obscure2k

Please continue to follow this discussion in the Travel Safety and Security Forum
Thanks..
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

chgoeditor

Yup, I do the same with my charger.

Grog

Nope. Surely NOT everybody does this. Some? Of course. Most? Who knows. Everybody? (in all caps no less)? Nah.

<deleted by moderator>

televisor

Probably not, given that wires are made of metal, and we all know what metal looks like on an X-ray scanner. Plenty of scanners now have automated software, and I can see that getting confused by a tangled charger.

sethweinstein

It would never occur to me not to wrap a charger around itself and then pack it in my carry-on. I'm sure everyone has a method, but I can't think of another way that won't tangle it with something else. If a TSA agent told me to do otherwise, I'd say "OK, thanks," and wrap it as usual.

Seth

televisor

Most of the chargers I've had have velcro on the cable, so you can loop the cables, and then use the velcro to hold them together (I keep that separate from the charger for aesthetic and packing reasons). The mac chargers I've had have clips that let you loop the cable at the end of the charger (i.e. not round the charger). Both of these options are a lot less messy and pack more compactly (IMHO) than wrapping round the charger. Also easier to untangle aftewards (again IMHO).

Yachtman

Macbook Charger has a particular way to be wrapped up which involves wrapping it around the charger.

http://gizmodo.com/youve-been-wrappi...-wh-1481066698

GUWonder

Wires wrapped around something like a laptop or even books of some sorts of a brick charger, it can cause the scan reviewing security screener to have suspicions about the item/items. They've probably been trained to look for something like that as being a possible bomb.

Loren Pechtel

Seconded. Cables get velcro cable ties if they didn't come with them originally. Use the tie on the cable, not on the brick.

TWA884

I travel with a Dell XPS 11. The cord is designed to wrap tightly around the AC adapter as shown below. I have never had a problem taking it through security checkpoints at both US and foreign airports.

Kagehitokiri

some of us have apple laptops, perhaps their wrapped chargers look different

to clarify/correct my earlier post, screeners will probably view images differently, but there is nothing one can do about the image and therefore how some view it

televisor

I strongly disagree with the practicality of that (I'd usually have to unravel everything because my sockets aren't within 3" of the floor, and I don't want a charger dangling in the air). That said I'm somewhat peculiar in that I separate the mains cable for travel (I also have the prongs that attach directly to the charger), since that seems tidier, more flexible, and saves space. And I do wrap the thin cable in a similar fashion (the cables are so fragile though, that I'm now looking for alternative solutions).

But yes, everyone will have different preferences.

Mats

European airports are often picky about cables.
They want anything remotely electronic separated and spread out.

No iPads left inside bags. No chargers or AC adapters left inside bags.

I had this happen even in Portland, Oregon. I left an ordinary laptop charger inside the bag, the cord wrapped around it, and it got their attention.

I've also been asked to put a mobile phone into its own bin.

I don't think it was "suspicious behaivor" and I wish that the Fraport agent wasn't shaming about it. The more polite response would have been like the friendly woman in Portland, "These sometimes look strange on the x-ray, and it's hard to figure them out; that's all."

roberino

The stupid thing is that at FRA they specifically ask for laptops, ipads and cameras to be taken out of the bag, but if you start taking other stuff out they tell you it's OK (e.g. my big headphones) and they can stay in your bag. I also have a small zip up bag that contains all my accessory cables and plugs which usually gets flagged but I get told to put it back in the bag. I'll happily take anything out of my bag for the scanner but when they tell you to leave it in and then tell you it's suspicious when you do I get annoyed.

Grog

You can always simply ignore the request to leave it in the bag, acting as if you never heard it. No discussion and no fuss at all; many travelers through FRA speak neither German nor English and they manage stress-free. If you chose to engage in eye contact and/or discussion, it's on you.

But even if you leave it in the bag (or choose to put it back into the bag) and then happen to be asked to show it, I fail to see harassment here.

At this point, away from the security checkpoint, I'd also seriously be asking myself why I'm 'happily' willing to spend the time on the front end dragging extra things out (that I'll also have to repack later and possibly even forget in a bin), but I'm not willing to potentially--and only potentially--spend about the same amount of time on the back end and not be annoyed over it. It's worth pondering.