This article was published in November 2020 and may be outdated.
We all rely on our phones to stay in touch with family and friends. Staying connected during an extended outage can be a challenge. Here are some tips to keep your phone charged when the power goes out.
- Charge with your laptop
Charge your phone by plugging it into your laptop’s USB port. Although it may take longer to charge and drain your laptop’s battery, your phone should be a higher priority to make emergency calls. - Charge with your car
Your car’s battery can be a power source during an outage. Most newer vehicles have USB charging ports. If you own an older vehicle, you can get a USB car charger that plugs in to your auxiliary socket. Some cars may need to be started to charge phones. Make sure you do it with proper ventilation – not in your garage. - Solar-powered charger
A solar-powered charger can come in handy when it’s sunny. - Hand-crank charger
A hand-crank charger may require a bit of your energy to generate power, but it’s useful anytime you’re not close to a power source. - External battery pack
A small, pocket-sized external battery pack is great to have on hand. Remember, rechargeable batteries slowly lose power when not in use. Check it occasionally to make sure it’s fully charged. - Conserve your phone’s battery
Put your phone on airplane mode when you’re not using it. Also lower the screen’s brightness and turn off applications that run in the background. Turning off location services, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth also helps.