In a world that runs on technology, particularly mobile phones, having a cell phone problem can just about shut your life down. While it sounds dramatic, most of us use our mobile devices to maintain our busy, scheduled lives and keep us on track for everything from counting steps to taking our medicine. While there are a lot of cell phone problems that can affect your life, here’s a list of five of the most common and how to fix them to help return your life to normal.
Waiting on a slow phone can be as excruciating as watching paint dry. Luckily a slow phone is generally an easy fix. Older phones can cause a slow down, but if you have a newer device, then age is not the cell phone problem. One problem could be that your Random Access Memory (RAM) may be full. Or, you could have a faulty app. Either way, it’s good to go through your apps and delete any you no longer use. You can also delete files and clear the cache data, which is the temporary storage area. If you still want an app but it’s acting wonky, uninstall it and then reinstall it. Often this will force updates that will fix bugs. Be sure that it’s backed up on the cloud so you don’t lose any data you wanted.
Battery life is another cell phone problem that comes with older mobile devices. But before you decide to toss your phone and purchase a used mobile device or a brand new one, there are some tips you can use to get better battery life. Whether you’re using an Android or an iPhone, you can go to your settings menu and choose battery. You’ll be able to see what is using the most battery power and delete it if possible. Another way to help your battery life is to turn on the battery saving mode, turn off the locations, and dim the brightness to help save your battery. All these can drain the battery even when you’re not using your phone.
Tied into the cell phone problem of a slow phone and poor battery life is the issue of full storage. Photos, songs, videos, documents—they all take up valuable storage space. Just like when you’re fixing your slow phone, to clear up storage space you’ll want to uninstall apps you no longer want and clear the cache. You can also delete old phone calls and text messages. For all those beloved photos, videos, songs, etc., you can move them to the cloud or an SD card.
Sometimes you can run into problems with your SD card. Most commonly, your phone won’t connect to it. If this happens and you have a PC, connect a card reader to your computer and format it two times. Restart your phone and insert the SD card again. If you have a Mac, Go to Finder > Preferences > General and make sure the External disks option is selected. Then go to the Sidebar tab and make sure the External disks option is also chosen.
You find an app you just know you need to have, but it won’t download. This problem can range from a minor inconvenience to an emergency, depending on what app you need. One of the best ways to avoid this is to not use multiple apps at the same time. But if it happens, turn off your phone and restart it. Also check that all your software updates have been downloaded. If that doesn’t work, clear the cache of the app.
We all use our phones a lot, but sometimes overuse can cause overheating. Malicious apps or even gaming apps can turn up the temp on your mobile devices too. If this happens, turn off your phone and give it a break. Do not use it while it’s charging. If all else fails, contact the phone manufacturer to see if there is a defect with the cell phone.
Learning how to diagnose your mobile phone problems is the first step to overcoming troublesome phone issues. If you’re unable to resolve the problems, contacting the cell phone manufacturer can often help.
