5 ways you’re ruining your expensive phone, laptop, tablet and TV
Our devices are significant investments. You need to treat your tech well to get your money’s worth. Regular maintenance is one way to stay ahead of the game. Tap or click for six checkups to avoid a hefty repair bill.
Based on calls to my show, emails and questions posted on my website’s tech support forum, here are five common mistakes that could cost you.
1. You’re charging too much
Do you keep your phone plugged in all the time? Apple says that when your iPhone “remain(s) at full charge for prolonged periods of time, battery health can be affected.”
Android phone manufacturers, including Samsung, say the same. “Do not leave your phone connected to the charger for long periods of time or overnight.” Huawei says, “Keeping your battery level as close to the middle (30% to 70%) as possible can effectively prolong the battery life.”
The official word is to keep your phone charged — but not fully charged. Get in the habit of unplugging your tech after it is fully charged.
More tech smarts: Tap or click for tricks to keep your phone battery in tip-top shape.
2. You wait too long to charge your laptop
Laptop batteries have a finite number of charge-discharge cycles. If you frequently let your battery entirely run out of juice, it affects the charge-discharge cycle and diminishes its intended lifespan.
Your laptop battery can also lose efficiency in another way. Let’s say you regularly charge your laptop from 30% to 50%, or about 20% each time. Well, do that five times and you’ll have completed one battery cycle because you’ve charged your laptop 100% in total.
A good rule of thumb is to keep your battery charged to at least 40% most of the time. Tap or click here to check your laptop’s battery health.
3. You go with the cheapest option
Hand sanitizer recall: Another toxic ingredient found in dozens of brands
It’s been more than five months since the COVID-19 pandemic became official. In the days leading up to shutdowns across the country, products like face masks, toilet paper and hand sanitizer were flying off store shelves.
How to enter your home safely after being out in this pandemic
Fear over coronavirus and COVID-19 has forced Americans to completely rethink hygiene. According to a 2018 report from the CDC, only 60% of Americans washed their hands frequently before the crisis. We’re willing to bet that percentage is much higher now.
Complete guide to sanitizing your tech: Phones, laptops, computers, tablets
Our electronic devices are used almost daily, meaning they can get downright nasty. Our screens get smudged, our keyboards collect dust and that dry cloth we use to wipe things down doesn’t seem to have much effect.
Knowing how to clean our tech is one of the many ways we can control the spread of germs in our homes. And right now, knowing how to sanitize things should be a top priority.