While most electronic goods have a limited lifespan, the last thing you want is to speed up the end, cautions a leading supplier of Trimble repair parts. As they age, such devices start to slow down, display error messages, or get noisier.
You should know that many of these problems can be avoided by keeping the device in great shape. Here are some proven ways to extend the lifespan of your devices and save yourself a considerable headache.
1. Ignore the threat of power surges.
If you’re like most people, you probably associate power surges with lightning. Well, you might be right but not entirely. While it’s true that lightning does cause electrical surges, the damage is so extensive that it might fry your home’s electrical system.
The main culprits behind electrical surges in the house are other electrical devices, especially those that are power-hungry. You might have noticed the lights in the home flickering after turning on or off a powerful device. That is likely to happen when using a powerful device such as your home’s AC unit.
Power-hungry appliances strain your home’s electrical systems causing power surges. When you turn off such machines, the power current redistributes to other electronics, such as the computer, TV, or lights.
While most computers and power supplies can handle small power surges, a big wave is likely to fry your motherboard. Having a surge protector keeps the recurrent power surges from harming your electrical devices.
2. Believe in charging myths.
Naturally, everyone wants to get the best out of their phone, and that includes getting their battery to last them a long time. Most people freak out when their phones and computers drop from holding charges in only a few hours or minutes. You should know that electric batteries are built that way.
The insides of lithium batteries are in a constant state of decay, meaning that all batteries have borrowed time from the get-go. Therefore, you shouldn’t readily buy into the widespread myths that purport to increase the lifespan of your batteries. In any case, most of them are harmful to your devices.
Do fall for advice that goes along the lines of freezing your phone could help increase the battery lifespan. At best, you’d only succeed in damaging your phone. The same case applies to draining the battery power to zero before recharging — recharge when it’s between 30 and 40 percent.
3. Keep electronics in well-ventilated areas.
Well, it does make sense to secret your precious PC where it’s unlikely to be knocked down or have fluids spilled on it. However, in so doing you could be putting it at the risk of heat damage. Stashing the PC in a corner makes it hard for it to dissipate heat through its vent and fans.
The overheating that follows causes the machines to run slower and damages some crucial components. In laptops, this causes the battery to drain quicker, drastically shortening its lifespan.
Again, there’s the out-of-sight, out-of-mind mentality, which leads you to ignore the need to dust or blow the machine. The resulting dust build-up causes the unit to overheat as well.
Electrical gadgets are both expensive and delicate, meaning that you have to go the extra mile to protect them from harm and damage. In most cases, you need to identify the most common sources of damage and institute preventive measures. Otherwise, you’re likely to run down your electrical gadget and incur substantial costs in repair and maintenance or replacement.