this post was submitted on 01 Jun 2026

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United flight forced to turn around because of a Bluetooth speaker name (www.theverge.com)

submitted 3 days ago by resipsaloquitur@lemmy.cafe to c/nottheonion@lemmy.world

137 comments fedilink hide all child comments

cross-posted from: https://infosec.pub/post/47299437

United flight 236 from Newark to Palma de Mallorca on Saturday night was forced to turn around just an hour after takeoff due to security concerns around a Bluetooth signal. Multiple Redditors claimed to be on the flight and reported that the crew repeatedly requested passengers to turn off their Bluetooth. According to one poster, […]

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[–] Lupus108@sh.itjust.works 14 points 1 day ago

Slightly off topic - I work at a music festival as a stage tech sometimes. One time on this small festival, in the middle of the night, I was enjoying a after work beer and a bartender came up to me and asked 'you're the sound guy right? We have trouble connecting with the Bluetooth speaker in the bar.' - not really my expertise but I'll have a look, sure.

It was only because we were standing next to each other checking the Bluetooth devices on our phones and it was on different spots in the list on the respective phone that I realized that the device was named 'not connected'.

[–] 01189998819991197253@infosec.pub 29 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I read this on another outlet, and they had the audacity to blame United for "yet another incident". This isn't United's fault. When you name your bt device "bomb" and the flight attendants ask several times to turn off Bluetooth, turn the damn thing off. Don't be a shitwanker, and keep it on. I swear. People are such assholes everywhere.

[–] Someone8765210932@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Often (cheap) Bluetooth devices can't be renamed, can they?

Besides apparently there are even speakers that are named "bomb" straight from the factory. Both this speaker here, that some say is the one the teenager used and even a hama speaker with the default Bluetooth name "Hama bomb 3.0".

Sorry, but when someone can even buy speakers named bomb from a reputable company, you can't really blame some teenager. Supposedly (according to what I read) the speakers weren't in the carry-on and turned themselves on accidentally. Even a stupid teenager who wanted to do this as a prank probably would have gotten cold feet the moment the announcement came and shut the device off if they could, so I don't think it is impossible to have happened this way.

[–] 01189998819991197253@infosec.pub 2 points 1 day ago

The attendants asked for the device to be turned off. Cheap bt devices may not be able to be renamed, but they can be turned off. But if they were in the carryon and turned themselves on, and it was a mistake, it's absolutely forgivable.

[–] Candice_the_elephant@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Could have been a prank played on a passenger who had no idea, I hope.

[–] JennaR8r@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Imagine a technologically illiterate person about to get on a flight, had just been visiting with relatives among whom was a mischievous tech-savvy* cousin who wanted to play one last prank.

At least tech savvy enough to break into cousin's phone and insert a mischievous Bluetooth word

[–] Candice_the_elephant@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

That's exactly what I thought. If someone didn't respond to the repeated requests, perhaps they didn't know. Wicked prank for someone about to fly.

[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 35 points 2 days ago (3 children)

friendly reminder that what you think is a clever WiFi or Bluetooth name probably isn’t

Nonsense, Your Honor. As evidence I present Promised LAN, Nacho Wifi, and Hurts When IP.

[–] MangoCats@feddit.it 12 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I like the use of the phrase "forced to turn around." They chose to turn around because somebody had a string of letters on their bluetooth name that they didn't feel comfortable with. WTF would they do with a passenger in a Che Guevara T shirt?

[–] Goodlucksil@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 1 day ago

And it's not like turning around wouldn't have made the "bomb" (if there WAS one) to blow up.

[–] 0x0@infosec.pub 11 points 2 days ago

8hz_wan_ip

[–] Poem_for_your_sprog@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago

what's wrong with GIANTPENIS69?

[–] murvel@feddit.nu 130 points 3 days ago (4 children)

Multiple Redditors claimed to be on the flight

The real reason for the turn-around

[–] cupcakezealot@piefed.blahaj.zone 32 points 2 days ago

must have smelled so bad

[–] atro_city@fedia.io 24 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Flight was too heavy

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[–] Aceticon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 38 points 2 days ago (3 children)

I suspect the personality profiles of people with who would make the joke of calling their bluetooth device "bomb" and people who would blow up an airplane full of people is almost diametrically opposite.

