Simple tricks allow you to make the best use of a smartphone with a few years on its shoulders, without forcing the user to buy a new one
A smartphone, after two years of use, begins to show the first signs of “failure”: applications do not open as quickly as at the beginning, the space available is no longer sufficient to take new photos or record videos and new models have a much more attractive design.
In such a situation, the only possible solution is to buy a new smartphone. But you do not always have 600-700 euros available to buy one of the top of the range on the market. For this reason it is necessary to try to extend the life of your smartphone as much as possible. Despite the fact that planned obsolescence invites us to change the device every 2-3 years, it is possible to get by for another couple of years thanks to some simple tricks. The performance of the smartphone will gradually deteriorate, but you will still be able to use it at its best. Especially if you only use it to talk to your friends and surf the Internet. Here are four moves that will extend the life of your smartphone.
Make updates
It can be a hassle to make updates to the operating system and applications, but it is necessary if you want to extend the life of your smartphone and protect it from viruses and malware. Updates provide stability to your device and allow you to use it to its fullest. The only caution to keep is about operating system updates: before doing them, it is better to wait a few days and see if other users experience any problems. The only scenario in which we don’t recommend updates is if the phone is more than three or four years old: in this case it is harmful to install the update because it would occupy memory and slow down the smartphone.
Recharge the battery properly
The battery is one of the most delicate elements of a smartphone and the one that deteriorates most easily. Everything depends on the user’s skill in charging the battery. To extend its life it is necessary to follow some simple rules: never let it discharge completely, but put it under charge when it is still at 20%. Same for full recharge: it is harmful for battery health. It is better to disconnect it from the charger when it is around 90%. Heat and cold also affect the battery life: always keep it at a temperature between 15 and 30 degrees.
Save documents on the cloud
If your smartphone is at least two years old, it is very likely that it has an internal memory of 16Gb or 32GB. Storage space is now insufficient to hold all the pictures and videos we take. If the memory is over and we want to extend the life of the device we have only two options: move everything on the microSD card (in phones that support it) or on a cloud space. The second solution is preferable, as it allows you to always have your documents available.
Protect the smartphone screen
One of the most exposed parts of the smartphone is definitely the screen. It’s also one of the most fragile. That’s why it needs to be protected from drops and the elements. If you do not want to change your smartphone after a year because of the display, it is advisable to use a screen protector. There are plenty of them on the market, also made of tempered glass.