Smartphones are one of the most abused personal gadgets of this generation. While we never tend to realise how we end up abusing our most endeared gadget, it can get life-threatening sometimes. As recent as this June, a Malaysian CEO died after his smartphone exploded.
Also, we have heard of several incidents of smartphone explosions and electrocutions. As far as personal use is concerned, people tend to carelessly use their smartphones and end up investing it with malware. Here are 13 things you must not do with your smartphones.
Don’t overcharge your smartphone
Stop the practice of charging your smartphone for long hours, as this may lead to overheating. Always remember to unplug once the phone is charged.
Avoid keeping your smartphone in the chest pocket of your shirt
While experts have debated this but doctors suggest people to avoid keeping any mobile transmitting device in the chest pocket of the shirt citing health reasons.
Don’t plug in your earphones and listen to music while charging the phone
Recently, several news reports revealed that plugging your earphones to listen to music while your phone is charging may lead to electrocution. In fact, several deaths have been reported this year in accidents related to ‘smartphone electrocution’.
Don’t sleep with your smartphones nearby
Never sleep with your smartphone nearby, especially underneath the pillow. Not only is it risky, doctors debate that mobile devices interfere with brain signals during sleep which affects peaceful sleep.
Don’t expose your smartphone to direct sunlight, especially while charging
Avoid charging your smartphone in direct sunlight or other hot places like near the car’s dashboard (of course, during the day) especially for long hours. This may make the heating issue worse. The accepted temperature is usually 0 to 45-degree centigrade.
Never charge your phone on uneven surfaces
Many of us do this, leaving our smartphones under the pillow to charge. This too needs to be avoided as it may cause your smartphone to overheat and catch fire.
Don’t exert pressure on your smartphone
Another thing to avoid is pressure. Try not to exert pressure on your smartphone, say keeping it below a heavy thing in your bag.
Avoid charging your phone in power strip extension cord or multi-plug
As a precaution, it’s always better not to charge your smartphone on those power strip extension cords. This is because if any device in one of the sockets in the cord is affected, it is sure to cause damage to your smartphone as well.
Don’t get your smartphones repaired from unauthorised shops
This too is a must follow. Always get your smartphone repaired only at authorised centres. This is important to ensure that its circuitry and original parts are not affected. Also, unauthorised shops can harvest your data or install malicious apps without your knowledge.
Never use cheap adapters to charge your smartphones
It’s always best to use the charger that comes with your smartphone (manufacturer’s original charger). In case the charger gets lost or starts malfunctioning, always replace it with branded chargers. Fake and unbranded chargers pose one of the biggest risks.
Don’t forget to remove case while charging
Though not always possible, it is always better to remove the case while charging your smartphone. As cases restrict heat dissipation while charging.
Avoid taking calls or playing games while charging mobile
If you have the tendency to play games, watch videos or talk over the phone while it is charging then you should stop doing it. The phone not only gets overheated unnecessarily there are chances of electrocution as well.
Never plug earphones or charger to the smartphone when the phone is wet or when you take it out of sweaty pant pockets
This is common sense, don’t plug anything into a wet phone. Also, sometimes unknowingly, your phone gets moist inside sweaty pant pockets, be sure of that before you plug something.
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