Originally Posted by
travelmad478
That's a risk with any phone, and one of the reasons I don't bother with mobile-phone boarding passes. The other reason is that the few times I've used them, it's generally more of a hassle to get my phone out, find the relevant e-mail, click on it, and then (inevitably) have my phone screen go black just before I get to the agent so that I need to unlock it to show it to him/her. This takes two hands, so now I've got to put my stuff down, fumble with my ID...it's just a PITA. Paper works just fine and it's easier.
Many phones let you do screen captures or save the page for offline viewing. Or you can even just leave the tab with your BP up so you can easily access it when approaching the line. I usually pull up the BP as I'm walking from my car or taxi to the line. If your phone goes to sleep and locks that quickly, I would suggest changing the settings.
Also, I have my mobile BP sent to a dedicated "travel-related stuff" account (airlines, hotels, award wallet, etc) which gets far fewer emails than my work or other personal accounts. Makes it easy to find and also easy to access on my BB.
I use mobile BP whenever possible and have very rarely had any issues. I can only remember 1 out of at least 70 flights using mobile BP where the scanner (at security) didn't work and I had to go back to get a paper copy. Occasionally, I'll have to wait a little bit while the doc checker turns on the scanner and it warms up, but that's also the exception. I'm a big believer in mobile BPs and will continue to use them. But to each his own.