You’ve finally bought yourself a new smartphone. Now that you have had time to tinker with it and discover all of its awesome new features, you may have also noticed that while high-tech, your new phone may also be a little more fragile than the previous one.
A larger screen also means more area for cracks to form, right? It just takes one unfortunate moment to have your phone suffer the irreversible (and highly inconvenient) consequences. If you drop your phone and end up with a badly cracked screen, hand it to the experts and immediately get a screen repair service. With this experience, you’ve likely become more conscious about how you take care of your phone.
Here are some practical tips on making sure your phone stays in great shape as you continue to use it.
Habits to Keep Your Smartphone in Its Best Shape
Taking care of your smartphone is actually a pretty simple task. Here are some things that will help you look after it well.
1- Use a sturdy phone case
One of the first things you should prepare when getting a new phone is its phone case. A durable phone case acts as a shield against dirt, moisture, and even the impact of dropping it on the floor.
There are so many varieties of phone cases today that come in different designs that suit your personality. For maximum safety, choose a case that is shock-resistant, water-resistant, and has raised edges to prevent scratches on your screen and camera lenses.
2- Don’t bring your phone to the bathroom
No one really attempts to throw their phone into the water on purpose. But it is easy to feel some complacency when you have a phone case that should protect your phone.
One of the most obvious concerns about bringing a mobile device to the bathroom is that it can easily get wet. Moisture is one of the easiest ways to damage your phone for good. However, remember that your phone can get wet not just due to accidental exposure to running water or even an unexpected drop in the toilet. It can also be due to the steam that warm temperatures produce in the bathroom.
Another reason that you should not bring your phone into the bathroom is that the place is crawling with so many germs you don’t see. You wouldn’t want your phone to be a carrier of E.Coli.
3- Clean your phone
Think about the many surfaces you place your phone on and the number of times you have used it without first washing your hands! Just like any device you use regularly, your phone also needs cleaning.
However, cleaning your phone is not as straightforward as using a wet wipe or spraying some alcohol on it. These two habits could actually damage your phone screen in the long run.
The proper way to clean your phone is actually with a solution made with a mixture of distilled water and 70%isopropylalcohol. When you have mixed equal parts of both, you spray it onto a microfiber or lint-free cloth that you use to wipe over every part of the phone.
One additional note about cleaning is that you should not clean it too much. Once or twice a day is usually enough if you regularly wash your hands. If not, doing it more often is preferable.
4- Be mindful of your battery usage
A phone’s battery life is important because it indicates how long you can use your phone without plugging it in. Unfortunately, as you continue to use your phone, the strength of your battery also decreases. However, some good practices help to maintain its battery life as long as possible.
First, don’t drain your battery, and don’t let it reach 100% either before unplugging. This helps your phone’s lithium-ion battery operate at a lower voltage, maintaining its normal charging capacity for a longer time.
Avoid using and charging your phone at the same time, and don’t forget to unplug your charger when the battery is already full. Idle charging causes a parasitic load, which can cause the phone to overheat.
Conserve your battery, too, to avoid draining it too quickly. Lower your brightness to a comfortable level. Then also close apps that are not in use instead of just minimizing them. You can also remove push notifications for apps you don’t use that often.
Phones can be such fragile things, but good care practices improve their lifespan. With these simple habits, your smartphone will be at its peak for longer.
