I recently enjoyed traveling to Europe for a week – Ireland. Before leaving, I found some great tips online about international travel. There were solid tips on finding a credit card without a foreign transaction fee, the best place to exchange dollars for euros, and using the bulk of your remaining euros to pay down your hotel bill at checkout, eliminating the exchange fee later. However, I found a few tips specifically addressing traveling with tech devices. So, based on my recent experiences, I offer up these six tech tips for your next trip abroad.
#6 – Contact Your Cell Phone Provider with Your Travel Destinations
Before you leave, please call your cell phone provider and let them know where you will be traveling, and consider signing up for one of their international calling plans. My provider, Verizon, offers TravelPass. Sign up for free and when you first make or receive a phone call, send a text, or use data via a cellular connection, you initiate a 24-hour window for only $10. If you have a period where you do not expect to make or receive calls and you have access to WiFi for your data needs, turn off cellular data on your phone, and you will not be charged for those days.
#5 – Take A Universal (All-in-One) Power Adapter AND a Small Power Strip
While it’s a no-brainer to take a power adapter and converter that work with the proper voltage and plug configuration in your destination country, I found the additional American outlets in a power strip to be clutch for my phone, laptop, smartwatch, portable phone charger pack, electric razor, etc. Keep in mind that European outlets are often “switched.” Sometimes the switch is in the outlet cover plate beside the outlet, and sometimes the control is on the wall with a bank of light switches. You will know it is on a button if its ON lamp is not lit after you plug in your adapter. Also, outlets in several of my hotel rooms were equipped with built-in USB power ports, so no adapter was required for my phone.
#4 – Travel With A Quality Portable Phone Charger Pack
The advantages of having a portable charger pack are obvious here at home. For example, if a meeting runs long and your phone dies, you can hook up to the power block and return to business. This is doubly useful while traveling abroad. A simple power block eliminates the need to find an available outlet in an unfamiliar room, pull out your adapter, and hook up your phone. Also, a power pack on an international flight might allow you to finish that movie you downloaded to your phone.
Portable power for your travel plans
#3 – Log Out of Your Phone Apps, Including Email, Every Time
Traveling anywhere with your smartphone and laptop exposes you to the risk of losing them or having them grabbed. And you must lock your devices when not using them and set up login passwords (or biometric logins) on all your devices. However, in the off-chance that your device ends up in the hands of a stranger while your session is active, make sure you log out of your online email, banking, and social media accounts after each use. Someone may have your phone and access to your apps, but they will not have immediate access to your funds. One instrumental piece of advice is to lock your phone with a message on the home screen that includes contact information if it is found.
#2 – Have A Small Kit of Low Tech But Useful Things On You
Having a few simple, decidedly low-tech items with me simplified traveling abroad. This little kit included a simple wired earbud adapter to connect to airplane and motor coach entertainment systems (regardless of the pin size and configuration used), a zip-lock sandwich baggie to stow a phone in particularly wet conditions, and a ball-point pen! I pulled out my pen in several situations, including filling out value-added tax (VAT) refund forms.
#1 – Never Use the USB Port at Free Charging Stations without Protection
Free charging stations are now available in airports, train stations, and other public places where people have time to wait. That’s generally a good time for you as a traveler to recharge your phone. However, beware. Those free USB charging ports could be uploading malware onto your phone and downloading your personal information. To get around this, you have two options. The first is to pull out your international and USB power adapter, find an outlet, and plug your phone into that. The second, and much easier option, is to have your USB cable wear protection! You read that right! It would be best if you had a USB Condom. These simple USB blocks remove the data pins from the USB connection and only pass through the power pins. With this device connected to your charger cable, your phone is safe from unwanted transfers!
Beware of free charging stations!
Traveling with electronic devices can be challenging, but with some preparation and these six tips, your tech experience abroad should be trouble-free! Sláinte!
