S 4.115 Safeguarding the power supply of mobile phones

Initiation responsibility: Administrators, users

Implementation responsibility: Administrators, users

Normally rechargeable batteries are used as a means of maintaining the power supply to mobile phones. Depending on the capacity of the batteries and the design of the mobile phone, a single battery will last for a limited time, normally several hours. To ensure that a mobile phone is available at any time in case of need and that no data held in temporary storage is lost, certain precautions should be adhered to:

• Warning displays on the mobile phone that the battery is low should not be ignored.

• If it is foreseeable that the phone will be used over a relatively long period, then the battery charger should be taken along with the phone.

• When charging a mobile phone, the instructions contained in the manual which comes with a mobile phone should be observed; in particular, care must be taken to avoid impairing the life of the battery.

• Steps should be taken to ensure that when a mobile phone is issued, the battery is in a charged state. The state of charge of the battery should be regularly checked as a battery discharges over time even when it is not being used.

It is also recommended that any data stored on the mobile phone, such as telephone directory, short messages etc, is saved to a different medium at regular intervals.

If it is foreseeable that prolonged use will be made of the mobile phone, e.g. on business trips, a charged spare battery should be taken along as well. The spare battery should be kept in a protective case as damage can occur through overheating or fire if the battery contacts come into contact with conductive materials. This can be caused by many objects in everyday use such as keys or chains.

To avoid damage to the memory, a mobile phone should be switched off before the batteries are changed.

A mobile phone should not be exposed to any extreme temperatures. Otherwise, the battery in particular, but also the display, could suffer a loss of functional performance. Therefore neither mobile phones nor batteries should be left in parked vehicles.