Help! I dropped my phone in water

Dry it out in a jar of rice

If you drop your phone in water, it’s not necessarily a disaster. But time is of the essence, so act fast. If the water was clean, or you’ve left your phone in the wash:

• • Switch off the phone and remove the SIM, memory card, and battery pack (if possible); dry them with a lint-free cloth and put them in a warm room.
• • Dry the phone as much as possible with a lint-free cloth, then place it in a jar of uncooked rice, burying it under the rice. Seal the jar and leave it for 24 hours—rice is a desiccant and will draw water out of the phone. Replace the SIM card, battery, and memory card and try restarting the phone. If you’re lucky, it’ll jump back to life.
• • If you dropped the phone in dirty or salty water, remove the SIM, memory card, and battery pack. Fill a sink with clean water, submerge the phone and move it to and fro gently to rinse out the dirty water. Then follow the steps above.

TRY USING THE DRYING PROPERTIES OF RICE TO SALVAGE YOUR WET PHONE

My phone’s keys stick

A quick cleanup will get you texting again

Dirt and grime can work their way into the gaps between your phone’s keys and its body, making the keys slow or “sticky.”

• • Switch off your phone, then dip a microfiber cloth into isopropyl alcohol and press it down onto the sticky key. Rub the key in small circular motions while keeping it firmly depressed. Don’t use cotton wool to clean the phone—its fibers may themselves get trapped down the sides of the keys.

I’ve got no more space on my smartphone

Purge unwanted files

However much memory originally comes with your smartphone, it is likely that you will soon fill it up with photos, apps, music, films, ebooks, and video clips. As the memory approaches capacity, its performance drops, slowing everything down, so it’s worth spring cleaning your phone from time to time.

• • The easiest way to manage all the files on your smartphone is to connect it to your computer via the supplied cable and use the manufacturer’s software to move files on and off your phone.
• • Review your apps and uninstall any that you haven’t used in the last few months—some apps may take up 1GB or more of memory.
• • The biggest files kept on most smartphones are photos and videos. Back them up to cloud storage, such as iCloud or Google Drive (see box, below), then delete them from your phone to free up lots of memory. When you want them again, you can simply view them online or download them onto your phone again.
• • If you subscribe to online newspapers or podcasts, old issues can quickly clog up your phone’s memory: use your phone’s software to delete unwanted issues.
• • Be ruthless with emails—delete old messages that you’re never likely to need again.
• • The memory in many phones can be easily expanded by fitting an inexpensive micro-SD card into a slot on the phone. Some smartphones—notably iPhones—are not expandable in this way because their memory is built-in.

JARGON BUSTER

Cloud storage Instead of copying data to a physical storage device, like a hard disk or CD-ROM, you can back it up to a “cloud,” which is actually a series of huge data storage centers around the world that you access seamlessly via the Internet.

SMARTPHONES ARE ALL-PURPOSE MACHINES; SWITCHING OFF FUNCTIONS YOU DON’T NEED WILL SAVE BATTERY POWER AND MAKE YOUR PHONE FASTER

Ten ways to boost your phone’s battery life

Smartphones are power-hungry devices, often using up a full charge in less than a day. There’s no need to get stranded with a dead phone—follow these tips to make your battery go further.

1. 1 Go to your phone’s “Settings” menu and switch off the Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS functions if you don’t use them regularly.
2. 2 Reduce the brightness of the phone’s screen to the lowest usable level, or set the brightness to adjust automatically to ambient light.
3. 3 Set a dark background, rather than a photo, as your wallpaper.
4. 4 Switch off your phone’s vibrate alert and turn down the volume of its ringer.
5. 5 Keep your phone cool—don’t leave it in direct sunlight or inside a hot car.
6. 6 Quit any apps that you are not using—keeping them running in the background uses up battery life.
7. 7 Many phones come supplied with a power-management app that optimizes battery use—turn it on and configure it to your needs.
8. 8 Switch your phone off or set it to “airplane mode” if you’re in an area where there is no signal. Otherwise, the phone will keep trying to connect to a network, using power.
9. 9 Use Wi-Fi instead of 3G, 4G, or 5G. Wi-Fi uses 40% less power when surfing the web. By using Wi-Fi instead of your cellular data you’ll save battery power and if you have limited data per month, you’ll help manage that data.
10. 10 Buy an external battery. These are available for many phones in the form of a case that adds hours of battery life, though at the cost of some extra bulk and weight.

How do I recycle my old cell phone?

Be environmentally aware

Every year millions of cell phones are discarded, potentially releasing toxic materials into the environment.

• • In most cases, recycling a cell phone means donating it to a worthy cause. Next time you upgrade, free up some storage space and bring that drawer full of older models to your local wireless retailer (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, LG, Sony, Best Buy) or big box office supply store (Staples, Home Depot).
• • Many charities and local government offices also accept cell phone donations.
• • You can also consult these websites for more information on recycling mobile devices: Earth911.com and call2recycle.org.