[–] GalacticGrapefruit@lemmy.world 22 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (5 children)

My mother used to have a Bluetooth speaker in our car that she took with her. It wasn't deliberately shaped that way, but with the silhouette, the color, and the volume it produced, we ended up dubbing it 'the hand grenade'.

After the hand grenade finally broke, my mother got a nice JVC speaker, a long cylinder. It was promptly named 'the pipe bomb'.

For context, my mother is the most bland, inoffensive Midwest Christian white lady you will ever meet. She has an unusual sense of humor that comes out in the strangest ways. She laughed her ass off all the way through the FNAF games because she thought the animatronics were funny.

I think the TSA just hates people with a personality, period.

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[–] cybervseas@lemmy.world 146 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Someone named the speaker "bomb".

[–] Admetus@sopuli.xyz 74 points 3 days ago (2 children)

I mean, a 12 year old is more likely than not to name a cylindrical boombox a 'bomb' and forget about it. Hopefully a sincere apology will suffice instead of a ban or criminal charges.

[–] KoboldCoterie@pawb.social 82 points 3 days ago (13 children)

According to discussion about this elsewhere, there's a bluetooth speaker model named 'Bomb' that defaults to that name, whose website, humorously, has been rate limited due to I'm sure more traffic than they've ever had in its entire existence.

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[–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 21 points 3 days ago (8 children)

Honestly, I don't see any way this could result in criminal charges. It's a Bluetooth name, not someone actually threatening with a weapon. It's like walking around with a fake gun. You can't be charged with anything without actual intent to deceive people, and good luck proving that.

At most, this is a civil charge. The airline might try to get some money out of this person.

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[–] mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca 29 points 2 days ago (6 children)

paywalled, btw

before anyone bothers

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[–] tidderuuf@lemmy.world 79 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (10 children)

Just changed my phone's Bluetooth name to "Not A Bomb". Hopefully no one is confused by it.

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[–] 8oow3291d@feddit.dk 40 points 2 days ago (11 children)

That is one of the most bizarre articles I have ever read. Why in the world are we not allowed to know what the "four letter word" is?

[–] Anarki_@lemmy.blahaj.zone 25 points 2 days ago (7 children)

Bomb

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[–] cypherpunks@lemmy.ml 11 points 2 days ago

"lmao"?

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[–] kayohtie@pawb.social 26 points 2 days ago

The real reason is because some jackass turned their Bluetooth speaker on during a flight.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 14 points 2 days ago

"This_Hotspot_is_DA_BOMB"

[–] AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space 35 points 2 days ago (1 children)

If you named a Bluetooth speaker “Just an ordinary Bluetooth speaker, nothing to see here”, would that be seen as an implied terrorist threat?

[–] ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.world 22 points 2 days ago

Try naming it "Fuck ICE" and see what happens . . . or don't, because for whatever reason the special snowflakes of that criminal org get really pissy when members of the public offer them honest and heartfelt feedback.

[–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 47 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (10 children)

It is at least less crazy than the Snapchat incident

https://gizmodo.com/teen-fine-joke-text-taliban-jets-scramble-in-spain-1851192668

We need to stop the crazy paranoia now that 9/11 is 25 years behind us. If someone is going to through the effort to blow up a plane they probably aren't going to be dumb enough name there bluetooth speaker "bomb"

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[–] Poem_for_your_sprog@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago

Was it this https://hellottec.com/product/bomb-portable-bluetooth-speaker-2bh15

[–] bstix@feddit.dk 30 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I guess you need to rename all your Bluetooth bombs before flying now. Thanks Obama.

[–] TeddE@lemmy.world 26 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Thanks, O-bomb-a.

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[–] BradleyUffner@lemmy.world 21 points 2 days ago (3 children)

If they thought it was real, why wouldn't they land at the closest airport? Why fly all the way back to the origin point?

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[–] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 49 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

A certain four-letter word

Poot?

You can't joke about that stuff in an airplane setting, they recirculate that air.

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[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 29 points 3 days ago (12 children)

What if I name my speaker "This bomb will explode if plane goes below 5k meters. To disarm it send 1000 bitcoin to 1Dkfz1uJ45zRXey2iZmvCZPfLDTPPw6KQt"?

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