GSM firstaid (fix it yourself)

Gsm FirstAid

Like most electronic devices, something or the other can go wrong with the best of them.  carrying a smartphone or a tablet is no different than carrying our wallet. But like most electronic devices, something or the other can go wrong with the best of them. The worst part of owning these devices comes if one has to take them to a service centre. Many problems are either not covered in the warranty, or a heavy bill and inconvenience awaits the user. In fact, the experience of going to a service centre can be a nightmarish experience in itself with the best of brands. But more often than not, the condition of your favourite gadget may actually not be as bad as it seems and you can fix the problem yourself by following below steps.

•  Wet smartphone

 If your phone gets wet, never ever try to switch it on as it may cause short-circuiting in the phone and may lead to a bigger loss. Immediately remove your phone's battery and then use a towel to dry the physical parts of the smartphone and once you are through it, bury your phone and the battery in a bowl full of rice. This will cause the rice to absorb all the water and moisture from the device. One of the best things you can do is to place the wet smartphone on the back of your PC monitor or TV screen over the heat vents. The conventional heat waves coming out of these devices are just perfect to dry and fix your phone. Else, you can place the smartphone in front of the air conditioner as well. Since the cold air coming from the AC is dry, it will dry up your phone quicker than you may expect. You can simply detach all the removable parts of your smartphone including the battery and keep it in the oven for over night. But be very sure to set oven only to warm lest some serious damages may occur. To be on the safer side you can later use a hair dryer to remove the remaining moisture and water from the phone, however, never use a dryer as the first solution. This will worsen the situation by blowing the water droplets into deeper areas of your phone.

• Scratches on the screen 

Using your smartphone without a screen guard is not really a brave act because the scratches that will appear on screen after sometime will really pinch you hard. Well, toothpaste can help you fix those scratches and make you phone's screen as shiny as your teeth.Just put toothpaste on the screen and gently rub it in circular motion with a soft cloth or cotton and then wipe the whole thing with a soft and slightly damp cloth. Note: Make sure it is a toothpaste and not a tooth gel.

• Phone shuts-off randomly 

Another common problem that occurs with smartphones is that they randomly shut off. Well, this point towards two things: Either you have dropped your phone a good number of times or the battery is loose. Buying a new battery can be an expensive solution especially when you can solve this problem with a tiny bit of paper.All that you have to do is to take a small bit of paper and fold it. Then open the back cover of your phone and insert the folded bit of paper between the edge of the battery and the edge of the phone, on the opposite side where the terminals of the battery are located. This will keep the battery firmly in place and stop your phone from shutting down.

• Ice cold batteries 

Bought a new phone battery and it is losing charge within weeks? Then you can try keeping it in the refrigerator. Sounds odd but it is true. Most of the smartphones use lithium ion batteries that get exhausted because of the heat generted during their use.Keeping them in cold environment not only extends their life but also increases their power. But make sure that the batteries are wrapped in a poly bag or a zip lock bag while they are inside the refigerator. The other simple ways are by turning off screen's auto-rotate function, Bluetooth, reducing the screen brightness and GPS. If you are not really bothered about using the Wi-Fi and have an internet pack activated, you can switch off the Wi-Fi as well. However, if the problem still persists, it is likely a software issue and you must take your phone to a technician.

• Fixing crashed Android Apps 

Applications are what make a smartphones really smart. An Android app can crash within minutes of downloading and can cause your phone to hang. Reasons can be many but you can fix it by following these steps. Pull the battery slowly from the phone. This step is called soft reset and doesn't affect data in your phone, but can help you resolve issues such as a crashed app. Once your phone restarts, you can go to Google Play > My Apps and then click on the app to update it. In case an update is not available then simply uninstall the app and then reinstall it.

• Stuck pixels

Stuck pixels are the dead pixels that appear on the smartphone screen as a stationary black dot or a bright white or red spot. You can try removing them by gently massaging the area around the stuck pixel with a soft cloth. By this method, you are allowing the pixel to reorient itself and regain colour.