How do I keep my iPhone healthy and clean for a long time?

Apple’s Official iPhone Cleaning Guide

Do you know that your iPhone can get incredibly dirty at any given moment? Here is how to clean your iPhone and keep it healthy for a long time.

Facts About Your Phone and Germs

Your phone could become the home of germs and bacteria. In fact, the smartphone in your packet is possibly the filthiest thing around you. School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine tested a vast number of smartphones and reported that 92 percent of these devices were covered by bacteria. Worse, 16 percent of phones examined were infected by E.Coil, a rod-shaped bacterium commonly found in the lower intestine and can cause diseases like infection diarrhea, bladder infection and inflation of brain. Another study says that smartphones can be seven-time dirtier than a toilet seat.

Here are some tips to keep your phone clean:

  1. Wash your hands regularly
  2. Don’t take your iPhone into the bathroom
  3. Clean the display with a soft cloth
  4. Wipe your phone with a light disinfectant (This is discouraged by Apple, but if done properly it won’t harm your iPhone)
  5. Use a light UV gadget cleaner
  6. Clean the fingerprint sensor with a microfiber rug

Apple’s Official iPhone Cleaning Guide

Apple’s official support website has a page that says the last word about how to clean your iPhone.

Here are the Apple recommendations for cleaning all products including iPhone:

  1. Before starting, always unplug all cables and turn your phone off.
  2. Abrasive cloths, towels, paper towels, and similar items might cause damage to your iPhone. Use only a soft, lint-free cloth to clean your iPhone (for example Microfiber rug)
  3. Don’t wash your phone with water or any other liquid!
  4. Watch out to don’t let the moisture penetrate the phone through any opening.
  5. Never use aerosol sprays, solvents, or abrasives.
  6. Don’t spray cleaners directly on the product. Instead, spray them on a soft cloth and use it to clean your phone.

Some tips specific to iPhone models:

iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max

iPhone 11 family comes with an advanced textured matte finish.  If your phone comes in contact with an external object such as denim or a key in your pocket it might show sign of material transfer that may resemble a scratch. Most of the times these signs can be removed following the below guidelines for cleaning:

  • First, use a slightly damp soft cloth to wipe the area.
  • If the material still persists, use soft and lint-free cloth (for example a lens cloth) soaked in warm soapy water.
  • Don’t use cleaning products or compressed air.

Since your iPhone’s fingerprint has an oleophobic—oil repellent—coating, using abrasives and detergents might damage the coating or even scratch your iPhone.

iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 7

The same above tips apply for these iPhone models too plus:

If your phone comes in contact with anything that might damage your it such as stains, dirt or sand, ink, acids or lotions, clean your iPhone immediately( If you put cleaning your iPhone for later, it is a good chance that you won’t able to get rid of stains and damages)

iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 5s

Touch ID is under the Home Button. So to let it work optimally wipe the home button once time with a soft cloth.

iPhone 5S and blow

Since dirt and dust may be accumulated around the SIM tray opening, it is better to clean this area at least once a year. Put a very small amount of rubbing alcohol on a microfiber cloth and gently wipe the dust away from the port. Avoid getting moisture into the holes.

To keep your iPhone clean and healthy frequently clean it in the way recommended by Apple cleaning guidelines. Although using a light disinfection product might not damage your phone, use them with caution and as few as you can.

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