LOUISVILLE, Ky. — There's no question that smartphones are our lifeline and means of communication from the beginning to the end of our day. Here are some hacks to charge your phone in the event of a sustained power outage during severe weather.
Keep it charged before the storm hits
When a storm is coming, it's a good idea to make sure your battery is plugged in and fully charged as part of your routine, especially overnight.
Use an external battery
Most external batteries can charge your phone multiple times over, or even multiple devices at once. But they're useless if they aren't charged ahead of time. Again, if you own an external battery, make sure it's charged BEFORE the storm hits.
Use your laptop
A fully charged laptop can help keep your phone up and running in an emergency situation. Get it fully charged beforehand and plug your phone in via USB.
Don't call, TEXT instead
If you can, text instead of calling. Making a phone call can quickly drain your phone's battery life, much more so than texting.
Use your car
Most modern cars come with a USB port or a power inverter, but most gas stations sell cheap USB ports that plug into your cigarette lighter even if yours doesn't have one.
If you do charge your phone in your car, make sure you do it OUTSIDE. Running your engine in an enclosed space for long amounts of time can be extremely dangerous and even deadly.
Close your apps
Certain apps use a lot of battery juice. Close your apps. Also, consider turning down the screen brightness, turning off WIFI and Bluetooth.
