
A flight was late because someone named their Wi-Fi hotspot ‘Galaxy Note 7’ - dvichg
http://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2016/12/22/14063842/samsung-galaxy-note-7-virgin-america-flight-sfo
======
systemizer
I was on this flight. The flight wasn't late; but we almost had to be diverted
because no one came forward with the device. It took about 30 minutes and 4-5
reminders from the flight attendant and pilot to resolve the issue, making me
think the person either forgot he renamed it to that or he himself was pranked
and didn't realize his phone was renamed until he took a second look. I was
hoping someone didn't buy a galaxy note 7 as a gift and had it in a bag
somewhere. But yeah, definitely one of the more interesting flights i've been
on :/

~~~
Pyxl101
How was it resolved? Did the person come forward, turn off the phone, etc.?

What do you think would have happened if they didn't?

~~~
mdrzn
They said they would have searched every bag, but they wouldn't have find it
since it could have been any kind of Android with a changed SSID. It's the
ultimate troll!

edit: > _no further action was taken on the passenger with the device_ (from
the BBC article)

~~~
zeroer
Could have been an iPhone, too, since you can write whatever you want as the
hotspot SSID.

------
aeijdenberg
If I recall correctly, don't some older versions of Windows broadcast (as an
adhoc network) the SSID of the last hotspot they successfully connected to?
[0]

If so, wouldn't it be quite plausible that an owner of a Galaxy Note 7, who
had previously used tethering elsewhere (with that SSID), would then
accidentally broadcast that SSID when using their Windows laptop on the
flight, even though the Galaxy Note is not there?

[0]
[https://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20101011/031...](https://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20101011/03194311357/the-
history-of-the-fake-free-public-wifi-you-always-see-at-airports.shtml)

~~~
jpswade
XP did this, but it's pretty unlikely that someone was running Windows XP on a
plane in 2016.

~~~
LeifCarrotson
I did this 3 weeks ago.

I was carrying an old Thinkpad we use for interfacing with a legacy PLC at a
customer's manufacturing plant, and didn't want to bring my regular machine in
addition to that behemoth. Still going strong!

------
viraptor
Unfortunate that nobody checked/saved the MAC of that hotspot. I believe it
doesn't change when you switch between the AP / client mode, so you could
identify the person later on.

Then again, it would be interesting to know if you can actually get charged
for having a specific SSID and whether anyone can prove it's been done on
purpose, not accidentally.

~~~
jdminhbg
> Unfortunate that nobody checked/saved the MAC of that hotspot. I believe it
> doesn't change when you switch between the AP / client mode, so you could
> identify the person later on.

The person identified him/herself on the flight preventing the diversion,
according to the (better) BBC account:
[http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-38404711?ocid=socialflow_...](http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-38404711?ocid=socialflow_twitter)

~~~
pvtmert
only inceases/decreases by 1

------
metaphor
Any lawyer types willing to comment on the applicability of _Schenck v. United
States_ [1] decision to prospective trolls looking for a few lulz?

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schenck_v._United_States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schenck_v._United_States)

------
yellowbkpk
I was on an LHR-IAD flight earlier this week that was 2 or 3 in line for
takeoff and had to taxi back to the gate so they could remove something from
the hold. From the conversations I overheard it was a phone that had to be
removed from someone's checked baggage.

------
justinsaccount
If Note 7s are so dangerous, how is it that people are asked to turn them off,
rather than prevented from taking them on a flight in the first place?

The only thing worse than security theater is voluntary security theater.

(and yes, I'm aware that the device in question here was not actually a note
7).

~~~
jdminhbg
People are told repeatedly that Note 7s are not allowed on flights at all now.
You get announcements in line for security, at the gate, and on board before
leaving.

~~~
lucaspiller
Interesting... here in the EU they are just told to turn them off, not charge
them onboard and not keep them in the overhead locker (although details vary
by flight).

~~~
lb1lf
-Not quite.

Last week the flight crew on my Scandinavian and Lufthansa (Both Star
Alliance) flights repeatedly informed us prior to departure that anyone caught
with a Note 7 on them would be hung, drawn and quartered to the full extent of
law and then some more, just to be sure.

I think they went from just requiring them to be switched off to banning them
altogether sometime in September. Ban was definitely in effect in October.

