When there is a disaster such as an earthquake, fire or hurricane, many people rely on their cell phones, smartphones or tablets for news, contacting family and to get help. Here are some smartphone, cell phone and tablet tips during a disaster such as Hurricane Irene.
- Keep Your Phone Dry - First off, please remember that electronics should not be exposed to water. It is very easy to drop a cell phone or smartphone while using it in rain and wind. If you go outside, put your cell phone or tablet in something that is water-tight.
- Text First - When someone calls you on your cell phone number the cell towers with in 20 miles of where you were last look for you. When an emergency happens the cell towers get overloaded from people making cell phone calls and receiving cell phone calls. The reason why the cell towers look for the customer's phone and not vice a versa is is that if a cell phone had to continually send out signals to find cell towers, it would drain battery life. The best form of communication during an emergency is texting because it uses very little data and bandwidth.
- Extra Battery/ Alternative Charger - Another problem that occurs during disaster is that the power may go out and you will not be able to charge your cell phone. That's why it's important to have a car charger and possibly a second battery if you do not have a landline and only use a cell phone for communication.
- Backup Contacts tow Cloud or Portable Drive - Most carriers offer contact backup services. You could lose your phone with your contacts during a storm. Because
you may not be able to carry a lot with you if you are evacuated, you
can store your important documents on a USB drive or microSD card.
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