cell phone – PSafe Blog

Overheating: Is it a Charger Issue or a Phone Issue?

PSafe Newsroom — Wed, 28 Jun 2017 14:00:26 +0000

When your cell phone is overheating, it’s often difficult to tell if the battery or the charger is responsible. However, the heat’s location can help to determine the culprit. If the back of your device is getting hot, then the battery is probably to blame. But it’s more likely the charger’s fault if the bottom of your phone is becoming too warm during charging sessions. This, of course, isn’t an exact science. You may have to try various troubleshooting methods before you can resolve the issue. Still, one way that you can quickly cool down your device is to use the CPU Cooler feature:

The CPU Cooler will quickly cool down your device by closing apps that are running in the background of your phone, causing it to overwork itself. This feature will help your phone to decrease its temperature and eliminate lag time. But why is your phone overheating? Read on to discover the reasons behind an overheating Android.

When It’s a Phone Issue

You’re using your phone too intensely. Normal use shouldn’t affect an Android’s temperature. However, if you’re using battery-draining apps for hours upon hours, eventually your phone won’t be able to keep up. So, why not give both of you a breather?
You’ve left your Android in the hot summer sun. Ideally, your cell phone should be kept at a moderate temperature between between 50°F and 86°F. Lithium-ion batteries are prone to swelling, leaking, and even exploding at high temperatures.
Your phone is infected by a virus, malware, or other malicious bot. These threats to Android security are also known to compromise a phone’s physical health. Since they can cause an excess in data activity, overheating may occur as a symptom of that. Run a Full Virus Scan on your device to check for malware:

When It’s a Charger Issue

You’re not using the official charger. No matter the brand of Android, it’s always recommended that you use the original charger that came with your phone. If that charger breaks, you should order a new one from the company. Cheap chargers are known to cause overheating problems.
You’re leaving your phone charging for too long. For optimal performance levels, you shouldn’t actually charge your phone to 100% capacity. Going from 30% to 80% is far easier on the battery and helps to maintain its life. If you’re regularly charging your phone for long periods, such as overnight while you sleep, this can cause the battery to overheat as it’s being left at 100% for hours. Make sure that you don’t overcharge your phone — and damage your phone’s battery.

What is the Battery Memory Effect for Your Device?

PSafe Newsroom — Wed, 21 Jun 2017 14:00:08 +0000

Luckily, cell phone batteries made of lithium-ion do not suffer the battery memory effect that is commonplace among rechargeable nickel batteries. However, phone batteries have their own charging particularities: they don’t function as well if you charge them too much or let their battery power drop to zero. While lithium-ion batteries function the longest if they’re regularly charged from around 40% to 80%, it can seem like a chore to keep track of these very specific charges. That’s where the Total Charge feature can help. Keep your phone’s battery working effectively for longer by running Total Charge:

Total Charge notifies you when it’s time to disconnect your phone from the charger and alerts you about overcharging. Additionally, its Charger Monitor Screen lets you know how long it will take for your phone to reach its peak charge.

Problems with overcharging or underusing rechargeable batteries is nothing new. Back when we used rechargeable batteries made of nickel, we noticed the battery memory effect, or a battery’s diminishing charge capacity if it was recharged after being only partially discharged. The battery could only “remember” the diminished capacity, hence the name of the phenomenon. This was certainly an issue, but while this doesn’t happen to lithium-ion batteries, there are still a few steps you can take — in addition to using Total Charge — that will keep your phone’s batteries in their best shape.

Recharge Your Battery From Zero to 100% Only Once Per Month

If you’re regularly letting your phone battery die and then recharging it to 100%, stop this practice right away. Experts suggest only letting your phone complete a full charge once per month to recalibrate the battery.

Use The Charger That Came With Your Phone

Never use a replacement charger that isn’t designed for your phone. These cheap alternatives can significantly harm the battery — they have even been known to catch fire. If you lose your original charger, it’s best to replace it with a charger designed specifically for your device.

Don’t Use “Fast Charging” Feature On Your Phone

Many Android devices are equipped with a feature that makes the phone charge more quickly. Use this feature sparingly or not at all. Fast charge features send power at a higher voltage, causing the battery to heat up more quickly.

While rechargeable phone batteries are no longer affected by the battery memory effect, make sure to adopt the above charging methods that can keep your battery working more effectively for longer.

Cell Phone Company Mergers: Good or Bad?

PSafe Newsroom — Thu, 15 Jun 2017 16:00:31 +0000

When thinking about cell phone companies, a few big names come to mind right away: AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint. However, what would happen if two of the biggest mobile carriers joined forces to create an even more dynamic, successful carrier that could cater to an even wider customer base? There are a few outcomes to be explored, based on recent events.

There have been rumors of two cable giants, Sprint and T-Mobile, combining their efforts and merging to form a deal for further development. The drawbacks are that Sprint has a low customer retention rate, and that the entanglement of their parent companies comes at a premature time. T-Mobile would need to get shareholders involved in the deal, and Deutsche Telekom would need to sign off on the merge, being T-Mobile’s superior. SoftBank will also be involved, seeing as Sprint is one of their many subsidiaries.

