There are two types of smartphones: those that give you problems after two years and those that provide four or five years of trouble-free service. It’s well known that spending more money on a high-end phone increases the likelihood of longevity.
The processor and memory quality significantly impact how the phone behaves over time. However, you can adopt good practices to help your smartphone age slowly. These practices apply to any model, regardless of its price range.
Avoid collapsing internal memory. “My phone is out of memory” is probably the most common phrase I hear from friends. Not everyone can afford a 1 TB phone, but a little digital hygiene never hurts. Store your photos in the cloud, delete what you don’t need, and avoid having dozens of applications installed.
Your phone has internal memory with read and write cycles that wear out over time. Filling it up and keeping it saturated shortens its lifespan.
It’s not always necessary to update. This advice may be controversial, as users should generally update their phones to the latest version for security reasons. Unfortunately, manufacturers are not infallible, and it’s not uncommon for them to mess up an update. Before updating, check forums and social media platforms to see how the update affects your device. Sometimes, if something works well, it’s best not to touch it.
Restart it from time to time. Many smartphone problems can be solved by simply restarting the device. These devices are miniature computers that often run for months without a reboot. It’s good practice to restart your phone at least once a week. It takes less than a minute and helps maintain performance.
The 20 and 80% rule. While not foolproof, keeping your phone'’s battery between 20% and 80% helps maintain its autonomy over time. Taking care of the battery pays off in the long run. I know people who take this seriously: In two years of use, their phones haven’t dropped even 10%.
Give it a good cleaning from time to time. Speakers that stop working, microphones that break, and strange hardware failures are common issues that simple maintenance could solve. Clean your smartphone’s screen, camera, buttons, and ports regularly. Accumulated dirt can build up inside the phone and cause failures.
Image | Vitalii Khodzinskyi (Unsplash)
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