Battery and SwissCovid app: 9 tips on how to keep the app alive all day long

Since today the SwissCovid app is available. Since only a charged cell phone protects us from the second corona wave, we have to make sure that the battery is fully charged. But how do you do that if you have to explicitly switch off the battery optimization for the app?

The Swiss tracing app requires a constant supply of cell phone power throughout the day. Read 9 tips on how to keep the SwissCovid app alive all day long in the German blog post:

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Battery optimization for the SwissCovid app must be switched off. What to do to get through the day anyway?

Chimpy Powerbanks travelling through Germany

After Hamburg and Berlin, we are now also drawn to other parts of Germany. More than a year ago we delivered the first Powerbanks in Hamburg, and shortly afterwards also in Berlin. And because it was so beautiful, we went straight on. Within a very short time hundreds of boxes were packed and shipped to the far corners of the country. Now you can find Chimpy Powerbanks in more than a hundred different German cities.

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From Meilen to Barcelona: Chimpy offered aid organisations full batteries free of charge.

Whether 12-hour shifts or unaccustomed assistance missions in old people’s homes, the corona crisis was not an easy time for members of the army, civil defence personnel or doctors and nurses. As lending activities also declined, we supported those who had made a special effort during this difficult time – free of charge with our power banks.

As soon as the lockdown was in place, we already had an idea on the table: we offer our services to emergency organisations such as Corona hospitals, civil defence and the military. We immediately made contact with various institutions in Germany, France, Spain and Switzerland. In the week after the lockdown, the first deliveries were made in Switzerland – with the in-house E-Cargo Bike called “Grottino” notabene.

The delivery of Chimpy Powerbanks to the city hospital Triemli by Alex.
The delivery of Chimpy Powerbanks to the city hospital Triemli by Alex.

In Switzerland, we supplied the staff of the Zurich University Hospital and the Triemli City Hospital with power banks so that they did not run out of battery during the 12-hour Corona shifts. Even after a long shift, nursing staff and doctors should have enough battery to contact their loved ones. Our Chimpy power banks are cleaned as standard in the reprocessing process. The power banks for the University Hospital and Triemli were additionally cleaned with a disinfectant before delivery and packed in boxes with hygienic gloves. Feedback has shown that the campaign has been very well received by the hospital staff.

The Meilen Civil Defence has also taken advantage of our free Corona offer. The civil defence volunteers were deployed in hospitals and support the local care for the elderly people in their work. Smooth communication was ensured with the Chimpy power banks. 

Even the Swiss army had a need for Chimpy power banks. The Mountain Infantry Battalion 91, which was deployed at the Swiss outer border, reported first. They’re communicating by radio and army smartphones, which ensures encrypted communication. These smartphones had to be switched on 24/7. Since the soldiers had no access to electricity during the operation, only fully charged Chimpy power banks helped. After the end of the mission the battalion 19 took over, which again made use of our offer. Currently even a third battalion of the Swiss Army is using Chimpy power banks.

Paz, City Manager Barcelona, delivers Chimpy power banks to various hospitals in Barcelona and the thanks follow immediately via Instagram.
Paz, City Manager Barcelona, delivers Chimpy power banks to various hospitals in Barcelona and the thanks follow immediately via Instagram.

Corona has hit Spain very hard. The country was in a strict lockdown for weeks and the hospitals were overcrowded with Corona patients. According to a tip from a local partner, we were allowed to deliver 320 power banks to various hospitals in Barçelona as part of the #donatuenergia (donate your energy) campaign. The corona patients hospitalized there were allowed to use our service free of charge. The Chimpy Powerbank enabled them to keep in touch with the outside world, as many hospital beds had no sockets to recharge their smartphones.

In April another well-known organisation from Switzerland suddenly contacted us. “helpfulETH” is an initiative of the ETH Domain and Swiss academia. In one of the various sub-projects of helpfulETH the corona test process was analyzed from the hospital to the laboratory and back. The corona tests were divided into “normal priority” (test result after 24 – 48 hours) and “high priority” (test result within 6 hours). The problem was that the process was extremely chaotic and the results didn’t came back in time. In order to improve the process, the high priority corona tests included smartphones with GPS tracking. This enabled the initiators to see where the tests were currently located. The Chimpy power banks ensured that the batteries did not run out during GPS tracking. The process problems could be solved.

Some projects are still running, some projects are completed and the auxiliary power banks are back with us. Already now we can say that our Corona action was a success, because the feedback was always positive and the institution we helped were extremely thankful.

Chimpy launches its powerbank rental service for smartphones in Paris.

The Chimpy service is a success in Switzerland with a network of 1,200 rental points, more than one million battery rentals and happy customers all over the country. Since 2019, Chimpy is also available in Germany and Spain (Barcelona).

75% of the French population has a smartphone and uses it on average 2 hours a day. To run out of battery on the go is a very uncomfortable situation. We therefore decided to offer our external battery rental service in Paris to all smartphone users. We want to provide people with a charged phone when they want to take pictures, order a ride or call their friend when they are lost. 

Service available in Paris since early March
Since the beginning of March, Chimpy Powerbanks have been available in around twenty Parisian kiosks. The service is as easy as possible, no registration, no need to download an app.

– Customer Jean Jacques rents a Chimpy Powerbank in exchange for € 18 (€ 3 rental + € 15 deposit) for a week.

– Jean Jacques can return the Chimpy external battery used in one of the rental points. In return he gets back his deposit 

Paris: a digital city and circular economy
Paris is the European city with the largest number of sharing services: electric scooters, self-service bikes or shared cars. Parisians are more and more used to using services rather than buying. In line with this sustainable trend, Chimpy offers a service from this circular economy that meets a real need: Charge your phone during the day while moving and forget about the annoying sockets, that only steal your time and patience.

An excellent distribution network in existing kiosks
Paris has a dense network of kiosks ideally located in the city, which allows the user to always have a point of sale near him, to rent a Chimpy battery. The Chimpy battery rental service is an innovative service that kiosks in Paris are starting to offer, and which allows them to have an additional attractive product to offer to their customers.

“Paris is a cosmopolitan and dynamic city, with a particular interest in the services of the circular economy. It also has a large network of tobacconists and kiosks that offer more and more connected services reaching a younger target. This is why Paris was an obvious destination for us after Switzerland. Paris will not be the only city to offer the service on French territory. Also in Lyon, Marseille, Lille and Bordeaux as well, people should be able to count on a constantly charged phone.” explains Mirko Hofmann, co-founder and communications manager at Chimpy.

Sustainable initiatives
Paris is strongly committed to sustainable initiatives to make the city clean and autonomous, and among them, the reduction of pollution and carbon emissions. These initiatives are increasingly important for the inhabitants of Paris, but also for companies wishing to set up in the city. Since Chimpy shares the same vision and values, it’s a match on every level!. Our corporate culture is entirely focused on reducing the carbon footprint and the transition to renewable energies.

  • All Chimpy external batteries are recharged using certified Swiss solar energy
  • Our teams travel exclusively by train for European journeys.
  • We provide logistics using electric bikes.


Festivals and events
Chimpy is not exclusively present in major European cities. We also offer our service at music festivals, since the need for a charged smartphone is huge at festivals and we’re happy to fulfill this need. This year, the Covid-19 has postponed almost all of the festivals. We look forward to next year to offer our service again and “save” all of those guests who have run out of batteries.