I also think that the flight attendant claimed this was due to a
recommendation from the EASA (European Air Safety Agency), though I didn't pay
all that much attention as I was reading E-mail on my positively ancient S4
Active at the time. :)

~~~
aembleton
I flew from UK to Germany and back on Ryanair last month. No announcements
about the Note 7.

------
memracom
Next person who tries that will likely end up in jail.

~~~
yladiz
Joking? You can't be jailed for naming your phone or wifi Galaxy Note 7.

~~~
chrsstrm
The scenario described is almost literally a modern interpretation of yelling
"Fire!" in a crowded theater. [0]

Speech used to incite panic or create a riot can absolutely land you jail.

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shouting_fire_in_a_crowded_the...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shouting_fire_in_a_crowded_theater)

~~~
jakeogh
A bad decision and a scapegoat for all kinds of nonsense. Where does it end?
If everyone is afraid of X and someone says X! do they lose their 1st and not
pass go?

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyoOfRog1EM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyoOfRog1EM)

~~~
harryf
I would suggest we start by blacklisting certain Emojis from being used in
Hotspot names such as "️ ... ... ... 🇮🇷"

( image for those with clients that don't support those glyphs -
[http://i.imgur.com/hvz8yHY.png](http://i.imgur.com/hvz8yHY.png) )

~~~
mdrzn
Thanks for the image.

------
PascLeRasc
Mostly off-topic, but does anyone know how to hide a neighbor's wifi name?
Where I live for part of the year someone nearby has a really crude anti-
Semitic wifi name. I'm not trying to get into a discussion on free speech and
how they have the right to call their wifi that, but I just don't want to see
it on my devices.

------
NotThe1Pct
And don't shout "Alahu Akhbar" on a plane as well. That tends to upset people
for some reason.

~~~
pawadu
or any other Arabic words for that matter:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43RgvVY_wvQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43RgvVY_wvQ)

~~~
Kurtz79
Some context:

[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/21/adam-saleh-
del...](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/21/adam-saleh-delta-flight-
arabic)

"A YouTube star known for filming elaborate hoaxes was escorted off a Delta
flight on Wednesday morning after he claimed that other passengers complained
when they heard him speaking in Arabic.

Adam Saleh, a 23-year-old YouTube star from New York, posted multiple videos
to Twitter and Periscope on Tuesday, showing himself being escorted from a
plane by Delta flight attendants.

Saleh said in the videos that after passengers heard him speaking Arabic, they
“felt uncomfortable” and called flight attendants. However, while it is clear
that he was removed from the flight at London’s Heathrow airport, the
circumstances leading up to the video – retweeted more than 644,000 times –
are not known and cannot be verified.

Saleh has created videos in the past that involved staged scenes on airplanes
and with actors playing authority figures."

~~~
Chris2048
Also, the controversies section of
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Saleh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Saleh)
,

[http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/delta-passengers-
dispu...](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/delta-passengers-dispute-adam-
saleh-discrimination-claims-article-1.2920048)

------
SiVal
Flight crews should have an onboard device--I'll call it a _tricorder_ \--that
constantly scans the electromagnetic spectrum onboard watching for certain
things. "Please turn off all whatevers" should not be left to the honor
system. You scan and find what's on, always showing you a live report.

If it finds something unusual, it could be carried down the aisles and quickly
locate the source, whether in your hand, your pocket, your luggage, or below
in the cargo hold.

It should also have jamming capabilities that will activate instantly and
automatically in some cases, manually in others.

With this extra monitoring should come extensive testing of just what is and
what isn't an issue--an the necessary reengineering of avionics, etc., to
_make_ certain things no longer be an issue--so devices that must be off can
be guaranteed to be off (or quickly found or instantly jammed), but on the
flip side, things that don't actually need to be turned off can be left on.

~~~
Jayschwa
Devices are supposed to be shut off / put in airplane mode to prevent
interference with avionics. Intentionally jamming a part of the spectrum would
be counter-productive.

~~~
throwaway7474
It's got nothing to do with avionics. It's to stop interference with base
stations on the ground.

~~~
btgeekboy
[https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/121.306](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/121.306)

No, it's not. All electronic devices are banned by default, "[unless] the part
119 certificate holder [the air carrier] has determined will not cause
interference with the navigation or communication system of the aircraft on
which it is to be used."

~~~
danaliv
The throwaway is probably thinking of the ban on cell phones, which is an FCC
restriction, not an FAA one.

~~~
throwaway7474
This is correct as this article was concerned around the Samsung phone.

