Smartphones run the world now. They’re faster, smarter, and a lot slimmer. But also, let’s admit it, more fragile.
Gone is the era of the brick phones—the golden age where mobile phones like the Nokia 3310 hardly saw a repair technician or went through phone maintenance, no matter what floor of the flat it fell from.
Today’s phones may be a lot smarter than the brick phones of the past, but they’re nothing compared to the Nokia and classic Motorola units, durability-wise – which were the Bruce Willises of mobile… unbreakable.
But, like they always say, it is what it is. If you own an iPhone, a Samsung Galaxy, or smartphone of any kind, you should learn how to take care of it properly.
You must perform a little bit of mobile phone maintenance every now and then to keep it in tiptop shape, and hopefully, make your phone perform better and last longer as possible.
So how do you do maintenance on your phone exactly? Well, below are some tips and tricks from a repair technician’s playbook:
1. Get a sturdy phone case
This is a no-brainer. If you have a smartphone, you should have at least one phone case as well.
They’re like the big brothers of the phone world, where one has to protect the other all the time.
Most phone cases can shield your gadgets from hairline scratches and a few knocks while keeping your phone still looking thin and sleek.
Also, there are several phone cases available out there that can protect your phone from hard falls and major damages. However, they tend to be bulky and heavy.
No matter what your preferences are, and no matter what brand and model you have, we’re certain there’s a perfect case for your phone to prevent it from getting damaged. Especially your rear glass.
But if you already have a shattered one because you didn’t get a phone case, replace your rear glass as soon as possible.
And once fixed, be sure to grab a phone case in your next run to the tech store.
2. Throw in a screen protector, too
Cases really only protect the back and side real estate of your phones, leaving the front screen susceptible to cracks and scratches.
Although newer models come with better screens like the Gorilla glass, they’re still not 100% safe from damage. Trust us, we’ve done replacements before on smartphones that supposedly have “durable” and “anti-scratch” screens.
So if we were you, we would go get that screen protector now rather than spend on phone screen replacements later.
3. Clean the ports, speakers, and surfaces
Can't charge your phone? Loudspeakers not loud enough? If you’re experiencing these problems, there’s a chance that your phone is flat out nasty.
Below are some tips on how to clean up your cell phone:
Cleaning the charging ports
The charging port might just be filled with lint, dust or pet fur making the transfer of energy impossible.
The best way to take the debris off your lightning port is to use a dry antistatic brush – if you have one.
You can also use thin tweezers to carefully pick up the lint in your ports. Just make sure not to damage the insides.
Cleaning the speakers
Same with loudspeakers and earpiece speakers. There’s a good chance that it’s the grime build-up that causes the muffled or low-volume sounds.
What you can do is gently scrub the grill of your speaker using a thin and soft-bristled (dry) toothbrush to loosen up and remove the dirt from the speaker.
If you’ve done your best to clean your charging ports and speakers but they still don’t work, it’s probably faulty hardware already.
Now’s the best time to tap in for some expert help.
Click here for charging port replacements or phone speaker repairs.
4. Avoid water as much as possible
Waterproofing features are probably one of the best-selling points that lured you into buying your
current phone.
However, keep in mind that a high rating of IP67 or IP68 does not mean that you can swim in the pool with your phone in your pocket.
After all, water is still one of the archenemies of any consumer tech. No matter how high the waterproof IP ratings are.
IP67 simply means that your phone can be dropped into the water for up to one metre deep and for 30 minutes only.
On the other hand, IP68 means that you can drop the water up to 1.5 metres deep but for only half an hour as well.
If your phone doesn’t have any waterproof ratings, a little splash of liquids like tap water, seawater, perfume, and drinks can easily infiltrate the insides of your phone and wreak havoc in your system.
5. Avoid overheating
Do you sometimes feel your phone heating up when you’re playing games on it? That’s probably your phone telling you to stop and give it a break already.
If you always overwork your phone, it could lead to faster battery drain or retire your battery for good. That’s why you should give your phone some time to rest up a bit.
