Iphone 5 maintenance

[britfish]

I finally decided to enter the real world and get something more than a flip phone! I purchased the iphone5 and wondered if there is anything I need to do to keep it running smoothly. Like are there cookies or cached pages I need to be deleting periodically? Should I be deleting my call log or text messages? I would love some advice on keeping it running smoothly for a long time!

 

[eMd]

I finally decided to enter the real world and get something more than a flip phone! I purchased the iphone5 and wondered if there is anything I need to do to keep it running smoothly. Like are there cookies or cached pages I need to be deleting periodically? Should I be deleting my call log or text messages? I would love some advice on keeping it running smoothly for a long time!

Have you ever had an iPhone before? The only thing I really do to save battery life/maintenance is make sure all apps are actually closed instead of constantly running in the background. To do this you hold in the home button aka the circle, until a darker line opens at the bottom of the screen and you will see anything still open running in the background. You hold one of these and shake it. Then little red lines will appear, you can close them that way. Not sure if this made sense.?

 

[Marionnette]

Make sure that you have backup to the iCloud turned on under settings.

And you will periodically need to update apps. It's very easy to do right from the phone. You'll know when you need to do an update and which ones are involved when you see a little red circle with a number on it in the lower right corner of the App Store icon.

Sometimes Apple will update the operating system. That's a little more complicated and takes more time. You will want to sync your iphone with iTunes before you do an update so that you don't lose any data.

Other than that, keep it clean, keep it dry and don't drop it!

 

[disneymayz]

Have you ever had an iPhone before? The only thing I really do to save battery life/maintenance is make sure all apps are actually closed instead of constantly running in the background. To do this you hold in the home button aka the circle, until a darker line opens at the bottom of the screen and you will see anything still open running in the background. You hold one of these and shake it. Then little red lines will appear, you can close them that way. Not sure if this made sense.?

If you hold in the home button it will activate Siri. You need to push it twice. Then you press and hold one app till it shows a "-" sign. Then just press all the "-" signs to close them.

 

[mieuxmew]

Invest in a protective case! Phones get dropped and easily damaged. I have the Otterbox Defender case and love it! It is a little bulky, but it keeps my phone safe.

 

[momof3ds]

If you haven't already, get an extended warranty. Either square trade (google them) or apple care plus.

I used to go only with square trade because they covered water damage and apple care didn't. But, apple care plus now includes water damage.

 

[megsters]

Invest in a protective case! Phones get dropped and easily damaged. I have the Otterbox Defender case and love it! It is a little bulky, but it keeps my phone safe.

Highly recommend the Otterbox Defender.

Funny story happened to me on Tuesday. Went to pick up my fiancé Tuesday afternoon. Got out of the car to get into the passenger seat, and decided I wanted to put my sweater back on. Put my sweater on, got back into the car, we went on our merry way.

As we’re driving, I can’t find my phone. I usually lose it in my purse. Get through the next major intersection, still can’t find my phone. Ben pings my phone with the “Find my iPhone” app, and he looks at me and says, “this says it’s at the intersection of X and Y” which is near where I had picked him up. (usually it’s in my pocket or purse-these dumb pants didn’t have pockets. Must have put it on the roof when I got out-had just gotten off the phone with my mom. I have since dropped these pants off at Goodwill)

Oh dear. After going back to where we started, and walking around, we did indeed find my phone on the shoulder of the street. I figured it was about where we changed lanes, probably going around 45-50 mph.

Otterbox Defender was a bit beat up, but my phone is in perfect condition. I decided to replace the case with another one—took the carseat approach with it. It did its job in protecting in the accident, but the one impact was probably enough. Replaced it with another one. Does add a bit of bulk, but totally saved my butt here. And a few $$$. Until I make another bonehead mistake.

So, I guess my recommendations are both Otterbox Defender, and the find my iphone app!

 

[disneymayz]

If you want a case - there is also Lifeproof. That is what I have and the best part of it is it is waterproof (I put my phone in water to prove it worked), it is dust proof (if not water would get in) can be dropped from x height (not sure on the number) Dropped mine from about 5 feet just to show a buddy, and it is not bulky.

I also have friends that have the Otter and they love it. For me and what I do the Lifeproof was the best because it was waterproof and not just water resistant.

 

[dawnhaze]

Otterbox recently announced a line of cases that will be completely waterproof, so that will be an option soon if it's not already. I have the Defender and I'm not sure if I'll upgrade or not. I tried Lifeproof and didn't like it, but YMMV.

My biggest advice is to either sync your phone to a computer regularly or make sure it's backing up to iCloud. (Or both, which is what I do.) I've seen so many cases of people being devastated due to lost data, don't be one of them!

Also, with Find My iPhone, there's one important thing to know. Having the app on your phone lets you track OTHER devices, but it does not automatically enable your device to be tracked. For that, you need to be signed in for iCloud in the settings and have Find My iPhone enabled there. A prerequisite for this is having Location Services enabled.

Other than that, do your updates regularly and don't forget your Apple ID password. I'd also suggest putting a 4-digit passcode on your phone so strangers can't easily get into it (although the tech-savvy can bypass it if they want). If you're near an Apple Store, check out their website and see if they're doing any iPhone workshops anytime soon, they're free and follow a standardized script that will give you a decent intro.

 

[PatMcDuck]

If you want a case - there is also Lifeproof. That is what I have and the best part of it is it is waterproof (I put my phone in water to prove it worked), it is dust proof (if not water would get in) can be dropped from x height (not sure on the number) Dropped mine from about 5 feet just to show a buddy, and it is not bulky.

I also have friends that have the Otter and they love it. For me and what I do the Lifeproof was the best because it was waterproof and not just water resistant.

I have Lifeproof now, used to have Otterbox. Both are great. I have the clear Lifeproof now, used to have the purple/black one.

One reason I like Lifeproof is to not worry about rain at the Disney Parks, or on water rides, lol.

 

[swebb0310]

I have the life proof case and I love it! It's much more lightweight and comfortable than my old otterbox was. I had a bad fall while running last spring with my otterbox. The phone was protected but the rubber got torn in two places. I like that I don't have to worry about the rubber getting loose or torn anymore... Though I hope to not have another falling incident!