{"id":360,"date":"2023-04-12T19:51:55","date_gmt":"2023-04-12T23:51:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/donewithwires.com\/?p=360"},"modified":"2023-04-20T09:02:23","modified_gmt":"2023-04-20T13:02:23","slug":"traveling-with-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/donewithwires.com\/traveling-with-tech\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I Always Carry A Receipt For My Tech When Traveling"},"content":{"rendered":"

Should you bring a receipt for your tech products when traveling? And why?<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Yes, you should, and I will tell you why.<\/p>\n

What does that even mean?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Well, today we’re going to have a little story time, which hopefully can\u00a0save someone else from the same trouble I experienced.<\/p>\n

To start with my background. I’m from Europe, but I travel to the United States at least once a year and have done so for quite some time now.<\/p>\n

It should come to no surprise that I am very comfortable flying. I am used to the TSA agents and Border control. I am well aware of the limits of my baggage, what to bring, what to do and especially what not to do when flying internationally.<\/p>\n

Let’s get to the story<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As I was visiting the south coast a few years ago, I was out on a road trip with a friend and was running low on battery on my\u00a0phone.<\/p>\n

Luckily, I had a car-adapter for my charger in my bag. So, I plugged in my phone, and without warning, my phone just died. Not overthinking it, I tried restarting the phone as well as resetting the RAM.<\/p>\n

Nothing I tried seemed to be able to revive my phone, so I decided to give up and go to the Apple Store and ask for help.<\/p>\n

The Apple Store employee informed me that the battery had somehow been fried by the car. I was in desperate need of a working phone as it was my only source of taking pictures and this was at the beginning of my trip.<\/p>\n

So, I took the bullet and turned my phone in for a new one with a few dollars in between as my Apple Care had expired sadly. I was just happy to have a brand new working phone.<\/p>\n

Fastforwarding to my flight home<\/strong><\/h3>\n

My flights were scheduled to have a layover at another airport before heading home, which was fine, I was used to it.<\/p>\n

As I was on my way to the passport control, I was approached by two agents from TSA, asking me to step aside. No big deal, I thought.<\/p>\n

This is where the story took a strange turn. I was forwarded to walk into a separate room where two additional TSA agents also entered the room and closed the door.<\/p>\n

I have had many different experiences with TSA agents before so being pulled aside for random questioning wasn’t a big deal.<\/p>\n

Well, until they all took their guns out of their holsters, that is.<\/p>\n

I was shocked as they told me to raise my arms up and not move. I did as they asked, of course. And once they felt they had control of the situation I assume, they asked me to empty my pockets onto a table, revealing my phone, wallet and a pack of gum.<\/p>\n

What were the legal grounds for this search?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

So, once everyone, including me, had calmed down a bit. They explained that they were suspecting that I had stolen the phone I had, according to them, because I was walking with it in my hands. It sounds bizarre and it was.<\/p>\n

They would not let me leave without showing a receipt, and the paper receipt\u00a0I had was not in my hands at the time. Luckily, I had a copy on my mail, which cleared my name, and I was a free man.<\/p>\n

Conclusion – Bring a receipt for your tech when flying<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It sounds like a random search gone wrong, but luckily that was all that it was. I now carry a receipt copy of my tech products, at least my phone and laptop, whenever I travel internationally.<\/p>\n

The TSA agents were just doing their job, and they acted upon what they thought was suspicious activity.<\/p>\n

I advise you to always go along with the staff at the airport as it generally works itself out if you allow them to follow protocol.<\/p>\n

Although it might just have been bad luck that one time, I hope this article might help avoid someone else from having the same experience as I did!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Should you bring a receipt for your tech products when traveling? And why? Yes, you should, and I will tell you why. What does that even mean? Well, today we’re going to have a little story time, which hopefully can\u00a0save someone else from the same trouble I experienced. To start with my background. I’m from … <\/p>\n

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