6 Effective Tricks to Speed Up Your Slow Phone Performance

Are you frequently asking yourself, “Why is my phone performing so slowly?” I’ve encountered my Android device lagging when applications take ages to load, touch commands are delayed, software updates are prolonged, or gaming experiences suffer from buffering. If you want to enhance the speed of your sluggish Android phone, consider implementing these straightforward solutions.

1. Review Individual App Settings

Over time, the accumulation of apps on your device can hinder its performance. Ongoing background activities, notifications, and cache data can drain your phone’s RAM and processing capability.

To identify which applications may be causing the slowdown, I assess each one individually through the Settings > Apps menu. I head to the App info section to investigate Battery and Memory usage. For instance, if an application shows minimal impact on these metrics, it’s safe to keep it. Conducting a similar review for all your installed apps is advisable.

If any unused applications are utilizing system resources, I choose to uninstall them. But if I’m uncertain about their future utility, I can easily disable permissions and stop notifications from the App info area.

It’s also wise to turn off other app permissions, including those for alarms, background location, components like picture-in-picture, and more.

I prefer to manually adjust each app’s settings to disable unnecessary functionalities that may degrade the phone’s performance. However, if your device is overloaded with apps and you need a quicker assessment of the ones causing lag, third-party applications can assist. We recommend using the Storage Analyzer & Disk Usage app, which is free, lightweight, and provides a quick overview of resource-draining applications sorted by cache usage.

2. Put Unused Apps into Deep Sleep Mode

To prevent my phone from slowing down, I take advantage of Android’s built-in feature for sending unused or hidden apps to deep sleep. This action conserves battery life and prevents these apps from running in the background, meaning you won’t receive their notifications or updates.

The deep sleeping feature is simple to access. Navigate to Settings > Battery and device care > Battery > Background usage limits, and then select Deep sleeping apps. I can add as many applications as necessary by clicking the + button, allowing my phone to reallocate resources to the apps I utilize frequently.

Consistently sending infrequently used apps and inconvenient pre-installed apps to deep sleep has remarkably improved my device’s speed.

3. Clear Out Device Storage

Not only can your phone’s RAM create sluggishness, but lack of internal storage can also play a significant role. Even if there appears to be plenty of free space, countless files can accumulate over time, especially media files, photos, and videos received through messaging apps.

While each individual file might take up little space, collectively they can overwhelm your device. I’ve experienced long loading times when navigating my phone’s gallery, due to thousands of files consuming 14 GB. It’s beneficial to transfer older media files to an external storage device.

I usually rely on the Files by Google app for quick recommendations on whether to keep or delete files. By tapping the Clean button, I can easily visualize unwanted files, memes, large files, duplicates, and downloads. This method is far more efficient than manually inspecting each folder within my storage.

4. Turn Off Automatic Backup for Media Files

I used to keep automatic synchronization and backup enabled for uploading all my DCIM files to Google Photos, which often caused my phone to lag. Now, I keep this option off by default and only turn it on when I have access to a fast, unlimited Internet connection.

To manage this, I open the Google Photos app, tap my user icon, go to Photos settings, select Backup, and disable the Backup toggle. The same goes for other cloud storage services like OneDrive, where similar toggles are available to disable automatic backups.

5. Update and Restart Your Device Regularly

Your device’s automatic updates safeguard it against bugs and optimize memory use. If there has been a long gap since your last operating system update, apps may slow down, leaving your device vulnerable to malware—one of the prominent reasons for decreased performance.

Most modern Android devices will send you notifications for updates; it’s best to act on them promptly. If you prefer to do it manually, navigate to Settings → Software update → Download and install. Major updates will typically prompt your device to restart automatically; otherwise, ensure you restart it yourself.

Even if there are no pending updates, a weekly device restart can resolve common hassles such as slow apps and Wi-Fi connectivity issues. I also make it a point to restart my phone after extensive usage, such as gaming or binge-watching videos for extended periods, to clear temporary files and refresh the device’s interface.

6. Clear Browser Cache and Close Unused Tabs

If you’re using mobile browsers like Google Chrome and have many tabs open, it may heavily burden your device’s performance. Begin by closing any tabs that aren’t necessary. In Chrome, access Settings from the three-dot menu at the top, then proceed to Privacy and security > Clear browsing data > Advanced.

I make a habit of deleting my All-time browsing history, which can take up several hundred megabytes across numerous entries.

Alternatively, I visit App info settings to clear cache and storage data for resource-heavy applications. Beyond browsers, I’ve noticed that streaming apps like YouTube and Netflix, as well as many delivery applications, can build up substantial caches over time. It’s essential to periodically delete their data to keep performance smooth.

Additional Factors Leading to Android Slowdown – and Their Respective Solutions

If you frequently find yourself pondering “why is my phone running slow,” aside from the factors discussed above, there are other contributors to a sluggish experience.

• Outdated Operating System: Older Android devices stop receiving security updates and can accumulate unnecessary files over time. The only viable solution is to invest in a new device. Currently, any device running Android version older than 11 will no longer receive system updates.
• Hardware Problems: A deteriorating battery may cause the device to slow down. However, there are several measures you can adopt to prolong the battery health of an Android phone. If your device heats up, concentrate on cooling it down.
• Screen Brightness and Settings: Is your display brightness excessively high? If yes, consider using dark mode, especially during nighttime, as it can save battery life.

A factory reset could be an option for last resorts, but I haven’t felt the need for one in years due to the hassle of backing up data, although I can see the appeal of starting fresh with a new setup.

Remember, whether on an Android or Apple device, when apps and browsers appear sluggish, it might be an issue with your Wi-Fi connection.

Image credit: Pexels. All screenshots by Sayak Boral.

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