Tips for "Emergency" Cell Phone Users

A lot of folks have cell phones just for "emergencies". They get a low-end monthly service or pre-paid phone then charge it up and just leave it around and don't use it. That's all fine, as far as it goes. But it doesn't go quite far enough.

To really have a phone that you can use in emergencies, you need just a couple more steps to make it really work for you. Emphasis on "need". Your cell phone can be a great help in an urgent situation but, whether you have the phone just as a spare in case your cable phone goes out or because you want to have a way to call in case you should slip on the back porch steps, both your phone and you need to be ready. 

Here's how... 

First; this is all based in an assumption that you've already acquired a phone and have a service that works well in the local (or other) areas in which you mainly wander. If you haven't done that, then get shopping. Ask your friends, which cell services are most reliable in your area.  Then, once you have your emergency phone home and charged up ...

1. Leave it turned on!  A cell phone that has been turned off can take 30 to 60 seconds to boot up and connect with the nearest service, but a phone that is left "on" in low-power standby mode will stay connected to the nearest cell tower and be ready to use in the moment you need it.

2. Carry it with you always! Even if you haven't had an actual emergency yet, it's probably not to hard to imagine a situation where you'll need the phone but the phone will be in a drawer in your kitchen. Note: this doesn't mean that it has to be in your pocket or around your neck all the time, but if one of your scenarios-of-concern is a physical accident -- like falling down or stuck in an elevator or flat tire -- you need to be in the habit of carrying it on you all the time.

3. Program emergency numbers into "speed dial". All cell phones have a speed dial feature. That's a pretty obvious generalization but if your phone doesn't have speed dial, then trade it in for one that does. Again; if your concerns include something like falling down, this feature is crucial.

Phones that have speed dial also do this trick: if you hold down a number key for about 2-seconds, the phone will speed dial that number. So, say that you set your phone speed dial number "9" to dial 911; now if you fell down and bumped lost your glasses, you don't have to fiddle around to find "9-1-1-SEND". Instead you just press and hold the "9" key at the bottom of your keypad for 2 seconds and the call is placed.

When you're setting up emergency speed dial numbers, consider putting crucial phone numbers on more than one speed dial key. If being incapacitated in some way, like a fall, is a significant concern then it may be useful to have any key on the bottom of the keypad speed dial 911 and any key on the upper keypad dial a nearby friend or relative.

You may have to look up in the phone's manual about how to set the speed dial numbers in your phone, but that's a good thing. Learn what other tricks your phone can do, like set alarms and keep lists of phone numbers.  In fact we'll need those two features in just a minute.

4. Keep it charged up. Put it on the charger at least once a week.

Every night is best, really. Keep the battery topped up and ready.  But if you prefer, you can actually go on standby mode for up to a week and still have enough battery left for an emergency call, Cell phones can typically run on standby mode for 250 or more hours and a week (168 hours) leaves enough talk time just for 911 calls, but if that's all you need then fine.

BUT; here's where the alarm features comes in. Set a repeating alarm to go off every week at the same time to remind you to charge your phone.

5. Program the "ICE" numbers. ICE stands for "In Case of Emergency". It's simple; in your phone's contact list, create one or more entries for "ICE" (or ICE-1, ICE-2, and so on.). Enter the phone number of a person who should be called if you become incapacitated. Some phones have a space for ICE numbers already in their contacts list.

I read that a paramedic or fire fighter came up with this idea after 9/11. It's a great idea and simple to implement. 

That's it.

1. Leave your phone turned on. Always.

2. Keep your phone with you.

3. Program speed dial numbers that you'll need in an emergency.

4. Keep it charged.

5. Program ICE numbers in the contacts list.

Extras to consider: get extra chargers. Get a car charger for every phone in your family (and every car too.). This will become easier when Congress and/or the FCC mandates a standardized charger for cell phones.

Also; check your battery every 3 to 6 months or so to make sure that it is holding a charge properly. Modern lithium-ion batteries last a good long time, but when they stop holding a charge they need to be replaced. All the more so for an emergency-only cell phone.

There are lots of good reasons for wanting or needing an emergency-only cell phone. Sometimes it's just to have a way to call out if your cable-TV or internet based phone service goes down. But as the parents of baby boomers get older, a more common reason is just to have a way for Mom or Dad to communicate in case they take a serious fall or get lost somewhere or ... whatever. 

Other variations on emergency numbers; for relatives who suffer with Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia, you can attach a phone with "chaperone" features. This is the same feature that parents get for their kids. Basically a very simple phone that can only phone home but which will also always report where it is via GPS. 

Let me know if you've come up with some useful ways to use or prepare a phone for emergencies. Please.