If all of a sudden, you are not able to use Airplane Mode because it’s greyed out, then here are some solutions that you can try out. If it is greyed out in Windows 11/10, then you cannot toggle it, i.e., on or off while other controls such as WiFi, Bluetooth work fine. That said, here is one more situation at which users were stuck. If the Airplane mode was on, and it greyed out, then they were not able to go online.
Airplane mode greyed out Windows 11/10
The core issue of this problem is related to Radio Management and Airplane Mode Service. Along with the option to troubleshoot them, we will also include other network-related with troubleshooting tips.
- Start Radio Management Service
- Change RadioButton value via Registry
- Enable/Disable WiFi Network Adapter
- Run Network Troubleshooter
- Update Network Driver
The last step includes an update for the driver. Make sure to take the backup of the existing driver using any third party driver tool, so in case of any problem, you can rollback.
1] Start Radio Management Service
- Open Run Prompt ( WIN + R) and type services.msc to open Windows Services snap-in
- Locate Radio Management service, and double click on it to open
- Change Startup Type from Manual to Automatic or Automatic Delayed Start
- Next, click on the Start button, and to save the changes click on the OK button
Post this; the Airplane mode should not be greyed out anymore.
2] Change RadioButton value via Registry
Create a restore point so in case registry change causes a problem, you can instantly restore it
Open Registry Editor by typing Regedit in the Run Prompt (Win + R) followed by pressing the Enter key
Navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class
Right-click on Class, and select Find.
Then Search for RadioEnable.
When you find it, double click on it and set the value to 1.
3] Enable/Disable WiFi Network Adapter
- Open Device Manager using WIN + X, followed by M
- Locate Network Adapter under > Disable device
- Wait for 30-seconds, and then right-click again to enable it this time.
Check if you can now enable or disable Airplane mode on Windows 10.
4] Run Network Troubleshooter
- Open Windows Settings (WIN + I)
- Navigate to Settings > Update and Security > Troubleshoot
- Locate Network Adapter, select it and then click on the “Run the troubleshooter” button
- Wait for the wizard to complete the process and check if that helped.
5] Update Network Driver
You can use either Windows or any third-party app to update the network driver. Even if there is a minor chance that the driver is causing the issue, this step should resolve it.
I hope the post was easy to follow, and you were able to resolve the problem where the Airplane mode greyed out Windows 10.
Read next: Airplane mode won’t turn off in Windows.
