People often seem to forget that smartphones are essentially small computers, and hence, require maintenance the same way your laptop or desktop PC does to ensure longevity.

If neglected, your Android phone can start developing problems long before the right time to upgrade it. In this guide, let's go over 10 simple ways you can maintain your phone.

How to Maintain Your Android Phone's Hardware

First, let's see how to maintain the hardware of your phone. All hardware inevitably degrades over time, but the way you use your phone can greatly influence how long it will last.

1. Follow Battery Health Guidelines You'd be forgiven for not knowing how batteries work, but you should learn how to maintain the one inside your phone and other electronic gadgets to increase their lifespan.

Here are the five most important battery health guidelines you should follow:

1. Avoid using your phone in extreme weather or doing anything that causes overheating. Ideally, your phone should remain between 32° to 95 °F (0° to 35 °C) at all times.
2. Don't use your phone while it's charging as that produces even more heat in the process than your fast charger is already causing.
3. Avoid wireless charging as it produces unnecessary heat; using a regular wired wall charger is the best way to charge your phone.
4. Don't fully charge or drain your battery; keep it between 20 to 80 percent at all times. Batteries degrade faster the more imbalance they hold.
5. Avoid overnight charging since a long charge cycle is more harmful for battery health than short charge cycles throughout the day.

2. Avoid Exposure to Water and Dust Try your best to avoid exposure to water and dust whenever you can. Sometimes, the damage done because of these elements is not immediately obvious but only becomes noticeable when it's already too late, and you're not sure what's wrong with your phone.

Of course, some phones come with an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, but they're still not invincible. For instance, prolonged exposure to water can sometimes build rust in the charging port, and dust can enter the speaker or mic and affect call quality.

3. Use a Case and Screen Protector Most people use a case and a screen protector to protect their phone from accidental drops; it's a practice that you probably also follow. Thankfully, these accessories are pretty cheap, so if they get damaged over time, you can just replace them. Doing so will not only protect the hardware but will also make your phone feel new again.

4. Clean All Openings and Buy Anti-Dust Plugs Over time, the openings of your phone will accumulate dust. Dust in the USB port can interrupt charging and data transfer, mess up audio in the headphone jack, and worsen call quality in the mic and speaker.

To remove dust and lint, take a toothpick or the SIM ejector tool and gently scrape it out of the openings. You can also buy anti-dust plugs from Amazon to seal the openings completely.

5. Clean the Screen, Cameras, and Sides Similar to the last point, the screen, camera unit, and frame of your phone will also get dirty over time due to fingerprint smudges and dust. Some phones come with an oleophobic coating on the screen which prevents fingerprint marks, but that coating won't last forever.

So, it's a good idea to clean your phone at least once a day. For more info, you can always come back to our full guide on cleaning your phone's body.

How to Maintain Your Android Phone's Software

Just maintaining the hardware of your phone is not enough. If you want it to keep running smoothly for a long time, you also have to take care of the software. Here's how to do so:

1. Don't Bloat Your Device Storage If you often find yourself having to free up storage on your phone, that's an obvious sign that your phone is struggling to function properly. If there's no room left for new files and apps (even temporary ones), your phone will start to lag and will slow down.

The fastest way to get a lot of storage back is to delete all wasteful apps from your phone.

2. Keep Your Apps and the Operating System Updated Software updates are important for your phone because they help with performance improvements, increase power efficiency, remove bugs, and add new features. You can easily find the option to see if there's a new OS update available for your phone in the settings.

The same goes for the apps on your phone; keeping them updated minimizes errors and bugs. To update the apps on your Android phone, open the Google Play Store app, tap on your profile picture, select Manage apps & device, and tap Update all.

3. Avoid Graphics-Intensive Games Your Phone Can't Handle Unless you have a dedicated Android gaming phone, you should not try to push your device to its limits. Even if you have a flagship, the device will still struggle to retain its peak performance if you play graphics-intensive games for long periods of time.

If you have a budget or mid-range phone, you should avoid playing these games altogether since it's very likely that your phone will overheat and the processor will not be able to handle the heavy workload. As a result, your phone will lag, freeze, and may even restart unprompted.

4. Don't Download Apps and Files From Unverified Sources This one should be obvious, but a lot of people fall prey to malicious apps and malware they unintentionally downloaded from the web. When it comes to matters of security and privacy, it's better to be safe than sorry.

Google Play Store is safe for the most part, but you'd be wrong to assume that it doesn't have any dangerous apps—all app stores do. Don't browse sites that look obviously scammy, and avoid clicking on links that feel too clickbait-y. Stick to what has proved to be reliable.

5. Restart Your Phone at Least Once a Week Smartphones require breaks the same way any other electronic gadget does, and yet, many of us have never done so. Restarting your phone at least once a week allows it to delete temporary cache files, kill minor bugs, increase performance, and preserve battery health, allowing it to run more smoothly for longer.

Maintain Your Android Phone for Longevity

How well you take care of your phone is one of the many things that affect its lifespan. If you don't maintain your phone at all, it'll naturally show signs of degradation much earlier, and hence, you'll need to buy a new phone sooner than necessary.

If properly maintained, you can save money on repair costs and expect better performance over the long term.