How to Charge Your Phone Without Carrying a Charger

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Most smartphones and tablets have decent-sized batteries, allowing you to stay away from chargers and outlets for several hours, or even a day or more. Of course, this works best when you’re close to home. If you’re traveling, you’ll need to carry a charger and power adapter, and keep your eyes peeled for outlets and charging stations. While this isn’t necessarily a huge burden, it does require extra space in your bag or luggage for the charger. Wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to lug all that stuff around with you? Technically, you don’t have to. You might get away with just packing a USB charging cable and other accessories, if only to cut down on the gear you bring.

It’s mostly about being creative with your plans, but you can fully charge your phone in various locations without carrying a power brick or adapter. Now it is important to establish some guidelines here to temper expectations. While it’s possible to set up a fast charging setup, you’ll most likely look at methods that charge at standard speeds. Additionally, for this to really work, especially in an electrical emergency, you will need to carry and purchase additional accessories. As long as you understand all of this, setting up a personal power setup is really quite simple.

The great thing about modern life and technology being so prevalent everywhere is that virtually everyone needs a charger on hand or a way to charge their devices. Why does this benefit you? You’ll find USB ports in a myriad of places when you’re on the go, including airports, hospitals, coffee shops, shopping malls, rest areas, theme parks like Walt Disney World and much more. Sometimes restaurants and fast food outlets even offer dedicated charging stations. This allows you to ditch the power adapter or charging brick and store a USB power cable in your backpack or purse. You may not even need it. Dedicated charging stations sometimes include built-in cables for your phone, which you can use if no one else does.

Note that you’ll likely find that USB-A ports are the most common, so you’ll want to have a USB-A to USB-C cable on hand rather than one with USB-C on both ends. Most smartphones and tablets these days come with these cables included in the box, but you can also pick up replacements on Amazon or most retailers. Also note that there are risks associated with using public charging ports, and even the FBI and TSA warn against them, so you may want to get something like a USB data blocker to protect your phone.

If you plug into public charging stations or USB outlets, you should expect slower charging times. Allow extra time to rest or relax if you must use a station. If for some reason you don’t have a USB cable, you can search for Aircharge-compatible wireless stations: there is an app to locate them near you.

In the second scenario, you carry a portable power pack or battery bank, which is a more obvious strategy. But you can get creative with how you store or carry the bags. You don’t need to put them in your pocket or hold them. You can store external batteries in a bag – some have dedicated pockets for this purpose or already include a bank – slip them into a folio case or attach them to the back of your phone via MagSafe. There are also other unique ways to carry them. You can attach them to a lanyard and wear them on your wrist, attach them to your belt, or use whatever you have at your disposal. For example, there are specialized phone cases that add extra functionality. A brand called Mophie makes the Juice Pack for iPhone, a case that already contains a power bank.

If you want fast charging, you’ll need a power bank that supports it, but you can also look for Qi wireless charging, MagSafe compatibility, built-in cables, high-capacity banks, and a host of other features that improve your charging on the go. There are still a ton of wireless power banks available for iPhone and Android phones. You can also look for options that do more than just charge, like adding a movable handle or keeping your drinks warm.

Note that some power banks are so cheap because they contain lower-quality components, don’t actually have the advertised capabilities, or forgo important safety features. Always check the quality of reviews, especially if you plan to travel with yours. External batteries are catching fire on planes around the world, and regular FAA incidents are increasing. Opt for products that are trustworthy rather than cheap.