Another Merger Attempt

This merger was also attempted in 2014, which would have combined the two carriers into one and eliminated competition. However, due to T-Mobile’s success and the turbulence of other top carriers, Sprint’s potential to regain their traction is hanging in the balance. Their customer engagement does not match their numbers, which makes the merge a gamble in some respects.

Changes in Service?

As it stands, T-Mobile and Sprint are the third and fourth largest carriers in the United States, behind AT&T and Verizon. For phone services, this means fewer decisions in choosing a carrier, or a potential change in an existing provider. For anyone already with one of the two, the policies and plans would not see too much change, with T-Mobile leading much of the charge.

This is not the only merger rumor that has sprung up in the past couple of weeks. AT&T and Time Warner Cable, two pioneers in their fields, are also discussing joining forces to change the definition of Internet use as the world knows it. It would go down as one of the biggest mergers in history. Right now, everything is under speculation among various news sources, but there are many potential issues that could arise from this merger.

The Problem with Massive Mergers

The main issue with a massive cell phone merger is that it further gets rid of competition. AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint already control the mobile carrier market — they even control the cell service of alternative mobile carriers. Less competition typically means higher prices for plans because these companies are in control of the market.

Do You Believe These 3 Myths About Phone Batteries?

PSafe Newsroom — Sun, 11 Jun 2017 16:00:03 +0000

A lot of the battery myths we may believe are not totally false — they are often based on some truth. We hold onto some of these old beliefs because they were once true for preserving certain types of batteries. But smartphone batteries have changed a lot over the years, and what may have been true for nickel-based batteries isn’t true for the lithium-ion smartphone batteries of today.

Myth #1: You can only use the charger that comes with your phone.

There are some benefits to using the name-brand charger that comes with your smartphone. A Samsung charger, for example, will often charge your phone much faster than a third-party charger. However, there are plenty of equally fast and safe third-party chargers on the market. Third-party chargers are often much more affordable than name-brand chargers, and perform just as well. Just make sure that you do your research first and read reviews before purchasing — a cheaper charger may seem great, but it might be more dangerous to use (causing your device to overheat or spark, which could damage your battery), or else charge your phone much more slowly.

Myth #2: You shouldn’t use your phone while it’s charging.

This behavior only becomes risky when you use a poor quality charger, which could electrocute you or start a fire. If you avoid cheap chargers, then it’s completely safe for you to use your phone when it’s charging. Doing so will not cause stress to your phone battery or affect how well your battery charges.

Myth #3: It’s OK to always keep your phone on.

We use our phones for just about everything, which means that we almost never power them off or restart them. Or, maybe we keep them on all of the time because many of us now have our smartphones as our main contact number instead of landlines. What if there’s an emergency call during the night and our phone is off? While landlines could stay on 24/7, smartphones definitely shouldn’t be on 24/7. Keeping your phone on all of the time can greatly shorten your battery’s lifespan.

In order to preserve the life of your smartphone battery — and possibly improve your phone’s performance — you should aim to turn off your phone or restart it at least once a week. This only takes a few minutes to do (or you can leave it off for longer). This rule also applies to all of your other devices, such as laptops and tablets. You don’t have to do this at night or overnight, either, so don’t worry about missing your morning alarm.

Here’s How to Change Your Android Wallpaper Automatically

PSafe Newsroom — Sun, 23 Apr 2017 20:00:38 +0000

Your Android’s wallpaper makes quite the personal statement. You see it all the time, whether you’re unlocking your cell phone’s home screen, receiving a new notification, or just checking the time. The world takes notice, too. Everyone is looking at your wallpaper, from your friends and colleagues to that potential date you’re chatting up right now.

Does that mean you need to spend ages searching for the perfect wallpaper? Not at all! There are many wallpaper apps on the market, which will not only pick an awesome background for you, but they’ll change it automatically, too. That way, your Android will always be the best looking cell phone around town.

Here are 5 apps to upgrade your Android’s wallpaper from “meh” to “must-have” — and they’re all available to download from the Google Play store.

Wallpaper Changer

Wallpaper Changer is a great app if you want to use your own photos as backgrounds. This is a more personalized approach than an automatic generator, and it doesn’t take much more time to customize. Simply choose your favourite photos in Albums, then decide how frequently you want the wallpaper to change. The app will take care of the rest.

Wallpapers

Wallpapers by Google is a great app for choosing a new, incredible photo to be your wallpaper. You can pick a favorite category on the app to start each day with a new wallpaper. Select images from Google Earth, Google+, your personal photos, or others to be your new background images.

Wallmax

Wallmax has thousands of high-quality wallpapers to choose from, and their database is growing everyday. They have every theme you can think of. Searching through their backgrounds is very user-friendly, too. You can type in keywords, browse through categories, or simply scroll at random until you find wallpapers that appeal to your personal aesthetic.

500 Firepaper

If your passion is photography, then 500 Firepaper is the Android wallpaper app for you. Pulling its photos from 500px, the app automatically switches between beautiful images from every country. By the day’s end, you’ll feel like you’ve take a trip around the world!

Tapet

Tapet is perfect for Android users who prefer abstract wallpapers. These patterned backgrounds are custom generated for your unique device, using math formulas and the screen’s resolution. Tapet’s designers claim to offer an infinite number of wallpapers, so you won’t have the same design twice.