How to Make Your Phone Last Forever: 6 Simple Tips

THE MARS rover Opportunity, launched in 2004, was only designed to complete a 90-day mission. But thanks to the efforts of many engineers and scientists, it wasn’t until 2019, 15 years later, that it finally stopped sending updates to NASA.

The more these scientists worked on the device, the more connected they felt to it, says Janet Vertesi, a sociologist of science and technology at Princeton University whose research included NASA’s rover programs. After all, she said, “you don’t just go to the Genius bar and get another one.”

Her reference to Apple’s Genius bar is telling: No matter how connected we get to our phones, most people accept that they’ll soon seem obsolete. The average phone in America is only used for around 2½ years, according to data published by intelligence platform Statista.

But a smartphone can last much longer. I should know. I used a Pixel 2, which came out in October 2017, as my primary phone until this summer. I loved how well the small phone fit in my hand, was happy enough with the photos it took and appreciated the speedy Android apps. My friends occasionally teased me for using the “dated” gadget (“Aren’t you a tech journalist?”). Unfortunately, it stopped receiving software updates this fall. It was time to shop for a new phone.

I ended up getting the third-generation iPhone SE from 2022. I like its smaller size, and that Apple promises it will get software updates for at least five years. To try to keep it for longer, I reached out to experts for advice.

Save Your Phone’s Life: Easy-to-Follow Tips to Keep It Going

Tip 1: Check for updates.

Your phone stores info about every aspect of your life. Without security updates, it’s all at risk, says Thorin Klosowski, a security and privacy activist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights advocacy organisation. Apple offers software upgrades for at least five years and security updates for longer. This year’s Google Pixel eight will get updates through 2030. Samsung promises security updates for four years minimum.

Tip 2: Put a case on it.

Every expert I spoke with said that getting a case and a screen protector are the most important steps to maintaining a phone’s life economically. Investing in this combo rarely exceeds $50, while repairing your screen can top $200.

Tip 3: Clean your filthy, disgusting charge port.

If you’ve ever had trouble getting your phone to charge, even with endless cord fiddling, you might have thought it kaput. But the port itself, whether Lightning or USB-C, might not be broken. Try gently inserting a straightened-out paper clip along its sides to see if it’s full of pocket lint and random dust. (A can of compressed air works too.) Then, use a lint plug, a removable piece of rubber that can sit in your port, to prevent more buildup.

Tip 4: Monitor your battery health.

“Many problems that appear to be defects in [a] phone are really problems with dying batteries,” said Gay Gordon-Byrne, executive director of the Repair Association, a New York-based trade group that advocates for right-to-repair laws. You can check your battery’s health in the settings menu on both Apple or Android phones. If your iPhone says your battery’s “Maximum Capacity” is 80% or less under “Battery Health,” it’s probably time to replace it.

Tip 5: Know your repair options.

If you do need to replace a battery or screen, don’t accidentally overpay to fix it. Apple has a tool on its website that will quickly estimate the cost of common repairs for your specific phone. (It says it will cost $69 to repair the battery on my new SE.) You can maybe get things fixed cheaper at local shops, but there might be quirks. After a non-Apple repair person replaces an iPhone battery, for example, your phone might send a warning it’s “unable to verify” whether it has a “genuine Apple battery.”

Tip 6: If all else fails, repurpose.

When your phone’s maker declares it obsolete, and stops sending software and security updates, don’t just accept the death sentence. Compromise on some of its capabilities. Start, Klosowski says, with a factory reset, and update your OS as much as you can. Then, you can download apps that will let your phone replace or augment your primary devices. It can be a dedicated alarm clock, smart home hub, remote control, digital picture frame, or even an extra camera for your home security system.

For many Australians, the 2026 Federal Budget initially felt like a direct challenge to the way wealth is created, held and transferred between generations.

The headlines were immediate: changes to capital gains tax, reforms to discretionary trusts, restrictions on negative gearing and increased scrutiny of investment structures. Unsurprisingly, affluent families, business owners and investors began asking the same question:

Is the way we hold our wealth still fit for purpose?

In recent days, the government has announced several significant amendments following industry consultation and public feedback, including exempting testamentary trusts from the proposed 30 per cent minimum tax and expanding capital gains tax concessions for small businesses.

The backdown is welcome. But it also highlights something much bigger.

This Budget has accelerated a conversation that many Australian families have been postponing for years.

The conversation is not really about tax. It is about wealth stewardship.

For decades, Australians have built wealth through businesses, property, investments and careful long-term planning. Yet many families have not revisited the legal structures surrounding those assets in years, sometimes decades.

We often see clients who have spent years building significant wealth, only to discover their legal arrangements no longer reflect their current circumstances.

Their children are now adults. They may own multiple properties.

They may have sold a business, entered a second marriage, become grandparents or accumulated digital assets that did not exist when their original estate plans were prepared.

The trust that distributes income may need to be reconsidered. The bucket company may no longer be so attractive.

The Budget has simply exposed a reality that already existed: wealth structures cannot remain static while life continues to evolve.

Importantly, trusts themselves are not the issue.

Trusts are legitimate planning tools that provide flexibility, protection and continuity. When used appropriately, they allow families to adapt to changing circumstances over time.

And neither is tax the issue, really. Getting the fundamentals right is more important for long-term, sustainable wealth than a few favourable tax treatments around the edges.

The real issue is complacency.

Too often, families create structures and assume the job is done. It isn’t.

Estate planning is no longer a document you sign once and file away in a drawer. It is an ongoing process that should evolve alongside your life.

We are also seeing a broader shift in how Australians define wealth itself. It is no longer just the family home and an investment portfolio.

Modern wealth includes businesses, digital assets, cryptocurrency, intellectual property, frequent flyer points and increasingly complex family arrangements.

At the same time, Australians are living longer than ever before, meaning wealth may need to support multiple generations simultaneously. This creates new responsibilities and new risks.

How do you help your children enter the property market without exposing family wealth to relationship breakdowns?

How do you structure wealth so that it remains a source of opportunity rather than future conflict?

These are the questions families should be asking now.

The recent debate surrounding testamentary trusts also serves as an important reminder that policy decisions can have unintended consequences for vulnerable Australians. It is encouraging that the government has listened to feedback and clarified its position.

But the lesson remains: the wealth landscape is changing.

Increasingly, governments, regulators and tax authorities are paying closer attention to how wealth is held and transferred. That means families cannot afford to adopt a “set-and-forget” approach to their structures.

The families who will be best placed for the future are not necessarily those with the greatest wealth.

They are the families with the greatest clarity. Clarity around ownership, succession and governance. And clarity around how wealth will transition from one generation to the next.

Ultimately, preserving wealth is not about avoiding change.

It is about preparing for it.

Because the greatest risk is not change itself.

It is losing the ability to respond to it.

Anthony Hunt is Co-Founder of Wealth Lawyers and former COO of Westpac Private Bank. He advises business owners, investors and affluent Australian families on wealth protection, succession planning and intergenerational wealth transfer