Buying a new phone can be stressful, expensive, and have a negative impact on the environment if you don't know how to dispose of electronics properly. These days more than ever, it makes sense that you'd want keep your current phone working for as long as possible.
That said, knowing how to keep your old phone running can be daunting, especially when it comes to maintaining or repairing an aging battery. Lucky for you, we here at Tom's Guide are here to help.
In the past, I worked as a phone engineer for a Samsung repair center and, in that time, I saw more damaged phones than I can count. As such, I decided to offer some of the best advice that I've gathered over my career to help you.
With that said, let's begin with the best overall starting point to keep your phone safe from any damage: buying a case.
Always make sure you have a case
One thing that everyone can do is make sure they have a decent phone case. But not all cases are made equal. For instance, a rubber case will offer a different level of protection than hard plastic one, and will probably have to be replaced more often.
The trick with cases is to have some idea of what you need it to do and then work around that. Ideally, you want some rigidity in its design to help protect it from drops, as well as a slightly raised lip around the screen to help protect the glass if the phone falls face-first onto the floor.
Although cases are one of the accessories that you want to spend a bit of extra money on for quality, you can find some great prices if you know where to look. We have a full breakdown of most major device's cases, like the iPhone 16 and Galaxy S25, that can help you find the one you're looking for.
Make sure to maintain your device
Keeping your phone's exterior intact is only half the battle. You also want to make sure that you maintain your device's inner components as much as possible.
You want to make sure you don't overcharge your phone too much to keep your battery healthy. Batteries will eventually need to be replaced after a few years, but you can delay this by keeping the charge around 80% on average, using chargers with the right wattage and using adaptive charging features on your phone when available.
In addition to managing your charging routine, I recommend keeping your phone cool, as excessive heat can damage the display and battery. And ideally, you should keep the brightness of your screen as low as you're comfortable with, which will with temperature management.
If you do need to repair the phone, follow the guides and ground yourself
No matter how much you look after a device, you will need to do some repairs over time. Now, I only recommend doing DIY repairs if you're comfortable with it, but you can find a lot of guides online from companies like iFixit.
The first thing to do is source the parts you want to use, and I'd recommend using official parts where you can. Many third-party parts leave a lot to be desired when it comes to form and functionality, while official part last longer, which means less waste over time.
Also, and this is important, make sure to ground yourself before performing any repairs. The last thing you want to do is accidentally short the phone because your body is carrying a static charge. The easiest way to do this is to buy an anti-static wrist strap, but you can also touch a grounded metal surface like a door knob or radiator.
Hopefully, this guide has given you some of the information you need to help keep your phone running for as long as possible. However, if you have any questions, please leave a comment, and if we can help, we will.
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