Do you carry a spare phone when travelling?

the_amazing_raisin

If you look up travel packing lists they often say to bring some backup options like spare ID, some cash and maybe another debit card plus a printout of essential documents

I'm kind of wondering if we're at the point where bringing an old smartphone (if you have one) and a prepay SIM loaded with some credit isn't a bad idea

I'm sure everyone could live without their social media for a few days, but a lot of important services seem to be easier to access online these days, plus you generally need some access to email or your phone contacts if something goes awry

Probably less of an issue if you're travelling with a group of friends since they'd (hopefully) let you use their phones until you got sorted. More of a concern if travelling alone or as a family with young kids (if both parents phones get stolen for example)

I know there is generally the option of just buying a cheap phone if you lose yours, but you need money for that which might be tricky if you've no access to online banking. Plus you need a SIM which can be a bit of work if you need to register your details in a language you barely speak

So my theory is that it's worth the extra hundred grams to chuck an old phone into your bag for the peace of mind

Personally I don't do this because I don't have any spare phones and I'm not buying one just for a backup when travelling. However when I replace my current phone I might end up keeping it for a backup

tomhammer..

Probably ya

I'd have a cheapo with payg data as a backup

There's no real backup of a backup though

Everything can go if you're unlucky

Captain_Crash

I have my previous iPhone in my travel bag with a prepay sim. Once I upgrade my current iPhone, that will go into the bag replacing the old one, and so forth.

ted1

I used to have a second phone that took 2 SIM cards and I’d often have SIMs from the Middle East and Caribbean as I travel there often

in the past year I have been using Airalo and just using ESims. Much less hassle than carrying 2 phones

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121864361#Comment_121864361

Yeah there's definitely a line between sensible caution and overthinking things

If I were carrying a backup phone I'd probably leave it in a hotel room safe along with other essentials. At least then if I lost my phone while out I'd still have the backup

Having said that, my wife and I had an incident where the hotel safe ran out of battery and couldn't open (with our passports inside). That was a bit tense waiting for the security guys to open it up and wondering if we'd miss our flight 😬

So yeah, it's definitely impossible to cover everything that can go wrong

victor8600

I do. I am keeping my old S7 as a backup phone.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121864389#Comment_121864389

I'm slightly kicking myself for getting rid of my old phone, but the thing was pretty wrecked anyway and probably wouldn't still be functional

Maybe I'll pick up one of those cheapo phones, but I don't really want to spend a load of money on a just in case. Plus some of those budget phones can be so unusable you'd almost be better off without

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121864442#Comment_121864442

I was thinking about esims myself, and while I like the idea of just being able to login to a network with any phone, it still doesn't get around the possibility of the phone getting wrecked or stolen

Plus they're only just becoming standard in phones so it'll be a while before I'd have an old phone with an esim

Buffman

Yes, I don't bother with a spare SIM though. A SIMless phone still works with WIFI and will still make Emergency calls, and if I'm really stuck, a local SIM is an option. Also handy for streaming etc while doing something else with the 'main' phone.

Tenzor07

It's not a bad idea, but do it properly..! I would look after the phone as I would my passport.. but there's always a chance that when you're taking a pic of that amazing lake view that your phone goes for a swim and then you're in real trouble! The loss of essentials such as Google maps, boarding passes for flights/trains, car hire documentation. all your contacts and apps would cause you some serious issues and expense.

So would have a backup phone that's fully updated with apps logged into so boarding passes etc. can be re-downloaded.. Can always connect to public Wifi to do all that and download an eSim for mobile data...

NSAman

Always travel with two phones. My American one and my Irish one. Both have voip so incase one doesn’t work, the other one does. All apps etc including information are sync’ed to both just in case. Only thing I don’t use is credit card on either phone just in case.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121864605#Comment_121864605

Interesting because my theory would be to have the backup phone in an almost factory reset state

Maybe have some essential apps installed but not logged in. I'm not too thrilled about having another phone out there that's already logged into all my emails and banking apps

Once you've logged into Google it'll give you access to email, contacts and all your apps to download, and then maybe use a password manager to keep your credentials secure and login to all your accounts on the backup phone if needed

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121864552#Comment_121864552

Fair point, I suppose there's enough free WiFi out there to get started and can use VoIP for any phone calls that are needed

I'd personally still get a prepay SIM and maybe not load it with credit. You can generally get a free one and most networks allow you to top up without registering an account, just need the phone number

It could be handy for things that require two factor authentication where you receive a text message. Plus public WiFi can be at carrier pigeon speeds in some places, so having mobile data could be useful even if it's extortionately priced

Tenzor07

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121864764#Comment_121864764

There's a lot of work to do if your backup phone is in a factory reset state, I mean essential apps like the Airline app, Whatsapp, Google Maps won't work unless they're a few versions within the current version of the apps... and if that happens you'll need to use a lot of mobile data to update those apps unless you can find speedy public wifi nearby...

