📦 Moving Electronics: Pack Smart, Not Sorry

Whether you’re going to a new city, moving across town, or just a new room, packing electronics is not simply placing the items in a box and hoping for the best. Electronics are fragile, temperature and moisture sensitive, and usually more expensive than you remembered.

At Testergate, we have seen too many devices die during moves—not because they were old or defective, but because of how they were stored. This guide will provide practical tips about protecting your electronics during a move so your gadgets arrive as functional as they left.

✅ 1. Back up your data — Before You Pick Up a Box

📍 Why It’s Important:

No matter how careful you are, accidents happen. A dropped laptop or jostled drive could mean you lost the data forever.

💾 What to back up:

• Computers and laptops

• External Hard Drives

• Game Consoles (save files, game settings)

• Smart TVs (preferences, app logins)

• Phones and Tablets (either in cloud, or physical drive)

🧠 Testergate Tip:

Use both cloud storage and physical backup (USB, hard drive is better).
It is better to be safer than devastated.

✅ 2. Label Everything

📍 Why It’s Important:

Once you’ve pulled apart your cords, it can be incredibly easy to forget which is which. Untangling based on a mystery picture you took weeks ago is no fun.

🏷️ How to Label:

• Masking tape, color coded stickers, or zip ties as markers

• Twist ties or Velcro straps to twine cables up with

• Put your remotes in resealable bags and label them for the corresponding device

🧠 Testergate Tip:

Take a quick picture of the back of every setup, prior to unplugging.
You’ll feel like your future self thanks you for saving yourself an amount of frustration comparable to a small eastern European country.

✅ 3. Use the Original Boxes — If You Still Have Them

📍 Why It’s Important:

The original boxes came designed to protect the device, hold it in place, and cushion the delicate areas like screens and vents.

📦 Lost the Box?

Not a problem. You can use:

• Strong, double-walled boxes

• Anti-static bubble wrap or foam

• Layers of cloth or microfiber in between screens

✅ 4. Pack Screens and Glass Separately (and Carefully)

📍 Why this follows:

Screens are often the most fragile— and often the most expensive—part of your electronics.

✅ Best Practice:

• Wrap in a soft microfiber cloth first (no paper towels, they scratch)

• Then wrap layers of bubble wrap

• Avoid pressure on the screen — never stack anything on top

🧠 Testergate Tip:

When packing TVs and monitors, use corner protectors and pack them upright, like books.
Laying them flat increases the chance of cracking.

✅ 5. Disconnect and Remove Loose Items

📍 Why this follows:

Loose or moving parts can shift during transport and damage internal components.

🔧 What to remove:

• Batteries (especially from remotes or other wireless devices)

• Printer ink cartridges

• Game discs or Blu-ray discs

• SIM cards or SD cards

You may want to place these in a small, clearly labeled bag and keep it in your carry-on or essentials box.

🔥 That being said, Testergate wants you to remember:

Leaving batteries inside electronic devices during transport can cause leaking or overheating—especially in warm climates.

✅ 6. Electronic Devices Should Be Stored in a Controlled Environment

✅ Best Storage Locations:

• Inside the vehicle cabin (not the trunk!)

• In a sealed container with silica gel packets

• Away from windows or vents when being transported

🧠 Testergate Tip:

Just a few hours of intense heat can destroy the screens and internal chips.
If you can, it’s always best to transport heavy electronics separately—especially laptops, cameras, and phones!

✅ 7. Pad and Secure Everything in the Moving Box

📍 Why It Matters:

Unsecure devices will shift around, bang on one another, and take unwanted impact—especially when you are making moves that include long separate movements.

🔧 How to do this:

• Put heavier items on the bottom

• Fill empty spaces with foam or blankets (use that blanket!)

• Secure/separate items with dividers or molded inserts whenever it makes sense

🧠 Testergate Tip:

After you have packed everything in the box — give it a gentle shake and if you hear things moving — you did not pad enough!

✅ 8. Label All Boxes with “Fragile” and “This Side Up”

📍 Why This Is Important:

When boxes are clearly marked and labeled, movers (and even you) are generally more careful.
Also, it avoids flipping devices like hard drives or monitors upside down.
The more care you can take with fragile items and packed electronics, the better.

🏷️ Label Clearly:

• Use bold black markers

• Label all four sides of the box

• Include both room (i.e., “living room”) and a description of the device (i.e., “living room – gaming console – fragile”)

🧠 Testergate Tip:

Use colored dots or symbols on the box so the fragile boxes are easily, conspicuously visible in the unpacking frenzy.

✅ 9. Unpack All Electronics First

📍 Why This Is Important:

The longer the electronics are in the boxes, the more chance of condensation or issues occurring from movement of the items in their boxes.

📦 Do This:

• Unpack all electrical items and do a visual inspection on the same day

• Let items warm to room temperature before plugging in (if the items came from a cold and/or humid environment)

🧠 Testergate Tip:

Moving into the new place and plugging everything in at once may mask the individual concerns you have with electronics.

✅ 10. Keep Your Small, High-Value Technology On You

📍 Why This Is Important:

Some items are too valuable or sensitive to put in the moving truck.

🔒 Keep These With You:

• Laptops, Tablets, and Phones

• Cameras and lenses

• External hard drives

• Chargers and backup batteries

• Smart watches and accessories

🧠 Final Thoughts from Testergate

Let’s face it, moving can be chaotic—so why spend more money than you need to or break your devices?
A little extra thought and the right process will result in your devices arriving safely, powering on, and working like they never left.

At Testergate, we not only review and recommend tech, but also help you protect it.
The true value of a product comes from more than just price tags and spec sheets; it is also from how long you keep it, how you own it, and of course the peace of mind.

So before you make your next move, save this guide, grab some labels and microfiber cloths, and ensure your devices are taken care of.