Is your phone slowing down? Here's how to keep it running like new
BOSTON - Imagine the moment your phone battery dies, but this time, it's for the very last time.
Why? Because you just didn't take very good care of it.
Now that means your friends and family, and even celebrity crushes won't be able to get in touch with you.
Steve Gardner, the owner of UBreakiFix by Asurion in Downtown Boston, walked WBZ through three easy things you can do to make sure you get the most life out of your smart phone.
The first tip is something very basic: keep your phone clean.
"You'd be surprised how often lint from the pocket or something in the purse can get into the charging ports or into the holes of the device," Gardner said.
He continued by explaining how you might not think you need it, but sometimes going to a pro for help is necessary.
"I've had customers, in the past, they feel the charge port doesn't fit exactly right into the device. The wiggle it around or they keep pressing it around different angles. When you come into the store, we have microscopes, we have little tools to go in there and clean that out without damaging the pins," said Gardner.
Another tip: keep your phone in a case.
That's how he said you can avoid some of the pricier repairs.
And when it comes to putting your phone in rice Gardner says don't believe the hype!
"I've seen people that have read the myth that if your phone gets water damage and you put it in a bag of rice, that that'll somehow suck the water out of the phone," Gardner said.
"That's totally a myth. The only thing it does, we say, is ruin a good bag of rice and get rice inside of your phone," Gardner told WBZ.
Instead take your phone into a repair shop right away where they will open it up, dry it out, and replace what's been damaged.
"The last thing, I think, is just making sure that you're replacing the battery after a couple of years, just so that you can get that new experience like you've just had a new phone," said Gardner.
Feeling like you have a new phone without actually having to buy a new one? That sounds like a good deal.
Gardner also recommends that when your phone battery starts to get low, connect your phone on a charger as soon as you can.
He said to think of battery life like an elastic band, the more you have to stretch before it can return to full charge, the more likely you'll wear your phone's battery down quickly.