software updates can dramatically change the home screen, library, and book reading experience. Some books may disappear from e-readers due to licensing issues, such as Amazon removing pirated books from Kindle Direct Publishing [3].
Making an Informed Decision
Before deciding to keep your e-reader in airplane mode, it's essential to consider the potential advantages and disadvantages. Social Media or Reddit can be good places to find out if a software update is worth installing [4]. In the United States, Amazon sells its e-readers with ads or without ads, with the ad version costing $25 less [5]. Send to Kindle and Send to Kobo require Wi-Fi to deliver EPUB books or PDF files to e-readers [6]. Some e-reader updates may remove beloved fonts or introduce new features [7].
[1] [Source 1] [2] [Source 2] [3] [Source 3] [4] [Source 4] [5] [Source 5] [6] [Source 6] [7] [Source 7]
The activation of airplane mode on e-readers can extend battery life and preserve original book covers by reducing power consumption and preventing automatic e-book cover art updates respectively. However, this mode can also block internet access, which may lead to the loss of functionality that requires it, such as purchasing or updating e-books, downloading software updates, syncing reading progress, and updating apps. ensuing in the need to manually connect to Wi-Fi to perform these tasks. Additionally, airplane mode can mute unwanted ads on free or subsidized e-readers, thereby enhancing the reading experience, but it may also pose a security risk for Android-driven e-readers due to failing to keep apps updated.
