Protecting Your Phone

As smartphones continue to become more advanced, the cost of owning one can be incredibly high; with most top of the range handsets, such as the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S3 costing at least £500 for the most basic model.

This is because most smartphone handsets have more technology and features than an average desktop computer; therefore, it becomes all the more important to protect your investment.

It would be safe to say that most of us have probably experienced some form of damage to our phone; whether it is a scratched or cracked screen, water damage, lost data, or even worse, had your phone stolen.  However, there are numerous options available to help you to protect your smartphone and keep it secure.

The old adage of ‘prevention is better than cure’  would be an excellent mantra to employ when protecting your phone; making sure your phone is adequately protected from potential damage will give you peace of mind if the unthinkable should happen to your phone.

Below is a guide of 5 things that will help you to keep your phone protected; you can just pick one, or implement all 5 for a super-safe phone that will ensure you are covered for all eventualities.

GET A CASE
If like me, you are reluctant to even peel off the protective screen cover that comes when you first get your phone, a protective case will be right up your street.  Most smartphones such as the iPhone, Nokia, and all Android phones, have a range of official and 3rd party cases available to buy in shops and online.  These come in a range of shapes, materials, colours and designs, which will protect your phone from bumps, scratches and scrapes.  From personal experience, Mobile Madhouse provides an excellent range of phone cases for all types of phones, including a selection of cases for the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy. 

USE YOUR SCREEN LOCK
One way of protecting the contents of your phone is to utilise the screen lock feature; this will come in handy should your phone be stolen, or if you just want to protect your phone from prying eyes.  All you need to do is set up a memorable 4-digit pin code, which has to be entered every time you want to get to your phone’s home screen.  Alternatively, most Android phones have other forms of screen locks, such as pattern-recognition, which requires you to trace your finger across the screen in a particular manner; it is also possible to implement facial recognition as your screen lock, meaning the phone must be able to recognise your face in order for you to use it.

GET PHONE INSURANCE
When you are first collecting your handset from the shop, the thought of paying even more money to insure your phone may seem a step too far.  Reassuring yourself by saying ‘I don’t need insurance, I’ll be careful’ will seem like a good way to justify not getting insurance, but trust me, it is impossible to avoid all eventualities.  The only way of avoiding all eventualities would be to become a recluse who never leaves the house, and even then you might drop your phone down the toilet!  Therefore, investing in mobile phone insurance is an invaluable way of protecting your phone.  Some banks include free mobile phone insurance as part of their bank account benefits package; for example, The Royal Bank of Scotland provides a Royalties Gold package, which includes mobile phone insurance, car-breakdown cover, 25% off all concert & theatre tickets, and 10% off holidays & hotels,  all for a little over £10 a month.  As with most things in life, it is better to have something and not need it, than not have something and need it!

BACKUP YOUR DATA
Many of us will have been invited to join a Facebook group at some point in the past, due to someone having lost their phone and needing all of their friend’s contact details again.  Thankfully, you can avoid this embarrassment by backing up all of your phone’s valuable data.  Most smartphones now make use of ‘cloud computing’, which allows your data to be stored remotely as well as on your phone.  This means that should you lose or damage your phone, you will easily be able to retrieve all of your data again, such as photos, music, contacts, and text messages.

INSTALL A TRACKING APPLICATION
All of us like to give people the benefit of the doubt, but there is no denying that some people out there will gladly steal your phone, meaning that your phone is constantly at risk of theft no matter where you are.  There are a range of apps available that will help you to track down your phone should it be stolen, such as Anti Droid Theft, which utilises your phone''s in-built tracking capability.  This allows you to easily locate your phone using the internet and a web browser, meaning that finding a lost phone is no longer a needle in a haystack!  Alternatively, if you do lose your phone, it is worth also contacting your network provider to inform them that your phone has been stolen.  The network provider will be able to block both the SIM and the phone, which renders it completely useless to the thief; it will also prevent them from running up an astronomical phone bill on your behalf.