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How to breathe new life into your old phone

Patrick Devaney

Patrick Devaney

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On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you want a new phone? I always hover around 0 for the first 6 months I’ve had a handset and then over the next couple of months I rise steadily through the scale until I get to 10. I can’t get myself a new handset every 6 months, though; they cost a fortune. Even if I traded in my old one I’d still be laying out $200-300 every eight months just to make my phone feel new again.

In reality, there are plenty of things that can be done to make a phone feel new again, even if it is over two years old. Check out these tips below and you’ll be loving your little buddy again in no time.

How to breathe new life into your old phone

Clean out all the old crap you’re not using anymore

How to Breathe New Life into your Old Phone phone clean
There aplenty of apps available that can find all the stuff your not using regularly in an instant

This is the same principle that has seen you reinstalling Windows on your PC every few years. Old files and applications will clog up your device and every process will take longer to execute. Think of Usain Bolt running through a swamp and you’ll get the picture.

Drain the swamp. Apps like CCleaner and Phone Clean are excellent for this. Once they’ve done their business delete any apps you haven’t used in 90 days. There is no need to hold back here either as all of your apps will there in the app store waiting for you to download them if you should miss them. Photos are another one, but before you bog yourself down in old selfies you should…

Get a cloud-based photo sync app

How to Breathe New Life into your Old Phone Get a cloud based photo sync app google photos
With Google Photos you’ll be able to clear up huge amounts ofspace on all of your devices

Google Photos is by far and away the best app for this purpose. You can set it up so it will automatically backup your photos and then, based on your settings, the app will remove old photos from your phone if they’ve already been backed up. This way you’ll always have plenty of space and your phone will run that bit quicker.

Get yourself a new wallpaper for your home screen and lock screen

Now, if you love your current wallpaper so much you’d take it with you if you bought a new phone, don’t change it. If you’re not head over heels in love with your wallpaper, however, getting yourself a brand new one will be one of the quickest ways you can get your phone feeling fresh again. Go on, treat yourself.

Our Spanish site recently featured a whole pile of cool wallpapers, so maybe you could find a good one here.

Install a new battery

Lack of battery power is one of the biggest frustrations people have with old phones. Especially iPhones, which only have about 5 minutes of power in them straight out the box.

Before you go running off to eBay to buy a new battery, remember that it might not be that easy swapping the batteries yourself. It might be better if you look for reputable place near you that’ll give you the screen and installation for a fixed price. I’ve seen prices of about $50 to replace the screens of phones like Samsung galaxy s5 round here. If you’ve got a cracked screen as well, you could try and get yourself a bit of discount if they’ll replace both at once.

This option may cost a little but a quick look at the price of new phones will have you laughing all the way to the bank when you see how much you’ll be saving.

Update all your apps

This one is useful because it’ll get all your apps running a bit quicker. These days, however, updating apps is also an important security procedure. Recent events have brought to public attention modern threats like ransomware. The best defense against these is to keep all of your apps up to date with the latest security patches. If viruses or malware do get on to your phone, it’ll only make it you want a new one more.

Get yourself a jazzy new case

How to Breathe New Life into your Old Phone Get yourself a jazzy new case
Cases these days can do so much more than just look good

This one may cost a little, but it will have a huge effect on how you feel about your phone. There are so many options out there as well. These days you can get cases that will protect your phone from a fall, defy gravity, and even give your phone a battery boost. In fact, it isn’t just phone cases that can make your phone feel good as new; there are so many cool accessories out there that will make your phone feel like a new friend. This one is my favorite.

So there you have a few ways to get a bit more out of your faithful old friend. If you’re like me,you’ll have a bit of an emotional attachment to your phone that will trump that innate need to consume that has been bred into all of us. Of course, sooner or later, phones need to be replaced.

Just not yet!

Patrick Devaney

Patrick Devaney

Patrick Devaney is a news reporter for Softonic, keeping readers up to date on everything affecting their favorite apps and programs. His beat includes social media apps and sites like Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Twitter, YouTube, and Snapchat. Patrick also covers antivirus and security issues, web browsers, the full Google suite of apps and programs, and operating systems like Windows, iOS, and Android.

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