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With the recent invention of the foldable smartphones their popularity has definitely blown up to say the least. At the shop though, and as someone who is an authorized Samsung dealer I see these phones being brought in completely destroyed. Usually it is all due to the fact that the owner didn’t know how to properly take care of it.

You take care of your phone like you would anything that’s expensive or valuable. For some reason though I see customers ravaging these foldable devices quite often. I don’t believe that their negligence is something that they are doing on purpose though, I believe that people don’t quite understand the extra care you have to give these phones. Let me break it down for you.

Screen Protectors

One of the most common issues we run into is issues with the screen or the screen protector, especially at the folding point. Now sometimes the phone just has issues, however most of the time when I see these issues they could have been prevented. This applies to the Samsung Z Flip and Z Fold series especially; DO NOT MESS WITH YOUR SCREEN PROTECTOR.

The screen protectors come factory installed on your phone and they aren’t to protect your screen from cracks. They are made up of a thin plastic meant to help your phone fold. I see people rip theirs off or play with it and those screens do not last long. Because these phones are designed to fold, the screens obviously can’t be made of glass. This screen protector is designed to protect the very fragile screen. When you take it off the folding point can get very easily damaged just simply by folding the phone.

Another issue with the screen protectors is that after time they begin to come up, especially around the folding point. When this happens you need to get it replaced ASAP. When the screen protectors start to lift up they begin to collect dust and debris between the film and the screen. As this builds up, because the folding point of the phone causes friction, the inner screen gets damaged very easily. Once this happens, even if you replace the screen protector the damage is already done.

If you bought a Samsung foldable smartphone recently and find that your screen protector is coming up, you are actually covered for a FREE screen protector replacement in your first year, and you’re covered for ANOTHER one once your warranty expires. I cannot stress how valuable this is because even if just your screen protector is messed up your phone will be considered OUT OF WARRANTY. That is just how important these things are for your phone.

Folding and Unfolding your Smartphone

Let’s be honest. These phones are pretty cool even if you don’t like them. The fact that we have the technology to create a bendy LCD for a foldable smartphone is pretty incredible. With that feeling of coolness though, I’ve seen customers let that get to their head so to speak. What I mean is they will whip their phones open or closed in an attempt to be cool or savvy.

I feel as though I shouldn’t need to tell you why this is actually BAD for the phones, but, THIS IS BAD FOR THE PHONES. Please do not whip your phones open and closed as it very easily damages the hinges. Specifically for Samsung Z Flips, once those hinges are damaged you’ll need to replace the whole screen.

This is because it is VERY difficult to replace an LCD that isn’t glass. Therefore, Samsung and other companies build the replacement screens as whole frames. Even a little damage to the hinge can cost you up to $600 to get fixed. That’s practically half of the cost of a new phone!

Your Smartphones are Fragile

Listen. You don’t need to keep your phone in a padded room just to keep it safe. As long as you are maintaining your screen protector and not whipping around your smartphone it should last you as long as you need it to. The hinges may get damaged over time or the screen protector may start lifting but you don’t need to speed up that process by not maintaining your phone. I think the best tip that I can give is to just be mindful of how you’re using it, and don’t forget that this is a $1,000+ device and it needs a little maintenance now and again.