If (when) you lose cell service...

[hootinholler]

Turn your cell phone off. It will drain the battery quickly attempting to acquire a tower. The radio is the largest power consumption in a modern cell phone.

I loved the DC channel 9 hints telling us to make sure our phones are charged, to turn off apps and dim the screen. Then in the next sentence announced that you can livestream their broadcast if your power goes out.

Anyway, if you lose your towers due to power failure, turn the phone off, and then briefly check for service every few hours. Your battery will last a *lot* longer this way.

[libodem]

1. Is that the same as airplane mode?

[backscatter712]

2. Airplane mode works.

That will help conserve battery, but if you're in an area facing an extensive power failure, you might want to turn the phone completely off for maximum power conservation.

[hootinholler]

3. Not quite

If you have apps that try to connect, they will still be running and consuming power trying to connect. But airplane mode will turn off the radio transmissions. It may leave the GPS receivers on though which will use power.

[libodem]

4. These Phones

I'll tell ya. Much smarter than me. But disparate for a cell tower like I've never seen disparate before. Help me. Find me. Help me. Yes turn them off. I have to around here as soon as we head up to the mountains. Or my phone will be a dead phone.

[2theleft]

5. Livestream their broadcast

This is like Verizon sending me an e-mail yesterday that my internet service could be interrupted but that I could check the status on verizon.com.

Um... really? And how the hell can I do that if my internet service is disrupted???

[hootinholler]

6. They were talking about livestreaming it on the phone

They even said look for our app in the google play store and the iphone store thingy whatever it's called.

[HopeHoops]

7. It depends on the phone. The reboot can use far more power than a few hours of pinging towers.

[Thav]

8. They do make crank chargers for cell phones.

http://www.amazon.com/SOS-Charger-Hand-Crank-Emergency-Flashlight/sim/B002WRKZZ4/2

Better than nothing.

[Sgent]

9. Text Messaging

Another hint....

Even if you have a signal, you probably will not be able to place a phone call for a variety of reasons.

Use text messaging. It will be delayed, but it will get through eventually. I remember in Katrina teaching my 80 yo grandmother to text so she could update her sister on how she was doing.