The last few months haven’t been an easy ride – from juggling new work-from-home routines and adopting stricter hygiene practices to balancing budgets. And while it might be months until things start becoming normal – one thing is for sure though, in these uncertain times, money is tight.
So if you don’t want to buy a new smartphone in too much of a hurry, there are a few simple ways that you can prolong its lifespan. Here are four tips to make your phone last longer:
1. Get a good phone case and screen protector
All it takes to bring a smartphone to an untimely end is a direct impact to the touchscreen from a fall from a metre or two above the ground. Even if it’s possible to fix the screen, it will usually be expensive to do it.
A tempered glass screen protector will help protect your screen should your phone hit the floor. And if you keep your phone in a sturdy case, you’ll add even more protection for the screen and help protect the rest of the device from scratches and scuffs.
2. Look after the battery
The lithium batteries used in smartphones degrade over time as you use your device. You can extend their lifespan by following good charging practices. Don’t make a habit of letting your battery run completely flat and then recharging it to 100%.
Rather try to keep your device consistently charged between 20% and 90% — 50% is a good number. You’ll get more battery charge cycles if you charge it up before it gets flat.
3. Keep it clean
Keeping your smartphone clean will help ensure that it looks good even if it’s a couple of years old. Use a soft, slightly damp cloth to wipe it down regularly or invest in some wipes designed for cleaning glasses or screens.
Be careful not to push too hard, so that you don’t scratch the screen if there’s dirt on it. From time to time, use a toothpick to clean out lint or dirt that has accumulated in the charging port.
4. Delete unneeded apps and data
If your smartphone is starting to feel slow and sluggish, it might help to get rid of all those old videos, photos and apps you don’t need any more. You can transfer the stuff you want to keep to the cloud or your PC. You might find that your smartphone is faster and more responsive after this storage spring clean.
Flushing your cache might also help. After a while, your phone’s cache might become crammed with data and files that drag down performance. Go to settings on your Android phone, tap storage and then cached data, and then clear the cache. Switching off widgets and animations can also give you a performance boost.
By Alcatel
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