Tip of the Week: The Top 5 Mistakes that Ruin Mobile Devices

To get the most life out of your smartphone, you’re going to want to properly take care of it. Of course, this is easier said than done for a small device that’s prone to being dropped and subject to the many dangers of being transported. Here are five smartphone practices to avoid if you want your device to last.

Going Without a Case
When purchasing a mobile device, it’s easy to brush off getting a case. Although, if your device goes unprotected, then it can experience some serious damage when (not if) you next drop it. At the end of the day, protective cases are relatively inexpensive and can be easily found, so you really have no excuse… unless you’re this poor bloke.

Plus, if you’re super serious about protection, you can even special order a military-grade case that promises to safeguard your device from the harshest of conditions.

Exposing Your Device to Extreme Temperatures
Both extreme hot and cold weather can devastate a device. At 113 degrees Fahrenheit, a phone will overheat and become damaged, which is easy enough to reach inside a car on a hot summer day. On the opposite side of the thermometer, a smartphone ceases to work when the exterior temperature reaches -40° Fahrenheit. Just be mindful of this and turn your device off if you find yourself either in the desert, Arctic tundra, or even in direct sunlight.

Never Turning Off Your Device
Smartphones are different than PCs. With a PC, you can leave it on all day long without any adverse effects. In fact, some PC users will argue that it’s better to never turn off a PC. However, smartphones need to be turned off every now and then. TechRepublic explains:

At least once a week, reboot that device or (even better) shut it down for 30 minutes or so. Doing this will ensure that caches are cleared and subsystems are properly restarted. Shutting down the device once a week will aid with the longevity of the RAM on the device and allow certain diagnostics to be run at boot.

Keeping Your Phone in Your Pockets
While it certainly is convenient to keep your phone in the pockets of your pants, doing so puts your device at great risk. This is especially the case with your back pockets; forget to remove your phone and you’re in for one expensive sit. Even keeping your smartphone in the front pocket of your pants can cause it to fall out if you bend your legs a certain way. Plus, in some rare occasions, phone batteries have been known to combust.

Also, shirt pockets make for a bad place to store mobile devices. The reason should be obvious. Instead, it’s better to transport a mobile device on a belt clip, or even in a purse or messenger bag.

Ignoring Malware
For many users, mobile security solutions are ignored because they feel like their mobile devices aren’t susceptible to the same risks as PCs. While it’s true that more viruses are designed for desktops, there are many attacks exclusive to mobile platforms, and the number of threats continues to rise as mobile computing becomes ever more popular. At the very least, you should have an antivirus solution for your phone and perform regular scans, and you need to be careful of the mobile apps you install.

By avoiding these smartphone blunders, your phone should last for years to come, and the risk of something happening to it will decrease dramatically. For more tips and best practices, contact GTSS and subscribe to our blog.