Travel expert’s 5 clever holiday hacks – including how to find free WiFi and making broken headphones work on the plane
A HOLIDAY can be stressful enough without having problems using your phone or having no internet.
Thankfully, a travel expert has shared his top tips, from how to make broken headphones work on planes to finding better WiFi.
Tech travel expert Mark Saltzman told some of his top tips - here are some of the best.
Take pictures of your boarding pass
Many airlines are now accepting boarding passes on your phone, to save you from having to print them out.
However, with some airport internet patchy at certain places, it is worth taking a picture of it rather than accessing it on your emails - or risk being stuck.
He said: "Take a screengrab of your boarding pass on your phone to create an offline version, in case the Internet connection isn’t good at the airport you won’t hold everyone up behind you."
One thing never to do? Post that picture on social media, as it could result in your details being hacked.
Use the TV USB to charge devices
One of the worst things to forget on holiday is a plug adapter leaving you unable to charge your phones and tablets.
Thankfully, there is a way to do this in your hotel room - using the TV.
Mark explained: "If you left home without your smartphone plug but you still have the cable, plug it into the hotel room’s television and it will charge up your device.
"There should be a powered USB port on the side or back."
Another hack is to take one travel adaptor - but pack an extension lead.
Most read in News Travel
Better WiFi on second floors
While experts often warn travellers to be cautious about using public WiFi, sometimes needs must.
However, sometimes hotel lobbies can be too busy for you to use it without having to sit on the floor.
Thankfully, there is a way to find a better spot - by changing floors.
He said: "Can’t find a spot to sit in the hotel lobby to browse the web on your device?
"Most people don’t think to go to the second floor – sometimes referred to as a mezzanine – to find plenty of seating, quiet, and AC plugs, too."
Make 'broken' plane headphones work
One of the most frustrating thing to happen on a plane is finding the headphones provided don't work.
And with many travellers now using wireless headphones, this could leave you without being able to listen to the inflight entertainment.
Thankfully there is a clever trick to make them work: "Pull the headphones out of the audio jack, just a little, and you’ll hear the audio from the airline’s entertainment service.
"Sometimes the connectors inside these jacks don’t exactly match up."
Faster phone charging on planes
If your phone has run out of juice on a flight, there is a way to make it charge faster, depending on which plug you use.
He said: "If you’re on an airplane or at an airport that has an option to charge your phone or tablet via USB port or AC plug, always use your AC plug (if you have it) as it can charge your device two to three times faster than USB."
READ MORE SUN STORIES
However, be prepared to pay for it - some airlines charge to use the sockets.
Here are some other amazing travel hacks for your next holiday.
