I would like to request the ability to be able to lock airplane mode on, requiring a PIN or some sort to toggle it off. Hoping to prevent accidental, unexpected, and nefarious toggling of it.
As others have stated previously, they'd like to use a device in a "tablet" mode (in the sense where there's no cellular connection and WiFi only). I can easily hotspot my other phone for it, adding some additional level of privacy, but I don't want to mistakenly toggle airplane mode on in any fashion.

    • [deleted]

    • Post #2
    • Edited

    Dubz nefarious toggling

    You can only toggle it off/on when your device is unlocked.

    This leaves 'accidental' and 'unexpected'. If your threat model demands it you should get a Pixel tablet which is a WiFi-only device.

    • Dubz replied to this.

        You can run it from day 1 in airplane mode and hide the quick toggle. The cellular module will remain physically present, and it can be turned on by calling an emergency number even when the phone is locked and without SIM card, but that's hard to do accidentally.

          [deleted] Brilliant! Let me just go buy a tablet and carry it around in my pocket. That won't be obnoxious or uncomfortable or anything... /s

          N1b the problem is it will still give you options to disable airplane mode, like in the WiFi quick settings. That plus apps occasionally popping up asking to re-enable camera/mic access (which is annoying that it can't be disabled in itself) is enough to push me towards this suggestion. If I can add a second step requirement, all the better. Might not be useful for most, but I'm sure some would use it.
          Also wasn't aware of the emergency dialing, which is good to keep in mind (not like I just casually dial it to test stuff out). Thanks for that.

          • N1b replied to this.

                Dubz Brilliant! Let me just go buy a tablet and carry it around in my pocket. That won't be obnoxious or uncomfortable or anything... /s

                It's not bad advice. If your threat model requires to never, under no circumstances, turn on the cellular modem (which your request somewhat implies), a Pixel Tablet can be a great deal for people willing to carry it in the backpack. Not having a cellular modem in the first place is the best way to not use it by accident.

                Dubz apps occasionally popping up asking to re-enable camera/mic access (which is annoying that it can't be disabled in itself)

                You probably mean the global camera/mic toggle. The popup only comes if you give an app the camera or mic permission, in which case it can be assumed you want this app to use the camera or mic. If you remove the permission for the app, this won't happen again (a badly programmed app could annoy you with
                in app pop-ups asking for permission even when not needed, but that's on the app developer and nothing GOS can change).

                Overall I see the benefits of PIN-locking airplane mode, but I assume it's not a high priority feature compared to something like location scopes. Definitely worth to open a request on Github if you want to draw the dev's attention to it.

                    Dubz
                    Physically disconnecting the GSM antenna from the mainboard might be an option, depending on your phone model and on whether you can find a technician capable of pulling that off.

                      naydir pull down from the top of the screen twice and you see a pencil symbol on the button right of your tiles. Press that and move/hide the shortcuts via long press.

                        6 days later

                        So an alternate solution that might find interest to some would be this:

                        • Only allow the owner profile the ability to toggle airplane mode on/off.
                        • Add a setting to only allow secondary accounts to run if and only if airplane mode is enabled.
                        • If it is enabled and you wish to disable it while a secondary user is still running, prompt the user to end their session before disabling, else cancel disabling.

                        This could not only provide a better ideal solution, but also help prevent accidental toggles or data leak from said profiles. Think of it like the "Block connections without VPN" option, but for airplane mode, applied to the user account, only by the Owner. This could increase its use case further IMO.

                        N1b It is very easy to accidentally call emergency services by pressing the power button 5 times. This feature is on by default and you have to manually turn it off in every profile.

                        • Dubz replied to this.
                            7 months later

                            What if you activate Airplane Mode and then hide the button while on? Would that do the trick?

                            4 days later

                            Dubz

                            I still hope this will be a feature one day. I looked for a WiFi network and the "toggle airplane mode" button is right there and so easy to accidentally press.

                            Owners of cellular towers always sell data. There is no opting out.

                                kizer
                                Those tiles can be moved.

                                Move it way down to the bottom, where you never go, so you can’t do it “accidentally”.

                                  kizer
                                  Get rid of the tile and add a desktop shortcut to "Wifi" using widgets. The toggle airplane mode button isn't visible there.

                                  Long press settings, long press wifi and drag to desktop

                                    2 months later

                                    kizer
                                    Just checking in to say I strongly support the removal of the 'Turn off airplane mode' button from the wifi network search dropdown. If I really want to disable airplane mode, I'll take the effort to reach for the menu tile, but I don't want this to happen due to a 'fat finger' event.

                                      7 months later

                                      treequell The feature request has been closed by the GrapheneOS development team as not planned. Please see: https://github.com/GrapheneOS/os-issue-tracker/issues/1070

                                      Closed, but not rejected. Just no priority/low interest.

                                      Hell, I'd settle for removing that part of the image to communicate with radio components. Even if that means no WiFi, I could settle on LAN connections as needed. Again, low use case, but would be nice.
                                      Unfortunately I imagine this can't be done with the existing image, and even if so, updates might just flash the image anyways.

                                      nodsocket It is very easy to accidentally call emergency services by pressing the power button 5 times. This feature is on by default and you have to manually turn it off in every profile.

                                      I would be fine with having to turn this off, and knowing it's there is definitely helpful. Still, other methods of being able to turn it back on could be risky for some. My only concern is other unknown tricks that will inadvertently turn it on.
                                      To add to this, there is an additional permission to allow apps to see Wi-Fi. That's a risk for location tracking in itself, and tucked away to find in settings.