The photos I take with my phone are blurry

Most phones give you a choice

Most phones include a camera capable of recording still and video images. Camera phones are constantly improving, but most lack the controls of a conventional camera that enable you to get crisp images in a variety of conditions.

• • Clean your lens with a lint-free cloth before you take a shot. Phones live in pockets or bags, where the lens will soon get dirty and covered with fingerprints, resulting in hazy images.
• • Camera phones tend to have small sensor, which means that images taken in low light tend to look grainy; move your subject to a well-lit area or switch on room lights. Use the camera’s flash as a last resort—its light is rarely flattering—and remember that it will not reach a subject more than a couple of yards away.
• • Keep your phone steady by wedging it against a door or wall—camera phones may set long shutter speeds that will otherwise make your images look shaky.
• • There’s often a short delay between pressing the shutter and the phone taking the picture. Don’t move the phone for a second or so after you’ve pressed the shutter or it may be in motion when the picture is recorded, resulting in blur.
• • Set your camera to maximum resolution and avoid using its digital zoom function (if you have this option). Carry out any image editing or cropping on your computer later.

Phones usually have wide-angle lenses, so at a distance of 5 yards, a person will look very small in the frame. Get closer to your subject for more interesting and dynamic shots.

My smartphone bill is sky high

Keep an eye on your data use

Smartphones give you access to a wealth of information and media, but many plans put a cap on the amount of data that you can use each month. A typical phone contract includes an allowance of between 250MB and 20GB per month; the more data that’s included, the higher the monthly cost. If you exceed your data limit, you’ll pay a high price. Your data use can mount up surprisingly quickly: watching a film through your network, chatting on Skype for an hour, or listening to an hour of streaming music can use 200MB or more of data.

• • If possible, wait until you can connect to free Wi-Fi before using your phone’s data features.
• • When you are on the road, use your car’s GPS, not your phone, to find your way. The phone has to download map data as you move, but maps are preloaded in a GPS, making this free to use.
• • Be careful of how many “free” games you play on the move. Many of these are funded by advertisements that pop up on your screen during play. Every advertisement has to download through your network, using up your data allowance.
• • If you regularly use more data than your plan allows, go with an unlimited plan. Look for discounts that my be available, many companies offer ones to military families and folks 55 and older.
• • When you go abroad, your phone will switch over to use a local network provider. Calls and—especially—data can be charged at extremely high rates. Call your home network provider before you leave to check if they can put you on a lower tariff in your destination country, and establish exactly what the charges will be. Alternatively, you can disable data roaming on your handset (you’ll be able to select this option in the phone’s “Settings” menu). You’ll then need to use free Wi-Fi hotspots (provided in public areas, such as cafes, restaurants, and libraries) to access data.

Using your phone on vacation can be very costly. If your phone is unlocked, you can buy a local SIM card and fit this into your phone while you’re away. Alternatively, buy a cheap pay-as-you-go phone locally—it may be worth the expense if you plan to make lots of calls.

Make it last CELL PHONES

Equip your phone with a high-quality screen protector and a robust case (below) to protect it against physical damage. Don’t keep the phone in the same pocket or bag as loose keys or coins.

Update your phone software with the latest downloads—you’ll usually be prompted to do so. The latest software will contain fixes for bugs and known security issues. Do this when you are connected to a free, secure Wi-Fi network.

Regularly back up the data on your phone to a “cloud” (see here) or to your computer.

How do I keep my phone secure?

Set a password and be wary of downloads

Your smartphone holds a great deal of personal information, such as lists of your contacts and emails, so it makes sense to protect it from prying eyes.

• • Almost all phones have some form of password protection. Once set up, this requires you to enter a PIN before you can use the phone. You should activate this feature through the phone’s “Settings” menu—it is a simple and effective first line of defense.
• • Be careful what you download. There are hundreds of thousands of apps available for smartphones, some made by reputable publishers, some not. Download apps only from trusted sources, and be sure to read user reviews before installing them.
• • Don’t click on suspicious links sent to you by email, text, or on websites, and consider installing antivirus software on your phone. This can be downloaded in the same way as other apps—just search your app store for “mobile security” or similar key words.
• • Don’t carry out transactions using any of your passwords, PIN codes, or credit card numbers on a public Wi-Fi network—it’s too easy for criminals to eavesdrop and steal your details. Wait until you can connect to a secure Wi-Fi network at home or elsewhere.
• • Check your cell phone bill carefully. Look out for calls to premium-rate numbers and for unusually high amounts of data downloaded. Contact your network provider immediately if you spot anything suspicious.