Passport Not Scanning at UK Border

[nap666]

My passport is 7yo so not due replacement, had issues for years at EGates, sometimes it scans, last week at Heathrow Egate fails then Border Officer must have tried 9 or 10 times before it finally scanned, anyone else have the same issue?
Also what happens if it wont scan?

 

[Buzby]

As is mine - it only worked 10% of the time (tried with specs on, then off - as my photo has them on). When it fails, you go to a manual check.

 

[Elwyn]

Also what happens if it wont scan?

They can check your details manually by typing your id into their computer. So assuming all was OK you would then be allowed to proceed. However if it’s a regular problem you might want to consider getting a replacement passport. But you will likely have to pay for that.

 

[sor]

I once had this at Brussels (Eurostar juxtaposed border controls). Passport read OK 30 seconds prior on the Belgian border agent's reader but wouldn't read on the UK e-gates. After a few attempts I was steered towards a UK agent whose reader presumably worked fine as I was let through. He gave me some nonsense about how I had a (clear) passport cover and that was affecting it - hard to believe it when the thing's open

Worked fine on a subsequent trip.

 

[Lampshade]

Mine was always the same, in 10 years it only worked once, directing me to the long queue leaving anyone I was with waiting around.

 

[Bantamzen]

My passport is 7yo so not due replacement, had issues for years at EGates, sometimes it scans, last week at Heathrow Egate fails then Border Officer must have tried 9 or 10 times before it finally scanned, anyone else have the same issue?
Also what happens if it wont scan?

When I first got mine it would work fine abroad, but almost never back at the UK border. But this seems to have rectified itself for no obvious reason.

 

[Cdd89]

This is quite a common problem with older passports and it's made worse by airport workers gesturing such people to use e-Gates and not believing people who say their passport doesn't scan. But infrequent travellers wouldn't want to pay to replace what remains a valid passport.

I've therefore often thought that Border Force should carry some stickers to apply to a UK passport that say "Chip not working" (or similar) so that airport workers can see that at a glance and accept such people in the UK staffed lanes.

 

[najaB]

My passport is 7yo so not due replacement, had issues for years at EGates, sometimes it scans, last week at Heathrow Egate fails then Border Officer must have tried 9 or 10 times before it finally scanned, anyone else have the same issue?
Also what happens if it wont scan?

Up until recently my passport only worked on e-gates in other countries, never in the UK (I travel abroad maybe 4 - 6 times a year). However, about a year ago it started working reliably. I can only assume that they had a software update to fix whatever was causing it to fail previously.