5 tips to keep your smartphone working well and lasting longer

Illustration photo.

When a smartphone has been used for many years, we will see many signs appear such as the battery draining faster, less storage capacity and more scratches appearing, etc. It seems that the best choice at this time is to buy a new smartphone, but constantly upgrading the phone will cost the user's budget as well as put more burden on the environment.

Here are five simple ways users can apply to ensure their smartphones work well and last as long as possible.

1. Update software regularly

Many people may feel annoyed and ignore the notification to update the latest software for their smartphone. However, regularly updating new software versions will bring many benefits to your smartphone.

In addition to bringing the latest features, software updates offer a list of benefits aimed at user satisfaction and privacy, such as bug fixes, performance boosts, improved security, and better app compatibility.

These latest software updates will fix security holes in the operating system, so keeping your software up to date is the best way to prevent cybercriminals from exploiting security holes. When smartphones run on older software, your passwords, banking information, photos, and contact information are more vulnerable to hackers.

2. Take care of your smartphone battery

Perhaps the most common reason smartphone users justify buying a new phone is that their current phone's battery capacity has significantly decreased. And while most modern smartphones use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, that doesn't mean they'll last forever.

There are countless factors that can contribute to a smartphone's battery life. These range from the size and number of apps downloaded to the number of photos stored on the phone or the brightness of the screen.

There are many ways users can preserve their smartphone's battery life. Many of us can charge our phones to 100% overnight by plugging them in while we sleep, but experts say there are smarter ways to do it.

Normally, the battery of a smartphone will start to decrease after a certain number of charges. Therefore, limiting frequent charging is a solution to help the battery last longer. However, to avoid having to charge the battery regularly, we must keep our smartphone from running out of battery every day by reducing screen brightness, turning off location services and 3G/4G connection, Bluetooth when not using them, because these features constantly run in the background and consume a large amount of smartphone battery.

Another thing to note when charging your phone is that you should not charge it for too long during the day, especially in hot weather. The heat from the sun combined with the high temperature when charging will damage the battery and the components inside the smartphone. Instead, users can place the smartphone in a shady place, on a cool surface when charging to avoid the above situation.

3. Use memory wisely

After a period of use, the smartphone's memory will be full and the system will report that it is running out of space because the memory has stored a lot of images, videos, files and downloaded applications.

To maintain memory for smartphones to work, users should regularly delete applications, photos, videos and downloaded files that we no longer use or store them to another device.

Additionally, if you are using an iPhone, you can consider upgrading to the iCloud+ plan to increase your storage to 50 GB, 200 GB, or even up to 1 TB.

If you are using an Android smartphone, you can consider upgrading to the Google One package, which is a service built by Google to help paid users store more data on the cloud platform. The advantage of Google One is that it requires a lower fee but offers more storage than Google Drive.

In addition to the default 15GB of account capacity, Google One users can expand cloud storage to 100GB, 200GB, 2TB, 10TB, 20TB and 30TB for more comfortable storage for all services such as Google Photos or Gmail.

4. Protect your smartphone's hardware

Protecting the hardware of a smartphone is an important factor that helps the smartphone last longer. Therefore, users should choose a sturdy phone case and screen protector for their smartphone. It will help users a lot when the smartphone is accidentally dropped.

Most smartphones today are made of glass on the front screen and back cover. Glass is the material of choice for smartphone manufacturers because it is more compatible with wireless charging than aluminum.

There are two types of screen protectors available today, plastic and tempered glass. Plastic screen protectors are more durable and reusable but can cloud the screen with scratches and fingerprints. Tempered glass screen protectors, on the other hand, offer better protection as they can absorb impact to the screen.

Phone cases help protect the back of your smartphone and the rear camera from damage. Some cases are waterproof, so you can safely use your phone by the pool or sink. In addition to protection, phone cases also help add personality to your smartphone.

5. Avoid extreme temperatures

On hot days, users should keep their smartphones away from heat sources such as direct sunlight. High temperatures from sunlight will cause smartphones to heat up quickly, even causing burns when touched. This situation will be worse when you listen to music, make calls, or charge the battery while under high heat sources.

Therefore, if you are at home, you should not place your smartphone next to the window. If you go out, you should use cloth to cover your phone. Similarly, experts say that users should not leave their smartphones in cars or in closed rooms without air conditioning.

In addition, pockets are also considered a dangerous environment for smartphones because they will be in direct contact with heat from the human body. Therefore, users should keep smartphones in handbags or purses instead of pockets to avoid overheating.

If you must leave your smartphone out in the heat, turn off location services, 3G/4G connections and Bluetooth, reduce screen brightness and turn off all notifications.

Some smartphones also have a boost mode to help improve the performance of the phone when playing games. But this feature also drains the battery and makes the device heat up quickly. Therefore, the advice is to turn it off and switch to the built-in battery saving mode to protect the smartphone during hot days.