We are now right in the middle of summer sun and height and so I thought I would talk about some interesting ways I have seen people destroy or cause early end of life on their laptop or smart phone. Please keep these best practices/concerns in mind when using your devices!
- Location Sun Exposure: Is your desk right in front of a big window facing the summer sun? Are you using your smart phone in the car with the windshield magnified sunlight bearing down? Are you out by the pool with your laptop, tablet, or smart phone – what is the temperature and how must direct sunlight are you exposed to? Laptops, tablets, and smart phone generate heat when they are powered on and especially when working hard. If you are basically cooking them in direct sunlight the cooling fans/heat sinks are going to start failing especially if you are out in humid/hot conditions. These devices are made with a combination of plastic and metal. Those components get too hot and they start to expand/contract at different rates. Just a few millimeters of flex on a circuit board will destroy your expensive equipment. If it doesn’t destroy it, it will do just like running a car engine near maximum output for extended periods. This is probably the number one reason a smart phone will not last longer than 2 – 3 years. DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND MOVE INTO THE SHADE!
- Location Humidity Exposure: In Southern California we don’t have a lot of humidity unless you are near the ocean BUT home many times have you “rapidly” cooled your laptop or smart phone by putting it in a refrigerator or cooler so it would start working again? Keep in mind that if your ice chest is full of ice….it is full of very humid air. I know of multiple people who have destroyed smartphones due to condensation forming on the inside. which is considered water damage and will void your warranty. Smart phones have stickers inside that change cooler if the device gets wet so the major carriers will NOT replace at no charge if it shows water. In places that are humid, this sometimes happens going from a really outside humid location to very cool inside building locations.
- Travel Concerns: BEWARE OF THE DROPS!!!! When using your devices in locations that you don’t normally use the device be thoughtful of where it is. If you have a bunch of luggage in your hands, don’t try to hold on to your smart phone too! That is a recipe for losing it or dropping it! What about that laptop in the hotel? Are you setting it on the bed while powered up? Can it really cool correctly when the bedspread is blocking all the vents on the bottom of the laptop? Is it close to the edge of the bed? It is just moments away from dropping onto the floor.
- Lost Devices: Just about any laptop, tablet, or smart phone has a feature to “find your device” if it is lost. The key is you need to turn this one BEFORE you lose it so you can login to an account and find the device. There are privacy concerns if you are doing this because whatever service is providing this feature (Apple, Microsoft, Google, etc…) has to track you. A good compromise is to have this turn off until you get ready to travel, then turn it on when you have increased risk. You can turn this off upon your return to remove this privacy concern.
- Public Network Connections: It is very convenient to use public Wi-Fi connections (Starbucks, Airport Wi-Fi, other public locations, etc…). My recommendation is DON”T. Bad actors will setup shops in these locations and put out a “fake” connection with a really strong signal. Your device automatically list Wi-Fi connection in order of strength. If you tell your device to connect and trust it then they have access to your data. There are multiple other options. Reach out to me if you want connectivity solutions while traveling.
Give me a call/text/email if you have questions or a use situation that you would like me to review to ensure we are minimizing risk/damage to your devices and data while still allowing you to use your hardware during your summer travel/outdoor activities!