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[Vanillalite]

The Verge

The TSA will now require “all electronics larger than a cell phone” to be removed from carry-on bags and placed in their own separate bin for X-ray screening with nothing on top or below, similar to how laptops have been screened for years. So if you’ve ever gone through security and thought, “Gee, just my laptop, shoes, belt, and coat? I wish I had to remove more items for separate screening,” you’re in luck!

The TSA has been piloting (no pun intended) the new screening policies at 10 airports, and is now ready to expand them to all US airports in the weeks and months ahead. In standard screening lanes, TSA agents will be stationed in front of X-ray machines to verbally assist passengers with the new screening procedures.

 

[andythinkpad]

AKA the "Switch rule."

 

[snacknuts]

Of course, those enrolled in the TSA’s Precheck program will not have to remove their oversized electronics

Sweet, I'm good.

 

[epmode]

Hm, that's what I've been doing for a few years now. I figured it was already a rule.

 

[Violence Jack]

Annnnd the TSA Precheck line just got longer. Regular security lines are going to be like an hour wait at this point.

 

[Bigboss242]

It's ok Nintendo fans just take off the joycons.

 

[Gentleman Jack]

So what sort of electronics is the TSA singling out with this new policy? According to acting administrator Huban Gowadia, the following electronics will now need to ride down the conveyor belt solo: laptops, tablets, e-readers and handheld game consoles. Noticeably absent from the list? Those idiosyncratic gadgets that seem to fall somewhere between phone and tablet that we annoyingly call phablets.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the TSA, didn’t have a good answer on phablets back in March when it announced a ban on carry-on laptops and tablets on direct flights from eight Muslim-majority countries. The department referred questions about phablets to the airlines, who were unable to comment. A spokesperson for the TSA did not immediately respond to a question about phablets.

Yay more security theater

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

AKA the "Switch rule."

At the exit, all users join a match of Splatoon 2. Loser gets "Randomly selected for further screening".

 

[radios shipping overview]

So separate bins for my camera, my tablet, my Vita, and my laptop? And then my carryons and my shoes/belt?

They already have trouble keeping the bins supplied at the security line.

 

[Flo_Evans]

ugh this is going to make traveling with camera gear for work a real pain in the ass.

 

[Socivol]

Does this apply to Pre-Check or just a regular line?

 

[Apharmd]

Yeah when I was leaving Vegas from EVO I had to put my TE stick on a separate bin.

 

[BronsonLee]

THANKS NINTENDO

 

[shira]

Nothing above or below

Going to be a lot of scratched laptops and ipads

 

[Pandora012]

So separate bins for my camera, my tablet, my Vita, and my laptop? And then my carryons and my shoes/belt?

They already have trouble keeping the bins supplied at the security line.

Maybe not your Vita, some phones are bigger than it.

 

[GoldenEye 007]

Does this apply to Pre-Check or just a regular line?

Just regular. But as someone implied, I'm sure it would push more people to get Pre-Check, which may or may not lead to longer lines.

 

[BoogieWoogie]

Welp I'm good. Precheck is a life saver.

 

[thechristoph]

Fake security measures making travel less efficient and a larger pain in the ass than ever before! Thanks terrorists!

The bin thing is so silly. So now one passenger needs a bin for their keys, wallet, phone, belt, and shoes; one for a laptop; one for a tablet; one for a Switch or any other electronics; all in addition to the carry on. As if waddling away from the nudie scanner holding your pants up and scrambling to get your bins before someone ganks your shit wasn't fun enough before...

 

[Lunar15]

I still don't really get what this does.

Couldn't terrorists just choose another completely random thing to hide a bomb in?

 

[dpunk3]

"More time wasted in security!

....Unless you pay for our subscription service."

Fuck the TSA.

Edit: Oh and apparently the TSA Pre Check application requires you to have your fingerprints on file? Yea no thanks. The last thing anyone needs is government free access to your fingerprints. Call me paranoid, but that's not something I'm ok with.

 

[ShyMel]

I know when I was traveling in late April/early May, we had to take my PS4 out of the bag it was in, along with my 3DS. The two airports I went through TSA were CLT and LAX.

 

[Fbh]

I've allways wanted to visit the US but it sounds more and more like it's a 7 hours flight and then another 7 hours to be able to enter the country or if you are even slightly brown another 14 hours.

 

[Glitchesarecool]

Bigger target for the airports now. This will slow down everything.

 

[ronco2000]

I don't see a problem with this. If this prevent from someone blowing up airplane then I'm all for it. It's nothing different what I'm currently required to do right now.

 

[dpunk3]

I've allways wanted to visit the US but it sounds more and more like it's a 7 hours flight and then another 7 hours to be able to enter the country or if you are even slightly brown another 14 hours.

When I came back from Germany it took about 2 hours to get through Border Patrol and I'm a citizen. Non citizens were in there for at least 4 easily, if they didn't get selected for a "random" extensive screening.

I don't see a problem with this. If this prevent from someone blowing up airplane then I'm all for it. It's nothing different what I'm currently required to do right now.

Except the TSA hasn't prevented a single terrorist attack with their screenings. It's all for show.

 

[HawksWinStanley]

At this point I wish there was just a "I'll take my chances" airlines where you don't have to go through any of this shit and just get on the plane.

