One problem an author faces is keeping their characters away from information. It gets harder and harder as mobile phones proliferate, texting is now a continuous stream and security eyes seem to be everywhere. Hero not suppose to go to building rigged to explode? One call will put it right. “Really? There’s enough Dinitrophenyl hydrazine in there to wipe Norwich off the map? Stuff that, I’m out of here.”
But what if he’s suppose to go in? Your options are extremely limited.
Safe and reliable is getting him wet which will ruin the battery. Reception is difficult underground, and in very mountainous regions. Draining batteries provide some suspense, and there’s always the misfortune of forgetting it in the car. In Fowled Marie-Claire simply didn’t turn it on, which showed a lot more willpower than I have.
It’s a lot easier to write about virtuous people than to actually be one.