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Sorry if this is the wrong forum, but does anyone know the policy for bluetooth on airlines? I plan to get a bluetooth mouse, but wondering if I should pick up one of those cheapo wired mice in addition for use on long flights.
I would think it varies from airline to airline. some airlines have wifi now, so unless the bt frequency spectrum as something onboard, I’m not sure what the issue would be. If anything, the short range of bt would make me think perhaps it would be less likely to conflict with any used freq’s. But then I’m no engineer (or lawyer), so I would say ask the airline.
FWIW, british airways specifically DOES allow it:
http://www.britishairways.com/travel/gsanswer/public/en_us?p_faqid=1335&gsLink=searchResults
They also specifically say pacemakers are ok lol. Be hard to enforce a ban there…
Also, here is an interesting article:
it’s pretty much a myth that radio gear can interfere with a plane’s operation (beyone the pretty conspicuous guy wedged in the back row with his massive array of ham radio equipment). it works for them because it’s harder to security screen electronics so if they simply don’t allow their use, less people bring them.
kinda difficult for them to do that now thought since everyone relies on their connection and devices.
Googling around it seems some airlines do allow bluetooth. So it may be worth getting the mouse but you’ll need to check with your airline before you fly and obviously comply with their rules!
This was a beeb article on the subject.
Thanks guys. Yeah I figured as much, but was hoping someone might know some recent legal ruling or something. No biggie, wired mice are cheap.
I fly in the U.S. quite often every month and basically ignore the airlines’ admonishments to turn off all wireless devices. I never turn my cell phone off (leave it on vibrate), I have a Bluetooth mouse for my Sammy, and a Garmin GPS unit (Nuvi 350) that I place on the armrest next to my window seat to see what terrain I am flying over. Never been arrested so far!
Interesting reading:
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/print/3069
“Over the course of three months in late 2003, we investigated the possibility that portable electronic devices interfere with a plane’s safety instruments by measuring the RF spectrum inside commercial aircraft cabins. What we found was disturbing. Passengers are using cellphones, on the average, at least once per flight, contrary to FCC and FAA regulations, and sometimes during the especially critical flight phases of takeoff and landing. Although that number seems low, keep in mind that it represents the furtive activity of a small number of rule breakers. Should the FCC and the airlines allow cellphone use, the number of calls could rise dramatically. In addition, regulations already permit a wide variety of other portable electronic devices—from game machines to laptops with Wi-Fi cards—to be used in the air today. Yet our research has found that these items can interrupt the normal operation of key cockpit instruments, especially Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, which are increasingly vital to safe landings. Two different studies by NASA further support the idea that passengers’ electronic devices dangerously produce interference in a way that reduces the safety margins for critical avionics systems….There is no smoking gun to this story: there is no definitive instance of an air accident known to have been caused by a passenger’s use of an electronic device. Nonetheless, although it is impossible to say that such use has contributed to air accidents in the past, the data also make it impossible to rule it out completely. More important, the data support a conclusion that continued use of portable RF-emitting devices such as cellphones will, in all likelihood, someday cause an accident by interfering with critical cockpit instruments such as GPS receivers. This much is certain: there exists a greater potential for problems than was previously believed. “
There was the recent incident with a Quantas flight that was initially blamed on passenger wireless usage by the airline, but was later proven to be caused by an onboard computer failure:
http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/tech_talk/2008/10/investigators_rule_out_wireles.html
I agree that the jury is still out on the issue, particularly given that consumer RF devices often are not well-tested or shielded.
The only issue really is sometimes pilots will get a little interference over their headsets (you know the kind where you have a mobile too close to a speaker and you hear blips and things).
It’s non critical, just some pilots get annoyed at it.
Now the strange thing is I was on one flight where there was an announcement about a phone still switched on, and they pointed out exactly which overhead bin it was in!
However none of this stuff is going to make a plane crash. It’s the same in hospitals (so much so that the NHS in the UK is now about to allow mobile use in wards).
And of course some planes are now being fitted out with local cells to allow mobile use on the plane (unfortunately for the other passengers who have to deal with “HELLO! I’M ON THE PLANE!”). Though the reason is purely financial. They can charge vast amounts per minute for calls routed through their network (which will go out via a satellite phone system).
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