TSA luggage locks

[Crazy4Camping]

I know they can lock/unlock our luggage for inspection and that's fine with me I have nothing to hide, just don't want anything stolen, obviously.  I have a luggage that I hadn't used in awhile and when i messed with the lock to make sure I could unlock it, the code I figured I had used didn't work.  So on to YouTube to see how to reset it.  Well then it wouldn't let me depress the reset button and reset it.  Seemed jammed up.  So then I started playing with the numbers(at this point it was locked so the levers wouldn't move and the end button couldn't be pressed)and for some reason at 0-0-0 I was able to slide the zipper loop into the lock.  Yay-except now I've got one side locked and no idea how to get it unlocked.  So I again tried the codes I would've programmed when I bought the luggage.  No luck.  I started back at 0-0-0 and then started changing one number at a time.  At 1-1-0 it unlocked.  Have no idea why as this combination of numbers means nothing to me.  Again while unlocked, I tried to depress the reset button and rolled the numbers to what I wanted it set at.  This time the reset seemed to work.  So as of now, it is letting me unlock it at this code.   How do I know it will work with this code next time?   

[texasgirl82]

I can't help at all but I am having a similar problem. I haven't used my luggage in a while and pulled it out to start packing for our upcoming cruise. The large suitcase is not set at my usual code while the smaller two are. I have tried every combo I could think of and still haven't found a code that will work so I can reset it. 

*edited to add... I just tried 001 and it worked. So thank you for that. Even though I see that is not what you tried. Lol

Edited January 26, 2019 by texasgirl82
Added info

[ray98]

Luggage locks are useless.....a zipper can be undetectably defeated with a pen.

[Nic6318]

Hi

 

I agree, you are probably better off just not using the lock. While you are on You Tube, you can look for videos on how easy it is to break into anything...including your "locked" suitcase. If you really want a lock on your luggage, consider springing for  new one. For most travel, something inexpensive works just as well as something expensive.

 

have a great cruise

[coevan]

hundreds of thousands of miles, dozens of countries, never locked anything, nothing was ever stolen. TSA locks are joke. Why would someone open luggage that did not belong to them and where?

[ShakyBeef]

40 minutes ago, coevan said:

Why would someone open luggage that did not belong to them and where?

 

Why, Seriously?   Uh, just a shot in the dark here, but maybe because they are a thief?  And that's what thieves do.    And where?  Everywhere they get a chance.  How can you not be aware of this?

 

Here's just one report of many, many, many instances:

 

 

Stupid questions.

 

 

 

[mojavetex]

I have read about people going through luggage when it was placed outside the cabin door for debarkation

[coevan]

I haven't and guess I have more faith in humanity and believe most people are honest. 

[ShakyBeef]

6 minutes ago, coevan said:

I haven't and guess I have more faith in humanity and believe most people are honest. 

 

I am honest and I value honesty and integrity more than most people seem to,  but being an honest,  law-abiding, trustworthy person does not make me blind to the fact that there are many people out there with little to no scruples or morals.   Opportunistic thieves exist all around us.  They always have and always will. 

[BoDidly]

I lock ours each and every time, just to many loose hands floating around. Porters have been known to unzip and ramble through it .  May not be that secure , but I'm not going to make it easy for em 

[Elaine5715]

Buy a new lock...they are what $4?  problem solved.

[coevan]

30 minutes ago, BoDidly said:

I lock ours each and every time, just to many loose hands floating around. Porters have been known to unzip and ramble through it .  May not be that secure , but I'm not going to make it easy for em 

 

 

where would the porters have the opportunity to open a bag. they load them on a cart and the cart goes on the ship.

32 minutes ago, ShakyBeef said:

many people out there with little to no scruples or morals. 

 

 

 

many, more like a very, very small percentage. i refuse to live under a banner of fear and paranoia

[Alaskanb]

Zip ties work well

[BoDidly]

48 minutes ago, coevan said:

 

 

where would the porters have the opportunity to open a bag. they load them on a cart and the cart goes on the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

OH I don't know maybe Before the crowd starts busting the gate open and they get to busy, or when they crate them into the buildings to be placed on board the ship.  Perhaps ask this question to the fellow whos wife had a few items taken from her suitcase. Guest services received an earful that day 🤡 Even Carnivals people have taken items in the past .  It happens .

[dogs4fun]

I would simply purchase a new lock and be done with it. Quick check on Amazon produces: https://www.amazon.com/Newtion-Approved-Luggage-Travel-Combination/dp/B07GSTXS1H

Single lock is $6.95

[ShakyBeef]

1 hour ago, coevan said:

 

 

many, more like a very, very small percentage. i refuse to live under a banner of fear and paranoia

 

Your "very, very small percentage" is still "many people",  as I said. Assuming of course,  that you are referring to a percentage of a relevant population.  If you're not,  then you are so far off topic as to render discussion with you futile.   If you are,  then I am still correct (which I am) and your comment is pointless.

 

Good for you.   I,  too,  do not live under any such banners.  Ain't life grand? 

[waterbug123]

21 hours ago, coevan said:

hundreds of thousands of miles, dozens of countries, never locked anything, nothing was ever stolen. TSA locks are joke. Why would someone open luggage that did not belong to them and where?

 

Just because it's never happened to you doesn't mean it never happens.  There ARE thieves in the world, and people DO have a things stolen out of luggage. 

