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01The festival phone packing list
Knowing what to bring to a festival for your phone comes down to three risks: a dead battery, a wet phone and a stolen one. Tick these off the night before.
Check the event's bag policy too. Many venues limit bag size or require clear bags, and a small crossbody pouch usually gets through where a backpack won't.
02Power: how much battery to bring
Phones drain fast at festivals. Thousands of people on the same cell towers means your phone works harder to hold a signal, and you're filming, messaging and checking set times all day. Plan for a battery that runs out by mid-afternoon.
| Festival | Power bank | Why |
|---|---|---|
| One evening concert | 5,000 mAh or none | Start at 100% and you'll likely make it home |
| Day festival | 10,000 mAh | About two full charges for most phones |
| Camping weekend | 20,000 mAh | Three or four charges, or share with a friend |
- Turn on Low Power Mode (iPhone: Settings > Battery) or Power saving on Android from the start, not when you hit 20%.
- Download what you need: tickets, the festival app's schedule and an offline map.
- Airplane mode during a set if you only want the camera. It stops the hunt for signal.
Cable or magnetic? A snap-on magnetic bank is handy in a crowd because there's no cable to snag, but it charges more slowly and wastes more energy as heat. For a full weekend, a cable bank in your bag gets more charges out of the same capacity. See magnetic vs regular power banks for the trade-off.
Pocket-size banks for a gig and bigger ones for a camping weekend.
A pocket retractable cable saves a tangle in your bag. Not sure which bank fits? How to choose a power bank walks through capacity and ports.
03Keep your phone on you, not in a back pocket
Packed crowds are where phones go missing. Back pockets and open tote bags are the easy targets. Anything worn on the front of your body, where you'd feel a hand, is much safer.
- Wear it across your body. A crossbody lanyard clipped to the case, or a small phone bag worn at the front.
- Hold it with a strap when filming. Phones held high get knocked from hands in a moving crowd.
- Don't set it down. Not on a bar, not on the grass, not on a porta-potty shelf.
- Use a passcode, not a simple swipe. And keep it hidden when you type it in a crowd.
If you'd feel a hand reach for it, it's in the right place.The one rule for carrying a phone in a crowd.
Before you go, turn on your phone's anti-theft features. On iPhone, Stolen Device Protection is in Settings > Face ID & Passcode. On Android, search Settings for Theft protection and turn on Theft Detection Lock. Worried about straps around the neck in a crowd? Read are phone lanyards safe first.
Keep the phone at the front of your body, where you'd notice a hand.
04Rain, mud and spilled drinks
Even a water-resistant phone doesn't love a beer shower. Sugary drinks get sticky in speaker grilles and ports, and muddy fields put grit everywhere. A waterproof pouch with a touch-through window lets you keep using the phone in a downpour.
Fit a tempered glass screen protector before you go, too. Phones get dropped on gravel, stamped on in the pit and knocked against barriers. A protector is a lot cheaper than a screen repair, and it's one less thing to worry about when you're holding the phone up for the headliner.
If the port gets wet, let it dry before plugging into your power bank. Most phones warn you about liquid in the port. If yours does, unplug and wait.
Touch-through pouches for rain, mud and spilled drinks.
Pouch or case? Our blog explains the difference between a waterproof pouch and a waterproof case.
05If your phone goes missing
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Check lost property first
Most festivals run a lost property point. Honest finders hand phones in more often than you'd think.
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Locate it from a friend's phone
Sign in to Find My (iPhone) or Find Hub (Android) on a friend's device or at a web browser. You'll see its last known location.
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Mark it as lost
This locks the phone, shows a message with a contact number, and on iPhone suspends Apple Pay cards.
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Report it
Tell event security and your carrier. Your carrier can block the SIM so nobody runs up charges.
Full walkthrough in our Find My Phone guide.
Questions people ask
What size power bank should I take to a festival?
10,000 mAh covers a day festival for most people, around two full charges. For a camping weekend, take 20,000 mAh or two smaller banks so you can share. Charge it fully before you leave.
Why does my phone battery die so fast at festivals?
Thousands of phones share the same cell towers, so yours works harder to stay connected. Add filming, a bright screen and constant messaging, and the battery drains much faster than usual. Low Power Mode and airplane mode during sets help.
How do I keep my phone safe at a concert?
Keep it at the front of your body in a crossbody strap or bag, never in a back pocket. Turn on Stolen Device Protection on iPhone or Theft Detection Lock on Android, and make sure Find My or Find Hub is on.
Do I need a waterproof pouch for a festival?
If rain is forecast or it's a muddy site, yes. A pouch keeps rain, spilled drinks and grit out of the ports, and you can still use the touchscreen through it.
Can I bring a power bank into a festival?
Most festivals allow them, but some limit size or ban certain types. Check the event's prohibited items list before you pack.