Airplane mode and LTE/BLE

Airplane mode is supported on FGR-70F-3G4G models to enable/disable radio frequency signals for the internal LTE modem and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) module:

config system global
    set airplane-mode {disable | enable}
end

By default airplane mode is disabled, and LTE and BLE radio frequency signals are transmitted. Airplane mode can be enabled with a CLI command followed by a reboot of the FortiGate. Once airplane mode is enabled, LTE and BLE radio frequency signals remain silent during normal operation of the FortiGate.

A specific BIOS version is required to ensure radio frequency signals remain silent for LTE and BLE modules when FortiGate is rebooted.

set airplane-mode {disable | enable}

Enable or disable airplane mode on FGR-70F-3G4G models: disable: disable airplane mode, which means radio frequency signals of the internal LTE modem and BLE module are enabled and transmitted. enable: enable airplane mode, which means radio frequency signals of the internal LTE modem and BLE module are turned off.

Example

To disable airplane mode:

1. Disable airplane mode:

   config system global
       ...
       set airplane-mode disable
       ...
   end

   Radio frequency signals of the LTE modem and BLE module are turned on.

2. Use the following commands to verify the settings:

   execute usb-device list	Check the status of the LTE modem.
   diagnose test application lted 5	Check the signal strength of the LTE modem.
   diagnose sys lte-modem modem-details	Get detailed information about the LTE modem.
   diagnose sys lte-modem data-session-info	Get session information about the LTE modem.
   diagnose bluetooth test_bt_conn	Check the status of the BLE mode.
   diagnose bluetooth status	Check the bluetooth status of the BLE mode.

To enable airplane mode:

1. Enable airplane mode:

   config system global
       ...    
       set airplane-mode enable
       ...
   Enabling airplane mode will turn off LTE modem and Bluetooth RF signals.
   Do you want to continue? (y/n)y
   end

2. Reboot the FortiGate.

   execute reboot
   This operation will reboot the system !
   Do you want to continue? (y/n)y

   The LTE modem and BLE module are disabled, and radio frequency signals are turned off.

3. Show the configuration to confirm that airplane mode is enabled.

   show full-configuration
   config system global
       ...
       set airplane-mode enable
       ...
   end

4. Check the USB device list (execute usb-device list) to confirm that the modem is not displayed in the list.

5. Check the signal strength to confirm that the modem is not found.

   # diagnose test application lted 5
   Modem device not currently connected! Please try again later...

6. Check the modem details to confirm that airplane mode is enabled, and the modem is not detected.

   # diagnose sys lte-modem modem-details
   LTE Modem detailed information:
   system.global.airplane-mode:      On
   Modem detected:   No

7. Check the modem session information to confirm that the modem is not detected.

   # diagnose sys lte-modem data-session-info
   LTE Modem data session information:
   Modem not detected!

8. Run a Bluetooth test to confirm that airplane mode is on and Bluetooth testing is not allowed.

   # diagnose bluetooth test_bt_conn
   It's on airplane mode now. Bluetooth testing is not allowed.

9. Check Bluetooth status to confirm that the BLE module is disabled.

   # diagnose bluetooth status
   Bluetooth Status: RESET BOOTLOADER
   Connect State(0):  BLE_MODE_DISABLED