How Your Smartphone Survives the Next Beach Vacation
I remember only a few years ago, I was seriously thinking about leaving my smartphone at home when I went on my summer vacation. I took an old Nokia instead, which was so huge that in emergencies it could also be used to kill an attacking shark. I would not care if it were killed by sand or salt water (or a shark). That was a thing, back when smartphones were new, fancy and protectable.
Today, smartphones belong to our daily routine and I would never think about leaving mine at home for an entire week (or two!). Too tempting and practical is the free Wi-Fi everywhere, to orientate yourself on google maps when you are lost, or to just take the smartphone on your hike for pictures and leave the huge and heavy DSLR at the hotel.
We want to make sure your smartphone survives your vacation even when you take it with you anywhere you go. Here are some basic and handy smartphone tricks that everyone should follow when travelling.
1. Avoid phone-death by sand
When you go to the beach, put your smartphone in a zip lock plastic bag. I tested it in glove-mode on a Huawei, you can still use it! Of course, you can also find professional waterproof seal cases in most online shops. But if you need a quick and dirty solution, the zipper bag will do, at least to keep off the sand.
Only take your smartphone out of the bag to take pictures. However, try not to take too many pictures. Enjoy the moment and store it in your real memory, instead on your phone’s memories. Phones can break or get lost, your memory will hopefully stay with you your whole life.
2. Backup and protect your vacation photos
Ok, if you are like me, you will not listen to my last advice and take way to many pictures. To back them up in case you lose your phone, put them in the cloud. If you want to be extra secure, encrypt the cloud with Boxcryptor (free iOS and Android apps available). Honestly, the people at Microsoft or Google do not have to know what I look like in a bikini. For your vacation images, the 2 GB you get for free at Dropbox, or the 15GB at Google Drive will probably suffice. Encryption of one cloud with Boxcryptor is also free, so you will have a secure backup of your images for free.
3. The ultimate place to hide your phone when you go for a swim
Where do you put your phone when you go to a swim? Hide it in a place where nobody will dare to look, for example, a baby diaper. I personally would not check if there is a smartphone in there or something a little more unpleasant. If I were a nasty little smartphone thief, I would give up and move on to the next potential victim. Another option is to hide the device in an old (and thoroughly cleaned) sunscreen bottle. This only works, of course, if you find a bottle that is big enough for your phone.
4. Wi-Fi security
Be careful in public Wi-Fi. Only go on websites that use the https// secured and encrypted protocol, not http//. For more tips, skip to number 6 on this list.
5. Only fly with a fully charged battery
Charge your phone before the flight, especially when it is long distance. When you are travelling to or from the US, or the UK, your electronic devices need to be on, so that security can perform tests. In the worst case, you will not be able to take your phone with you.
6. Do not put your electronic devices in checked bags
Keep your phone and electronical devices in your hand luggage. If your checked bags are lost, you will not have to wait and fear for days, if everything is still there. If the board personnel asks you to check your hand luggage, make sure to take your electronic devices on board with you anyways. I know of cases where the checked hand luggage was lost and turned up again a couple of days later, but without the electronic devices.
We hope this was helpful. Now go and enjoy your vacation, knowing that your smartphone will be safe and survive the trip, too.
Are you looking for a cloud where you can store your vacation images on the go? Here we compared the best providers for you.