Aside from excessive usage, below are other ways you can cause overheating in your smartphone:
● Direct exposure to sunlight
● Unused apps running in the background
● Brightness turned all the way up
● It could be your phone case keeping the heat in
● Overcharging
6. Update your system and other essential apps
To keep your phone running efficiently, it’s super important that you update its operating system (OS) and other necessary apps.
These updates will fix all the bugs and other issues that your phone has, thus helping your phone to run smoothly without skipping a beat.
If you don’t want to do all these updates manually, most smartphones now offer automatic updates. Simply go to your settings and search for app updates then toggle the automatic feature on or off.
Doing this step will help improve the overall performance and the overall experience of using your phone.
7. Delete unnecessary apps
You may have downloaded apps or games before that you used almost every day, but now, they’re just freeloading in your phone. Hate to break it to you, but it’s about time to let them go.
Keep in mind that no matter how high-end a phone is, it still has a limit when it comes to internal storage. So, it can only house and run a limited number of apps.
Even if you can expand its storage with an external memory card, your phone’s OS and necessary apps still run on your internal memory so as much as possible, you have to free it up.
Routinely remove the apps that you think you’re not going to need in the future. They just take up space and slow down your phone, anyway.
For iPhone users – just tap and hold the app then select Remove App from your phone.
For Android users – the same, tap and hold the app then select Uninstall.
Set up a monthly reminder on your phone to delete unused apps so you can accomplish this regularly.
8. Declutter your phone’s storage
Deleting your apps is one way to clean up your phone’s system as they take up significant space.
However, unused apps are not just the culprits in slowing your phone down.
Consider your photos and videos as accessories to the crime, too. Go check out your gallery and see how many unnecessary photos you have in there.
We bet there are a bunch of accidental screenshots, blurred photos, inaudible videos, and other stuff.
What you can do is delete them manually if you’ve got the time to burn. You can also use Google
Photos or iCloud to sync your camera content, so you don’t have to use your phone storage.
Also, visit your file manager and see if there are still downloaded documents in there that you don’t need anymore. If there are, flush them out of your phone’s system with a few clicks.
9. Keep your battery in tiptop shape
If your phone’s cutting-edge microprocessor is its brain, then its battery must be the heart. Once it stops working, your phone’s practically dead.
That’s why you must keep in healthy shape no matter what. Here’s how to make your phone battery last longer:
● Always turn your power saving mode on
● Airplane mode will not only save you from toxic friends but also from battery drains
● Unless you’re outside on a sunny day, don’t set your brightness all the way up
● If your phone has OLED or AMOLED screens, the dark mode feature can help you save some battery life
● Limit your apps’ permissions and data usage
● If possible, avoid using your phone while charging
● Don’t overcharge your battery
If you fail to take care of your phone’s battery, the only choice you have left is to bring it to repair shops for battery replacement.
10. Hire a good technician for repairs
If your phone gets damaged for some reason, bring it to a repair technician as soon as possible.
Don’t punish yourself or your phone by prolonging the issues that need fixing.
And when looking for repair technicians, make sure that you hire someone who has years of experience and knows your phone like the back of their hands.
You know, someone like us here at Fone Teknician!
Not to brag, but we can repair almost all types of damage, from shattered screens to lifeless batteries, dysfunctional ports, and more. If you own a messed-up iPhone or Samsung, we surely can fix it! We repair these types of phones, plus iPads in Sydney and we come to you!
One last tip: always backup your phone
While all the tips and tricks that we shared above are truly helpful, no doubt about that, you can only do so much to keep your phone alive and kicking.
You’ll never know when it will retire for good, especially if its days are already numbered in the first place. That’s why it’s always good to have a backup.
While a backup will not keep your phone alive for longer, it will help ease up your transition to a new phone when it’s time to bid farewell to the old one.
Here’s how you can back up your phone:
For iPhone users:
1. Go to Settings.
2. Select iCloud.
3. Then tap iCloud Backup
4. Toggle it on and keep it that way.
For Android users:
1. Open your Settings.
2. Choose Google.
3. Select Backup and that’s it!
While having a backup is a good safety net, it’s not an excuse to skip phone maintenance.
You must still take care of your phone and learn how to make it last longer, so you don’t have to spend money on repairs or on brand new ones.