Nightbus to Dalson

I have a brand new boxed up phone.
Are security at T5 still turning on phones when you go through?

layz

I've yet to have anyone ask me to turn on a phone in a UK airport.

corporate-wage-slave

Theoretically the advice remains in place that all electronic devices of that type should be capable of being switched on. In reality it is most unlikely you would have a problem. So basically you face a very small risk of losing the phone or being rebooked, though in this low chance scenario they will almost certainly invite you to unwrap the contents and plug it in somewhere under their gaze.

layz

Recent devices I've purchased (Nexus 5, Nexus 7, iPhone, iPad) have all had some charge in them out of the box. Is the reason it's still boxed and sealed because it's going to be a gift?

c-w-s have you ever been asked to turn on one of your devices since these new rules were in place?

Silver Fox

I have not had them ask me to turn them on, but you never know. It might have some charge in it so you might get lucky, on the other hand I just wouldn't take the risk at the moment as it has definitely been getting a bit stricter with them asking to look at the power cables/adapters I am carrying on every flight in the past month or so.

corporate-wage-slave

No, not once, and after one report here, I tried to use my contacts to find out to see if anyone had been denied travel or rebooked as a consequence. Proving the negative is tricky, but we couldn't find a single case of it happening, despite all the kerfuffle at the time. I travel hand baggage only with a goodly collection of electronic devices.

Dixons do offer a free charging service. Despite the stories that the number of sockets for public use would increase for these new measures, the net total of public access plugs has actually gone down in T5, thanks to the building works. There are now a set of phone plug sockets in the CCR boardroom for those eligible for access.

bugsy

Does the restriction apply to things like hard-drives.

I have a few (both internal & external) that I need to transport to Australia, (hubby & I are moving and would prefer not to ship them with our household goods), and would like to take them in my hand luggage - if this is going to be an issue I'm either going to need to courier them, or alternatively scrub them prior to shipment as I don't particularly want our personal data outside my control for the 3-4 months it will take to ship our household goods.

windowontheAside

I think the new rules were primarily for flights to the States. That said, I haven't seen any evidence of it being enforced.

If I were travelled to any non-US destination, I wouldn't even worry about it. If going to the US, I still think I'd chance it.

zeel

I have been asked to switch on my devices on 3 flights leaving from LHR. (these were all going to the US).

Apparently my name is on some list somewhere (I have been told because of my age, name etc) so when I travel to the US I always get pulled aside for enhanced security check. This happens at the point when you are boarding the plane and they scan your BP and despite me always hoping I get the magic beep for an op-up it is in fact to be told 'sir, you have been selected for a random security check'


I always reply by saying ' let's be honest- it's not random' and they always say yes you are right..

So just as you are entering the bridge to get on the plane I get patted down, my bag searched, swabbed and all my devices ( 2 x mobile, 1 x iPad and a laptop) get asked to be turned on. All they want to see is that they are working and soon as they see the background pic or the startup menu they say I can shut it down.

For non-US flights I have never been asked for an enhanced security check...

KARFA

I had a flight to JFK in late August and there were no additional systematic checks at the gate. I guess they could be pulling aside more people per flight for a security check at the gate - they used to do that anyway but may have upped the numbers. That's a difficult one to try and prove either way though.

Stez

As part of my work, I carry a ridiculous amount of data (think TBs) - on internal and external drives, between UK and Australia, not once I've been asked to power anything on. The closest inspection was at SIN when they wanted to screen the hard drives separately (a fair enough request as they are quite dense when stacked up) and that was only once.

Of course, this is entirely anecdotal and someone else may have a different experience.

bugsy

Thanks for that sounds like it won't be an issue....one less thing to worry about.