If you are like many of us, when you spend your hard earned cash to buy something or pay for a service, you want to derive optimum value from it for a long time. The same case applies when you get that sleek looking
Mobile Phone with all the features you have been looking for. You want it to be a loyal servant that will serve you diligently for a long time. You do not want the lifespan of your
Mobile Phone to last for a few days or a few months, everyone wants to get a good service from their
Mobile Phone until they themselves decide they have gained useful service from it and want to have another
Mobile Phone. At least that’s what majority of us do or wish to do but that’s not always guaranteed if good care of our beloved
Mobile Phone is not taken into consideration.
So how do you take Good Care of your
Android Mobile Phone so that it lives to give you a Satisfactory User Service?
Here are 21 Tips you can use to take Good Care of your
Android Mobile Phone so that you gain useful service from it.
21 Tips on how to take good care of your Android Mobile Phone
1. Buy a Mobile Phone Casing for your Mobile Phone
A Mobile Phone's Casing protects it from scratches especially if you are the type that lumps all your items in one pocket, bag or your workstation is rugged. Think of a situation where you have to quickly leave the office and you pick your
Mobile Phone, Pens, Keys and other personal items and stash them in your pocket or bag. Your
Mobile Phone is likely to get scratches on its surface and display screen. A good
Mobile Phone Casing should not cost you more than Kshs 1500.
2. Buy a Mobile Phone Screen Shield to protect your Mobile Phone’s screen display
Have you ever seen those ugly lines on a smashed glass window or on a broken mirror? That’s what is bound to happen if you do not take good care of the display screen of your
Android Mobile Phone. To safeguard against such like incidences, get a screen shield for your
Mobile Phone at a
Mobile Phones’ accessories shop. It should not cost you more than Kshs 300.
3. Avoid placing your phone at the edge / corner of your working station, raised places or hanging it somewhere.
Chances of your phone tipping over, smashing to the floor and breaking into a thousand pieces are high when your
Mobile Phone vibrates and shifts from its current position when you receive a Phone Call, SMS or a WhatsApp message.
4. Do not make it a habit of browsing internet while your Mobile Phone is Charging
It is not advisable to use internet while your
Mobile Phone is charging, the best thing to do is to turn off your internet and let your phone charge. Connecting to the internet and using internet while your phone is on the charger strains your battery and makes it dissipate a lot of heat which can damage electronic components of your
Mobile Phone hence reducing its useful lifetime service.
5. Do not use any random charger to charge your Mobile Phone
Use appropriate
Mobile Phone chargers that are certified by the manufacturers of the device. Some chargers you may come across may not have the correct output power ratings for charging your
Mobile Phone and may thus destroy your
Mobile Phone’s battery.
6. Replace your Mobile Phone Battery with a correct similar battery
If you have to seek a replacement for your
Mobile Phone’s Battery, ensure that you replace it with a similar type and not any other Battery that fits. It is good to consult the expertise of your
Mobile Phone manufacturer’s service center advice to get the authentic replacements for your
Mobile Phone.
7. Backup your Mobile Phone’s contacts by enabling Google backup on scheduled basis e.g. every week, month
This is useful because you get to have a fall back copy of all your saved contacts should your device act up on you or get stolen.
8. Put a Security Code on your Mobile Phone
A security code unlike a PIN helps protect your
Mobile Phone’s vital data or misuse should it fall into the hands of unscrupulous people or nosy people. Put a code that is not known to anyone else apart from you. Do not put codes that people can easily guess e.g. year when you were born, year when Kenya got independence or your employee number. Whatever you do, make sure that your Security Code is not one that anyone can easily guess at.
9. Activate use of Biometric Fingerprint Authentication if your Mobile Phone comes with an onboard Fingerprint Reader Scanner
Biometric Fingerprint Authentication is the other best alternative to passwords as it is unique to the bearer of the biometric digital print. Unlike passwords, security codes and PINs, no one can guess your Biometric Fingerprint Data. Put it to use for added Maximum Security in your
Mobile Phone.
10. Wash your Mobile Phone regularly
You should NEVER EVER do this! The relationship between your
Mobile Phone and Water should be like that one of a Cat and Water. Cats dislike water and they never want you to splash water on them. Keep your phone away from moist and wet environments. All electronic devices are made up of metallic components that would rust very fast if they came into contact with moisture and water. Rust destroys electronic appliances and renders them useless within a short period of time. Make sure your
Mobile Phone does not come into contact with Water and Moisture and it will live to serve you for a long time.
11. Do not leave your Mobile Phone’s Bluetooth turned on while in Public Places
Bluetooth feature allows Bluetooth enabled devices to share files and data and can also be used to control certain functionalities of the connected device. If you are not using Bluetooth in your phone, consider turning it off so that you do not drain your battery’s charge quickly. This will help you get enough usage for your
Mobile Phone’s charge especially if you are engaged in outdoor activities where you do not have access to your
Mobile Phone’s charging accessories.
12. Connect to Wi-Fi connections you trust
Do not be tempted to always connect to any Wi-Fi connection you find open in Public Places especially the ones that do not ask for passwords. Train yourself to always connect your
Mobile Phone to trusted Wi-Fi connections where for you to connect to internet on Wi-Fi you have to ask for a user name and user password. This way you can be sure your
Mobile Phone connects to secure and trusted internet connections. The safest way to use your
Mobile Phone on internet is to buy data bundles for your
Mobile Phone and only connect to safe Wi-Fi connections.
