We all have been in the situation of a long day in the airport or even just out and about in a strange city and our lifeline to our work and family is starting to fail us. It does not help the current situation that the proceeding night we did not put our phone on the charger.
It is important to indeed let them know you are not in your favorite pub but just your phone battery has decided to fail you at the worst time.
What are some immediate actions you can take to send those last emails or touch base with your family?
Saving Your Battery Power
One of the current dilemmas of our generation is why the hell can we fly across the globe, travel to the moon, and now we can personally fly with a jetpack but we still cannot pull together enough intelligence to produce a battery that lasts more than half a day. Due to our obvious addiction to smartphones, it is a questionable scenario to say the least.
Consolidate the Energy
First thing to understand is what uses the most power on your phone?
Optimizing the phone and ring settings are going to be the first step in combating early battery die off. Most phones are similar in what consumes the battery and also newer phones will offer a click of a button to turn on such applications as “Ultra data Saving Mode” and the ability to limit background apps.
The data saving mode should be under the data usage section in the settings. Apps running in the background that have updates and push notifications (Especially Vibrating) such as Facebook are going to drain your battery faster than a fat kid chasing an ice cream truck.
Switching to airplane mode allows for less energy to be used when the phone is constantly trying to pull gps coordinates or trying to connect wifi in low setting situations.
If you are going to be using the phone, then it is better to turn off the gps manually as it is one of the biggest battery drainers. Dimming the screen should be turned off with the data saving mode. However if needed to be done manually you can go under brightness and slide it down to the lightest setting.
Preventive Measures to Take
If you are lucky enough to have thought ahead before the catastrophe of dying communication, then you are one step ahead than most people. There are a couple of things you can do to be prepared for the dying battery scenario.
Buy a Power bank
Power banks are essential nowadays with our arsenals of gadgets we use on a daily basis. They are simply a “bank” where you are able to store energy and then utilize it later for most any usb device that needs to be charged.
Carry a Power Cord
Most Airports and some newer coffee shops will have a public outlet that is easily accessible to any person buying their products. This can be a gamble as in popular places it can be hard to find an outlet not being used during busier times. Another way to get around this is to plug your usb cord into your laptop assuming their is power left on the pc.
Buy a USB Hand Crank Charger
Nothing beats good old sweat and muscle when there is no power within reach of your setting. A hand crank allows you to manually generate power by rotating the crank and a moving magnetic field pushes the electric current through a coil of wire.
What if the Phone Stops Working after Charged
You have charged the battery on your phone and taken all troubleshooting measures to only find out your communication machine has decided to stop working. After you calm down from Facebook withdrawals, it is time to either find a replacement or look online for a cell phone repair store.
