Are you thinking of buying a new smartphone or perhaps, you just got a brand new Android smartphone and you are probably wondering what next?
Odds are, you are really excited about your new baby (as most people would often term it). I share in your sentiment too. Over the years, i have unboxed quite a handful of devices but i still tend to get that gleeful feeling whenever i unbox a new smartphone.
I made a video containing all of the things I'd be mentioning here and a bit more details. Hence, I'd advice you watch the video below:
Having cleared that out of the way, let's get right on to the first 5 things you should do after buying a brand new android phone.
- Charge the New Android Smartphone
I understand you just unboxed the new android smartphone and you cannot wait to dive right into it. But hold your fire. If you aim to have a good battery life on your new android smartphone, the first thing you should do, is charge the phone. Not just to an extent, but till it's completely full.
If you live in a country where electricity isn't stable, I'd advice you take your time and charge using the normal power supply rather than a generator set. Do this, for the sake of your new phone's battery longevity.
- Add Your Email Account
Having charged the device, you are at this point, ready to fire. I dig that. Frankly, you are free to. Upon turning on the device for the first time, you are usually presented with a set up wizard. The set up wizard as the name implies, is aimed to help you set up the new android smartphone as a first timer.
Amidst the options presented in the set up wizard, you will most likely be asked to add your email account on the smartphone. If you have a gmail (Google Mail) account, do go ahead and input it. If not, you can easily create one.
There are quite a lot of benefits as to why you should add your email account on the new android phone as one of the first things to do. You can find that out in the video.
- Set A Password
I understand not everyone is comfortable with having a password on their phone. But if you care about the files on your phone and you wouldn't want it to be vulnerable to 'everyone', setting a password wouldn't be an option.
I set up a password on all my phones not because i have things to hide, but because i do not want my files to be accessible by everyone. Plus, this simple step can save your life. Reason can be seen on the video.
If having to input a password everytime is a bit of an issue for you, most smartphones released in 2017 do have fingerprint on board. They are not only affordable, but the fingerprint unlocks within 0.1 to 0.3 seconds. Faster than the time you'd spend in typing your password everytime. Easy peasy!
- Allow Installation of Apps From Unknown Sources
By default, an android phone isn't allowed to install apps from unknown sources. Hence, downloading apps from third party sites would work, but installation wouldn't be possible. This is Google's way of making your android smartphone less vulnerable to malwares and viruses. However, this can be an hindrance if an essential app isn't available on the playstore and you need to install from a third party site. Or perhaps, you need some apps from a friend's phone via the use of file sharing apps like xender.
To allow this function, go to settings > security and toggle the unknown sources option ON.
- Deactivate Auto-Update Of Apps
This is pretty self explanatory. If you have an unlimited data subscription or you are connected to one via Wi-Fi, you can simply skip this. If otherwise, it is necessary you turn it off. By default, apps on the playstore and set to auto-update when connected to a Wi-Fi network.
In a country like Nigeria, the odds of working through the streets and automatically connected to an 'unlimited Wi-Fi network' with no password is on the minimal. If a friend should tend you his/her data via Hotspot to Wi-Fi connection and the next minute, your apps starts updating, how is he/she supposed to feel about that? Especially if they are on a limited data plan.
Do disable this, navigate to the play store app, tap on the menu tab, tap on settings, tap on auto-update of apps and select do not auto-update.
So, there you have it. There are more you can do on your brand new android smartphones but these, i consider to be the first 5. I look forward to your comments, opinions and suggestions regarding the video.
A quick question though, what are the first things you usually do after buying a new android smartphone?