VaneHow to See Your Plane's Speed and Altitude on iPhone
From a window seat, an iPhone in airplane mode can usually show your plane's ground speed, track and position, with no Wi-Fi. Here is how, and how to read what you see.
Updated 1 October 2026
Is it allowed?
Since 2013 the FAA and EASA have let airlines allow phones throughout the flight, in airplane mode or with the cellular radio off. GPS is a receiver: it transmits nothing, and no FAA, FCC or EASA rule specifically bans it. Whether you may use your phone at each stage of the flight is still the airline's decision, so follow the crew's instructions. Phone calls over the cellular network in the air are a separate matter, banned in the US by the FCC.
How to do it
- Before you board, open your GPS app once with data on, so the phone has fresh satellite data and a quick first fix. If the app needs a map, download it now: there is no data in the air unless you pay for Wi-Fi.
- Turn on airplane mode. It turns off the cellular radio. GPS reception is not a transmission, and in practice location keeps working.
- Sit by the window and hold the phone close to it. The fuselage is metal or carbon fibre and blocks most of the sky. The signals come in through the windows. An aisle seat often gets nothing.
- Be patient. The first fix through a small window can take a few minutes. Once it has one, the phone usually keeps it as long as it stays near the glass.
What you will see
Ground speed
GPS measures ground speed, your speed over the Earth's surface. Airliners cruise at about Mach 0.78 to 0.85, around 830 to 900 km/h (450 to 490 knots) through the air at typical cruise heights. Ground speed is that plus or minus the wind, and at cruise heights the wind can be enormous. Eastbound flights over the Atlantic in a strong jet stream have reached ground speeds of over 1,300 km/h (800 mph). In February 2024 a United 787 bound for Lisbon peaked at 838 mph. The plane was not supersonic: its speed through the air was normal, and the air itself was moving at over 400 km/h.
Altitude
GPS altitude in flight usually shows the plane's real height, around 10,000 to 12,000 m (33,000 to 40,000 ft) at cruise. The phone's barometric altimeter shows something different: the cabin is pressurised, so it reads the cabin altitude. US rules cap that at 8,000 ft (2,440 m) in normal operation; the 787 and A350 hold about 6,000 ft. Watch it climb gently after take-off, level off, then fall before landing as the crew bring the cabin back to the destination's pressure. Your ears feel the same thing.
Heading and track
The phone's compass is unreliable inside an aircraft. The airframe and its electrics disturb the magnetic field. The direction of travel from GPS, the track, is the one to trust in flight.
Reading ground speed in different units
| Phase | Typical ground speed |
|---|---|
| Take-off (rotation) | 250 to 300 km/h · 135 to 160 knots |
| Climbing through 3,000 m | 500 to 600 km/h · 270 to 320 knots |
| Cruise, no wind | 830 to 900 km/h · 450 to 490 knots |
| Cruise, strong tailwind | 1,000 to 1,300+ km/h · 540 to 700+ knots |
| Final approach | 250 to 300 km/h · 130 to 160 knots |
Take-off, climb and approach figures vary with aircraft type, weight and wind; they are a rough guide. Pilots and air traffic control use knots. See speed units.
Why the reading drops out
- You moved away from the window, or the plane banked away from the sky on your side.
- The app was in the background and the system paused it.
- Battery saving modes reduce how often location updates.
Sources
- FAA, Advisory Circular 91.21-1D and InFO 13010 (2013 expansion of device use; airplane mode); 14 CFR § 121.306 (the operator decides).
- EASA, electronic devices throughout the flight (2014).
- 47 CFR § 22.925 (no airborne use of cellular phones).
- 14 CFR § 25.841 (cabin pressure altitude); Boeing, 787 by design; Airbus, A350 cabin.
- NPR, report on record jet-stream ground speeds, npr.org (19 February 2024).
Common questions
Can I use GPS on a plane in airplane mode?
Usually, yes. Airplane mode turns off the phone's transmitters, and GPS only receives. Whether you may use your phone at each stage of the flight is up to the airline, so follow the crew's instructions.
Why does my phone show the plane going over 1,000 km/h?
GPS shows ground speed. Airliners fly through the air at about 830 to 900 km/h, and a strong jet-stream tailwind adds to that, so ground speeds over 1,000 km/h and occasionally 1,300 km/h happen on eastbound flights.
Why is the altitude on my phone different from the plane's?
A phone's barometric altimeter reads the cabin pressure, which is kept at no more than 8,000 ft (about 6,000 ft on the 787 and A350). GPS altitude shows the plane's real height.