this post was submitted on 25 Sep 2026
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Privacy
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Just budget for a cheap ass phone for when you cross the border and don't take your actual device with you. Or if you do take it with you when you cross, make sure that it is off during the entire transit.
I've never had them insist that I can recall, but I do remember reading, I believe in the TSA docs, that any devices are supposed to be powered on and able to be demonstrated to be working or something to that effect ... I guess to make sure it's not just a phone-shaped bomb or whatever.
Even if they have you powered on, the fact that it's in the before-first unlock state means that the file-based encryption still holds and it cannot be unlocked with biometrics.
This is true, but depending on the phone model and processor type, there are still exploits that can bypass bfu state
Mmm, good point
They just ask you tonpiwer it on. Did it for a laptop once.
Makes a little more sense when you consider Israel's pager bombs.
and when you consider the surveillance state. security from "terrorists" is a great excuse, up there with protecting the children.
No it doesn't. Those were fully functioning devices with a maliciously modified battery with zero extra footprint.
Only time I've ever had an "electronic" device checked like that was at an airport in Europe about 15 years ago (if memory serves me right, I think it was CDG in France). I had a DSLR with a couple extra lenses and they asked me to turn on the camera and take a picture with each lense attached. They also asked to view through the viewfinder with each.
They can boot it to the password prompt and shut it down again.
I held on to my old phone when I last upgraded just for this reason. If I ever need to travel internationally in the next few years, that's the one that's coming with me. And as much as I'd like to bring my steam deck for travel entertainment, that's staying home too.