USCTrojan83

I've been "randomly selected" with that long beep five times in a row. Is this just bad luck or something I'm doing (a little bit of metal on my belt). I've never been asked to try again or anything.

Today the guy even insisted on taking my wallet from me and running it through the machine on its own.

amw3000

TSA pre at TPA today....

Went through WTMD, beeps. They said I was randomly selected but I knew it was due my belt(bit of metal on the buckle). I went through the nude o scope and it picked up my belt. They show me the spot, i showed them my belt, quick pat down of the spot and I was on my way. My co-worker was still at the end of the normal line at this point. Not a huge pain in the ....

Upgraded!

But that's after going through NOS, right? What if you just decide to skip the NOS since you're going to get frisked anyways?

CDKing

Yes and that's why i plan on opting out again like before Pre came along

BSBD

My one experience to date with opting out of the NOS in PreCheck was that I got a minimally invasive patdown, with no hands in waistband or karate chop to the groin.

Ottermatic

I discovered this change the other day flying out of SFO. I got the long beep a moment after going through the WTMD. The guy directed me out and then through the NOS; I thought he just wanted me to walk through it over to where he'd give me a hand swab. When he told me to stand on the yellow shoe marks, it took me a moment to realize what was going on, then I was like, "huh? Oh, sorry, I'm not going through this thing. That's why I pay for PreCheck." I asked what happened to the hand swab; he said this was new. He didn't seem to be too happy about it.

Anyway, I got the minimally-invasive pat-down, similar to what others seem to have experienced, but was annoyed that I had to deal with that again. I also had to take my shoes and belt off and put them through the X-ray. I'd forgotten some stuff in my back pocket, and when I realized it was there I handed it to the guy. He just looked at it for a second, then tossed it in the bin with my other stuff.

Overall, I'm obviously annoyed with the change. Isn't the whole point of PreCheck to avoid this nonsense? Isn't the whole point of not always getting PreCheck to occasionally put you through the normal song & dance? Does anyone anywhere in the TSA really have a clue what they're doing?

Never mind on that last question; I'm not even sure why I bothered to type it out.

-OM

BSBD

Bureaucrats can't resist tinkering with success until it becomes failure.

USCTrojan83

Those long beeps are happening a lot now. I got four or five in a row over the last few weeks. Absurd and unnecessary.

guflyer

1. Does anyone have any guess for what the odds are of receiving a long beep at a pre-check WTMD? I am also wondering whether the odds may be different at different airports.

2. Is receiving a long beep a function of time or is it a function of the number of people who go through the WTMD?

3. Is the pat-down for opting out after receiving a long beep more cursory than a regular opt out pat-down? Is one required to take one's shoes and/or belt off for this?

N1120A

I got randomed at DFW a few weeks ago and had hands swabbed. Based on this thread, I'm assuming it is because someone was in the NOS at the time. Problem was that the clerk doing the swab, who was also working the exit of the NOS, grabbed and swabbed my hands before I could demand a glove and swab change. ETD alarmed. From a dirty swab, or perhaps the gas I had recently put in the rental, I don't know, but they told me I'd require a pat down. I got really pissed at the 2 striper, who was an absolute jerk, but the 3 striper was a decent guy. At first, it seemed they were going to take me to the private room and do that hand's forward swab, but apparently Pre Check means you still just get a the Pre Check pat down. That went clean, and they swabbed my bags and I was off.

Absolute ridiculousness.

That is incorrect. If you alarm the WTMD, you do get to go through again with shoes off and belt off. Then its NOS or Pat Down time.

PreCheck random to NOS or Pat Down is at most airports, but not all. LAX T4, for example, doesn't have a NOS in the PreCheck/Elite area anymore. I don't think LAX T7 has had an NOS since they switched to MMWs, due to the low ceilings. I also got randomed at DFW and was given a swab (see above), instead of a choice of NOS or pat down.

Randoms mean NOS or pat down, unless you are somewhere that they swab at.

I was subject to a pat down, cause I sure wasn't going through the NOS, at SMF thanks to an alleged random alarm on a crew member. One I never heard and still am not sure ever happened.

Yeah, the pat down is less under Pre Check than it is under the old setup. Even when you alarm the ETD.

Why did you go through the NOS?

1. Don't know. Seems to be different at different times. I've heard some of the TSA people moaning that it goes off way too often from time to time, which creates backlogs for them. Apparently, more people who have Pre Check opt-out than the general public.

2. Don't know that either. I think it is based on the number of people, but I also think there is some timing involved. That said, I do think it is set up to random a certain number of people over a certain period of time (say, 12 hours) and will sometimes cluster them.

3. While it seems others have had other experiences, my experience has been that the pat down is less invasive, but does require removal of shoes and belt.

Upgraded!

Two flights in the last couple weeks, both got "random" beep. Explained to both about shoulder injury. At ORD was taken right away for a hand swab. At LAS it took a little back-and-forth but in the end it was the hand swab (started as "well, we'll just pat down your arm after the scan" to which I replied "I don't see how touching only the part of me that's injured does me any good"). All was fairly courteous and non-confrontational.

jbsay

A couple days ago, in the PreCheck line in JAX, as a trusted traveler, I received a short beep after going through a WTMD (which means random selection for extra screening; it's not an indicator of metal). I expected a swab of my hands, as happens from time to time, but the TSO insisted that I go through an AIT scanner.

I've gone through the PreCheck line hundreds of times, as have many of my colleagues, and neither I nor anyone I asked can recall being asked to enter an AIT scanner in a PreCheck lane *unless* we set off the WTMD.

Is this a new policy or just an aberration?

CKDGM

The Beep of Selection happened to me in TUL last month and they pointed me to the scanner; as is my policy, I opted out and took the Freedom Frisk instead.

Finkface

Same happened to me in HNL last month. I have a disability but they still wanted me to go through the scanner. This, after giving me a wooden cane to replace my metal on to go through the WTMD. Once it got through to them that I couldn't do it, go the FF (Freedom Frisk as CKDGM so eloquently put it).

BSBD

Neither. The "random" alarm (now called the "quota" alarm) that signals you've been selected for additional screening is a standard TSA policy that has been in place for over a year now. There have been quite a few discussions on FT about this.