For most of you, summer is the best time to take a break, from the daily grind of work and school to relax, and unwind. It's also that time of the year when many of you will embark on a journey to visit distant friends and family and to visit the places that you have longed to see in person. Wherever you go, most of you will obviously take your favorite companion ... your smartphone or tablet. Before you take that trip to the lake, drive on winding roads on a day trip, or hop on a flight, make sure you remember these handy tips while traveling with your smartphone and tablet.
1. Backup. You should always make sure your mobile devices are backing up automatically. You never know when you might accidentally let your smartphone take a swim or if you leave your tablet on the roof of your car. Also, smart devices are still high theft items, so make sure a backup. If something happens to your technology while you are traveling it's much easier to recover your data when you return. Taking photos with your smartphone or tablet? Use Google Photos. It offers unlimited storage for those vacation photos and videos. As a bonus, cloud cloud-based backup systems like Google Drive or iCloud can provide access to files that you might want to access while traveling.
2. Keep Tabs On Your Devices. There are several apps available to keep track of your devices while you're traveling, but you can just enable tracking features that are built into your smartphone or tablet. For iPhone and iPad users, turn on the 'Find My iPhone' or 'Find My iPad'. The service can be accessed through a browser or another Apple device which allows you to see the location of your missing iOS device and lets you see where it has traveled to. You also have the option of can remotely locking your device or erasing the data stored on your devices. Android users can use 'Find My Device' which connects to your Google account allow you to locate any device you connect to your account. You have the option of locking your device, resetting your password remotely, and erasing stored data. You can even get your device to play a sound in the event it may be nearby. Bonus tip: it never hurts to label your device with an emergency contact phone number in case a Good Samaritan to calls you with your equipment.
3. Bring Extra Cords and Invest in a battery pack. Prolonged use of your smart devices will drain your battery and will leave you with a phone or tablet that is as useless as a brick if you don't have a way to charge it. Special care has to be taken during summer months because the heat will cause your battery to drain quicker. If you're traveling in your vehicle, you probably have access to a USB charger in your car, but if you're on foot that can cause a problem. Consider getting a Tylt (Tylt.com) Mobile Charger or a Battery Pack so you will always have power when you're traveling this summer.
4. Keep Your Devices Cool. All mobile devices generate heat and it’s normal. However, when they run too hot for too long it will cause your devices to fail. Heat is one of the major killers of all pieces of technology. Treat your smartphone and tablets like vampires and keep them out of direct sunlight.
5. Beware of Wi-Fi. You should always be careful with what public WiFi you want to connect to in an effort to save your data. With any public wifi, there is always a risk someone can look at your information while you're surfing. There are many tools available to hackers that allow them to duplicate wifi in hotels and coffee shops. If you have to connect, verify you're connecting to the right public wifi network. If you have to use a public Wi Fi network, never financial or banking information and use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to keep your information private. Also consider turning off your Wi-Fi on your smartphone or tablet when not in use. When it's left on, it broadcasts all of the Wi-Fi connections you've made and that information can be used to gather information about you to figure out where you live and what places you visit.
Where do you plan to travel this summer? What tech do you plan on taking with you on the road? Drop me a line and let me know.
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