When you travel with a laptop, phone, tablet, camera, or other electronic device, where you pack it matters. Checked luggage can be delayed, damaged, opened for inspection, or sent to the wrong destination. Keeping important devices in a carry-on bag—or, even better, a backpack that stays with you—gives you more control over their physical and digital security.
It also helps you follow important battery-safety rules. The FAA recommends keeping smartphones, tablets, cameras, and laptops in accessible carry-on baggage, especially because crews can respond more quickly if a lithium battery overheats in the cabin.
Why should electronics go in carry-on luggage?
Your devices contain more than expensive hardware. They may hold email, saved passwords, personal photos, financial apps, work documents, tax records, identification scans, and access to cloud accounts.
Keeping devices with you can:
- Reduce the chance of loss or theft
- Protect devices from rough baggage handling
- Prevent exposure to extreme temperatures
- Let you notice overheating or damage
- Keep personal and work information within reach
- Make devices available during delays
- Help you remove batteries if a bag gets gate-checked
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Reports specifically track mishandled baggage, which includes checked bags that are lost, damaged, delayed, or pilfered.
Are laptops and phones allowed in checked bags?
Many devices with installed batteries may be permitted in checked luggage under specific conditions, but carry-on storage is generally the smarter choice. If a device must go into a checked bag, the FAA says it should be completely switched off—not left in sleep or hibernation mode—and protected against damage and accidental activation.
Always check the latest rules from your airline, the TSA, and the aviation authority for your destination because requirements can vary by device, battery size, airline, and country.
What cannot go in checked baggage?
Spare lithium batteries and power banks require extra attention. The TSA requires spare lithium-ion and lithium-metal batteries, power banks, and battery charging cases to travel in carry-on baggage only.
Keep these items out of checked bags:
- Power banks
- Portable phone chargers
- Spare laptop batteries
- Loose camera batteries
- Cellphone battery cases
- Other uninstalled lithium batteries
Protect loose terminals with the original packaging, a battery case, separate bags, or tape so they cannot touch coins, keys, or other metal objects and short-circuit.
How big is the battery-safety risk?
Lithium-battery problems are not theoretical. Based on FAA incident records, 93 aviation incidents involving lithium batteries smoking, catching fire, or producing extreme heat were reported in 2025, including incidents involving battery packs, phones, electronic devices, and laptops.
The FAA cautions that its incident list contains only events known to the agency and should not be considered a complete record.
Accessibility matters during an overheating event. Inside the cabin, passengers and crew may notice smoke or heat and respond. A device buried in checked baggage is harder to monitor and reach. The FAA’s lithium-battery guidance explains that cabin crews can mitigate smoke and fire incidents more readily when devices remain accessible.
How does carrying devices with you make you safer online?
Keeping devices in your personal item helps someone become safer online because physical security and cybersecurity directly connect. If someone steals or gains access to an unlocked laptop, the person may not need to “hack” it remotely.
Keeping devices close can reduce the risk of:
- Unauthorized physical access
- Email or social account takeover
- Exposure of saved passwords
- Theft of work documents
- Loss of private photos and messages
- Access to banking or payment apps
- Malicious USB connections
- Tampering with device settings
A secure carry-on does not replace strong digital protections, but it adds an important defensive layer.
How should you pack electronics for travel?
Use this step-by-step checklist before leaving home:
- Place essential devices in a personal item
Keep your phone, laptop, tablet, and camera in a backpack or under-seat bag when possible. - Use a padded compartment
Protect screens, ports, and cases from impacts. - Keep power banks in the cabin
Never place them in checked luggage. - Protect spare battery terminals
Store batteries separately so they cannot short-circuit. - Charge devices before traveling
Security personnel may ask you to power on a device. - Install updates before departure
Update your operating system, browser, apps, and security software on a trusted network. - Back up important files
Use encrypted cloud storage or a secure backup before the trip. - Lock every device
Use a strong PIN or password and enable biometrics where appropriate. - Turn on device-finding features
Enable Apple Find My, Google Find Hub, or the appropriate device-location service. - Enable multifactor authentication
Protect email, cloud storage, banking, and work accounts if a device disappears.
What if the airline gate-checks your carry-on?
Overhead space can disappear quickly. If an airline asks you to gate-check your carry-on, remove:
- Phones, laptops, and tablets
- Power banks
- Spare lithium batteries
- Medication
- Identification
- Keys and wallets
- Sensitive work documents
The FAA explicitly says travelers must remove spare batteries and portable chargers if a carry-on is checked at the gate and keep those items accessible in the cabin.
Store valuable electronics in a carry-on bag, and keep the most important devices in a backpack or personal item that stays with you. This protects your hardware, personal data, account access, and travel plans while helping you comply with lithium-battery safety rules.
