How to make your smartphone last longer

Due to replacement of smartphones every two years, billions of phones end up in landfills every year. If they were placed flat on top of each other, that many handsets would reach farther than the ISS. But we’ve become accustomed to that 24-month time frame because wireless carriers often insist on upgrades on biennial contracts, and many small phone makers only provide software support for two years. But now, with longer software commitments from major manufacturers, as well as increased right to repair legislation, many new phones can stay in our pockets for about seven trips around the sun. Here’s how you can extend the lifespan of your smartphone and avoid spending hundreds before it’s absolutely necessary.

How to make your smartphone last longer?

use a case

Carrying a naked phone around is a tempting move, but the chances of the handset being dropped increases dramatically when you use additional protection. We recommend some in our guide to iPhone cases. In my family, we are happy with moose affairs. Although we’ve never subjected our phones to the brutality seen in the company’s commercials, I can say that these cases have seen my partner’s aging Samsung Galaxy through some pretty rough wear and I credit these cases for getting my iPhone 11 from 2025 back to working order.

Take care of the built-in battery (or use a power bank)

Since a phone’s battery is often the first thing to show signs of aging, it is worth following recommendations to extend its lifespan. Lithium-ion batteries do not perform well in heat and you should avoid charging them if the temperature exceeds 95 degrees – doing so can quickly degrade the batteries and even cause them to malfunction. They will tolerate cold weather better, but can become lethargic when things get too cold.

If you are storing the phone for a period of time, it is best to do so by half charging the battery rather than completely or draining it. In fact, Li-ion cells last longer when they spend less time either being fully discharged or being full – which is why battery optimization features in iPhones and Pixel phones delay charging to 100 percent overnight until about an hour before you grab your mobile. And while it is sometimes necessary to charge a battery quickly, when speed is not critical a slower charging method will put less stress on the ionic components and help extend the life of the cell.

But over time, any battery will eventually wear out. And if you’re traveling, relying heavily on navigation or using the phone as a hotspot, you may need more juice to get through a day. We recommend several options in our best power banks guide but the battery I go with the most is the Anker Laptop Power Bank. It has built-in USB-C cables and provides enough charge to give any device (including laptops, extra hours of life). But for something small, I like the reliability of Static’s semi-solid state MagSafe battery.

If you really want to give your phone a new lease of life, a new internal battery may be just the ticket. For Pixel phones, you can go through Google’s official channel for walk-in or mail-in repairs, you can look for an authorized repair partner or you can go the DIY route with iFixit’s Pixel repair kit and instructions.

For iPhones, you can start with Apple’s official page, go to Best Buy or other authorized third-parties, or try iFixit’s methods. Samsung also has an in-house option, but iFixit and Best Buy both ended their repair relationships with Samsung in 2024. Depending on where you go and the model of your phone, a new battery and installation will probably cost between $60 and $150 – which is far less than dropping your handset in for a brand new one.

Clear your phone’s storage

Most of the advice on how to organize your phone and make it run faster focuses on one thing: freeing up space. Your phone’s OS will have suggestions for freeing up storage space, like automatically offloading unused apps or deleting years-old messages. You can also do this manually by deleting apps you don’t use. Next, consider the photos and videos you’re storing locally and opt to either pay for cloud storage or transfer the files to a computer or external backup device. You may also consider getting rid of any music and movies downloaded for offline use, and deleting old messages and large attachments. A good rule of thumb is to keep your storage at about 80 percent capacity. Once you’ve deleted and moved what you can, restart your phone to give it a chance to clear its temporary memory.

Why you can (and should) extend the life of your smartphone.

E-waste flows increase every year and do no good for human or planetary health. Smartphone companies are offering better and more consistent trade-in deals, but some electronics recycling still has its drawbacks. Simply hanging on to a phone instead of switching to a new one is the most cost-effective way to reduce your phone’s environmental impact – plus it’ll save you money, too.

While every giant phone maker would like you to believe that annual upgrades are important, it’s worth noting that new generation phones often bear a strong resemblance to last year’s models. Engadget editors see it again and again with the countless smartphones they review — there’s a new button, a few new AI tricks, but technology doesn’t usually advance every year to create something different than the year before.

With only minor hardware upgrades, more exciting new features come via over-the-air software updates. Starting with the release of the Pixel 8 in 2023, Google promises security and software updates for seven full years. So people who buy a Pixel 10 in 2026 can still use the same phone in 2033. Samsung’s Galaxy S26 has the same length of promised support. Apple committed to five years of support to comply with EU regulations, but iPhones were already known for their extended support – when iOS 26 arrived, support for the iPhone XR and earlier was cut off, but that meant 2018 models enjoyed almost seven years of updates from launch.

When Apple launched the iPhone 15, the company doubled its estimate for the handset’s battery life, saying the handset should retain 80 percent of the original full charge after 1,000 cycles. And Apple said that putting a larger battery in the iPhone 16 makes it easier to replace. Overall, battery technology has improved in capacity over the years, but longevity has not, as evidenced by a study from PhoneArena.

Further advances in battery life span may be on the horizon, especially as the EV industry grows, which also relies on lithium-ion cells. At the moment, declining battery health is usually the most noticeable problem affecting older phones. In 2023, the European Council of the European Union adopted new guidelines for battery-powered devices, including a mandate to allow consumers to “easily remove and replace” batteries. It won’t go into effect until 2027, and there will be lots of interpretations of what “easily” means. But EU orders are also why Apple finally removed the Lightning port on iPhones in favor of USB-C, so this could be a step towards finally (once again) bringing smartphones with swappable batteries.

Right to Repair bills have been passed or introduced in all 50 states. Some of these laws have already gone into effect, and will require manufacturers to do things like provide repair tools and documentation, and sell components for higher-priced devices for a few years after the last new model.

Currently, many phones have good repairability scores, according to online repair community iFixit (the Fairphone 6 gets the highest score). Until more companies make it easier to fix things yourself, authorized repairs are an option, while self-repair remains an option for the more industrious.

See more from us spring cleaning Guide.