Logging into Google for your passwords is fine and all but I don't actually know any of my passwords as they're all auto-generated strong passwords so unless you're gonna have your password e.g. "D42£%^£*--*££"%$DTY$" written down somewhere then you could be in trouble..

I generally keep the backup phone buried in clothes back at the hotel so it's unlikely someone would have the time to break into your room and go through a pile of clothes and guess your phones login password...

Alexus25

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058339563/do-you-carry-a-spare-phone-when-travelling

Nope,never even thought of bringing a second phone and I don't ever remember seeing this listed in a travel packing list. maybe unless you're on a very unique travelling situation and/or Unless you lose things quite frequently, your own phone should be sufficient

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121864825#Comment_121864825

Time to get a password manager - ProtonPass or BitWarden or 1Password or similar

Tenzor07

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121864912#Comment_121864912

Had those but forgot my password for them! :-D

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121864899#Comment_121864899

I haven't seen it on any lists, but I have seen the question debated elsewhere

I've never lost or destroyed a phone, but I'm wary of using past behaviour to predict future circumstances with certainty

For me, there's enough stuff on my phone that I seem essential that it warrants some kind of backup

Alexus25

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121865138#Comment_121865138

There's usually back up storage options like Google and WhatsApp, but I do get your concern, having a password and anti-virus software can help too (avast is free). If it makes you feel secure go for it, but I don't think it's necessary, but that's just me

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121865042#Comment_121865042

Most of them usually have a recovery key you can print out and keep with you

Of course then you're getting into multiple layers of backups and wondering where is it going to end 😂

Tenzor07

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121865411#Comment_121865411

No end to it! :-D

Could do things the old fashioned way, carry a map, print your boarding pass?

tomhammer..

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121865429#Comment_121865429

That's what I did last time I got the bus

Printout and phone pass

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121873874#Comment_121873874

Yeah I'd tend to carry printouts as well. It's annoying but they get around the nuisance of waiting for an app or email or load on a slow data connection

tomhammer..

There's the last minute risk of a dead phone

Small but experience tells me to plan for the unexpected

xper

One thing to bear in mind at the moment is that the 3G network is gone or about to be gone in many countries, so your old phone, depending on vintage, might be limited to WiFi only anyway for anything useful.

depending on how light I’m packing, I may have an iPad or laptop in the bag which goes in the hotel room safe along with the passport book, few quid in cash and a physical credit card and leap card while im out and about with passport card (in EU), debit card and phone. Pay with Revolut on phone most of the time.

I normally print off any tickets/passes I can before travelling (return boarding pass not always an option) along with a sheet I maintain of contact nos for family, bank, travel/health insurance and medications which stay in a pocket in the bag. Or I have these at least available together in a trip folder on Google Drive.

And if you think that’s overkill, it was still a major struggle when I had my phone stolen on a trip last year. I was able to lock it remotely within an hour and wipe it in due course which was great. But day-to-day stuff for the rest of the trip was a constant stream of, feck, how do I do this now? We are absolutely enslaved to the yokes and travelling without one now requires a real gear shift in your head, which is more difficult when you’re freaking/raging over a theft …. I was amused/appalled at myself when I opened the fold out city map the hotel gave me and stared at it waiting for a blue dot to appear showing my location!

newmember2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121864389#Comment_121864389

That sentence makes complete sense if you replace 'iphone' with 'phone' believe it or not!

tomhammer..

If you're using android is it possible to be up and running immediately or thereabouts?

Can you mirror the main phone

I carry my old iPhone, can swap over sim if newer phone gets damaged. If newer phone gets stolen I still have a device I can interact on the internet with, and hopefully get a sim that will work.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121874277#Comment_121874277

More or less you can. Google now uses a service called Google One which backs up all your phone data

Once you sign into a Google account on a new phone you can download the backup data as well as getting access to your email, contacts, apps, etc.

If you use stored passwords on android then is presumably gives access to those too. I'm a bit reluctant for Google to know everything about me (even though they already do) so I'd use a 3rd party password manager

You can also do stuff like remotely erase your old phone via the Find my Device portal

I haven't really tested it in a situation where I had to change phone quickly, so it'd be interesting to see some first hand accounts

tomhammer..

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121874372#Comment_121874372

What's google one

I've some google drive backup which doesn't seem to be useable

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121874191#Comment_121874191

Good point regarding 3G, although 4G has been fairly standard in phones for a while now

Biggest issue might be calling as I think you need a data connection for VoLTE calls, which can be hard to enable if your SIM isn't activated

I'm kinda in a similar mindset that I like to have backups for most of the essentials (ID, money, tickets, etc)

I don't have a laptop or tablet to bring however, plus a lot of online banking won't let you login without a phone anyway

I've debated bringing my work laptop a couple of times, mostly in case some travel disaster means I can't get home on time. But my work is fairly easygoing if I need to take extra days, and they have some annoying laptop travel policies, so it's easier to just leave it behind