As much as people depend on their smartphones to keep them connected to the outside world, many people often neglect taking care of them properly. Whether it’s being careless and dropping it or leaving it in a hot car all day, there are many ways to damage your phone. Contacting a phone repair company is always an option, but let’s look at a few ways you can keep your phone in tip-top shape from the start.

1. Don’t expose it to the elements — Neither heat or cold are good for your phone. It’s important to keep your phone out of the sun and out of the cold weather. Getting too hot or too cold could cause your phone to stop working properly.
2. Don’t ignore malware — Smartphone malware can do far worse than computer malware. Smartphone malware can track your location and take important information from your phone. It’s important to install virus removal software to keep your phone clean and running smoothly.
3. Don’t keep your phone in your pocket — Putting your phone in your pocket could easily cause it to break. By sitting the wrong way, sitting on something, or having it fall out of your pocket, your phone is always at risk by being in your pants pocket.
4. Don’t get it wet — While this may seem like an obvious statement, some people think a tiny bit of water won’t do any harm. But even the slightest drop of water can irreparably damage your phone. Always be careful when your phone is around water, even next to the kitchen sink. If your phone does get wet, act fast and put the device in dry rice to attempt to remove the moisture.
5. Don’t always leave it on — While smartphones tend to be glues to their owner’s hand, they need to rest at some point. Try to shut your phone off for an hour or so once a week to ensure the caches are cleared and the subsystems are restarted properly.

Smartphones aren’t cheap and while they’re fragile, you should do everything you can to keep them working at maximum efficiency. When in doubt, take your phone to a phone repair service to fix any cracks, conduct virus clean up, and get your phone back into working shape.