Mobile Boarding Pass Scanners Not Working??

Not sure how many people use the mobile boarding option (I usually do not) but yesterday's security line at DIA was an eye opener. All mobile boarding pass scanners were down. TSA was telling any mobile pass holders they need to go to their respective airline counter and get a paper ticket. You can only imagine the amount of arguing and frustration that ensued. I am sure many people missed their flights yesterday because of this. Standard TSA line was "we recommend that whenever you travel with a mobile boarding pass to also have a paper copy as back-up."

 

Great... always wanted to use the mobile boarding, but printing out a backup copy "just in case" is useless, as you might as well use the printout instead.

 

I was told it goes down somewhat frequently and they still consider it a pilot program (test).
Like M*P is a Beta !

Not sure its the same for the pilot pool airlines; but I have seen where the TSA scanners were down and the gate worked.

 

The worst are the scanners that force you to flip your phone over to use them, causing the image to flip 90 degrees if you rotate it at all. Of course, the scanner won't read it, and you are sent back to the ticket desk.

I don't know why they can't have the top-down scanners everywhere. They work much better.

 

The effort is run by the Government ? What you are suggesting is TSA start thinking, planning and getting something done

 

While I usually have the paper backup, I truly hate when someone else's incompetence is made into my problem ... either offer mobile boarding passes or don't, but something like this without coordination with the airlines (special line to get a paper bp) is truly bogus!

 

I always OLCI and have a paper copy of my BP with me.. For Mobile BP, I usually use it just at the gate, reducing the chances of my phone growing legs when it goes through the x-ray..

 

Always paper. I don't want to waste time - the scanners are not that reliable.

 

Interesting...the mobile boarding pass scanners weren't working at LGA on Friday, either. I thought it was a little inconvenient that they waited to mention it until you were at the security line.

 

I was a big fan of the mobile boarding pass until the day I got stuck at the front of the line in DSM with a broken scanner staring me down. Since that fateful day I have not had enough confidence in the tool to wait in line for 15 minutes hoping that the scanners are working. Until there is a way to ensure opperation or procedurally and reliably announce that scanners are not working I'll stick with the paper boarding pass. Besides, now I don't have to worry about what to use as a bookmark anymore!

 

I was a fan of the concept, but I don't like handing TSA my phone. I understand that I will have to hand them my ID, but I have multiple IDs. I just don't like the idea that they might hold on to it, even if they are not allowed to do so. Hence, I use a paper BP.

 

I have never had the TSA actually touch my phone.

 

Same. TSA has never handled my phone. When CO started using the mobile BP, the GAs would initially take the phone to hold under the scanner, but lately they ask the pax to scan the bar code themselves - I suspect because of the liability issue attached to handling a customer's phone.

 

They do not want the responsibility of touching your phone. The readers are all you holding the phone, I was similarly concerned but the process is self help

 

Cool. I am glad to know that. Thanks.

 

Knock on wood, I've never had a problem with the mobile BP scanners. To avoid the screen rotation issue when flipping over my
phone, I always engage the rotation lock on my iPhone (double tap home, scroll to the left and click) before scanning.

The only issue I've had with the scanners was at DCA attempting to go through security to the US gates with a UA mobile boarding pass. Apparently US doesn't do mobile mobile BPs so I was turned away.

 

In about 30 trips using mobile BP, I had never had a TSA employee actually ask to hold my phone (only once when it wasn't scanning, the guy was trying to help me out - LGA scanner was a little sensitive, he said). In December 2010, that changed. The jerk at ORD priority security by the LH counters actually barked at me when I started scanning the phone myself. He told me I had to hand him my phone. I asked, "Since when is that policy?" His response of "Always" didn't exactly jive with my previous experience. He let up when I asked for a supervisor, but he wasn't happy about it. Since then, I've had several more flights without incident. Although, it would have been pretty funny to see him try to scan the BP with the screen going black (my BB is set up to go dark pretty quickly if no activity).

 

Definitely the right approach to ask for the Supervisor. For insurance and liability purposes, they are not supposed to touch your phone (I'd say belongings, but we know how that doesn't work for any of us )

 

The screeners toted my items - which included removing the computers from their bins & stacking them on my jacket in the third bin - when they groped me at LAX last week. There was no attempt to avoid touching the items.

 

About that same time, in IND they started asking to either see or you tell them the flight number that you were traveling. Another stupid move by the TSA, it's right there on their screen. Recently, they have backed off of that...but I might just be getting better agents.

Where did you get this? The federal government doesn't have insurance.

 

So call it liability - they don't want it to be their fault that a phone was dropped

 

But is that a matter of policy?

 

From my experience and discussions I have had with others, I would say yes. I have never seen any tso or agent reach for my phone.

 

Me either but "discussions I have had with others" should include this website, shouldn't it?

 

Have used the mobile boarding pass on one trip, out and back. It was scanned four times, at two gates and twice by TSA. There was a problem two out of four times, once for TSA and once for AA - not that they couldn't scan it, but it took a while and I felt uncomfortable about holding up the line. My impression is that this technology is not quite ready yet.