 

18 hours ago, coevan said:

I haven't and guess I have more faith in humanity and believe most people are honest. 

 

Most people ARE honest.   But "most" doesn't mean "all."

 

17 hours ago, coevan said:

many, more like a very, very small percentage. i refuse to live under a banner of fear and paranoia

 

I don't live under a banner of fear and paranoia either; I seldom lock a bag because I know thieves can still get into the bag.  But I also accept that I'm not immune to having something stolen out of my checked bag.  I had jewelry taken out of a checked bag many years ago when I was young and naive.  Now I know not to put valuables in checked bags.  And I don't leave cruise bags out in the hall the night before disembarkation.

 

[Globaliser]

19 hours ago, coevan said:

i refuse to live under a banner of fear and paranoia

 

As the old joke has it, just because you're paranoid it doesn't mean that they're not really out to get you.

 

Theft from baggage is very real, and in some places it's pretty common. Refusing to believe it is just like shutting your eyes and putting your fingers in your ears to pretend that the roaring monster doesn't exist.

 

What is true is that locks can only do a little. My personal hope is that my locks will persuade the thief that my bag belongs to someone who knows what they are doing - including not putting anything in the bag worth stealing, and therefore making it a waste of the thief's time to open it - and that the thief will therefore move on to the next bag instead.

[Crazy4Camping]

I guess I should've been more specific in my original post, but my concern is not locking my luggage, there will be nothing in there worth stealing unless they really want the perfume that's too large to go in my carry-on....or my clothes lol.  I'm concerned that TSA will LOCK it and then I won't be able to get it open when I get on the ship.  Has anyone experienced their luggage being searched and then TSA locking it back up even if it wasn't locked in the first place?

[Crazy4Camping]

On 1/26/2019 at 11:32 AM, texasgirl82 said:

I can't help at all but I am having a similar problem. I haven't used my luggage in a while and pulled it out to start packing for our upcoming cruise. The large suitcase is not set at my usual code while the smaller two are. I have tried every combo I could think of and still haven't found a code that will work so I can reset it. 

*edited to add... I just tried 001 and it worked. So thank you for that. Even though I see that is not what you tried. Lol

I'm glad you got it open!  Yes, it's funny that a random combination of numbers opened mine as well.  Enjoy your cruise-I have a special place in my heart for Texas as my daughter lives in Austin and I hope to relocate there someday!!

[dogs4fun]

1 hour ago, Crazy4Camping said:

I'm concerned that TSA will LOCK it and then I won't be able to get it open when I get on the ship.  Has anyone experienced their luggage being searched and then TSA locking it back up even if it wasn't locked in the first place?

I never use the luggage lock on my suitcase. I have never had an issue with opening it - not sure if TSA has gone through the contents or not.

[critterchick]

I would either get a new suitcase or try to smash the lock to make it inoperable. There’s no telling what TSA will do if they decide to search your bag, and you really don’t want spend your vacation

trying to guess what code works!

 

We lock our bags on the same theory as Globaliser - that the thief doesn’t want to be slowed down and will move on to the next bag. One of our checked bags had a TSA note in it on Saturday - we are trading crystal blocks with another passenger on our upcoming cruise, and I thought that it might trigger something, which it did (I had enough weight in my carryon that I didn’t want to add another 2 pounds to it). So I packed it close to the surface so digging wouldn’t be required and they didn’t mess anything up. And they relocked it, even.

[hapster85]

I never use the luggage lock on my suitcase. I have never had an issue with opening it - not sure if TSA has gone through the contents or not.

TSA will leave a note inside the bag if they open it for inspection.

I never use a lock either. It's always seemed pointless on soft-sided zippered luggage.

[Hlitner]

Luggage locks are worthless against a thief as they can simply jimmy the zipper (easily done with a pen or many other items) or break the lock.  But we do think its nice to know if anyone has been in our luggage so we use simple zip ties (you can buy 50+ for a few dollars at any auto parts store or hardware store).  While some thieves have TSA keys (so can open those locks and reclose them) they would have to cut off a zip tie which then gives us some proof.   Using zip ties also means we have to make sure to close the zipper (folks sometimes do not close them all the way).    If anyone uses the simple "pencil trick" to pry a zipper open (and thief can do this in a couple of seconds) they will not be able to reseal the zipper without first breaking the zip lock.  It is almost a full-proof way to know if somebody has been inside your luggage.  

 

Hank

[1982CruzStart]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Luggage locks are worthless against a thief as they can simply jimmy the zipper (easily done with a pen or many other items) or break the lock.  But we do think its nice to know if anyone has been in our luggage so we use simple zip ties (you can buy 50+ for a few dollars at any auto parts store or hardware store).  While some thieves have TSA keys (so can open those locks and reclose them) they would have to cut off a zip tie which then gives us some proof.   Using zip ties also means we have to make sure to close the zipper (folks sometimes do not close them all the way).    If anyone uses the simple "pencil trick" to pry a zipper open (and thief can do this in a couple of seconds) they will not be able to reseal the zipper without first breaking the zip lock.  It is almost a full-proof way to know if somebody has been inside your luggage.  

 

Hank

What do you carry with you to cut off the zip ties?

I have used them on long multi stop flights because, like someone mentioned earlier, the inconvenience to the thief may persuade them to go to a bag with no lock.  We make sure that we don't pack anything of any real value in the checked bags but of course you never know what a thief might think is valuable - maybe just a really nice pair of shoes.