Seven Things Every Phone Owner Should Know

So, you notice ten missed calls on your phone even though it's right beside you. "Oh my God! It didn't ring", you think, and you can't even ring the number back because it is not registered. What else does one expect from the Secret... never mind. You proceed to check the volume settings which show your phone should have rung loud and clear and even vibrated, you checked it this morning anyway because you were expecting THAT call... only it hadn't rung and you are beginning to panic. Your head is throbbing, you're beginning to sweat. Your palms are sweaty. Next stop - phone shop, in your SpongeBob pyjamas... Sounds familiar?

Not to brag or anything, but I have some phone expertise. Stuff I picked up from my stint at a renowned phone shop. In my time there, I have discovered some DIY stuff that anyone can do and know to avoid having to run to the phone shop in their pyjamas. And, hey... you're welcome!

First Stop - Settings: Before you head out to the phone shop, check your phone settings. It is the brain of your phone. Make sure everything is all right in that department.

Battery out, Battery in (BoBi): After confirming that your settings are okay and your phone is still not working, still don't run to the phone shop. Sometimes all your phone needs is a good old BoBi . For issues like your phone not ringing, or even connection problems, you can simply take out the battery (and the SIM card for good measure) and fit it back in.

Go Google It: So BoBi didn't work. There is something else that usually does. Research. On the internet. There is nothing new under the sun. The problems you are facing with your phone, a million phone users have faced, and at least half of them have posted about the problems and solutions online. All you need do is sit back, relax and google it. If that doesn't work... then go to the phone shop... in your regular clothes.

More generally, these are things you ought to know:

Backup Your Data: Phones, like every piece of technology, are temperamental things. They have melt downs that they sometimes don't recover from and their melt downs cost you all your data - your pictures, contacts, videos, notes, reminders, etc. So, one up on your phone. Be prepared. Have the good sense to back up your data. Save your data to drop box, your email addresses, cloud, your computer, iTunes, iCloud, your SIM card, etc.

Warranty Doesn't Cover All: All phones apart from the iPhone, which has just a year's warranty, have a 2 year warranty. Batteries usually have just 6 month's warranty. What many of us don't know is that warranty doesn't cover most of the problems our phones encounter. Warranty only covers software issues and breakdown. So things like accidental damage e.g screens cracks, loss, theft,  water damage etc. are not covered. You might also want to think twice before paying those unauthorised corner phone shops to fix your phone. Such repairs (dramatically called 'jail-breaking') void your warranty. So, be warned.

Make Like a Kid and Play with the Phone: People wonder why children are so technologically advanced so that they figure out the workings of your phone before you say 'Put that down'. Well, it's because they play around with stuff a lot. If you want to be as good as those kids with your phone, make like them and play with the phone.

Those Darn Jargon: Have you wondered what those jargon that appear on your phone when you're using mobile data mean? Well, here goes:
***G - long form GPRS (General Packet Radio Service). This is the slowest form of internet connectivity. It is 2G (2nd Generation) technology and the download speed is on average 0.1Mb/s
***E - long form EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution). This is faster than GPRS. It is 2.5G technology and the average download speed is 0.4Mb/s.
***3G -  This is, in turn faster than the previous two and, you guessed it, it is 3G technology. The average download speed for 3G is 2Mbs/s
***H and H+ - Long froms HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) and (HSPA) High Speed Packet Access Plus. These operate on 3.5G and 3.75G respectively and average download speed on these are 7Mbs/s and 21Mbs/s, respectively.
***LTE/4G - (Long Term Evolution) is the fastest connection of all and the average download speed on this technology is 100Mbs/s.

I hope I've saved you at least one trip to the phone shop in your pajamas!