Keeping Your Electronic Devices Safe During Travel

One of the worst things that can happen to you while you’re traveling is to have your electronics stolen. Not only are they expensive, but it’s where we store precious and valuable pictures and information, and it’s highly likely that we’re not going to get them back once they’re gone. Before you pack your bags for your next trip, check out the following tips for keeping your electronics safe while you’re out on the road.

Don’t Leave Them In Your Car
It’s not uncommon to run into a store to buy something really quick or to go into a restaurant for an hour-long meal and leave certain electronics, such as your phone or camera, in your car. Regardless of where you’re going or how long you’re going for, always take your electronics in with you. Leave them in a car and it can be easy for a thief to get in, grab your belongings, and make a run for it faster than you realize.

Lock Them in the Hotel Safe
If you have electronics, it’s best to store them in the hotel safe rather than leave them out on the table or bed. Never store anything at the front desk. Should you find that your hotel doesn’t have a safe in the room, you’re better off just bringing the electronics with you.

Check on Safety Reviews
Speaking of hotels that do or don’t have safes in the rooms, this is something you should check on beforehand if you’re planning on bringing valuables, such as electronics, with you. It’s also important to do your research and see how safe the hotel is. If they’ve had a lot of security issues, you may want to consider staying elsewhere.

Carry Your Valuables With You
It’s never a good idea to let your electronics out of your presence; this includes storing them in your bag under the bus or putting them in your checked luggage on an airplane. Yes, it might be a bit of an inconvenience to carry them around, but it’ll be a bigger inconvenience if they disappear.

Take Secondary Devices
Think of how much personal information and how many photos you likely have stored on the electronics you use on a daily basis. What would happen if all that disappeared? If you’re traveling, consider taking secondary electronic devices with you. For example, instead of taking your regular laptop and phone, take ones that are just for your travel purposes. While you’ll probably take some photos, you can always immediately email them to yourself or put them on a cloud photo storage service. You can also store some numbers just in case of an emergency, but you won’t have all of your day-to-day private info on anything you carry with you.

Lock Your Doors
One of the worst things you can do while you’re staying in a hotel is to leave your door unlocked while you’re in the bathroom. If you think thieves aren’t brazen enough to sneak into your room while you’re in the shower, you might be surprised. When you’re in the room, there’s a good chance your electronics are right out in the open giving a sneaky crook easy access. Don’t just rely on key card locks. Once you’re in the room, lock the deadbolt and put up the chain.

Above all, when you’re traveling, keep your eyes and ears open and be wary of anyone who is being overly kind to you (there’s a difference between being nice and being too nice). Never let your electronics out of your sight and take precautions and you’ll increase your chances of coming back with everything that you took with you.