10 Ways to Prep Your Phone for Travel

Your smartphone is the most trusted device you can have when you next travel abroad or in your own country. Before you go travelling, you should ideally take the time to prep your smartphone.

You can prep your smartphone in many ways to keep it better protected, help keep you cyber-safe while travelling, and make your experience less stress-inducing and more enjoyable.

Let’s dive straight in to discover some of the best ways to prep your Windows, iOS or Android smartphone when you next go travelling.

Top 10 ways to prep your phone for travel

Whether you are travelling to Nepal to see the Himalayas, Brazil to see the Amazon rainforest, Egypt to see the Giza Pyramids that were originally built on the sands of the Sahara Desert, or just a few kilometres away to go camping at your nearest campsite, there are many ways to prep your smartphone.

Here are ten proven ways you can prep your phone to make your experience more enjoyable. First of all, let’s take a look at ten must-have smartphone accessories that you won’t want to forget:

1. Waterproof smartphone case
2. Regular smartphone case
3. Selfie stick
4. Power bank and wall charger
5. Bluetooth speaker
6. Smartphone camera lenses
7. Compatible USB charger
8. Wireless Bluetooth headphones
9. Handheld video stabiliser
10. Screen protector

Some of these handy smartphone accessories will be more important than others, so decide which ones you need most before purchasing them. Also, remember to try and shop around to find the best deals for these smartphone accessories, and don’t just buy them from the first website you visit.

These accessories can do things like help you take the perfect photographs that will last a lifetime, they can make your device look better, and they can allow you to carry on watching your favourite movies, read your favourite eBooks, or play the andar bahar real cash game or any of your other favourite games while travelling.

There’s nothing worse than having to go on a five-hour train journey only for your battery to die within the first five or ten minutes of the start of your journey. This means you won’t be able to do any of the above just because you didn’t bring a power bank or battery charger. These two accessories are perhaps the most important to have with you.

Some of the other useful smartphone accessories travellers often take with them are things like an activity tracker, a portable safe to keep your smartphone out of the hands of pickpockets and thieves when you’re not using it, and Picture Keeper Connect, which can store your photos and visits so you don’t have to keep deleting other apps, photos and videos to make room for your new ones.

You may also want to invest in a smartphone car mount or a selfie flashlight. There are many other smartphone accessories, so take your time to look around for the ones you would benefit the most from.

How to protect your smartphone and your important files before you go travelling

Before you travel, spend as much time as it takes to back up all your important files onto an external hard drive or your laptop or desktop computer to free up as much room on your device as possible.

A great way to do so would be to upload them to the cloud (e.g., Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, iDrive, Sync.com, Zoolz, or pCloud), to name just a few. Ensure all your smartphone applications and programs are up to date before you go travelling, and when you’re not using your smartphone, keep it safe and hidden at all times.

To better protect your device, switch on two-factor authentication (2fa) where possible. Make sure your login credentials (username and password) are not saved to your device in case it gets lost or stolen and falls into the wrong hands. Use things like facial and fingerprint recognition safety features to enhance your smartphone’s security.

When travelling, remain vigilant and don’t open, download, or install any suspicious files. Never connect to an unsecured network; remember to turn off the feature that automatically connects you to Bluetooth, and then only connect to Bluetooth manually when you need it.

You may also want to install a secure VPN (Virtual Private Network) before you go. VPNs create a secure, encrypted tunnel to keep your accounts and device safe while travelling. A mobile VPN is one of the best lines of defence against hackers.

While travelling, don’t forget to occasionally check your digital wallet (aka e-Wallet) or bank account statements to ensure nobody else has paid for goods or services using your accounts.

Finding unauthorised payments while you’re travelling can be extremely disappointing, and there’s usually no way of getting your money back.

However, while you’re still away or when you return from your travels, you can try and get in contact with your bank, and they may be able to get your money back for you. To avoid this happening in the first place, remember all of the smartphone prepping techniques mentioned above.

Which mobile apps should I get before I go travelling?

That’s a good question. There are many useful smartphone apps out there today, and they are designed to help travellers in various ways. They can do things like help you find the nearest restroom, a taxi rank, local museums, restaurants, and so much more.

Plus, many travel apps can track the weather, track flights, find the latest deals in the local area, and much more. When prepping your smartphone for travel, you may want to look into getting one or more of the following mobile apps:

• Surfshark VPN
• XE Currency Converter
• Google Translate
• Google Maps
• Trip Advisor
• Airbnb
• Headout
• Hotwire
• Booking .com

Others include Zomato, Eatwith, Skyscanner, LuckyTrip, Wise, PayPal, Spotify, Hotels .com, AccuWeather, the Weather App, and Met Office Weather Forecast.

You may also want to look into getting one or more of these other trusted smartphone apps before travelling: Norton 360 Deluxe, McAfee Total Protection, Norton Secure VPN, Bitdefender Total Security, and PayPal.

You also have Vrbo, Google Arts & Culture, Yelp, Smartify, Bloomberg Connects, Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video, to name just a few trusted travel apps that can help make your experience even stress-free and unforgettable.