Hacking Free Wi-Fi on Delta Flights

by David Libertas

I was on a Delta Airlines flight and connected my netbook to the Wi-Fi.  I remember reading in 2600 that some airlines open up full Internet access for about ten minutes after you attempt to download their video app.  So I used my user agent override plugin to make my netbook look like a smartphone to give it a whirl.  The trick didn't work on Delta, so maybe Gogo has plugged that hole.  Now they require side-loading the app from their sandboxed Gogo domain.

Nonetheless, I noticed the mobile device user agent opened up a new Internet browsing option it didn't show before with my normal laptop user agent: T-Mobile users get free texting and calls during the flight, and also one hour free access to the full Internet.  I'm a T-Mobile customer, but I left my cell phone at home.  Besides, it's a flip phone that can't access the Internet anyway.  Nonetheless, I wanted to see how far I could get without a cell phone.  First, it asked me for my cell phone number.  I assumed I would need to respond to a verification text or it would want some sort of app that verifies I'm accessing it from a T-Mobile device, but to my happy surprise this was all I needed to unlock a free hour of Internet on the flight.  I was now able to catch up on my email, check the news headlines, send texts via Google Voice using my Linux netbook, all for no charge!

Unfortunately, I did not have other phone numbers to use after my hour expired, but it is very likely possible that it could open up a means to several hours of free Internet on Delta flights: just bring a list of T-Mobile numbers with you and, if your device is a laptop, a plugin that makes your browser masquerade as a mobile device.  You might need to clear your cookies and randomize your MAC address (macchanger for Linux users) if it has anything to monitor the device's authentication history.

I'd love to hear from a 2600 reader what results you discover.

Don't have a list of T-Mobile numbers?  Just go through your address book of phone numbers and plug them into: freecarrierlookup.com

to find out which ones are T-Mobile.  If you don't want to use numbers from people you know, I've had luck finding T-Mobile numbers by just plugging in random phone numbers.  Once I find a T-Mobile number, I can usually get several more by incrementing the last digit.

I don't know how long Delta and T-Mobile will offer this deal or what other airlines might have something similar, but take advantage of it while it lasts!