AT&T offering free coverage through Sept. 17 for Hurricane Irma

Ahead of a “potentially catastrophic” impact from Hurricane Irma, AT&T is offering ways for customers to stay safe and connected through the storm expected to touch South Florida sometime this weekend.

Beginning Friday — and running through at least Sunday, Sept. 17 — AT&T is providing unlimited data, calls and texts via bill credits for wireless and unlimited calls and texts for AT&T PREPAID customers.

Services include calls and texts to and from the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and calling or texting from the U.S. to the British Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Turks and Caicos.

Impacted video and home internet customers can visit the AT&T support page att.com/esupport for information or report service outages.

The company also has a Hurricane Irma blog about.att.com where customers can find updates on retail store closings, tips and other hurricane-related news. Location based on billing ZIP code for AT&T Wireless customers and billing phone number for AT&T PREPAID customers. Credits will post in 2-3 billing cycles. Dates based on local time zones.

(Locations will be based on billing ZIP code for AT&T Wireless customers and billing phone number for AT&T PREPAID customers. Credits will post in 2-3 billing cycles. Dates based on local time zones.) In addition, Cricket Wireless will provide customers free calls to the Dominican Republic and Haiti beginning Thursday through Sunday. All plans already include calls to Puerto Rico.

In addition, Cricket Wireless will provide customers free calls to the Dominican Republic and Haiti beginning Thursday through Sunday. All plans already include calls to Puerto Rico.

AT&T will also offer unlimited calls for voice customers calling from the U.S. to these countries.

The company is also encouraging everyone to:

 — Capture and store pictures or videos of your home contents on your smartphone before the storm hits your area. These can be just as important as having pictures of damages when you need to place a claim to your insurance

— Use the Cloud to store important content and information. Personal, financial and medical records can be bulky and hard to carry. Scanning or capturing photos of these documents and saving on a cloud server will protect them and allow you to access from anywhere you have the internet Keep your phones and tablets dry and charged. If power is interrupted, having a plan to keep your devices charged will give you peace of mind that you can stay connected during the storm. Portable chargers with

— Keep your phones and tablets dry and charged. If power is interrupted, having a plan to keep your devices charged will give you peace of mind that you can stay connected during the storm. Portable chargers with the capacity to charge multiple devices and car chargers are good choices.

— Save battery life. Using the Power Save Mode on your device can help you get more connected time on your device. Power Save Mode limits some of the device’s performance to conserve battery life.

— Keep informed. Download your local news or favorite weather apps to keep informed of conditions in your area.

— Minimize mobile phone use when possible — AT&T recommends you keep lines open for first responders. Limit your calls and social media use to the most important ones. If there is severe weather, chances are many people will be attempting to place calls to loved ones, friends and business associates. And text rather than call; texting uses fewer resources and helps keep the lines open for emergency calls.