We all remember buying a new phone and noticing how fast everything work, your apps open in just a few milliseconds and you revel in the joy of that new phone feel, the world is great and you and your new device are about to take it by storm (Tiktok beware).
Now a few months have passed and you have all your apps installed, you have taken a ton of photos and some videos, your phone has been your constant companion through all the ups and down and stores all the records of those times. But you notice something different, you are not quite sure but it seems that your device has gotten slower than when you originally bought it. Apps don’t open as quickly as they used to and it takes forever to get certain apps open at all. If you are experiencing a slow down with your device, here are 10 things you can do about it.
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How to: Restart your device:
Yes its that easy, buy restarting your phone you end all the running applications and releases held-up memory from applications that might have been hogging it. Plus also clears out the cache, stop unnecessary tasks from running, and get things running smoothly again
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How to: Free up some space:
While having tones of content on your device is normal, it’s not necessarily a good thing for your phone, the more data is present the harder it is to find free space and your phone might start to slow down just processing it all. So you might want to think of cloud storage solutions such as Google Photos or DropBox but an external memory card would work just as well. While you are at it, take the time to do some spring cleaning, images, docs and memes you don’t need or haven’t used in a while should be moved from the phone internal memory. It always a good idea to have lots of space on your phone and keep only what you use frequently on your device.
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How to: Free up your Ram:
Some of us, myself included, never seem to close our apps, so when we toggle between apps we see an almost endless sea of active screens all running at the same time with some fighting over the use of our limited Ram (There is never enough ram to go round), so it might be wise to make some time and close those apps you are not using or that do not need to run in the background. Also, a good idea to check what apps are using the most amount of memory and see if you actually need them.
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Don’t install sketchy apps:
This might seem like a no-brainer but at one point or the other we have installed apps that do more than what you originally wanted, sometimes without your consent. So always be on the safe side and install apps from trusted vendors. It should be noted here that we said trusted vendors not the app store, this is because it has been found that some apps on the stores do more than they project. So if an app offers you something too good to be true, it is most likely very bad for you.
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How to: Keep things updated:
Your device will receive updates and patches from time to time and in some cases, you might have to initialize the process but it is always a good idea to keep your apps up to date. Developers are always looking for ways the improve their apps and software, this includes making it faster and more battery efficient, so if you want to take advantage of this then you need to be running the latest versions of said software.
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Get your hands dirty:
No we don’t mean to play in the mud, but to take a closer look at your device and see what exactly is going on behind the scenes. This includes checking your device health, frequently used apps, apps that draw the most battery, apps that run in the background by default and what permissions each app has access too. This should give you a better understanding of what the issue with your device is and start a foundation for where to fix the problem.
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Fewer Animations:
Believe it or not but those fancy animations and effects that are enabled on your phone take up resources that could be used elsewhere plus delay whatever process you are running by a few milliseconds. Better to have less flashy effects and more speed on your device. You don’t have to turn them all off just the ones that you think you can do without.
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Install Stock Rom:
Now for the more advanced users out there, liberating your device from the bloatware infused default ROM that came with your phone might be the more practical approach to getting better speed and an overall cleaner UI (user interface) experience. Some device manufacturers have been knowing to include apps and tools that they think you need or want but might have no practical use to you, but uninstalling them isn’t always so easy. Better to start afresh from a clean ROM that just has the basics.
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Turn off unneeded features:
It’s great to have wifi, Bluetooth, NFC, bright screens and the lits available to you all the time but that does not mean they need to be on all the time too. Disabling features that are not in use will free up your system to work on other things and function a little faster.
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Buy a new device:
Yes you heard correctly, we said to buy a new device. If your phone is getting on in years, it might be time to pick a new one. Sad as it is to let go of your companion, older devices can’t keep up with modern application demands. So when you have optimized the phone to high heaven and nothing else can be done. It might be time to retire that old phone or trade it in for something that can handle your current needs. So back up your data, say your device and send it off to the recyclers.
Device slowdown is inevitable and as the day approaches where that once shiny new device becomes a little slower and not as fast as it once was, take some time out of your day to show it some care, put some spring back into it steps , follow the few suggestions above to a faster phone experience.
