You want to preserve the quality and condition of your new phone. Maybe you damaged your old phone, and you want to make sure that you care for your phone correctly this time around. Or maybe you did not damage your old phone and kept it in great condition. However, you want to ensure that this new phone lasts just as long as your previous one did.

All of these are steps that you can use to maintain the pristine condition of your phone:

 Buy a Cell Phone Case

One of the first accessories that you should buy for your phone is a shock-absorbent phone case. Whether you drop your phone as soon as you purchase it or drop it after a few years of usage, your phone case will be your first line of defense against expensive or irreparable damage. Hard phone cases additionally do not have to be aesthetically unappealing; some types of phone cases will still serve to protect your phone but have different designs and patterns that can speak to your personality. Make sure that when you are purchasing your phone case, you are getting the right one for your phone make and model; otherwise, the phone case could have sizing issues with the new phone, rendering it inappropriate for adequate protection.

Invest in a High-Quality Screen Protector

While a glass screen protector can be on the more expensive end, it will never be as expensive as replacing or repairing your phone screen. This damage can even occur with a cell phone case as most cell phone cases do not come with covers for your screen. A glass screen protector will also protect against dirt, debris, rough surfaces, and other potential factors that may cause scratches or cracks. After all, even if your screen is made out of scratch-resistant glass, your screen protector can still save your phone screen from shattering, damaging the screen protector instead for a lower replacement cost.

Recharge Your Phone Consistently

You can maintain your phone’s battery life by regularly charging it. Most phones operate best with a charge that is neither too low nor too high; however, some phones have to be charged more frequently than others. You should never let your phone charge for too long. Overcharging your phone will degrade the lithium ion battery—so don’t go to sleep with your phone plugged into the charger!

You should also seek to keep the original charger for your phone if possible. This allows for a shorter charging time, longer battery life, and overall better functionality as it is optimized for your phone. That being said, if you lose or break your charger, don’t worry. You can look into purchasing a new one here.

Keep Your Phone Away from Your Keys

If you continually place your keys in the same pocket as your phone, chances are, you are causing consistent damage to your phone’s screen. Little scratches from your keys or cards can lead to significant damage to the phone’s touchscreen capabilities in the future as well as cause weak points in the phone screen that are more susceptible to cracking completely. Keeping your phone away from your keys may be tricky, however, if you want to have your phone on your person.

We suggest purchasing a wallet case to make sure that your phone is safe, whether you are traveling or just running errands. To some extent, a wallet case will also protect your phone screen during a drop. However, this is mainly used for safe portability.

Reduce Temperature Exposure

You have likely experienced your phone overheating before. Both hot and cold temperatures are not conducive to the functions of your phone and can even impact your phone’s battery or internal parts. Likewise, charging your phone in an enclosed space can be a safety and health hazard for those nearby. As lithium-ion batteries tend to overheat quickly, you could be facing a fire if you are not careful in your phone usage.

 Clean Your Phone

When most people think of cleaning their phone, they think of wiping down their phone screen with a soft cloth to get rid of the smudges. They are partially correct. You should only use dry tissue/soft linen cloth or alcohol wipes to get rid of the smudges, dirt, and grime on your phone’s surface. Note that this does not mean that you should add any moisture when cleaning your phone; this can destroy its internal operating system depending on whether the phone is water-resistant.

We do, however, especially recommend using alcohol wipes to clean your phone. Think about it: your phone goes wherever you go. How many times have you brought your phone into the bathroom vs. how many times have you actually cleaned your phone? The disparity between the two may serve as an alarm for some readers. Don’t worry about your previous contamination—just give your phone a quick once-over with alcohol wipes to reduce the bacteria. A bathroom additionally might be a source of water for your phone, which will kill it. Therefore, it is a best practice to not bring that type of device in the bathroom with you.

Don’t Download Untrustworthy Apps

Your phone can maintain its good condition as long as it has no malware or hackers seeking to compromise the system. While both the App Store and Google Play have released regulations that cut down on the number of scam apps, you should never be too sure when going to download an app. Therefore, do your own research to deem whether an app is considered trustworthy.

In order to maintain your phone’s condition, you must be willing to make several changes to both your behaviors and your level of phone protection investment. Specifically, you should seek to only interact with trustworthy brands, buy multiple layers of protection for your phone, and power up your phone without overcharging. If you do not have a backup plan to strategically protect your phone and its features, your phone runs a higher risk of falling and cracking or being hacked.