1. Charge up your device fully
Well, I know you are excited and all, but first, you need to juice up that baby. You need to charge it fully before you use it. See, the internet is torn between people that believe you need to charge up your new phone for 8 hours before you start discharging it. But another faction does not think it is necessary. I for one, have seen the science behind it and I don’t believe it is necessary to charge for 8 hours. You should, however, plug her in until shes full. And in this era of crazy-fast fast charging, how long is that going to take you honestly? An hour? Just plug her in.
2. Uninstall all bloatware
Android phones are notorious for shipping with a bunch of preloaded apps and games, most of which you will never use. These apps already take up valuable storage on your device even before you get any of your data on it. I like to compare this to sweeping your new house clean. Go into Settings, Apps, and Uninstall anything that is uninstallable. Of course, there are some that won’t be uninstallable. For those, disable them if you can. Useful Read: How to get rid of Android bloatware on your smartphone
3. Sign in to your Google/Apple account
You are done getting rid of everything that came with the phone. You now have a clean slate to start with. It is time to sign in to your Google account if you are on Android or your iCloud account for iPhone users. Doing so links your new device to your Google account and with it, syncs all your customizations and preferences. You will also get all your contacts and emails on your new device once you have signed in to your Google account. If you did not already do this during your device setup process, go to Settings, and select Google, or Accounts then Google, depending on which version of Android you are running.
4. Encrypt your phone (Set up a Password/Biometric Authentication)
Again, chances are you were asked to do this when you switched on your phone for the first time. See, fingerprints and Face ID are some of the secure biometric authentication methods you will have on your device. Your new phone will soon be host to some of your most personal data. And you can’t afford to have this data in the wrong hands. You need to secure it. If you don’t want to enter your password, you need to set up your fingerprint, or your FaceID, whichever came with your phone. To do this, go to Settings, Security, and locate the specific method of authentication you want to use. You should, however, bear in mind that no system is fool-proof.
5. Update the System
Sticking with the fact that no system is perfect, your phone maker is mandated to maintain your new device for a couple of years. As such, your phone maker needs to send you monthly security patches. Install all these updates to ensure your device is up-to-date and not vulnerable to malware. To do this, go to Settings, About Phone, and select Software Update. Keep doing this periodically and install new updates as soon as they are available.
6. Update the System apps
Once you log into your Google Account, you will most likely get notified that a bunch of apps need to get updated. Do that through your App Store or Google Play Store. These app updates are different from system updates. While system updates are pushed to you by your phone maker, app updates are pushed to you by the various app developers through the app stores. These app updates ensure that you are using the very latest version of the app without bugs and with all the latest features. It is good practice to keep your apps updated as that is one less loophole that ill-motive people could use to get your data.
7. Now transfer your data from your old phone
Many people prefer to set up new devices afresh. But if you are after continuity, you might have the need to transfer your photos, messages, apps, and your data from your old phone to our new one. While some phones allow for a seamless transfer of this, most don’t. It is therefore important to take a look at your devices user guide and make sure this is doable, and how to do it.
8. Remember to keep the box and user guides safe
The phone’s packaging holds a lot of info about your phone, including the serial number and the IMEI among other things. In the unfortunate event that you lose your phone, these documents, including the receipt, will come in very handy. Keep these safe as they are proof of ownership. Also, you might find yourself needing to go through the user manual from time to time. It is better to have and not need than to need and not have.
Make the device your own
Go ahead and customize the hell out of that phone and make it your own. Change the wallpaper, install themes, change the ringtones, explore your device.
