Amigo, where's my phone?
September 13, 2023 12:46 PM Subscribe
I’ve been traveling since the pre-internet days of paper maps and cramming as much as possible on a single fax page to stay in touch with folks back home. Recently a weird paranoia has started creeping in, especially when I go abroad: what if I lose my phone?
Itineraries, tickets, maps, schedules, ride-sharing, photos, text, email, translations: it’s all on there. Sometimes it hits me that I probably couldn’t make it back to my hotel if my phone suddenly broke or disappeared, especially in a place I don’t speak the language well.
In some cases it would just be an inconvenience, like the time I somehow locked my phone inside a Zipcar that someone else rented before I realized it. So much of the damage control requires at the very least having some way to get online. But I can imagine times it could approach disaster on par with losing a passport.
I’ve started emailed everything I can to myself, although finding an internet cafe can be close to impossible in some places, and I sure don't want to start typing in passwords on any old computer. Also printing out my itineraries on paper and bringing cash that I don’t carry with me everywhere. (This is also why I stopped using one of those cases with built-in wallets.) I’ve even started considering bringing a cheap backup phone or buying one on arrival.
I’m curious whether I'm alone in this fear and what else can be done to minimize the potential fallout.
Itineraries, tickets, maps, schedules, ride-sharing, photos, text, email, translations: it’s all on there. Sometimes it hits me that I probably couldn’t make it back to my hotel if my phone suddenly broke or disappeared, especially in a place I don’t speak the language well.
In some cases it would just be an inconvenience, like the time I somehow locked my phone inside a Zipcar that someone else rented before I realized it. So much of the damage control requires at the very least having some way to get online. But I can imagine times it could approach disaster on par with losing a passport.
I’ve started emailed everything I can to myself, although finding an internet cafe can be close to impossible in some places, and I sure don't want to start typing in passwords on any old computer. Also printing out my itineraries on paper and bringing cash that I don’t carry with me everywhere. (This is also why I stopped using one of those cases with built-in wallets.) I’ve even started considering bringing a cheap backup phone or buying one on arrival.
I’m curious whether I'm alone in this fear and what else can be done to minimize the potential fallout.
This is understandable. I've carried a backup phone on a couple of bike trips when I was especially dependent on the phone (never needed it); in those cases, I had the backup phone fully configured and signed into my accounts so if I broke/lost phone #1, I'd just turn on phone #2 and keep going.
I have most of my passwords and stuff in 1password. I don't use it for two-factor authentication, although I could and probably should. I do have recovery codes in there, though, which would allow me to bypass 2FA in most cases. 1password will let you print out an "emergency kit," although traveling with that seems dicey.
If you use an iPhone, Apple lets you designate someone else as an "account recovery contact." So if you're traveling with your SO and you both have newish iPhones and only one of you loses your phone, you're not necessarily SOL, as long as you set this up in advance. You can also set up account recovery codes, but you'd need to carry the code somewhere outside your phone, obviously. Again, dicey: you're increasing your attack surface by carrying this kind of information.
posted by adamrice at 1:19 PM on September 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
I have most of my passwords and stuff in 1password. I don't use it for two-factor authentication, although I could and probably should. I do have recovery codes in there, though, which would allow me to bypass 2FA in most cases. 1password will let you print out an "emergency kit," although traveling with that seems dicey.
If you use an iPhone, Apple lets you designate someone else as an "account recovery contact." So if you're traveling with your SO and you both have newish iPhones and only one of you loses your phone, you're not necessarily SOL, as long as you set this up in advance. You can also set up account recovery codes, but you'd need to carry the code somewhere outside your phone, obviously. Again, dicey: you're increasing your attack surface by carrying this kind of information.
posted by adamrice at 1:19 PM on September 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
I backup to iCloud and have an Apple Watch. That way if I lose my phone I can at least find it from my watch, or limp along well enough to buy a new phone and restore from backup. (I don't know how the Watch cellular plans work when roaming overseas, though, or how easy it is to hook to hotel wifi with that tiny screen.)
Android should work similarly, you could take along a cheap tablet and sync all your contacts etc. with the Google.
Honestly the last time I went overseas I spent too much time fiddling with technology. I think paper printouts are a wonderful idea for next time.
posted by credulous at 1:50 PM on September 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
Android should work similarly, you could take along a cheap tablet and sync all your contacts etc. with the Google.
Honestly the last time I went overseas I spent too much time fiddling with technology. I think paper printouts are a wonderful idea for next time.
posted by credulous at 1:50 PM on September 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
One very simple step you can take is to memorise the phone numbers of anybody close to you: it is a more flexible option than merely having them as recoverable contacts from the cloud.
posted by rongorongo at 1:50 PM on September 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by rongorongo at 1:50 PM on September 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
As far as my travel logistics, once I got into my email, I should be OK, so having a stash of my two factor access codes available is pretty useful, and if it's not labeled as what it is, it's not that useful to a thief.
I keep my passwords in a password manager so that wouldn't be too much of a hassle on a phone I bought in an emergency.
