Anyone else have issues at the T5 passport E-Gates?
Jul 27, 2020, 1:50 pm
#46
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: LON
Programs: QF Plat & LTG, VA Plat
Posts: 1,435
I have this problem a lot with an Australian passport. I find the countries that use the “suck in” type machine work all the time, whereas the British style “hold it flat” work only sporadically. No idea why the UK went for that style, I presume it cost less.
Jul 27, 2020, 1:53 pm
#47
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 122
The chip in my passport doesn't work so I always have to do the dance at the e-gates then go to a Border Force officer.
LHR T3&5 have always been very pleasant as are the French chaps at St Pancras however I did get the third degree from the gentleman in Brussels Midi, I didn't think he was going to let me back! I must have looked particularly dodgy that day or something.
I did have a look at this page on the gov.uk website after my Belgium experience but didn't send my passport away in the end as it's not very clear what the remedy is and if there are any costs involved.
LHR T3&5 have always been very pleasant as are the French chaps at St Pancras however I did get the third degree from the gentleman in Brussels Midi, I didn't think he was going to let me back! I must have looked particularly dodgy that day or something.
I did have a look at this page on the gov.uk website after my Belgium experience but didn't send my passport away in the end as it's not very clear what the remedy is and if there are any costs involved.
What you should do if you have been advised your chip failed to readIf you’re travelling urgentlyIf you have been informed your chip has failed to read, you are travelling urgently (within 2 weeks) and have evidence to support pre-booked travel please call the HM Passport Office Advice Line (0300 222 0000). If you’re not travelling urgentlyCustomers who are not travelling urgently or have no evidence of pre-booked travel are advised to return the passport with the faulty chip to the following address with a letter explaining how the fault was discovered. Her Majesty’s Passport OfficePO Box 767SouthportPR8 9PWIf your passport chip fails to be read at a border control, this alone should not prevent you entering another country.
Jul 27, 2020, 2:21 pm
#48
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,592
The first four or five times with a new passport, it failed at the e-gates. Just when I was starting to get annoyed and work out who to moan at to try and get a free replacement, it suddenly started working. That was a few years ago and it never failed again.
Jul 28, 2020, 9:43 am
#49
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Madrid
Programs: BA GfL
Posts: 157
However I don't have that level of failure rate at non-UK e-gates.
Jul 28, 2020, 9:59 am
#50
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold / OW Emerald
Posts: 753
I have a similar experience with my passport (seemingly in good condition) sometimes not working at LHR, but working just fine everywhere else. So, I guess not replacing it, but it can be annoying sometimes 
Interestingly I did fill in the locator with a different document number than my passport (used my ID card) and it let me through. I'm not sure they'd have gone through the trouble of correlating all that but maybe they did!
Slightly off topic and can only go by what I was told by the UKBF agent yesterday:
One of the reasons why you may not be asked whether you filled in the Public Health Passenger Locator form before entering the e Gates is that apparently this is linked to your chip in the passport. So if you haven’t filled it in and try the e Gates to bypass this you will be “rejected” and sent to see an officer.
Also, faulty or dodgy Chips are another issue as c-w-s mentions above or the odd Passenger who doesn’t know how to use e Gates and subsequently gets rejected.
Not that I would think any FTer would fall into any of Catergories I mention here of course.
One of the reasons why you may not be asked whether you filled in the Public Health Passenger Locator form before entering the e Gates is that apparently this is linked to your chip in the passport. So if you haven’t filled it in and try the e Gates to bypass this you will be “rejected” and sent to see an officer.
Also, faulty or dodgy Chips are another issue as c-w-s mentions above or the odd Passenger who doesn’t know how to use e Gates and subsequently gets rejected.
Not that I would think any FTer would fall into any of Catergories I mention here of course.
Jul 28, 2020, 10:46 am
#52
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 491
I've never had any problem at any gates anywhere with either of my passports, however I AM frequently stuck behind people in the queue (usually men of a certain age), who refuse to accept that the machine doesn't want to accept their passports and therefore hold up the queue trying to ram their passports in , just for the LHR airport staff to delicately redirect them to the manned queue.
, just for the LHR airport staff to delicately redirect them to the manned queue.
Jul 28, 2020, 11:11 am
#53
Fontaine d'honneur du Flyertalk
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Morbihan, France
Programs: Reine des Muccis de Pucci; Foreign Elitist (according to others)
Posts: 19,179
I have a 50/50 success rate with my UK passport, and now I’m having failures with my French one. I’ve just assumed that it must be me. However, it seems to work perfectly elsewhere.
Jul 28, 2020, 11:49 pm
#54
Join Date: Apr 2008
Programs: Confirmed
Posts: 1,091
Mine failed once at T5. Subsequently it failed at HND, and I was invited into a small office while they spent 30 minutes verifying the passport.
On the return it worked again at T5 and from then on 100% success. Maybe it's a software issue, and I guess it's PKI/certificate related.
On the return it worked again at T5 and from then on 100% success. Maybe it's a software issue, and I guess it's PKI/certificate related.