How to Keep Phones Charged for a Week Without Power

A phone is a flashlight, a radio, a map and the way you reach help. In a short outage it barely matters. Over a week, keeping it alive takes a plan. This post sets one out day by day, using FCC, Canada.ca, PreparedBC and CDC guidance. There is a checklist version at the end.

I am not going to promise how many charges a particular power bank gives, because that depends on the bank, the phone, its age and the temperature. What I can give you is the order to do things in.

Before the outage: fill everything up

Canada.ca lists chargers for mobile devices in its emergency kit, and PreparedBC lists a phone charger, power bank or inverter. The FCC suggests keeping charged batteries and car-charger adapters as backup power for your phone. When a storm is forecast:

• Charge every phone, tablet and power bank to full. Then check and top them up every month or two so they are full when you need them.
• Find your cables. A spare cable in the kit means you are not hunting in the dark.
• Put a car charger in the car.
• Write important numbers on paper: family, work, doctor, pharmacist, utility, insurer. If your phone dies, you will still have them.
• Agree on an out-of-area contact. Everyone texts that one person, so news spreads without everyone calling everyone.

Days 1 and 2: stretch the battery

The FCC suggests limiting non-emergency phone calls and conserving battery power.

• Turn on power-saving or low-power mode.
• Dim the screen and shorten the auto-lock time.
• Text instead of calling. The FCC suggests text messages when networks are busy.
• Check news at set times, for example morning, midday and evening, rather than scrolling all day.
• Use a battery or crank radio for updates. It saves the phone for messages.
• Close apps you do not need, especially video and games.
• If signal is weak and you do not need the phone for a while, airplane mode stops it searching. Turn it off to check messages at your set times.

Day 3 onward: recharge safely

By now the power banks may be getting low. These are the main ways to refill phones, from simplest to most involved.

1. Power banks. Charge the phone from the bank when the phone gets low, not constantly. If you have a folding solar panel, use it in daylight to refill a bank.

2. Your car, parked outside. A car charger works well, but only with the car outdoors with good airflow. CDC says never to leave a motor running in a vehicle parked in an enclosed or partly enclosed space, such as a garage. That includes an attached garage with the door open.

3. Community charging stations. In longer outages, communities sometimes set up places to charge. Listen to local radio for details.

4. A battery power station or a generator. A battery station burns no fuel, so it does not give off carbon monoxide; follow the maker’s instructions. A generator is different.

Carbon monoxide warning. Generators, camp stoves, barbecues, charcoal, and kerosene or propane burners give off carbon monoxide, which you cannot see or smell and which can kill within minutes. Never use them indoors, or in a garage, basement, shed, tent or covered porch, even with doors and windows open. Outdoors, keep them at least 20 feet (6 m) from doors, windows and vents.

CDC says to use a battery-powered or battery-backup carbon monoxide alarm indoors whenever a generator is running. Canada.ca says to keep portable generators at least 6 m (20 feet) from all homes and buildings. My generator safety guide covers cords and fuel.

When the power comes back, Canada.ca suggests waiting 10 to 15 minutes before plugging other things back in, so the system can stabilise.

When the phone network is down

Even a charged phone is no use if the network is out. A few backups:

• A corded landline phone. The FCC suggests having at least one corded phone that does not depend on electricity. Cordless phones usually need power.
• A battery or crank radio for official updates.
• Your paper contact list.
• Neighbours. Someone nearby may have a working connection. See building a neighbour network.

If someone relies on a powered device

A phone running low is an inconvenience. A medical device running low is not. If anyone at home uses oxygen, a CPAP, a powered wheelchair or another device, plan its power separately and well ahead of time. My medical device power plan walks through it.

What I would buy first

If you are starting from scratch, a power bank and a spare cable cover most short outages. For a week, add a car charger, and a battery or crank radio so you are not using the phone for news. A folding solar panel helps on longer outages if you have sun. For bigger loads, my backup power basics explains the differences between power banks, battery stations and generators.

For the full routine, see charging phones in an outage, and use the plan builder to add power items to your household list.