I know my emergency contacts phone numbers, but I might also stash those if I didn't.
I don't often travel in places where I couldn't find someone to help me in English, but if I did, maybe I'd make out a card to ask someone's help in buying a smartphone.
posted by advicepig at 2:05 PM on September 13, 2023
I keep my passwords in a password manager so that wouldn't be too much of a hassle on a phone I bought in an emergency.
I know my emergency contacts phone numbers, but I might also stash those if I didn't.
I don't often travel in places where I couldn't find someone to help me in English, but if I did, maybe I'd make out a card to ask someone's help in buying a smartphone.
posted by advicepig at 2:05 PM on September 13, 2023
Yes to emailing yourself everything.
To offer one tip: I took a massive, multi-continent trip in the second half of 2022 and was very happy that I had thought to bring a small A4-sized ring binder full of sheet protector plastic pockets with me, because as you correctly identify, phones do disappear sometimes or the wifi doesn’t work or you cannot get a SIM card when you land. Since the US/Canada and the rest of the world use slightly different sizes of paper, look for 9 x 12-inch sheet protectors, which will fit both North American (8.5 x 11 inches) and international “A4” (8.27 x 11.69 inches) paper.
You need not print everything out; for me, I just make sure I always travel with a printout of anything I technically need to cross a border, like proof of a hotel booking, confirmation of departure dates, that sort of thing. Perhaps this was 20 pages at the thickest for multiple months of travel; much less width than a magazine. On a shorter trip, I wouldn’t even bother with the folder. If you take any prescription drugs, check whether you’d need written/printed permission from your destination government to show at customs when you arrive; in places like Singapore and Thailand, with extremely harsh drug trafficking laws, this really matters.
I will note that having a paper-based system was extremely useful during the loosening of travel restrictions during that part of the pandemic because it was usually far faster and far easier to hand an airline check-in agent or a quarantine officer or a taxi driver a well-preserved piece of paper (hotel address in the local language, vaccination certificates, proof of onward travel, visa/entrance documents, booking confirmation, frequent flyer information…) than walk that person through four or five tabs on my phone.
In terms of printing, I had great success asking to print something out at libraries in New Zealand (free!), the UK, and Ireland, and in Albania and Turkey there were small coffee bars/newspaper stands and kiosks on city street corners that offered printing, too. Hotel front desks and tourist offices always knew where printing was available, though they usually offered to do it for me for free, especially in smaller places.
posted by mdonley at 2:19 PM on September 13, 2023
To offer one tip: I took a massive, multi-continent trip in the second half of 2022 and was very happy that I had thought to bring a small A4-sized ring binder full of sheet protector plastic pockets with me, because as you correctly identify, phones do disappear sometimes or the wifi doesn’t work or you cannot get a SIM card when you land. Since the US/Canada and the rest of the world use slightly different sizes of paper, look for 9 x 12-inch sheet protectors, which will fit both North American (8.5 x 11 inches) and international “A4” (8.27 x 11.69 inches) paper.
You need not print everything out; for me, I just make sure I always travel with a printout of anything I technically need to cross a border, like proof of a hotel booking, confirmation of departure dates, that sort of thing. Perhaps this was 20 pages at the thickest for multiple months of travel; much less width than a magazine. On a shorter trip, I wouldn’t even bother with the folder. If you take any prescription drugs, check whether you’d need written/printed permission from your destination government to show at customs when you arrive; in places like Singapore and Thailand, with extremely harsh drug trafficking laws, this really matters.
I will note that having a paper-based system was extremely useful during the loosening of travel restrictions during that part of the pandemic because it was usually far faster and far easier to hand an airline check-in agent or a quarantine officer or a taxi driver a well-preserved piece of paper (hotel address in the local language, vaccination certificates, proof of onward travel, visa/entrance documents, booking confirmation, frequent flyer information…) than walk that person through four or five tabs on my phone.
In terms of printing, I had great success asking to print something out at libraries in New Zealand (free!), the UK, and Ireland, and in Albania and Turkey there were small coffee bars/newspaper stands and kiosks on city street corners that offered printing, too. Hotel front desks and tourist offices always knew where printing was available, though they usually offered to do it for me for free, especially in smaller places.
posted by mdonley at 2:19 PM on September 13, 2023
Getting back into a 2-factor-auth protected email account sucks. I have two backups on my Gmail, one is adding a (memorized) phone number of a landline owned by someone I trust as a recovery option, and the other is I try to keep a couple of Google backup codes in my wallet.
