Mobile phones are more popular than ever, and almost everyone seems to own one. In fact, the UK is now one of the most connected countries in the world with 78% of UK adults using a smartphone. That’s a staggering 96% of UK households.
Of course, mobile phones aren’t just for phone calls and text messages anymore.
You’ll find a huge variety of apps for your smartphone, allowing you to access the latest news, play mobile games and even track your health and fitness with connected devices. There’s an app for just about anything, which makes smartphones one of the most important electronic devices you own. They’re often the most expensive, too with high-end smartphones often costing over £1000.
It’s important to keep them in good condition. After all, you don’t want to ruin your handset, or lose access to your emails or social media accounts. So, how do you keep your phone in the best possible condition?
Here are our top tips for maintaining your mobile phone:
1. Always Use a Phone Case
Don’t want to break your new smartphone? Even on a slow day, we regularly take our phones out of our pockets dozens of times a day. It only takes one slip of the hand to drop your brand-new mobile, and you could end up with a cracked phone screen or worse.
Make sure you protect your mobile phone with a phone case.
There are hundreds of different styles to choose from, with different styles to suit any taste. But what should you choose for the best possible protection? We recommend a sturdy case that’s been built to last, or a slimline case if you prefer a more tactile feel. Just make sure you find a case that fits your specific handset.
2. Protect your Phone Screen
If you use your smartphone regularly, you should consider using a Screen Protector. These custom-made sheets are designed to fit over your phone’s screen, protecting it from scratches and breaks.
Again, you should make sure your Screen Protector is made for your specific handset – this ensures that the protective film covers every edge of your phone screen, with cut-outs that allow for your phone’s camera and buttons.
We recommend using a Screen protector that’s made to last. Gorilla Glass screens can often be found which provide extra protection. However, they can often impair certain built-in features of your smartphone such as in-screen fingerprint scanners. If you need advice on which Screen Protector to use with your phone, you should speak to one of our phone repair companies for more information.
3. Be careful how you carry your phone
The best thing about mobile phones is how portable they are – we literally have the whole world in our pockets. But sometimes using a Phone Case and Screen Protector just isn’t enough, so we should be careful how we carry our phones, too.
Never carry your phone in the same pocket or bag compartment as your keys. House and car keys can easily scratch your phone screen and can even sometimes pierce screen protectors with enough force. Similarly, you should avoid keeping loose change in the same pocket as your phone.
Try to avoid leaving your phone in precarious spots, such as on handrails or the edges of a desk. It’s easy for your phone to get knocked off and it could end up getting damaged. When you need to put down your phone, opt for a flat, steady surface with plenty of room around it.
4. Avoid Water and Extreme Temperatures
Although most folks don’t purposefully dunk their mobile phones in water, accidents can happen. You should exercise caution when using your mobile phone around water – we would recommend not using your phone in the bath or while using the toilet, for example.
Also, remember where your mobile phone is located when you go to the beach or local pool. After all, you don’t want to end up accidentally dunking your smartphone when you least expect it.
If you do accidentally get your phone wet, there are a few ways you may be able to fix it.
Submersing your phone in dry rice is a popular way of drawing out trapped moisture from electronic devices. This also works if you cover your phone with dry silica packets – the kind you usually find in shoe boxes and the like. Don’t ever use a hairdryer to dry out your phone as the excessive heat can damage the sensitive electronics. It’s a good idea to also keep your phone away from radiators and direct sunlight.
5. Keep your Phone Clean
Did you know that dust can slow down your device? Dust and fluff that gets lodged in your smartphone can easily make its way into the internal components, causing excess heat build-up which can in turn, slow down your mobile phone.
Make sure you keep your phone clean by using a soft cloth and an appropriate screen cleaner to wipe it over regularly. We recommend cleaning your phone at least once a month if you use it regularly to stop excessive dust and dirt building up.
Our guide on how to clean your phone includes extra hints and tips to keep your device sparkling.
