Via LawDog in Facebook.
ADMIN UUMV
PSA – If you are ever lost while hiking, get stranded with a broken down car, etc and you notice your cell phone is either low on juice or has no signal, here is a tip that very well may save your life.Change the voicemail on your phone to a message that gives your approximate location, the time, the date, your situation (lost, out of gas, car broken down, injured, etc) and any special instructions such as you are staying with the car, you are walking toward a town, etc…. The best part of this is that even if your cell phone dies or stops working, voicemail still works, so anyone calling your phone looking for you will hear the message and know where to find you or where to send help.
If heavy usage has jammed cell service, send texts instead of making calls. They use less bandwidth and will be sent as bandwidth is available. It’s slower and less personal, but some communication is better than none.
Both good suggestions.
If you want communication not vulnerable to overload collapse or infrastructure failure, consider getting an amateur radio license. It’s fun, too. And it gives you a communication tool that’s completely self-sufficient.
Or GMRS if you don’t want to take the test. You can at least communicate in-group or hit local GMRS repeaters if there are any.
That’s an alternative, sure. Ham radio need not depend on repeaters (use shortwave instead), that’s the main benefit if you’re sufficiently remote, or if infrastructure is sufficiently broken.
Um, that would mean setting up my voicemail…
I’ve heard advice like this before, especially for hunters and hikers out west.
E.g. “You’ve reached the phone of John Smith. I’m going hunting north of Elk Ridge, Wyoming. I’m expected to return on Tuesday November 10th. If you do not hear from me by November 12th please send help.”
How do you change your voice-mail settings with no service?