The other thing that I sort of stopped doing but used to do, is to copy down the address of wherever I'm staying (and any access codes, etc) into a notebook and carry that with me when I'm out and about. I did this a lot more back when I was traveling places without mobile data, to be fair. But it's easy and nice to have, especially if you're staying in some Airbnb rather than a hotel that you could look up or ask directions to.
posted by BungaDunga at 2:21 PM on September 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
The other thing that I sort of stopped doing but used to do, is to copy down the address of wherever I'm staying (and any access codes, etc) into a notebook and carry that with me when I'm out and about. I did this a lot more back when I was traveling places without mobile data, to be fair. But it's easy and nice to have, especially if you're staying in some Airbnb rather than a hotel that you could look up or ask directions to.
posted by BungaDunga at 2:21 PM on September 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
I have the same fear, as someone who has almost 100% moved away from anything printed. When I travel, I have with me printed copies of every booking and everything I might need to at least get back to where I'm staying or get home. I've never needed them (yet), but it does give me some sense of (probably false) security.
posted by dg at 3:55 PM on September 13, 2023
posted by dg at 3:55 PM on September 13, 2023
I back EVERYTHING to the cloud so can access with any computer or replacement phone world-wide.
As for passwords being punched into foreign computers or other people's phones, I don't. When I travel, I carry a Fido Key. Mine's a SoloKey, but Yubico is the standard.
posted by dobbs at 6:35 PM on September 13, 2023
As for passwords being punched into foreign computers or other people's phones, I don't. When I travel, I carry a Fido Key. Mine's a SoloKey, but Yubico is the standard.
posted by dobbs at 6:35 PM on September 13, 2023
It goes considerably beyond what you are asking here, but DeviantOllam’s Lawyer, Passport, Locksmith, Gun is a great, informed talk about how to be prepared in case of more serious problems. That might include arrest, more serious accidents etc. He talks about having someone trusted with whom you can exchange important information.
posted by rongorongo at 1:25 AM on September 14, 2023
posted by rongorongo at 1:25 AM on September 14, 2023
I was also struck by this fear on my recent vacation, and ameliorated it by using the notebook strategy (put important info like booking numbers, hotel address, etc in the notebook, plus the fun stuff like an outline of your itinerary), in addition to traveling with my iPad too, on the reasoning that if I lost my phone, I could limp along with my iPad, and I’d still have access to my email without running into any 2FA headaches. Everything important is also saved to the cloud: confirmations, vouchers, vaccine card, etc., and I also keep photos of my passport on hand.
Generally speaking, the iPad lives in a different bag than my phone, so if I lose the one, I won’t lose both, and when I get to my destination, it stays in the hotel. Judicious use of AirTags can also help ease any anxieties.
posted by yasaman at 2:35 PM on September 14, 2023
Generally speaking, the iPad lives in a different bag than my phone, so if I lose the one, I won’t lose both, and when I get to my destination, it stays in the hotel. Judicious use of AirTags can also help ease any anxieties.
posted by yasaman at 2:35 PM on September 14, 2023
This is an area of careful preparation for me as I’m a nervous traveler. Once my flight was so delayed, and they had moved all the passengers to a room with no outlets for so long, that my phone actually died! I had no way of notifying my airport pickup person! Waking nightmare (not really; I was able to borrow a stranger’s phone and I had the number memorized. But it was such a helpless feeling.)
I didn’t have an iPad then. I have one now, and I make sure it’s synced and fully charged and either on my person or safely stowed separately from my phone at all times. You can email and text (and probably set up web calling, though I haven’t.)
Even if you’re somewhere you can’t connect to a network or mobile, you can access downloaded docs, existing emails, and my favorite: screenshots of tickets, confirmations, etc.
I don’t bother with a notebook or printouts though my travel isn’t usually complicated. I probably would if my situation were more involved, or off the beaten path.
When I travel alone I give a friend my flight and lodging info and I give them a time I’ll text; if they don’t hear from me by x day/time, they know to check the flight status , call the hotel etc.
posted by kapers at 5:33 PM on September 14, 2023
I didn’t have an iPad then. I have one now, and I make sure it’s synced and fully charged and either on my person or safely stowed separately from my phone at all times. You can email and text (and probably set up web calling, though I haven’t.)
Even if you’re somewhere you can’t connect to a network or mobile, you can access downloaded docs, existing emails, and my favorite: screenshots of tickets, confirmations, etc.
I don’t bother with a notebook or printouts though my travel isn’t usually complicated. I probably would if my situation were more involved, or off the beaten path.
When I travel alone I give a friend my flight and lodging info and I give them a time I’ll text; if they don’t hear from me by x day/time, they know to check the flight status , call the hotel etc.
posted by kapers at 5:33 PM on September 14, 2023
oh, re: the iPad point, the last time my phone got stolen while traveling, I did have a little tablet as well, and that tablet was very helpful in letting me continue touristing. Then I got a new phone, and the tablet got stolen. So it goes. If you do the backup tablet approach you can go pretty cheap. In my case I had brought the tablet to be able to backup my camera's SD card onto, but it was also usable as an e-reader, and it therefore didn't feel as duplicative as a spare phone would have.
posted by BungaDunga at 5:53 PM on September 16, 2023
posted by BungaDunga at 5:53 PM on September 16, 2023
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And honestly backup printouts of main information aren't a bad idea. Not thick sheaves but a few pages with hotel addresses and itineraries that you can show to a cab driver in a pinch. Your phone can just as well run out of battery or the sim card breaks...
posted by I claim sanctuary at 1:13 PM on September 13, 2023