The Airplane or Flight mode is a nifty feature to quickly stop all wireless communication on your Windows 10 PC or tablet. The Airplane mode can be turned on or off quickly by clicking or tapping on the Action Center icon in the taskbar and then clicking or tapping the Airplane mode tile.
While the Airplane mode works as expected when it’s turned on, at times, it’s hard to turn off the mode. We have previously discussed what to do when Airplane mode is not turning off in Windows 10.
Like other features, when the Airplane or Flight mode is turned on, Windows 10 displays the Airplane icon in the system tray of the taskbar. The icon disappears once you turn off the Airplane mode. But, at times, the Airplane mode icon doesn’t go away even after turning off the mode in Windows 10.
In short, the Airplane or Flight icon that appears when you turn on the Airplane mode refuses to go away even after turning off the mode. Because of this glitch, it’s hard to tell if the Airplane mode is on or off.
If you’re also having the same issue on your Windows 10 PC, follow the given below directions to get rid of the Airplane mode icon which appears even after turning off the Airplane mode.
Three ways to remove Airplane or Flight mode icon from system tray in Windows 10
Method 1 of 3
Step 1: Open the Task Manager by right-clicking on the empty area of the taskbar and then clicking the Task Manager option.
Step 2: Once the Task Manager is opened, click on More details to open the full version of the Task Manager.
Step 3: Under the Process tab, look for the entry labeled Windows Explorer. If you can’t find Windows Explorer entry, please start the Windows Explorer process by opening any folder or This PC (My Computer).
Right-click on Windows Explorer entry and then click Restart button to restart Windows Explorer. This will also refresh icons on the taskbar. The Airplane icon should now disappear if the mode is turned off.
Method 2 of 3
We have noticed that this method doesn’t always work. That said, if the above method didn’t work for you, you might try this one.
Step 1: Right-click on an empty spot of the taskbar and then click Taskbar Properties to open the Taskbar settings page.
Step 2: Here, turn on the option labeled Automatically hide the taskbar in desktop mode option. Doing so will hide the taskbar.
Step 3: Now, turn off Automatically hide the taskbar in desktop mode option. The taskbar will appear again with the network or wireless icon instead of the Airplane mode icon if the mode is turned off.
Method 3 of 3
If the Flight mode icon is not disappearing even after trying above mentioned methods, please make sure that the Airplane mode is actually turned off by opening Settings, clicking Network & Internet, clicking Airplane mode and then checking the status of Airplane mode.
If the Airplane mode is turned off, please reboot your PC.
rob says
cant get the airplane back.. which is why i came here in the 1st place…
poor instructions – my windows 10 pro doesnt look like the pics..
time for you woke-sters to learn something that actually works in the real world
Aamir Khan says
Karl you rocks!
Karl says
This unfortunately did not work for me but how i fixed it was by pressing Ctrl + Alt+ Delete and in the right corner i could open network and switch off airplane mode.
anjana says
these all three methods are wrone…use less.one of the solution is below,
Looks like in action center both network and airplane icon is highlighted at the same time. When disabling both and highlight only wifi, then only wifi icon is displayed on taskbar. But after reboot, again both icon are highlighted in action center but only flight icon is displayed on taskbar (but wifi is working)
Stanley says
In under a minute.. Thanks a lot
AR says
THANK YOU!!!! That airplane mode icon had been pestering me for over a month.
Robin says
Great info. Thanks!