With the sun now well and truly established in the sky, we’re hitting the parks and beaches in our droves.
But when you want to sneak a look at your smartphone, you find you can’t read it due to the glare.
From preventing your valuable device from overheating, to rescuing it after you drop it in the sea, here are some tips to help keep your phone safe in the hot weather.
You may want to remove your phone case while out enjoying the sun, as cases can trap heat and prevent your phone from cooling down
Overheating
When it comes to overheating, phone batteries can become damaged. Not only can our skin get fizzled, but phones can fizzle out too.
Avoid leaving your phone in direct sunlight for long periods of time, for instance on your car dashboard, as it can overheat quickly. Many phones will automatically shut down when they get too hot, but the intense heat can damage the battery regardless.
You may want to remove your phone case while out enjoying the sun, as cases can trap heat and prevent your phone from cooling down. Just don’t drop it.
When cooling your phone down, do it slowly. Avoid trying to cool it down fast, which can cause further damage. Never place your phone in a refrigerator or ice chest – cooling a phone too rapidly can cause it to short circuit.
Reduce display brightness to lower battery strain, while also identifying and closing power-hungry apps.
This can be done by heading into settings > battery. Tap on the ‘last 10 days’ option, which reveals battery usage for different apps from the past week-and-a-half. If you scroll down, you can see the apps that have used the majority of your battery life, in percentage form. If an app has 20pc next to it, that means it has used up a fifth of all battery life used in the past 10 days.
How to see your phone screen in the sun
While we all love the sun, it can be a nuisance when we are trying to look at our phone screens. Here are some tips to see your phone screen while also enjoying the sun.
Keep your screen clean – no one wants sunscreen finger stains preventing you from seeing your screen.
Increase the brightness of your phone. Both iOS and Android have a “quick settings” feature allowing users to adjust their screen brightness. By swiping up from the bottom on some iPhones or swiping down from the top on others and on Android, you can adjust the brightness bar.
However, it should be noted that the brighter your backlight, the worse it is on the battery and the more it could cause eye strain.
Another option includes purchasing an anti-glare cover. These can cost anywhere from €10 , but they physically shield the phone’s screen from sunlight.
You can also turn your phone on night mode to darken the background and brighten the characters.
Protect your eyes with special blue-light blocking sunglasses.
Other tips include wearing a dark top, and sitting facing the sun so it’s not shining on the screen, or going to a shaded area.
Waterproofing your phone
Some smartphones already have a certain degree of waterproofing and users are advised to check with their phone brand before heading out to the beach. However, if your phone is not splash or waterproof, there are some alternative methods to keeping your phone safe.
There are several fully waterproof cases on the market, which keep the phone completely dry underwater while allowing access to the touchscreen and sound and charging ports. Just be sure to close all the port covers before attempting any underwater photography. Makers also recommend regularly testing the waterproof qualities of the case.
Cheaper soft waterproof pouches which allow access to the touchscreen are also available.
What to do if your phone gets wet
If your phone does somehow get waterlogged, it is advised to turn it off immediately and remove any water you can.
Avoid pressing any keys or buttons on the phone as this can introduce water to the interior, causing more damage. Remove the SIM card, leaving any ports open to allow these spaces to vent and air dry.
You can then use a towel to dry it off and put it in rice for 24 to 48 hours to try to absorb any remaining moisture.
If this doesn’t work, take it to a phone repair shop.
Removing sand from phone
If you’re spending the day at the beach, you might want to also protect your phone from sand.
Some easy simple hacks for preventing sand from entering your phone’s charge and speaker holes include using a sandwich bag.
A cheap and affordable way of keeping your phone safe, you can still also use your phone’s touchscreen while in the bag.
If sand does get into the audio or charging port, remove the sand by blowing into it, or gently brushing with a soft brush, or using a compressed air canister.
Alternatively, give it a quick blast of a vacuum cleaner.
Remove the final traces of sand by turning some sticky tape inside out to take off any remaining grains.
(Source – Irish Independent – News – Technology – Niamh Mc Govern – 29/05/2023)