13. Do not deliberately drop your Mobile Phone on hard surfaces or throw it
Taking good care of your
Mobile Phone also involves gently handling your mobile device. If you have to place your phone on a hard surface like on a slab or table, do it softly so that you do not bang your
Mobile Phone on the surface. This way your
Mobile Phone will not break or have its internal components dislocate and tear.
Mobile Phone’s batteries tend to lose their terminal grips when they shift in their casings and this could result in your
Mobile Phone unintentionally going off or causing a short circuit inside your
Mobile Phone which could render your
Mobile Phone dysfunctional.
14. Do not open too many Apps in your Mobile Phone at the same time
In as much as computing power is significantly moving to hand held devices,
Mobile Phones are not as intelligent as Computers on matters Memory Management. Your
Mobile Phone may not know how to push to the background or relinquish memory resources from being used by applications that the
Mobile Phone User is not currently using. If you notice applications in your
Mobile Phone are taking long to respond and that there’s gradual reduction in the performance of your
Mobile Phone you may have to consider turning off the applications you are not using so that your
Mobile Phone does not behave as though it is crawling while you use it.
15. Buy an Antivirus for your Mobile Phone
You should consider buying a
Mobile Phone Antivirus for your
Mobile Phone if you want to stay clear from virus attacks, data loss and malfunctioning of your
Mobile Phone. A
Mobile Phone Antivirus behaves and acts in the same way as a Computer Antivirus. It is the Security Guard of your Phone from external attacks you may not be aware about. Never ever think of an Antivirus as a 'by the way' or unnecessary expenditure that you can do without, it is a necessity and a requirement that secures your
Mobile Phone at all times.
16. Free up your Internal Memory Space from data you do not need
A
Mobile Phone’s internal Memory is a resource that is likely to be misused by you and applications that hog memory space. Freeing up your
Mobile Phone’s internal memory space helps your
Mobile Phone operate optimally. Remove data you do not need to use in the foreseeable future e.g. files, music, videos that you have already archived elsewhere. You do not need your
Mobile Phone to be an electronic data bin and besides, you will also have enough space for storing new items and data you need to carry around in your
Mobile Phone.
17. Keep your Mobile Phone Cool
Do not place your
Mobile Phone on hot surfaces e.g. on a Microwave, Hot Sufuria lid, on the Engine of your Car, next to the Iron Box or any place where the temperature is likely to rise above room temperature etc. Your
Mobile Phone can explode with disastrous effects and even cause fire if exposed to conditions where increased temperatures are likely to cause plastic to melt or batteries to explode. Do not leave your
Mobile Phone out in the sun.
18. Update your Mobile Phone Android OS Device
Whenever there are new updates for your
Mobile Phone, plan to install them as they help your phone stay updated on matters security and fixing bugs. This is not a necessity and you do not have to rush to do it every time your
Mobile Phone notifies you that there are updates ready to be installed in your
Mobile Phone. The best thing is to have a good functioning Antivirus in your
Mobile Phone instead. If you do not know how to go about installing these updates, you can ignore them or seek expertise of your
Mobile Phone manufacturer’s service center help. Sometimes people brick their
Mobile Phones when trying to do these updates. Leave it to the professionals.
19. Clean your SIM Cards surfaces before inserting them to SIM Card slots if migrating from another Mobile Phone
It is usually a good practice to keep the SIM card slots of your
Mobile Phone clean. Small particles of dirt, grease or moisture at the SIM card slots could make your
Mobile Phone fail to connect to the network and your
Mobile Phone will be rendered useless if you cannot call or receive SMS with it. It is not a rare occurrence to hear a friend quip that one of their
Mobile Phone’s SIM card slots is not functional hence they cannot have two SIM cards operational in their Mobile device. To prevent these and other related instances, it is best to insert clean SIM cards into your
Mobile Phone SIM Card slots. Wipe dusty or wet SIM cards before inserting them to your
Mobile Phone’s SIM card slots.
20. Make it a habit of checking that you have your Mobile Phone every time you move from one place to another
Have you ever been seated next to a person or this workmate who is always moving around and every time they do so they leave their
Mobile Phone behind and you have to suffer the nuisance of its loud ringtone until it stops ringing because it is not ethical to pick up other people’s phones and answer them? Make sure your
Mobile Phone does not become a bother to those around you and know when to turn it off and when to put it on vibrate and when to remove the ringtone. A
Mobile Phone is like a pet, if your pet’s existence is becoming a problem to everyone around you then that could possibly draw a dislike for it and you and your
Mobile Phone are likely to get parted. Just like that! Without a trace. Ever searched for something without finding it and no one ever seems to understand or explain its mysterious disappearance? People have a way of making this disappear! Lol! But Christians do not help make things disappear. Anyway, this tip will help you understand Tip 21 below.
21. Protect your Mobile Phone from Theft and keep it safely in ways you do not tempt thieves to get away with it
Tip NO 20 above can help you in protecting your
Mobile Phone from getting stolen. When you move and always go with your
Mobile Phone, you will reduce the chances of someone with a thieving mindset (
yiimu ya ung’ei) from getting away with your
Mobile Phone. Thieves may not necessarily take away your entire
Mobile Phone and get away with it, but they may choose to remove the casing, batteries or other accessories from your
Mobile Phone. That’s why you should always keep tabs of your
Mobile Phone every time in the same way you clutch onto your child’s hand in public places so that they do not disappear. Also, if you commuting in a public service vehicle, you could draw your phone from your pocket and hold it in your hand while you board or alight so that it is not stealthily pulled out of your pocket without you knowing by thieves (
ing’ei). Do not leave your phone on the dash board of your car where thugs are likely to notice it and break into your car to get it.