In 2018, it’s uncommon to see anyone without a mobile device. It’s even rarer to come across someone who hasn’t had issues with their device, from screen cracks, to broken charging ports, and just about everything in between. With our devices integrating into our lives even more with each passing day, it’s a good idea to be aware of the best practices for prolonging the life of the device. Check out these four tips for maintaining and preserving your mobile devices.
Cases are your best friend
Let’s face it, at some point or another, we’ve all broken the screen on our device. From a crack running in the corner of the screen to a full, unuseable break, it’s happened to everyone. There are several ways to combat screen breakage and protect your device. Our biggest recommendation would be to get a case for your device. There are a few things to look for when browsing for a case (aside from the aesthetics, of course).
First, you want a case that has a bumper or a lip on it. This feature will come off of the front of your phone to add some space between your screen and the outer surface, allowing for a falling phone to land on the case, rather than the screen.
Second, it’s always a good practice to have a screen protector. These come in all shapes and sizes, from being a portion of the case itself, to a secondary part. It can also be made of plastic or tempered glass. We recommend a tempered glass screen protector—for the simple fact that it actually protects the screen from scratches and damage and keeps your digitizer functional even with damage to the screen. It also prevents the oils from your skin and liquids from external sources from touching your digitizer.
Pairing these two features is a great first step to keeping your device protected and damage free. At Armor, we recommend using an OtterBox or LifeProof case. These brands have your devices’ safety in mind, and they even come with warranties if the device (or the case) ends up failing. The way we see it, if you’re willing to invest a fair amount of money into your devices, it only makes sense to spend a little extra to protect it.
Give your battery a little love
At this point, I’m sure we’ve all heard about it in some capacity or another—Apple devices purposely slow down to maintain usability when the battery starts to age. I’m sure just hearing this probably gets some of your blood boiling, and it’s definitely not unwarranted. This leads to the second recommendation for keeping your device healthy and useable: replace your battery occasionally.
All lithium-ion batteries degrade after so many charges, and this is true of the li-on battery in your phone, too. You’ll start to notice that it just doesn’t last as long as it used to, requires a longer charge time, or simply starts to slow down. Getting your battery swapped will usually fix a ton of problems you might be seeing, and allow for your phone to run for a longer period of time, extending the time between replacing devices. A quick reminder: try to charge your phone on a flat surface, so the charging port and cable don’t receive any damage either—these could quickly be the next things you need to replace.
Keep your software updated!
We can’t tell you how many times we’ve seen devices with old software get compromised. All it takes is one bad line of code, someone looking to exploit it, and that outdated app puts your device at risk. Keeping your phone’s operating system and apps up-to-date is key in prolonging the life of your device. This also allows for manufacturer updates to be installed, which usually include new security and other features that can improve the functionality and usability of your phone.
Along with keeping your software updated, the other software-related way to keep your phone running smoothly is simple: make sure you’re closing apps when you’re done with them. Each app you let run in the background is still doing something—from gathering data to keeping scores updated, or even constantly watching keyboard inputs, and what you use your phone for (looking at you Facebook). A study done by The Guardian shows that the Facebook app alone can use up to 20% additional battery power just from being installed and on, so your best bet it to make sure your apps are off when you’re done using them.
As with everything, backups are key
This step might not seem quite as intuitive to some. I mean, most of our devices boast storage space of at least 64GB, some up to 256GB (and this is without expandable storage). But seriously, the speed issues you’re seeing could be stemming from the fact that there is just too much data on your phone. Syncing your photos, documents, and other files to a cloud service can save a ton of space on your phone, increasing the speed and allowing for significantly more ease-of-use. I’m sure we can all remember a time when we needed to delete stuff in order to install another app we so desperately needed. Most mobile providers offer a little bit of cloud storage with their service, but having a backup location like Google Drive, Dropbox, or even iCloud is always a good practice.
Data backups fall into another category of importance though. Unfortunately, our devices will inevitably fail. When that day comes, it’s important to have your important information backed up—from your contacts to those photos of that event you went to last year. Having a data backup will make the transition to a new device easy and much less of a headache, and the backup will allow for the seamless transfer of all of your data onto the new device.
Following these tips won’t always save your mobile device, but they can definitely help you improve and prolong the life and functionality of the device. Have you tried this tips, with no success? Bring your device into Armor today—we offer free diagnostics on any device repair. Additionally, we can usually offer same-day service on most mobile devices, if we have the parts in stock!