You’ll want to transfer over all your apps and data from the old phone, of course. But you should also make sure it’s worth keeping and make it as secure as possible.
Inspect The New Phone
We’re always confident that things will work out just fine, but it’s always a good idea to check in on things at least once a month. If there’s anything wrong, don’t hesitate to take it back and get your money back.
If you see any of these problems, take pictures and write down what you see. If it’s not up to your standards, take it back.
Charge The Phone For Eight Hours
When you see the phone in your visual inspection, start charging it. Keep your phone turned off and let it charge for a full eight hours. Overnight is easiest.
To charge your phone, first make sure it has a full charge. That way, it won’t die halfway through installing an app, transferring data, or updating the phone’s operating system.
Do The Basic New Phone Set-Up
Make sure your phone is up to date with the latest security patches.
However, sometimes updates don’t always provide the desired results, leading to security vulnerabilities that can be exploited. It’s best to always apply the latest OS updates to your device in order to protect yourself from these risks.
Some phones will want to initiate the transfer of data from your old phone to your new phone. If this step can be easily done later, it may be a good idea to put it off. We still don’t know that the phone is good.
Inspect The Phone, Part 2
If your phone fails the first inspection, we’ll need to do a functional inspection as well. If the phone fails that functional inspection and all of our data is off of the old phone, you’ll have to transfer it back to the old phone so you can return the new phone. ..
-The battery life -The signal strength -If there are any new notifications or messages We’ll also take a look at the phone’s camera and see if it’s in working order. ..
Cellular Connection
If your phone doesn’t have a strong signal, or it drops calls easily, it’s not going to be able to handle the rest of the features. ..
If your old phone dropped calls earlier than it used to, it might not be as good. Keep in mind, cell signals vary in strength even when you’re in the same spot.
Screen Function
Port Function
Camera Test
Take pictures with all the cameras on your phone and in all the modes possible. Do the pictures come out as they should? Do all the ways of capturing a picture work, like pressing a physical or on-screen button and the voice command.
Check Wireless Connections
To ensure your new phone stays connected to WiFi and Bluetooth devices in your home, make sure it has a strong signal and is placed in areas where other devices can connect from. ..
If you’re using Bluetooth to stay connected, make sure you’re at least 30 feet away from the Bluetooth device. If there are no walls between the phone and the device, that should be enough. However, if we experience a problem, it might be with the WiFi or Bluetooth devices and not the phone. So check with other devices to see if they’re having any problems. ..
If your phone has NFC capabilities and you use services like Apple Pay or Google Wallet, it may be possible to pay for items using those platforms. However, if the phone is not NFC-enabled, you will need to use a different payment method such as cash or a credit card.
If you can set your phone to find your location using just GPS signal, do that. Then check on the phone’s map to see if it accurately locates where you are. If you’re standing in an open field, the phone’s GPS should be accurate within a 16 ft. radius. How will we know? We won’t but we’ll know if the GPS is way off and says we’re two streets over.
Check The Phone’s Sensors
Smartphones have several sensors built-in that can track various aspects of your life. These include a gyroscope, magnetometer, accelerometer, proximity and light sensors.
gyroscope senses phone’s position
The magnetometer is a sensor that uses GPS to track your location. If you open the phone’s compass app and see if it finds north, it will change directions if you turn around.
The proximity sensor is used to see how far your phone is from other solid objects. It uses a combination of an infrared light sensor and an infrared LED. The LED shines IR light, which we cannot see, and the IR sensor picks it up. This is how your phone knows it’s near your ear and turns off the screen.
The light sensors on your phone detect how bright the light is around it. This is the sensor used when your camera is in autoflash mode. If it’s bright enough, the flash doesn’t go off and vice versa. That’s how we can test it, too.
Some phones have barometers built-in. The barometer detects atmospheric pressure. It can be used to determine how high above sea level we are or if there are incoming weather changes. Not all phones have these. If yours does, there will be an app that can access it and show you if it’s working. ..
Most phones now have a fingerprint reader, which is used for additional security. Make sure the security is set up to require a fingerprint and test it. If you can’t get into your phone easily using the fingerprint sensor, it may be faulty. ..
Set Up Phone Security
To keep your phone safe, you need to: -Be sure to protect your identity by using a strong password and encrypting your phone. -Keep your phone secure by using a lock screen password and security features. -Use a data plan that limits the amount of data you can use per month.
Secure your phone. Put the highest level of security on it that you can. For most phones, that means setting up the fingerprint lock. It’s high security and convenient so why not? Set up the ability to remotely wipe your phone if it is lost or stolen. This will help protect your information if your phone is compromised. ..
Encrypting your phone will make it difficult for someone to access your data, whether they steal your phone or not. Criminals are generally opportunistic and will only bother stealing if it becomes difficult to access the data. encrypting your phone will make it more difficult for someone to access your data, whether they steal your phone or not.
- Protect your new phone from bumps and falls by getting a good case.
- A good case will help the phone last until it’s time for the next upgrade. ..
It’s Good To Go
Now that your phone is fully tested and protected, you can be sure it will work well for you for a long time. Sure, doing these things isn’t as fun as just firing up the phone and playing games or posting pictures, but it makes sure you can do that whenever you want down the road. ..
The whole process of buying a phone is not as long as you might think. You only have to wait for the phone to charge, transfer data, and encrypt it before you can enjoy it for several years.
