This 10-second hack fixed my suitcase's 'broken' TSA lock

This traveller was perturbed to discover her suitcase lock jammed, but with the help of experts, discovered a simple fix for the frustratingly common problem.

At first I blamed a grain of fine Fiji sand. I mean, why else would the lock on my suitcase stop working for the first time in almost 10 years? 

Between all my island-hopping, it must have made its way into the lock mechanism, which was refusing to budge when I arrived back in Australia.

Normally I’d be home in northern NSW by the time I tried to open my case, but luckily this time I had a few days in Sydney where I decided getting it fixed by professionals was a tad smarter than attacking it with a screwdriver later on.

In the Transport Security Administration (TSA) lock section of the Samsonite website it told me I would “need assistance from a Samsonite Authorised Repair Centre to unlock your suitcase” if I’d forgotten my combination. Assuming the repair centre would be able to help with all lock-related dramas I found the closest one in Sydney and away I went.

When I arrived at the luggage doctor the woman behind the counter was not at all surprised to see someone dragging their case into the store. Turns out 10 other people that very day had come in with exactly the same problem. And it had nothing to do with sand from Fiji.

As her colleague explained, they think it’s all to do with airport security opening the TSA lock, then bumping the dial so it resets to a different combination when they close it again.

Suitcase repairs can be sometimes be simpler than you'd expect.

While my lock could have been reset at any number, he told me the trick is to try numbers around your combination first, then experiment beyond there. Sure enough, in under 10 seconds of trying numbers close to my usual combo the lock happily clicked open.

If it doesn’t work on numbers around your code all you have to do is get a cup of tea or a glass of wine and sit down to try every combination from 000 to 999. Which sounds like a lot but in reality only takes around half an hour to do.

That’s less time than I spent getting to the repair centre and back even when I was staying in the city. When they told me people travel all the way to Sydney from far-flung country towns because they thought their lock was broken I could only imagine the looks on their faces when they realised how quickly and easily they could have fixed it at home.

If you ever find yourself in the same situation you can easily change your combination back to the one you know by setting the dials to the original 0-0-0, then pressing the reset button with something pointy like a pen until you hear a click. Then put in the combination you want and push or slide the open button until you hear another click. And voila! No luggage doctor required.

Suitcase lock issues are one of the most common problems seen by luggage repairers.

MORE SUITCASE REPAIR TIPS

1. The ballpoint pen trick

As many thieves and nice people know, you can break into most suitcases by simply pushing a ballpoint pen into the zipper. In some cases you can still close the zip after forcing it open but if the zipper puller is locked in place you’ll be stuck with an open bag until you crack the code.

2. Zipper help 

If your suitcase zipper is getting sticky lip balm or soap could help. Start with the zipper at the top, then slowly add lubricant as you work the zipper down.

3. Crack kit

Feeling crafty? Don’t just throw your case away if the hard shell cracks. Pick up a carbon fibre repair kit and hit the YouTube tutorials for tips on how to use it.

4. The squeaky wheel…

gets the lube. But make it a dry lubricant rather than a greasier style one that will collect dust on its travels.

Originally published as This 10-second hack fixed my suitcase's 'broken' TSA lock