I don't see a problem with this. If this prevent from someone blowing up airplane then I'm all for it. It's nothing different what I'm currently required to do right now.

Except they won't prevent it.

https://youtu.be/-LDzOi1dyAA?t=85

 

[GoldenEye 007]

I don't see a problem with this. If this prevent from someone blowing up airplane then I'm all for it. It's nothing different what I'm currently required to do right now.

The fact that someone can just pay to not have to separate their bags means this won't actually do anything. It's security theater. It's designed to make people like you feel better.

 

[xxracerxx]

Thank god for Global Entry/TSA Pre.

 

[Thaedolus]

Precheck stays worth every dollar my company paid for it.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

I've already had to do this with my Switch every time I've traveled in the last 3 months

 

[snacknuts]

"More time wasted in security!

....Unless you pay for our subscription service."

Fuck the TSA.

Edit: Oh and apparently the TSA Pre Check application requires you to have your fingerprints on file? Yea no thanks. The last thing anyone needs is government free access to your fingerprints. Call me paranoid, but that's not something I'm ok with.

You're paranoid.

 

[Lionheart1827]

Sweet, I'm good.

Hell yeah

 

[Ragelink26]

Fuck their arbitrary bullshit. What a waste of time. They aren't effective at stopping people anyways

 

[xxracerxx]

You're paranoid.

Seriously.

 

[Ashhong]

What's the big deal? People already take out their laptops. Now they need to take out their tablet too. Should take all of 2 seconds..

Unless I'm missing something here

 

[Darryl M R]

Maybe the 10 airports that piloted this at were the ones I travel through because I always see people separate their tablets and laptops without anything on top.

I need to get pre-check.

 

[FyreWulff]

don't pay for pre-check. You can get randomly sent to the regular line even with pre-check and have the time when i go through the regular line we skip the scanners entirely. It's security theater with graft built-in.

 

[ZackieChan]

Precheck stays worth every dollar my company paid for it.

Every dollar I got refunded from my Chase Sapphire Reserve card, too

Spoiler

and dat lounge access

 

[Darryl M R]

Every dollar I got refunded from my Chase Sapphire Reserve card, too

Spoiler

and dat lounge access

Do you mind sharing how you got it refunded? And does it normally come with lounge access?

 

[Somnid]

I was just on a flight and we didn't need to remove laptops or take off shoes and (non metal) belts. Just throw the bags on the belt and walk through the metal detector. But a month ago shoes belts and laptops had to be scanned separately. I'm confused.

 

[mclem]

So.... phablets?

 

[Hylian7]

Ugh, not looking forward to this on my trip in two weeks. I would get precheck, but I travel by air maybe once a year.

 

[SomedayTheFire]

huh we've had to do this for years.

 

[Vanillalite]

What's the big deal? People already take out their laptops. Now they need to take out their tablet too. Should take all of 2 seconds..

Unless I'm missing something here

Because it doesn't actually help solve anything or make us more secure.

Instead when you're rolling through a big airport like Hartsfield or O'Hare you got everyone having to take out all of their shit and put it in a gazillion separate bins.

For one person that might not seem like much. When you multiply that by all the mother fuckers in the Atlanta airport security line it's a nightmare for ZERO gain.

 

[wwm0nkey]

Already had to do this. Need to get TSA Pre though regardless

 

[Squishy3]

I ended up doing this anyway for anything larger than a 3DS/Vita, since you can stick those well enough away from anything else to get a clean scan on, but larger devices definitely. Makes sense you'd do it for something like a Switch, which doesn't have any easily noticeable branding on it when it's in the portable form, and is larger than other handheld game devices.

 

[Ashhong]

Do you mind sharing how you got it refunded? And does it normally come with lounge access?

Get a Chase Sapphire Reserve card. You get the fee refunded as well as access to certain lounges. All included.

 

[darkazcura]

I had to do this a few weeks back. I didn't know about the rule change so they spent an extra 10-15 min looking through my bag. There weren't any signs telling me I had to take my iPad and Switch out.

If this is handled like laptops, this is going to be a mess. Laptops need their own bin..trying to imagine getting a separate bin for a laptop, tablet, and Switch. So unnecessary.

What's the big deal? People already take out their laptops. Now they need to take out their tablet too. Should take all of 2 seconds..

Unless I'm missing something here

Naaaaah. I keep my tablet and Switch in closed off cases in separate compartments of my backback. You'd have to open the case, take the electronic out of their case, get a separate bin, and put the electronic in a separate bin. 3 separate times if you have a laptop, tablet, and handheld gaming console. Depending on how many things you carry, this could add anywhere from 20-40 seconds to your time..multiply that by hundreds of people..and it becomes a huge issue especially when TSA agents are usually walking up and down the line telling you to pick up the pace and be more 'ready' in the future to save time.

Whereas my laptop is kept in an open ended slip cover basically. Literally just have to pull it out of the bag..not that bad.

If you can store the laptop, tablet, and console all in one bin, rather than three separate ones, it won't be as bad..but still annoying.

 

[SuperBanana]

Your security screening already takes fucking forever. This makes me want to go back less and less.

 

[theepicoftyler]

So if I bring my backpack with my camera gear as my carry-on I need to put the backpack in one bin, my laptop in a separate bin, and camera bodies in separate bins as well?

What a mess.