Taking various tech and gadgets with you when you’re traveling is par for the course. You’ll want to take photos, keep in touch with people, go online, and maybe even get some work done while you’re away. It’s perfectly normal to want to carry a few different devices with you, including your smartphone, tablet, laptop, or camera. But traveling with these items can put them and you at risk. You could be in danger of breaking something, losing an expensive gadget, or possibly even having something stolen from you. Before you go traveling, it’s a good idea to take some steps to protect your tech.

Put Your Tech in Your One Personal Carry On Bag

If your luggage is going to be separated from you at any point, it makes sense to carry your expensive tech in your carry-on bag. You can make sure that it won’t be out of your sight, so the chance of anything being stolen or going missing is much lower. It will also help to protect your tech from being broken because it won’t be tossed about by baggage handlers or anyone else who might handle your luggage. And it means you have some things to occupy you when you’re on the move.

Take Out Insurance

Insuring your gadgets is a smart thing to do before you go traveling. You might already have insurance that covers the items you’re taking with you. However, before you go traveling, check your policy to understand the circumstances under which your gadgets are covered. You might not be covered if you go abroad or if your gadgets are lost or stolen. It could be useful to take out an extra travel insurance policy, which can give you more protection when you’re traveling. If you lose anything, you might be able to make a claim on your travel insurance to cover the costs.

Back Up Your Files

When you’re traveling, there’s always a risk that you might lose something or someone might steal from you. Additionally, you never know if you might accidentally lose files or data on your devices. So it’s smart to back everything up before you go and during your travels too. Don’t worry if you have devices on different operating systems. You can back up your Android from Mac or sync your Windows laptop to your iPhone. You just need the right tools to do it. You could also use some external storage for some of your important files, such as a USB stick or an SD card.

Don’t Flash Your Stuff

It’s a wise move to be discreet with your things when you’re traveling. If you flash expensive devices around, you could attract unwanted attention. So try not to use expensive gadgets in places where it might not be safe to use them and keep a close eye on them if you do. If you’re driving, don’t leave anything in plain view in your car when you park. Try to take your items with you or at least hide them somewhere so that they can’t be seen by anyone looking in through the windows.

Use Protective Cases and Covers

A dropped device can break more easily than you might think. You might have dropped it before and it was fine, but you never know when the screen might shatter or something else will break. Using protective covers and cases for your devices will help to protect them from damage. As well as helping to prevent breakages from being dropped or other kinds of impact, you can also protect your devices from getting wet and other types of damage. If you’re expecting your luggage to get wet, consider putting your devices in a dry bag to protect them.

Use RFID Blocking

When you’re traveling with various credit and debit cards, protecting your identity is one of the most important things you need to do. You have to be careful with your cards so protecting them is a part of looking after all of your tech. Using RFID blocking is one of the solutions available to you, which you can use to help prevent identity theft and having your money stolen. Use a wallet with built-in RFID-blocking capability if you want to protect your identity.

Leave in the Hotel or Carry with You?

If you’re leaving your hotel for the day, should you leave your devices in your hotel room or keep them with you? You might be worried that if you leave them in your room, they could get stolen. But you could also have them stolen or lose them if you take them out and about with you. Some people will say it’s safe to leave them behind, especially if there’s a room safe, while others will say to take them with you. The truth is that at most reputable hotels, there’s little risk of your stuff going missing

Be Careful with Public WiFi

Finding ways to get online is a priority for a lot of people when they’re traveling. You might have some work to do or maybe you want to check your emails and socials or give everyone back home an update. But make sure you’re careful about using any public or open Wi-Fi. It can put your devices at risk and might put you at risk of having your identity stolen too. You can try doing things like using a VPN and using private or incognito mode in your browser to help protect your data.

Stay on Guard

Wherever you go and whatever you’re doing, make an effort to stay vigilant. Keep your eyes open for anyone who might steal from you and be aware of the tricks that pickpockets and other criminals might use. Watch your stuff whenever you’re moving or staying still to make sure no one takes it and you don’t leave it behind. Being aware of your surroundings can help to protect you and your things.

Take care of your expensive tech when you’re traveling. Not only will it cost you money to replace it, but you could lose some important files, and memories if it breaks or goes missing.

What’s your plan for traveling with tech? Do you have special precautions that you take to protect your tech? Please share them so we can be safe while we travel in the comments below.

Until our next rendezvous…

XOXO

Trudy