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Often on the road? How to extend the lifespan of your laptop
Time to read 3 min
Time to read 3 min
A laptop not only costs a lot of money, but also contains a lot of information that is of great value to you. It is therefore something to be careful with, so that you can enjoy it for a long time. The safest place for your laptop is undoubtedly your own home office. But laptops are precisely made to be taken everywhere. And then all kinds of things can happen to it on the way. You can drop your laptop or spill liquid on it. Your laptop is stolen or hacked or you lose it. Here you can read how you can protect yourself and your laptop as best as possible against accidents and how you can extend the life of your laptop.
Most laptops have a sturdy casing, but no laptop is resistant to a fall. With good packaging, you can prevent your laptop from falling to pieces:
Protective sleeve : Protect your laptop from drops, bumps, scratches and other types of damage with a sturdy, shock-absorbing laptop sleeve. It is important that the sleeve fits exactly around the laptop.
Screen protector : With a tempered glass screen protector you protect the screen from scratches and even cracks. Also possible is a plastic screen protector with, for example, a built-in privacy filter.
Laptop bag : You can transport the laptop in a special laptop bag. But the main thing is that you store the laptop in a sturdy and well-sealed bag.
On the road, the contents of your laptop can also be at risk. Your laptop doesn't have to fall into a thousand pieces to become unusable. A virus or a hacker can do that just as well. Be especially careful when you actually use your laptop on the road:
Charging : Make sure you have charged your battery and if necessary take an extra power bank with you. Avoid using public USB charging points unless you have a USB Datablocker.
Public networks : Only connect to public networks via a VPN. Just as you should always use a VPN in the Netherlands , you should also do this when traveling. This way you keep your connection safe and private. No one sees what you do, send and receive online. A VPN also often offers protection against viruses and malware.
Updates : One of the easiest ways to keep your laptop safe is to consistently click “Run Update.” Your laptop will perform better if it always has the latest security updates and bug fixes.
The average laptop battery lasts between two and five years. Because replacing the battery is expensive, this is the time for many to replace the laptop completely. You can postpone this moment as much as possible with the following tips:
Unplug: When the battery is fully charged, it is better to disconnect the laptop from the power grid. Too often we just leave the plug in the socket, but that is very taxing on the battery. Try to limit the times of charging as much as possible.
Switching on and off: Switching the laptop on and off several times a day also causes the components to wear out faster. Leave at least an hour between switching the laptop on again. This gives the components enough time to cool down.
Maximum capacity: Your battery will also last longer if you don't charge it to 100% all the time. Around 80% is actually ideal.
You may not always think about it, but a laptop can get quite dirty after a while. Over time, all kinds of food and dust residues collect between the keys and in the cracks of the casing. For this reason, you should subject your laptop to a thorough cleaning every now and then. Most dirt can easily be removed yourself with a tiny bit of water and a microfiber cloth. Make sure that the laptop does not get wet. Submerging it is never a good idea.
You can also use a can of compressed air. There are special sprays for cleaning the screen. Whatever you choose, always make sure that the laptop is completely dry before starting it up. You can clean the sides of your keys and the USB ports with a cotton swab and a toothpick. Finally, don't forget the fans. You can also clean these with a small vacuum cleaner. If too much dust accumulates around the fans, the laptop will overheat and may even catch fire. Also make sure that the fans are always free, so that the heat can easily escape.
