In addition to some tech tips posted Friday regarding how to prepare technologically for Hurricane Irene, there’s another one worth remembering should you lose your electricity.
If you have a smartphone, turn off its 3G (or, if it has it, 4G) connectivity. (It may be in your phone’s Settings or Network menu). Doing so will help conserve battery life and may just improve your voice-calling ability because non-3G and 4G networks are still more prevalent and easier to reach when the network is congested. And that’s another thing: 3G and 4G networks excel at transmitting data, not voice, so if all you’re trying to do is place a call, the slower speeds should not be a problem.
Trying to reach Web sites while on non-3G networks will be a lot slower, and you can’t be on the phone and get online data at the same time, so you are giving up some things. But if making a phone call is more important than checking Twitter feeds on your phone, turning off 3G can be a good move.
In addition, consider texting, as it’s less taxing on wireless networks than making and receiving calls and, therefore, more reliable.