6. Remove Unwanted or Unused Apps
Most smartphones come with a staggering amount of pre-installed apps. Although some of them can be useful – such as calendar apps and email clients – some are just downright unnecessary. You should take some time to go through your apps and remove any that you don’t use.
Mobile phone apps often run background processes which can slow down your phone if they’re running all the time. This can also affect your phone’s battery life – draining far more battery power than you would normally use without these apps.
Make sure you disable or uninstall any apps you don’t use and keep that battery going for longer.
7. Keep your Apps Updated
When it comes to the phone aps you do use, you should make sure you always keep them updated. This has a number of benefits – mostly, you’re making sure that any improvements made by the app developers are instantly available. But this doesn’t only affect the quality of the app experience.
Often, app developers optimise their apps over time, using processes which use less battery or improve the app’s performance. This can lead to a faster phone and longer battery times.
It also means that you’ll get any important security updates – reducing the chances that your phone apps are susceptible to malware or hacking.
8. Only Download from Trusted Sources
It should go without saying – you should only download apps, music and movies from sources you trust. Essentially, this means official app stores, iTunes, Amazon, etc. Using unofficial apps from a third-party source can leave your phone susceptible to Malware and Viruses.
And with mobile phone Malware and Viruses on the rise, you should do everything you can to avoid them.
Making sure you only download from official sources (such as Google Play or Apple Store) makes sure the apps you use have been verified.
9. Clear your Phone’s Cache
Is your mobile phone starting to feel a bit sluggish? You might want to empty your phone’s cache. Mobile phones use a cache to temporarily store data used by apps, and the size of your cache can grow over time. A larger cache means more data to sift through when it wants to find things, and that can slow down your device.
Clearing your phone’s cache will free up this space and make it more efficient. There are options in your phone’s settings to do this on both Android and iOS handsets.
10. Expand your Phone’s Storage
All modern mobile phones use internal storage to store your apps, photos and other data. But some smartphones also allow you to expand your phones storage using SD and Micro SD cards. Adding an external storage device in the form of an SD or Micro SD card can help you store non-essential files away from the phone’s system data. Essentially, it’s a great place to store photos, videos and other data.
They’re often easy to fit, too – most modern phones include compartments which specifically allow you to add or remove SD cards. Check out Amazon for some great deals on mobile phone SD cards.
11. Take Care of your Phone’s Battery
Your phone’s battery is one of its most important components. Looking after it can make sure you get the most out of it every time you charge your phone. Each phone manufacturer usually supplies a list of recommended guidelines for looking after your phone battery. But here are a few general tips:
- Charge your phone regularly and before it runs down completely.
- Allow your phone battery to fully run down from time to time.
- Restart your phone every day or so.
- Turn off services you when you don’t need them, such as Bluetooth, mobile data or wi-fi.
- Keep your handset cool and turn it off completely if it’s too hot.
Following these simple guidelines will ensure your phone battery lasts as long as it can and retains its charge for longer.
12. Backup your Data Regularly
The only thing worse than losing an expensive smartphone is losing all your data with it. Mobile phones are so important to our daily lives – we regularly store personal information, family photos and passwords on our phones without even thinking about it.
Make sure you don’t lose your data completely by regularly backing it up.
Synchronising your internet browser (such as Chrome) can ensure your passwords are accessible on other devices. Using a service such as dropbox allows you to backup your photos, videos and other data you have stored on your handset.
13. Add Appropriate Security
If you do lose your mobile phone, you wouldn’t want anyone to browse through your personal data. Adding appropriate security measures ensures that your data can’t be taken from your handset.
You should always set a lock screen password or pin where available. This ensures that nobody can unlock your phone without it. Some phones also include facial recognition and fingerprint scanning technology. Using these security measures makes your mobile phone even more secure.
Following our mobile phone maintenance guide will make sure your smartphone is in tip top condition. You’ll benefit from a faster phone, longer battery times and a more secure device. If you’re having problems with your mobile phone, contact one of our trusted phone repair shops for advice.
