How to track your flight without Wi-Fi or in airplane mode

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You can follow your flight without Wi-Fi, but only if you prepare it before takeoff. Live tracking apps need an internet connection on board. Offline trackers work without one, either by reading your phone's GPS or by using a route and schedule saved before the doors close.

Why live flight trackers stop working in the air

Websites and apps that show planes moving in real time don't get the position from your phone. Aircraft broadcast their GPS position, altitude and speed about once per second, a system called ADS-B, and networks of receivers on the ground pick those signals up. The tracking service combines the data on its servers and sends it to your app.

That last step needs the internet. Once your phone is in airplane mode with no Wi-Fi, a live tracker can't download anything new, so the map freezes on the last position it received.

In-flight Wi-Fi solves that only if your flight has it, and many short flights, especially with low-cost airlines, have none. See No Wi-Fi on your flight? What still works offline.

The two ways offline flight tracking works

Uses your phone's GPS Uses a route prepared before takeoff
What it needs A GPS fix inside the cabin Internet before boarding, to save the flight and map
Where you sit A window seat helps a lot Any seat
What you see Your actual position, when the phone finds satellites An estimated position along the planned route and schedule
Weak spots Can take minutes to find satellites, or never find them away from the window Can drift if the flight holds, reroutes or changes speed
Battery GPS runs the whole flight No GPS needed

GPS works in airplane mode on most phones, but finding satellites through the cabin walls is another matter. Without an internet connection the phone can't download the assistance data that normally speeds this up, so it may need a slow "cold start" search. Our guide Does GPS work in airplane mode? explains why.

FlyingOver uses the second method. It doesn't use GPS at all: it saves your route, schedule and an offline map before takeoff, then estimates where the plane is during the flight. You don't need a window seat or a satellite fix. The trade-off is honest: it's an estimate, so if the flight holds before landing or takes a very different route, the position can be off until the app gets fresh data.

How to set it up before you board

  1. Add your flight while you still have internet. In FlyingOver, enter the flight number and date. Do this at home or at the gate, not after the doors close.
  2. Let the offline map finish. The app prepares a map along your route. On long flights that includes the areas around your departure and arrival airports. Keep the app open until the map is ready.
  3. Keep some storage free. The most detailed maps need around 500 MB of free space. With less, the app saves a less detailed map, and with under 100 MB it can't save one.
  4. Switch to airplane mode when the crew asks. Your saved flight and map stay available. Each airline decides which devices can be used and when, and crew instructions always come first.
  5. Open the flight during the trip. You'll see the estimated position on the map, the time until arrival, and the countries, cities, coasts and lakes along your route.

What updates, and what doesn't, without a connection

Everything saved before takeoff keeps working: the route, the map, the schedule and the estimated progress. What can't update offline is anything that changes after you board: a new arrival time, a gate change at your destination, or a connection that has been rebooked.

If your flight has Wi-Fi and you connect, FlyingOver uses the live data to correct the flight. If not, it refreshes as soon as your phone reconnects after landing.

Let people on the ground follow along

You can share a link to your flight before you board. The people you send it to open it in a browser, without installing anything, and follow the flight on a map with the time to landing. Their side of the link uses live data, so it keeps updating while you're offline in the air.

Sources

  1. Federal Aviation Administration, ADS-B "Ins and Outs": Aircraft broadcast their GPS position, altitude and speed to ground stations and other aircraft once per second. (September 16, 2026)
  2. European Space Agency, Navipedia, Time To First Fix: Without stored or downloaded assistance data a receiver has to search the whole sky for satellites (cold start). (September 16, 2026)
  3. European Union Aviation Safety Agency, electronic devices on board (26 September 2014): Each airline decides which devices may be used, and passengers must always follow crew instructions. (September 16, 2026)

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