The first sign that your phone might be on a downward spiral is when its battery starts draining way too quickly. While there are ways to enhance a phone’s battery life, it might not be worth it if a full charge on your phone lasts for only a couple of hours.
The truth is that, over time, every smartphone’s battery begins to wear out. This happens because the chemical components of the battery start to degrade, and it loses its ability to hold a charge. So, if your phone’s battery doesn’t hold the charge as well as it used to and your phone doesn’t have a replaceable battery, then it’s probably time to get a new model with a stronger battery. That's much better than carrying your charger all the time, isn't it?
2. It’s become annoyingly slow
It can be extremely frustrating to use a smartphone that has become slow. Are the apps taking a full minute to open? Is the touch screen getting less compliant to your gestures? If even a system update is not getting rid of these problems, then your device is slowing down, possibly because of wear and tear through the years. Replacing your phone is more than likely to solve all of these issues.
3. Your phone doesn’t support VoLTE
3G is on the way out and 4G has already become the new standard. Check and see if your phone supports VoLTE (Voice over Long Term Evolution) – the next generation of voice service for smartphones that allows you to make phone calls and use data at the same time over a 4G LTE network. The service also allows for faster call set-up times than 2G/3G networks and offers an improved voice quality.
Go to your phone's settings and check if there is an option as “VoLTE” there. If you have an older phone without VoLTE support, then you should consider getting a new VoLTE-compatible device.
4. Your phone doesn’t offer updates
Updating your smartphone's operating system from time to time is really important. Updates help your device run smoothly and stay free of malware. Most modern smartphones provide regular notifications for system and application updates. Doing so helps patch security holes, improves functionality enhancements, and strengthens your device's overall performance. Not updating your phone, on the other hand, weakens your device's resistance to attacks.
So, if your phone isn’t offering system updates anymore, chances are that it might be outdated. Once a phone becomes outdated, the manufacturer won’t really bother to release security updates for a long time, which puts your device at further risk. Moreover, an outdated operating system might cause your phone to slow down considerably. In this case, a replacement might be your best way forward.
5. Apps are crashing frequently
App crashes aren’t uncommon. A poorly designed app is bound to crash now and then. However, if new apps are constantly crashing on your phone, it might be a sign of a problem with your smartphone. If the RAM or CPU of your phone is weak, then apps will crash. The apps may be putting more pressure on your phone than it is capable of sustaining. Getting a new phone with a stronger and better RAM and CPU will certainly help in this regard.
Apps might also crash if the storage on your phone is low. This is particularly relevant for apps that access the storage often. Newer devices will have increased storage space and will resolve this issue, too.
6. It randomly reboots
Is your phone rebooting randomly without warning? That might be a sign that it’s wearing out. It could also be a sign that your phone has malware. So, first things first, scan your phone with a dependable anti-malware app like Malwarebytes or Bitdefender.
If the app didn't find any viruses or malware, then your phone is likely to have run its course. Hence, it is malfunctioning. Random restarts are a sign that replacing your old phone might be your best option now.
7. It’s almost always short of space
Is your phone constantly alerting you that it's running low on space? Do you find yourself frequently deleting photos and uninstalling apps from your phone to free up space? Then you really need to upgrade your phone to a newer model. Older phones generally have 4-6GB of memory, which is very little given that today’s apps take up a considerable amount of space. Make no mistake, the problems will only get worse if you want to store photos and videos on your phone, too.
For people who don’t rely on a plethora of apps, a phone with 32-64 GB of memory should be fine. Almost all modern smartphones also have expandable storage, and you can easily get at least 1 TB of memory that way. This will be particularly useful for those who want to store photos and videos on their device. If your phone doesn't comply with those modern standards, it may be time for an upgrade.
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