How to listen to books offline on a flight
A long flight is good listening time, and it’s also where you find out which of your apps need the internet. Ten minutes of prep at home saves you watching a spinning wheel three hours in.
Test in aeroplane mode at home
Most of the other tips here come back to this one. The night before, turn on aeroplane mode, open each book you plan to listen to and play thirty seconds of it. Whatever fails at home will fail in the air, and at home you can still fix it.
What to download, by type of book
Audiobooks from a store or subscription
These stream by default. Find each title in the app and download it, usually with an icon beside the book. A whole book can be several hundred megabytes, so do it on Wi-Fi and check your storage.
Library loans
Download the loan before you leave and check the due date. A loan that expires mid-trip stops working, and you can’t renew without a connection.
LibriVox recordings
These are audio files. In Aloud, a LibriVox recording downloads to the phone when you add it and plays offline once it’s finished. Check it shows as complete before you board.
Books read by text to speech
This is where apps differ most. Some generate the voice on their servers and need a connection for every chapter. Some let paying subscribers download a limited amount for offline use. Aloud generates narration on the iPhone, so once the book and voice are on the phone it doesn’t need a connection. That covers EPUBs and PDFs you’ve imported and public-domain books you’ve opened.
Pre-flight checklist
- Download every book you might want, plus a spare in case the first one doesn’t hold you.
- Test in aeroplane mode as above.
- Charge the phone and the headphones. Bring a cable in case the seat has a USB port.
- Pack wired headphones or an adapter as a backup. Bluetooth earbuds tend to go flat at the worst moment.
- Set a sleep timer if you might doze, so you don’t lose your place by six chapters.
- Turn on Low Power Mode on long flights. Playback carries on normally.
Bluetooth in aeroplane mode
Depending on your settings, aeroplane mode can turn Bluetooth off along with everything else and disconnect your earbuds. Turn it back on in Control Centre and the iPhone remembers for next time. Airlines have their own rules on wireless devices, so follow the crew.
Battery
Playing a downloaded audio file uses very little power. Generating narration on the phone uses more, because the phone is doing real work to make the voice. On a short flight you won’t notice. On a fourteen-hour one, keep a charger or battery pack handy. With the optional Aloud Unlimited upgrade you can also export a book as an M4B file before you fly and play it like any other audiobook.
What to listen to
Cabin noise makes quiet, subtle narration hard to follow. Plot-driven books, re-reads and non-fiction you can dip in and out of tend to work better than dense prose. Noise-cancelling headphones help more than turning the volume up.
Aloud works in aeroplane mode
The voice is generated on your iPhone, so imported books and the free catalogue titles you've opened keep playing with no connection.
Common questions
Can I use Bluetooth headphones in aeroplane mode?
Yes. Depending on your settings, aeroplane mode may turn Bluetooth off. Turn it back on in Control Centre and the iPhone remembers for next time. Whether you can use it on board is up to the airline.
Why did my downloaded audiobook stop working on the plane?
Some apps check your account or licence when a book opens, and some downloads expire. Open the book once in aeroplane mode before you travel to make sure it plays.
Does text-to-speech work without internet?
It depends on the app. Apple's built-in voices work offline. Some reader apps make their voices on a server and stop without a connection. Aloud generates its voices on the iPhone.
Will in-flight Wi-Fi be enough to stream?
Sometimes, but it's often slow or not there at all on the flight you're actually on. Download before you board and treat Wi-Fi as a bonus.
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