Avoid These 5 Mistakes When Setting Up A New Phone

Getting a new phone is exciting, but most people don’t realize how important the first few hours are, especially the setup part. If you’re someone who rushes through the initial setup process, accepting everything the device throws your way, it’s time to stop that. A little time and effort here goes a long way, especially when it comes to performance, security, and overall experience.

Common mistakes people make while setting up a new phone, whether Android or iOS, include skipping basic security checks, quickly downloading every app you use, allowing all permissions and notifications, not installing pending updates, using battery or performance-booster apps, and discarding your old phone too soon. Some of these mistakes can affect performance, while many influence battery life.

In an age where people average over four hours of screen time every day and smartphones have become the go-to device for almost all tasks, getting things right from the start can go a long way. From bookings and payments to social media and content creation, avoiding these small mistakes will make a big difference in the long run.

When setting up a new phone, people usually rush through everything, including security-related settings. Since smartphones today store more sensitive data than ever, whether it’s passwords to online accounts, banking details, or photos, it’s important to ensure total privacy and security. In most cases, your smartphone’s built-in security features, like Google Play Protect, password or biometric protection, and location tracking, do the job. When these are set up, it’s unlikely that anyone will be able to access data on the smartphone, and this even increases your chances of finding it when your phone is stolen.

You may also want to supplement the built-in features with third-party apps like a VPN or an antivirus suite. For instance, if you install apps from outside the Play Store on Android, an antivirus can help protect your phone. And if your device is ever infected, it will help find and remove the malware. A VPN, on the other hand, protects your privacy by masking your identity on the web. 

Apart from that, Android and iOS devices come with other built-in security features, like Find Hub on Android or Find My on iOS. You should take the time to review features like these when setting up a new phone, even if you never used them on your old device. Lastly, if there are any pending software updates, install them right away. This will not only protect your device but also bring all the latest features to it. Skipping updates is one of the things you should never do on your smartphone.

It seems appealing to install all the apps you use on your new phone right away for convenience, but it’s a big mistake for two reasons. First, you will end up losing a significant share of storage, some of it on apps you’ll rarely use. With storage being so vital, especially as smartphone brands increasingly ditch the SD card slot, you don’t want to fill it up with apps before you even start using your new phone. Second, some apps you considered useful on your old phone might no longer be needed, as those features are integrated into the phone’s operating system. For instance, you can now change the flashlight brightness on a Google Pixel through the built-in toggle, something that previously required installing an app. 

Additionally, setting up a new phone is the perfect time to remove unwanted apps that were pre-installed to free up more storage and keep your phone running smoothly. Also, if you use third-party apps to optimize the device’s performance, you may want to see if you can live without them on your new phone. Modern phones are much smarter at handling background processes, resource management, and battery drain. Using apps to handle this offers little to no benefit.

When you set up a new phone, there are a lot of permission prompts and notification settings to go through, both from pre-installed apps as well as the ones you manually add. This is usually a one-time thing, and accepting them all is the quicker choice — but it’s not the smart one.

Not every app on your smartphone needs full access, whether it’s to the camera, microphone, contacts, or stored files and media. Even if they do, you don’t necessarily need to grant them for the app to function. For example, if you don’t share media files on Reddit, there’s no need to let the Reddit app access your gallery or the camera. So, actually review the permissions requested by apps when setting up your new phone and only allow the ones that align with your needs.

Similarly, if you allow every app to send all kinds of notifications, your phone may keep buzzing constantly, which is distracting and even affects the battery life. One approach is to only allow critical notifications while muting others. Alternatively, you can adjust how the notifications show up — for instance, allowing alerts from some while disabling sounds for others.

A new phone isn’t just an upgrade in terms of hardware and software — it’s also an opportunity to start fresh. But many people make the mistake of restoring everything from their old device, essentially cloning it onto the new device. If you do this too many times, you’ll end up with the same set of apps that you used 10 years ago, even when newer, better alternatives exist.

This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t transfer data from your old devices at all. This makes sense for many users, especially when there are passwords to import, photos you want to keep, and a wide array of personalization you’d otherwise have to reconfigure. A quick data transfer eliminates the need for all that. On iPhones, you have the “Quick Start” feature for this, and that’s what many opt for.

The best option, though, is to find a middle ground between the two. Instead of transferring everything, spend the last couple of hours with your old phone doing maintenance — uninstall apps you don’t need and delete files that don’t have to be carried forward — and then proceed with the transfer. This way, you get what’s essential without losing storage or resources on the junk your older phone has been accumulating all this time.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make in this situation is getting rid of your old phone right after setting up the new one. In theory, it may seem harmless. Once your new phone is set up, the older one doesn’t serve any purpose. So, it’s tempting to either sell or dispose of your old smartphone. But if problems arise, they usually do so during the early days, and keeping your old phone handy can help you deal with them.

For instance, if some data didn’t transfer over or an app doesn’t feel right on the new phone, the old device can act as your safety net for the time being. You don’t need to actively use it — just avoid factory resetting the phone for a couple of weeks, or at least until you’re certain that everything is in order. When the time finally comes, make sure to completely wipe the device so that your data doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.

While we’re on the subject, you shouldn’t immediately discard the box your new phone came in. If an issue comes up within the first few days and you need to exchange or return the device, you may need the original packaging. Keeping the box around can also impact the phone’s resale value in the long run. With the original box, you are likely to fetch a higher value if you ever plan to sell the device.