I am a tech expert. These stupid mistakes we are all guilty of ruin your expensive devices

You wouldn’t buy a nice car and skip oil changes. So why do we treat our technology so badly?

If you want your expensive phone, computer and everything else to last a long time, read on.

1. You are always connected

Don’t fall into the (bad) habit of plugging in your phone when the battery isn’t dead.

Apple says battery health can be compromised if your iPhone is “left fully charged for extended periods of time.”

The same advice applies to Androids. Samsung says you shouldn’t leave your phone on the charger for long periods of time or overnight.

Huawei says, “Keeping your battery level as close to mid (30 percent to 70 percent) as possible can effectively extend battery life.”

The official word is to keep your phone charged, but not always fully charged.

The good news is that most devices are smart enough not to recharge until they reach a certain battery level.

But unplug your devices after they are fully charged.

2. You wait too long to charge your laptop

Frequent draining of your laptop battery completely reduces its intended lifespan. Like phones, laptop batteries are meant to be charged only so many times.

Your laptop battery can also lose efficiency in another way. Let’s say you regularly charge your laptop from 30 percent to 50 percent, or about 20 percent at a time.

Do that five times and you’ve completed one battery cycle because you’ve charged your laptop to 100 percent.

A good rule of thumb? Keep your battery charged to at least 40 percent most of the time.

Pro tip: Don’t keep your laptop connected to a charging cord all the time either. This can also shorten battery life.

Do you want to know how your laptop battery is doing? This trick will show you when you might need to replace it. To look at here.

3. You are superficial

Wiping the fingerprints off your screen is not enough.

Dirt, dust, and other gunk can build up in ports, speakers, and other small crevices on almost all of our everyday devices. Don’t just ignore the mess – dispose of it properly.

You might be tempted to grab a toothpick or Q-tip since you have them around. Be careful.

The fragile ends of toothpicks can break off in your electronics or even damage small speakers. Cotton swabs often leave lint that is difficult to remove.

Follow this smart plan of attack to clean your phone inside and out.

4. Your phone gets too much sun

Most smartphones are rugged. Yours can probably withstand dust and a little water. One thing it’s not built for is sweltering temperatures.

Leaving your phone in a hot car or in the sun can cause serious damage. The battery can overheat and you can even lose or damage your data.

Extreme cold temperatures are also rough. Lithium-ion batteries can stop discharging electricity at freezing temperatures.

This can shorten your battery life, lead to display problems and even crack the screen glass. Yuck!

5. Your router is wide open

You’d be surprised how many people have never changed their router’s default password. Bad move.

Sure, someone can do more simply mooch your wifi, but a particularly malicious hacker can use your network to attack your gadgets. They can even download dangerous files or visit illegal websites through your router.

Step one: Come up with an original password that is hard to crack. You can change this in your router’s admin page. Need help? Here’s how.

Now search for ‘Remote Management’. It allows you to login to your router over the internet and manage it.

If you’ve ever called tech support, you may have experienced something similar: a technician speaks to you on the phone and then operates your computer as if they were sitting right next to you.

Remote management is a useful tool, especially when troubleshooting a problem, but it leaves your computer vulnerable to hackers.

Disable this feature unless you need it. You can find this under your router settings, usually under the “Remote Management” heading.

You can always turn it back on if you need to. The last thing you want is to invite strangers onto your home network.

Kim Komando hosts a weekly call-in show where she gives advice on technology gadgets, websites, smartphone apps and internet security.

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