Here’s 3 Ways To Charge Your Phone When The Power is Out

When the power is out, we usually turn to our phones for answers. With blackouts happening all over California, during natural disasters, and sometimes for no apparent reason; our phones remain a lifeline for the majority of us.

In some cases, just because the power is out, doesn’t necessarily mean that the cell towers will stop working. However, there could be extreme congestion due to everyone using their service when the power goes out. Cell towers can only handle so much and with many of us on wifi most of the time, when the power goes out, the cell towers could be overcrowded. Not only that, but when an emergency happens, people call loved ones to make sure they’re ok…or to just chit-chat cause there’s nothing better to do!

You can scream to the heavens that you’ll ditch your phone at the first sight of SHTF, but the truth is, our phones carry a lot of useful information, even without service. They have eBooks, downloaded maps, pictures, videos, games, important information and so on.

Like it or not, our phones can be a great resource and asset to us even without service.

So with all of that information we want to retain access to, without electricity, how do we keep them charged?

Here are 3 ways to keep your phones charged without electricity during an emergency or disaster:

External battery charger –

This is probably one of the best methods. Charge it up then carry it with you or have it around for when you need to charge your phone. Some of these can charge your phone multiple times over. The larger the mAh is, the more powerful it is. They’re also getting smaller and more lightweight as well. So you can get a high mAh and have it still fit within the palm of your hand.

My two favorites are:

Anker PowerCore

Jackery Portable Charger

I’ve used the above countless times on camping trips and they have NEVER failed me in the several years that I’ve had them. Don’t forget to carry an extra power cord for your phone.

Solar panel –

A solar panel is quite effective. This is a great option for any emergency or disaster. Of course it probably wouldn’t be used during a hurricane (or similar event), but it could be used afterwards. And if you’re experiencing a power outage due to a rolling blackout, you can absolutely use it.

Here are some of my favorite solar options:

The Foxelli solar panel is compact and efficient. It charges quickly and you can also charge two things at once!

These portable solar chargers are really awesome. They can be placed in a backpack or purse or even your vehicle, and of course your home. They are extremely powerful. Just let it sit out in the sun and charge your phone whenever, especially when needed at night.

You could increase the power of these small handheld solar chargers by adding some extra solar panels to them. They’re still very portable and powerful.

Inverter –

Charging your devices in your vehicle is effective as long as you have a little gas to at least keep the car running while you’re charging. The great thing about an inverter is that you can use a regular plug instead of a USB, so it charges your phone quicker.

The above inverter is the one we have. It’s effective, quick and hasn’t failed us in the many years that we’ve been using it. There are many like this on the market, but this is just the specific one that we have.

With all of these options, don’t forget to store and carry extra charging cables for your phone. The chargers work, but only if you have a connection. Hah.

In addition to the above suggestions, you can also use a generator if you happen to have one, though there are pros and cons to using a generator.

In general, when it comes to a power outage, try to limit the usage of your phone unless you absolutely have to use it. Try texting instead of calling, use apps that don’t take a lot of power, limit the use of watching videos on your phone and so on.

When it comes to entertainment, click here to read some ideas to stay entertained during an emergency or disaster.

How do you keep your phone charged during an emergency or disaster?