Bringing Laptop On A Plane Question

[soccercruiser87]

well, probably a stupid question but, does the X-Ray Machine (at security) at the airport ruin the laptop? or does it not do anything to it?...i just got my laptop a month or so ago and want to watch movies and play some solitaire or minesweeper on my plane ride to california. Thanks for any help!

 

[crcormier]

No such thing as a dumb question.

No, the x-rays will not hurt your laptop. I travel fairly often for business and I have yet to have a laptop fried by security. And I am very protective about my MacBook Pro!

 

[Miller1412]

I also have a Mac Book Pro, and it goes everywhere with me. It's safe to take it through security. You just have to remove it from your lap top case to put it through the xray machine.

 

[soccercruiser87]

alright, thanks

 

[justplaingoofy]

As a previous poster mentioned, you'll have to take it out of the bag to go through x-ray....


Also, this is off topic, but if you plan to carry on alot of change, take it out of your carry on & put it on the tray that goes through xray. Some people take a bunch of quarters and they are so dense that the xray can't see through them. By taking it out, that will eliminate them have to keep rerunning your bag through.

 

[Barb D]

Also, make sure it's charged before you go through security. I've never had it happen, but apparently they can ask you to turn it on. And bring your charger with you. You may be able to charge it at the gate between flights if you can find an outlet.

 

[drakethib]

You will be fine.

Mine has been through these all over and I have never had a problem.

Enjoy your trip !!

 

[DebbieB]

My work laptop goes through almost weekly and never had a problem.

I did have a cellphone that I swear got fried at the Atlanta airport last year. It was in my purse and they ran it through twice. When I got home, I looked at the time and it had stopped, at about the same time as I went through security. After that it needed recharged about once a day. I tried a new battery and it didn't work, so I had to get a new one. I try to remember to turn it off before going through security.

It's sometimes hard to use your laptop on the plane. If the seats are close together and the person in front of you reclines all the way, you can't open it fully.

 

[justplaingoofy]

I have a laptop, but find it easier to bring my portable dvd player if I am only bringing it along for entertainment and not work. It is sooo much smaller and less expensive if something should happen to it. We got our audiovox dvd player 7" a couple years ago from bjs for $389, but just saw this weekend they have the exact same ones for $99. It comes with all the cords, battery & headphone. We love it because you can watch it while plugged into a regular outlet (at the airport or hotel), hook it up to a tv to watch it through there, use the battery, or hook up your digital camera to view pics.

Have a magical trip

 

[soccercruiser87]

My work laptop goes through almost weekly and never had a problem.

I did have a cellphone that I swear got fried at the Atlanta airport last year. It was in my purse and they ran it through twice. When I got home, I looked at the time and it had stopped, at about the same time as I went through security. After that it needed recharged about once a day. I tried a new battery and it didn't work, so I had to get a new one. I try to remember to turn it off before going through security.

It's sometimes hard to use your laptop on the plane. If the seats are close together and the person in front of you reclines all the way, you can't open it fully.

im going on southwest airlines, do you know if there will be enough room?..or not? thanks!

 

[soccercruiser87]

just giving this a little bump

 

[dennis99ss]

I use mine on southwest all the time. tight, but not as bad as others.

Bring some battery backup. There is no power on board.

 

[Nancy]

Don't feel silly asking that question cause when I flew last year I had no clue! When I got to security at the Buffalo airport I asked them, they looked at the bag (not a laptop bag) and said no,it's small enough we'll just run it through. SO, silly me, when I was flying home from Baltimore I didn't ask and didn't take it out! OMG! I got pulled over to the side, scanned, my bag got torn apart, the laptop had some stuff done to it. I tried explaining that in Buffalo they didn't have me take it out so I just assumed it was OK to leave in the bag. I never saw anyone else with a laptop go through security so I was clueless. Well, the security people basically thought I was a total wack job and told me that all airports HAVE to have you take it out of the bag and Buffalo is no different. (yes, they were cause I didn't!)

So good question to ask as far as I'm concerned!

 

[Stephanie218]

I've used mine on southwest before to watch movies...it's not always comfortable by any means, but keeping me occupied for 2 hours is worth it when I'm flying home from school with a layover....

It is kind of a pain to take it out of the case when you scan it for security, so make sure it's in an easily accessible place - ie don't stick your laptop case in your carry-on luggage bag. Have fun traveling!

 

[wnissen]

Whether the laptop will be usable depends also on the height of the tray table. If it's too high you might have trouble, ditto if you have a large (14" or bigger) screen. If the person in front is a deep recliner, you might have to shut the screen a little bit and you'd only be able to watch movies. Just be sure to bring headphones, people who watch movies or play games that others can hear are instantly ejected from the plane. OK, that was a bit of wishful thinking.

Walt