Tech Expert Exposes 5 Costly Mistakes That Wreck Your Devices
You wouldn’t buy a nice car and skip oil changes. So why do we treat our tech so badly? If you want your expensive phone, computer and all the rest to last, keep reading.
1. You’re always plugged in
Don’t fall into the (bad) habit of plugging in your phone whenever the battery isn’t topped off. Apple says that battery health can be affected when your iPhone ‘remain(s) at full charge for prolonged periods of time’. The same advice goes for Androids. Samsung says not to leave your phone connected to the charger for long periods of time or overnight.Â
2. You wait too long to charge your laptop
If you frequently let your laptop battery entirely run out of juice, it diminishes its intended lifespan. Like phones, laptop batteries are only meant to charge so many times. Your laptop battery can also lose efficiency in another way. Say you regularly charge your laptop from 30 per cent to 50 per cent, or about 20 per cent each time. Do that five times, and you’ll have completed one battery cycle because you’ve charged your laptop 100 per cent.
3. You’re superficial
Wiping the fingerprints off your screen isn’t enough. Dirt, dust, and other gunk can build up in ports, speakers and other small crevices on almost all our daily devices. Don’t just ignore the mess – clean it up the right way. You may be tempted to grab a toothpick or Q-tip since you have them around. Be careful. The fragile ends of toothpicks can break off into your electronics or even damage small speakers. Q-tips often leave behind lint that’s tough to remove.
4. Your phone gets too much sun
Most smartphones are rugged. Yours can probably stand up to dust and a bit of water. One thing it’s not built for is sweltering temperatures. Leaving your phone in a hot car or the sun can cause severe damage. The battery could overheat, and you can even lose or corrupt your data. Extreme cold temperatures are rough, too. Lithium-ion batteries can stop discharging electricity in freezing temperatures. This can shorten your battery life, lead to display problems, and even crack the display glass. Yikes!
5. Your router is wide open
You’d be surprised how many people never changed their router’s default password. Bad move. Sure, someone can more easily mooch your Wi-Fi, but a particularly nefarious hacker can use your network to attack your gadgets. They could even download dangerous files or visit illegal websites through your router. Step one: Create an original password that’s hard to crack. You can change this on your router’s admin page.
