Went through TSA twice yesterday. Used my passbook app to scan my boarding pass. Agents were quite impressed. Went through the scanner with the watch on my wrist and it didn't alarm. Loved being able to keep my phone in my bag and just worry about putting my ID away.
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TSA and the watch
- Thread starter maliu
- Start date
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good to know. although mildly disturbing if you walked thru a metal detector and it didnt go off.
That's not how those scanners work.
The scanner will pick up the watch, but they can see from their cartoon image that what it picked up is on your wrist ... they can clearly see there's a watch on your wrist, so everything is good.
Body scanners don't set off alarms like metal detectors. In fact, most metal detectors won't be set off by small amounts of metal. Too many false alarms, so TSA usually sets the alarm sensitivity down a bit.
I assumed he was talking about a metal detector. Only one of the airports I usually fly through uses the body scanners. Of a body scanner, then yea, that makes sense. Nice to not have to take the watch off.
The TSA has told me specifically not to take off a watch. I'm pre-check, though, so am used to leaving things on, etc.
Most international hubs are using bodyscanners (LAX, Dallas, JFK, etc). A few regional airports I know of use them as well (Fresno and Pensacola, if I am recalling correctly). But, yeah, not a lot of regional airports have body scanners, comparitively.
Even with metal detectors though, I can't recall being asked to take my watch off in the last decade???
I usually am, at both Narita (Tokyo) and Changi (Singapore). Oh, and Taipei (whatever that airport is called). Maybe it's an Asian thing?
I usually am, at both Narita (Tokyo) and Changi (Singapore). Oh, and Taipei (whatever that airport is called). Maybe it's an Asian thing?
Been a long, long time since I went through Hong Kong and Singapore. Long before body scanners were invented. In fact, China had just taken back Hong Kong when I went through there.
I flew last week as well. TSA and the gate agents all loved it. I, too, am PreCheck, so I go through the traditional walk-through metal detector. I'd started to take it off my first time through, but was told to "keep all jewelry on". No issues whatsoever.
Used mine last week too (United airlines and sport watch). The only problem I had was trying to get my wrist into a position for the scanner to read the watch.