1. Deactivate Roaming Data
Roaming Data is the data your mobile phone uses when connected to a mobile operator which is not yours. Especially when abroad, this can cost you a lot. Nowadays, all mobile phones come with the option deactivated but it is your responsibility to check that it is the case (there can be a bug in a new phone that makes it active, it can be that you bought your phone on ebay and that the previous user activated it, it can be that your children played with the phone and activated this option accidentally...).
Depending on your phone, the settings can be a bit different but on Android, the option is available in Settings / Wireless & Network settings / Mobile networks. On iphone, it is in Settings / General / Network.
Common misconceptions:
- I am not downloading anything, I am just watching youtube videos, so it is OK, isn't it?
No, it is not. Mobile operators do not care whether you are surfing, streaming, downloading, ... as long as there is data going from the internet to your phone (and there is when you are watching youtube), they will charge you.
- I am not surfing on the internet, so I should not be charged for anything, right?
Well, it is not that simple. For example a weather forecast widget will use your data connection to download the latest weather information. The same goes with the app/play store that will check if your apps are up to date (they need to connect to the internet for that). You may even have facebook or tweeter apps that are configured to fetch the latest news about your friends. All this will cost you some money when "roaming".
2. Buy a Case/Protector/Cover for your Phone
Mobile phone producers have not been kind to customers when it comes to screen robustness. Your phone fell down and the screen broke? Your fault. You want to repair it? Pay almost as much as the phone itself.
This means you should protect your phone, especially from falls. Too many people have their screen shattered and can't afford to pay for the repair (or to buy a new phone, or to repair the phone themselves).
A case/cover/protector, will generally cost less than 10 dollars/euros/pounds, and may be what will save your 300-400 dollars/euros/pounds from heavy damage. Isn't it worth it?
3. Learn to Use Wifi
I have seen both people having their wifi "off" all the time (why bother with unlimited mobile data subscription?) or "on" all the time (why bother deactivating it?). If either way may fit your need, I think you should consider a more mitigated solution.
Why turning the wifi on, why using the wifi at all if someone has an unlimited mobile data?
Well, the main reason is speed. Often, wifi zones will give you faster connections than mobile networks. If you are downloading big files (software upgrade for example) or if you want to enjoy youtube videos without waiting too much before the videos are loaded, then the wifi is a good option (if available, of course).
Also, even unlimited mobile network use subscriptions often have a limit of data you can use per month. After that, you will have extremely slow connections or will have to pay extra money. By using wifi connections when possible (at home, in shops/café/restaurants with free wifi), you will avoid reaching those data limits.
Why turning the wifi off? Why not let it be active all the time?
This is mainly for the battery. I have seen several people complaining about battery life on their phones while they had the wifi on all the time. Basically, if your phone has wifi on, it will search for wifi zones all the time, even if you don't connect to them. If you connect to one, it will keep the connection up all the time and this will be battery demanding.
4. Free Does Not Mean Good
It is ironical to see some very tidy people have very messy phones. It is not because an app is free that it is a good app. It is especially tempting to download a lot of free apps when you have your first smart phone and I have nothing against it BUT, please tidy up after that. Test the application you downloaded and if you don't like it, if it is not what you wanted, uninstall it. The uninstall process is straight forward, so you have no excuse. You can also go through your apps once in a while to see if there are som you never ever use.
Why bother?
First, it is not nice when you have to browse among your 245 apps to find the 20-30 you are really using. Then it takes a lot of space on your phone and you may have some problems after that to download really needed apps. Also, it just takes time/data to maintain all those apps, updating all of them etc... Finally, some apps may be running on the background, keeping your phone busy and making it slow or even doing nasty things (sending you some ads from time to time etc...).
5. Download and Use a Flashlight App
One thing I like to do on all my phones is to install a flashlight app and put a link to it on the desktop. You generally know where your flashlight is at home and may even manage to go around quite well without lights but what if this happens in an unknown environment? In a building you are visiting for the first time and which is experiencing some electrical shortage? Then, a flashlight app can come handy. Remember to use the app frequently so that you remember you have it when you need it (and not just panick looking for other solutions).
6. Think About Backup Plans
More and more people are dependent on their mobile phones. This is especially true for smartphones that has become your agenda, camera, photo portfolio, beeper, calculator, ... all-in-one device. And yet, a mobile phone can fail, fall, be stolen, ... This is why you need to think about some backup plans. For example, frequently put the photos from your mobile phone to your PC or to some storage places (google drive, jotta.no, dropbox, ...). Another example would be to use a traditional paper agenda/calendar for your important events, etc...
