Your most versatile tool
Your phone is your most versatile emergency tool: it receives Wireless Emergency Alerts, sends texts, stores contacts, and provides flashlight, map, and information access in one device. Charge the phone first with any available power.
Conserve the charge with airplane mode between uses. A phone in airplane mode with the screen off can last days on a single charge.
Prioritize by replaceability
Weather radios with hand-crank or disposable battery power do not need USB charging. Flashlights should use disposable batteries to save rechargeable capacity for the phone.
If you have a larger power source (generator, vehicle), charge a portable battery bank fully, then use it to top off devices over the following days. One full generator run charging a battery bank is more fuel-efficient than running the generator repeatedly for short charges.
Free power, with caveats
Your vehicle's USB ports or a 12V adapter provide charging without consuming stored battery bank capacity. Run the engine for 15 to 20 minutes while charging. Do not idle the vehicle in a closed garage (carbon monoxide). Do not drain the vehicle battery below starting capacity.
- Phone first: alerts, communication, flashlight, maps in one device
- Use airplane mode to extend phone battery from hours to days
- Weather radios and flashlights: use disposable batteries
- Charge a battery bank fully during a generator run, then ration it
- Vehicle charging: 15-20 min of idling, never in a closed garage
- Power Outages — FEMA power outage preparedness.