villox

There are other types of hotspots. For example, there are wifi hotspots like the TripMateNano which can be used to bridge a wi-fi connection, like if one wants to share United Wi-Fi with multiple devices.

But if it said Samsung, then yes it was cellular.

ltfly

Exactly.


Having rules means enforcing them. Otherwise, they are just recommendations.

emcampbe

huh?

for sure Gogo doesn't work until 10,000 feet, which the entire UAX fleet (that has wifi) uses. Sure, you can have wifi on below 10,000 feet on those aircraft, but not much of a point, since it will just make the battery drain faster for no reason.

Now why UA and UAX have completely different wifi systems is another questions.

As for smaller devices, IMO, it's now virtually impossible for an FA to tell who has their cell connections off or not, since the devices can remain on. I know I've seen people in the seat next to me well through taxi texting (green bubbles on an iPhone, so definitely a cell connection), but often enough I see people doing whatever on their phones (in an app, writing emails, etc.) which can be done with or without a cell (or wifi, for that matter) data connection on. I often will download news to my NYTimes app on boarding, so I have the latest and then can read once airplane mode is on when the door closes, or wrote emails off data to send later.

IMO, I have no problem with FAs calling out those breaking the rules like this, especially ones which are well known and constantly broadcasted. Whether or not one agrees with them, these are really minimal inconveniences for the privilege of being able to fly in our modern environment.

eng3

The FA clearly has his phone on in order to see the list.

Maybe that person use to work in security. I find most people I have encounter who work in any security field tend to say everything in a threatening tone when it isn't warranted and don't understand the fact that they are providing a service to us, not the other way around.

I have always been confused about WIFI under 10K ft. I can connect to uawifi but the entertainment usually shows as unavailable til 10Kft. But sometimes it doesnt work at all.

simmang

I have accessed the web through United Wifi on 737s on the ground.

Aussienarelle

^

If you do not like the rules, do not fly with the airline.

If you cannot follow a simple rule like turn off your phone when the door closes, then heaven help us if there is a real emergency and you do not want to follow the directions, because... it does not make sense to me/I do not like the rule/I am special so I can ignore the rule/what ever reason people have for not wanting to follow the rules as outlined and explained by the airline.

Very glad to hear the FA calling people out - I sit next to too many people (mainly in domestic F) who keep texting or speaking on their phone and totally ignore the FA.

IMO - this should be posted in positive experiences on United and I would have sent in a compliment to United about the FA.

jashsu

I dont think this is hotspot, I think it's bluetooth advert.

Their thinking is probably any device correctly off or in airplane mode should not be transmitting bt. However, airplane mode generally just hard restricts the cellular radio from turning on. You can still connect to wifi while in airplane mode. Wifi and bt both live in the 2.4GHz ISM band.

FA was probably just using this as a hamfisted way to get compliance. However, it is also totally possible to have both wifi and bt off but the cellular radio on. So this approach the FA used isn't even foolproof.

Carl Christensen

You can create a hotspot named whatever you want ... for instance "Air Marshall Cell hot spot" ... ;-)

A wifi router can broadcast a signal without cell service being on.

RandomBaritone

In theory certainly, but from what I know of both iOS and Android, to do so in this scenario would require intent. By far the most likely reason for a wifi hotspot to be visible to FAs prior to takeoff is that someone onboard neglected to switch to airplane mode.

Boraxo

I like the way you think. "Hey ***** you need to turn your phone off" LOL

Oh please, get off your high horse. It's a stupid FCC rule and has nothing to do with the safety of the plane (unless you have a Samsung Galaxy 7 or something else that will light up). And as every carrier enforces it your argument is meaningless.

I'm often on my phone right up to takeoff, in plain view, and I never get hassled by the FAs. Most of them know it's a stupid rule, too.

Aussienarelle

Enforcement was all this FA was trying to do.

It is the people who feel like the rules apply to everyone else and not to them who make the job of enforcement more difficult for the FAs (whether or not the FAs think they are stupid rules).

Richym99

If a PA announcement like this is seen as tantamount to publicly calling out a passenger, maybe they should also stop the "would passenger xxx please go to gate 56 where your plane is sbout to depart." This could be taken that the passenger was dallying to the gate.

It is the passenger concern that outs themselves when they subsequently pull out their phone to comply. Do it when first asked and save any possibility of embarrassing yourself.

GoSh4rks

I "saw" this happen a couple months ago. Can't remember if it was on SFO-DFW or SFO-HKG.

luv2ctheworld

Seems pretty pointless since it's likely many other people had their phones on, just not Hotspot/wifi tethering.

Maybe the FA thought he was being "smart" for looking up wifi hotspots, but honestly that just makes the FA look like some hard-nosed enforcer. This is especially the case because those that left their mobile phones on would likely just roll their eyes (as I would have).

zrs70

I have a feeling there was nothing real about this. Just as an FA often says, "I can see there are 4 phones still on" - they can't really see anything. They are just doing that to make sure we all double check. Prob same thing here.