Can You Wear a Fitbit One Through Airport Security?

I own a Fitbit and I love it.  It has taught me that I don’t walk nearly as much as I assume I do when traveling, and has even inspired me to purchase a treadmill desk.

A lot of travel folk added me when I first posted about having a Fitbit, and we get pretty competitive.

The Fitbit One can be a little awkward.  Well, a lot of awkward.  Because it attaches to the bra.

How-to-wear-your-Fitbit-One.png

I tend to wear dresses, so I don’t really have anywhere else to clip it (plus almost lost it one time I tried to keep it on a pocket!)

I accidentally freaked out a few people at a farmer’s market once when the vibrating alarm went off on my Fitbit.

And I always managed to remember that I’m wearing the Fitbit, right as I get into line at security.

A TSA agent dons rubber gloves at Washington Reagan National Airport

Let’s just say, there’s no classy way to pull a Fitbit off your bra while in line for security.

I’ve done it sometimes when it’s been easier to access and received (understandable) strange looks.

Other times, there would be no way I could access it without semi-stripping in the security line, and I’m not doing that.

So I’ve just gone through security and hoped for the best.

With pre-check, it goes through the metal detector just fine.  Mostly, well, because it doesn’t contain any metal.  So I don’t even bother taking it off when going through there.

With the nude-o-scopes, it showed up about 25% of the time.  It really depended on where on the bra I clipped it, but having to explain it and pull it off after going through the machines has convinced me to leave the line and run to the bathroom if pre-check isn’t open.

Of course, this all could be avoided if I didn’t wear my Fitbit to the airport, but putting it on has become such a habit, I never remember until I get there.

About Jeanne Marie Hoffman

Former bartender, still a geek. One equal part each cookies, liberty, football, music, travel, libations. Stir vigorously. +Jeanne Marie Hoffman Jeanne on Twitter

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6 comments

  1. I’ve worn my Fitbit Charge HR plenty of times through airport security (PreCheck every time) without issue.

    • Jeanne Marie Hoffman

      I bet since it resembles a watch, it’ll be fine for the nude-o-scopes too. The FitBit one can show up as a blob on it and set off that alarm (and that’s not a fun place to trigger a pat down on…)

  2. I wear a Fitbit One on my bra and have not had any problems going through any security line. I figured they had seen enough of them by now that the screener recognizes it when it shows up?

  3. I wear my Apple Watch every week through Pre-Check, never an issue.

  4. You cannot wear the Fitbit Zip through airport security. The case has a metal piece in it. I forgot I had it on and the TSA person and I spent 5 minutes trying to figure out why I kept beeping. Solved that by buying an Apple Watch.

    • Jeanne Marie Hoffman

      That’s good to know! Thanks for letting us know (and sorry you got stuck in security so long with that).

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