How is MakeMyTrip able to detect that I'm using tethering or internet(using SIM card) and therefore, serving me its mobile interface against my will? How do I get rid of this issue without giving up the tethering?
The website in the title is MakeMyTrip. One month ago, I booked my ticket for a journey through this website. I used my Firefox 36.0 (Linux) to do such. The user-agent wasn't tweaked either. The website provided me with its Desktop based interface and all went well.
Today, I opened the website and was greeted with its mobile interface. I double-checked my user-agent and found it unchanged. Inside History, I did Forgot this website to delete any trace of this website. I then restarted my browser but still got the same interface. I created new Firefox profile too but to no avail. The issue can be reproduced in Chromium 41.0. Browsers in my other Desktop system are giving the same results.
It has to be mentioned that I use my Android (4.x.x) device for tethering and browsing the internet. I tried via tethering, two different devices (1,2) with different telecommunication providers and found the same result. In the devices itself, under Firefox for Android app, opening this website with default user-agent gives a page with link to Play Store for its app. Using Request Desktop Site falls back to the same aforementioned mobile interface of the website.
Other fact to be noted is that the website doesn't behave in this fashion when you're accessing it from non-SIM enabled internet connectivity. The website opens its default Desktop interface if it is opened through TOR, any open proxy server, college proxy, etc. The website also shows default Desktop interface for my mobile broadband Tata Photon Plus device too.
Note: A slightly similar question was asked on SuperUser here, but was closed for being Off-Topic.
