I get so many emails through customer service where people have written in on their iPhones. They have included copies of important documents. Unfortunately, it shows that their cell phone has 5%, 20% charge, or some other low percentage left. You need to charge your smartphone.
I feel sorry for them because if they run into an emergency, they probably won’t have enough charge left to get help. Take the time to charge your smartphone. You may very well save your life in a prepper bug-in emergency in three different ways.
5 Reasons to Charge Your Smartphone!
Phone Communication
Say your power went out in your neighborhood, city, region – or worse yet, the entire country – Would you still be able to make a call if your phone were not charged? Your cell phone can be your best friend if the power goes out – but only if it is charged. With a charged-up battery, the average smartphone will continue to operate for several hours. While it’s true that cell phone towers need power, most of them have backup power systems that enable you to keep your smartphone connected to them. So the bottom line is to charge your smartphone.
Texting
Don’t panic – even when things are bad. Your smartphone might still help you to communicate. If you can’t connect when you’re trying to make a call, why not try texting?
We’ve seen it many times during many past disasters; texting and even social media apps can still sometimes work, even when voice calls stop going through. A text message is not going to take a lot of bandwidth. So, during a disaster, you might be better off using these two methods.
Yes, you will still need a way to access them, but social networks can be a great way to communicate during a disaster. If you can make your way to an emergency crisis center, or access them on your cell phone, you may be able to post a status update to your social networks. At least texting or social media could be an excellent way to let friends and family know you’re okay or let them know your next plan of action.
Knowledge
Haven’t I always told you to prepare to bug in should a disaster happen? What are you going to do if you are in a situation where you don’t have power for days or weeks on end? What are you going to do with your free time? Here’s a suggestion. Take this opportunity to brush up on your survival skills. A smart prepper will have downloaded survival apps to their phone where they can brush up on skills like first aid, cooking without power (could get some recipes to experiment with), etc.
Here are 5 suggestions that survivalsullivan.com recommends:
First thing’s first: you should upload your survival manuals. Surely you have e-Books you bought or found on the web for free, useful articles, and so on. Here are some of the things you can do:
- upload PDFs into your phone memory
- bookmark the most useful articles
- install an app such as Pocket to download articles on your phone for later use
- download all your survival eBooks on Kindle so they’re available offline
- Also, if you have a PDF or a Word Document, you can use a free software named Calibre to convert it to the Kindle format, and then use TotalReader for iOS or CoolReader for Android to view them.
Flashlight
Did you know that your smartphone could quite possibly have a flashlight on it. I know my iPhone does. But note, the more you use the flashlight, the faster the power will get used up. Make sure that you have a way to charge your smartphone. You can check on Amazon to find rechargeable ones.
Other Smartphone Uses
It only makes sense to charge your smartphone before a prepper bug-in emergency. There are so many different applications you can use your phone for that you may not have even thought about. An article I read that I really like is, “Survival uses for a Cellphone.” Keep abreast of the weather and news for starters.
3 Things to Safeguard Cellphone Communication
- Charge your phone regularly – Charging your phone once a week is not going to cut it. What if you were out in the snow and got stuck? Who are you going to call if your phone is not charged?
- Have a spare factory-made charger – Why not check into the Apple Store or Google Store to see if you can purchase a spare charger for your phone. If you have a cat, kitten, or puppy that likes to chew electrical cords, you will always have another on hand.
- Have an alternative powered charger – There are several different types of camping lanterns that combine solar charging, DC charging and 3 x AA batteries. If you go online and type in “solar powered, dc & battery camping lantern,” you will get suggestions that you can look at.
Updated 12/4/2022
