My six-year-old iPhone XR still works fantastic. Here's how

I bought my first iPhone in 2018. It is an iPhone XR in a White colour. Six years later, it still works fantastic. It is an iPhone so there was no doubt about its durability in my mind while buying it, but I did not think it would last this long. Other than a few scuffs here and there, there is nothing wrong with my iPhone. I can pat my back for taking care of my phone, but some credit also goes to Apple, which offers seamless support to its devices for at least six years.

Apple pushed regular iOS version updates to an iPhone for six years, but the cycle can sometimes extend to eight years. Having the latest software on a device makes it work properly and supports the most recent apps and technologies, reducing the need for a new one. However, the body of the device starts to deteriorate over time. That is where I made efforts to ensure my iPhone lasted as long as it could. Here are the steps I took to maintain the longevity of my iPhone XR:

Battery Care

Optimise Charging

I turned on “Optimised Battery Charging” in my iPhone after updating it to iOS 13 in 2019. This feature allows the iPhone to manage battery charging automatically. For instance, the iPhone would suspend charging overnight and resume it as soon as it was time for me to wake up in the morning. The iPhone learns the usage patterns to be able to optimise charging better. After learning the charging routine, the iPhone reduces wear on the battery by holding off on reaching 100 percent until I needed it.

Temperature Control

I barely exposed my iPhone to extreme temperatures. That means not leaving my iPhone in direct sunlight or a hot car as the heat can damage the battery. I used a mobile cover that maintains the temperature around the iPhone’s back in adverse weather conditions.

Charge Cycles

The best way to maximise the charge cycles of the iPhone is to keep the battery between 20 percent and 80 percent charge. I avoided letting it completely drain or constantly be at 100 percent. The iPhone automatically manages this but I had to make it a habit to stop fully charging the battery.

Charging Habits

I used genuine Apple chargers or certified MFi (Made for iPhone) chargers. Avoid letting your phone charge overnight regularly.

Daily Use

Keep it Protected

I invested in a good-quality case and screen protector. This protected my iPhone against accidental drops and scratches.

Software Updates

Ensuring that my iPhone software was always up-to-date increased the device’s longevity. The software updates include security patches and performance improvements.

Background Activity

One of the ways to ensure that the battery is not exhausted quickly is to turn off features I did not use, like Background App Refresh. This helped conserve my iPhone’s battery life and processing power.

Storage Management

I regularly cleaned up unused apps, photos, and videos to free up storage space on my iPhone.

Long-Term Storage

Planning to Store

Even though my iPhone XR was working fine, I bought another iPhone later. Sometimes I did not need the old iPhone, so I used to switch off and store it for days. If you think you will be doing the same, ensure the iPhone’s battery is about 50 percent. Long-term storage at full or empty can be damaging. The iPhone should be powered off during this time to avoid any loss of battery and its quality.