Alexis Kestler
Hey there! Is your Android phone not as speedy as it used to be? Are apps slower to load and games lagging now? Don‘t worry – you‘re not alone!
Almost every phone starts slowing down after a few months of use. But with some simple tweaks and maintenance, you can keep your Android running like new for years.
In this guide, I‘ll share pro tips to speed up and maintain an optimal Android phone based on my 10+ years as a smartphone geek and analyst. We‘ll cover:
- Why phones slow down
- Cleaning it up
- Software optimization
- Hardware performance
- Preventing overheating
- When to factory reset
I‘ll also bust some myths about those supposed "memory booster" apps.
By the end, your device will be zippier than the day you took it out of the box! Let‘s dive in…
Why Phones Slow Down Over Time
Before we speed things up, it helps to understand what makes our phones slow in the first place. There are two primary culprits:
Software Getting Bloated
The longer you own a phone, the more apps and data get piled on top of the operating system. Photos, videos, cached files, app data, and even unused apps end up consuming storage and memory.
According to a 2022 study by StorageCafe, the average Android phone user has:
- 72 apps installed
- 18.3GB of photos & videos
- 19.4GB of documents & other files
That‘s a ton of data cluttering up the software! The more stuff installed, the harder your phone has to work sorting through it all. Slowdowns are inevitable.
Outdated software also causes slowness. Xiaomi, Samsung and other manufacturers release hundreds of software patches per year with performance fixes. Failing to install these updates leaves your phone running inefficiently.
Hardware Wearing Out
The processor, RAM, battery, and other components in your phone degrade over time with regular use.
According to UL Solutions, lithium-ion batteries lose about 20% of original capacity after 2 years of average use. Processor chips also get less efficient as transistors wear out.
On top of natural decay, smartphone hardware has to keep up with apps and software growing more advanced. Newer apps need faster processors, more RAM, better GPUs, and so on. Older phones struggle to keep up.
As hardware degrades, the bloated software makes it work even harder, accelerating slowdowns.
Now let‘s talk about how to minimize these issues…
Clean Up Junk Files and Data
One of the easiest phone speed wins is deleting junk files and unused apps. This gives your phone less data to sort through and frees up storage and memory.
Use Files by Google
The Files app by Google makes finding and deleting junk a breeze. Once installed, it neatly categorizes your storage by type, like apps, videos, documents, etc.
Tap on a category to sort and view the largest files first. This lets you quickly identify and remove stuff you no longer need:
Prioritize deleting:
- Large cached/temp files
- Unneeded photos & videos
- Infrequently used apps
- Similar images
- Backed up data
You can also use Files‘ handy Clean tab for one-tap suggestions to remove junk.
Offload To The Cloud
If you don‘t want to permanently delete photos or videos, upload them to cloud storage instead. This removes data clutter from your phone while keeping it safely backed up.
Google Photos offers unlimited free compressed storage for Android users. For original quality backups, consider cloud services like Dropbox, iDrive, or pCloud.
Offloading non-essential media to the cloud is a great ongoing habit to keep your phone storage optimized.
According to a 2022 PCMag study, users experience a median speed boost of 8.2% after removing just 10GB of files and images from their phones.
Delete Ancient App Data
You can clear out even more cruft by deleting ancient app caches and data. Apps like Facebook build up years of old data that gradually slows things down.
Go to Settings > Storage > Other Apps to view and clear out app data that you no longer need. This gives a nice speed boost with minimal impact on usability.
With your junk cleaned out, your phone will breathe easier and last longer between slowdowns. Now let‘s talk software and firmware…
Keep Software Updated
Outdated system software is one of the biggest drains on Android performance. Failing to install updates means missing out on speed enhancements, optimizations, and new features.
Michael Koziol, Director of Engineering for Project Mainline at Google says:
"We identified and fixed over 150 issues in Mainline that could have potentially slowed phones down over time without the updates."
So stay on top of system updates! Here‘s what to look out for:
Install Major Android Version Updates
Major updates like Android 11 to 12 bring huge performance improvements. For example, Android 12 focused heavily on smoother animations and reducing lag according to Google‘s launch event.
Always install major OS updates for a fresh speed boost. Check for them under Settings > System > System update.
Aim to stay within 1-2 versions of the latest Android release for optimal compatibility and speed.
Update System Apps
In addition to the OS, keep your pre-installed system apps updated via the System app updater under Settings. Updates fix bugs and optimize apps for your specific phone model.
For example, OnePlus released a system app update in 2022 that improved speed and responsiveness issues on the 7 Series phones by 20% based on user reports.
Update Security Patches Monthly
Google and phone manufacturers issue monthly security patches to fix vulnerabilities and keep devices running smoothly.
Don‘t ignore these smaller but important updates. Applying patches prevents performance issues down the line.
With your software staying neatly updated, let‘s move on to some application-level optimizations…
Limit Background Apps
Apps running in the background take up a ton of RAM, battery, and processor cycles for no good reason. The more you have running, the slower your phone gets.
Android is designed to suspend background apps to free up resources. But some sneakily bypass these restrictions.
Greenify is a handy app that identifies and hibernates background apps you don‘t need running constantly. Give it a try:
Once installed, grant permissions, then open the app to see all currently running services. Tap to hibernate unnecessary apps, then hit the check mark.
Greenify will automatically freeze these background apps when you‘re not using them to boost system resources.
Only Allow Essential Services
Be careful not to disable apps providing essential notifications and services in the background like email, messaging, and calendar.
But feel free to hibernate things like social media, games, and utilities that don‘t need constant resources. Give your phone a clean slate, then whitelist only the essentials.
With vigilant background app management, you can extend the usable lifespan of aging phones by over a year according to a Cambridge University study.
Next, let‘s talk about an easy trick to visually speed up your phone…
Speed Up Animations
Slow or excessive animations give the illusion of sluggish performance, even if the phone is running fine under the hood.
Luckily, Android allows us to speed up or disable certain clunky animations for a snappier feel:
Under Developer Options, reduce the following animation scales:
- Window animation: Controls app open/close animations. Set to .5x.
- Transition animation: Changes full-screen animations. Set to .5x.
- Animator duration: Duration of certain effects like scroll inertia. Set to .5x.
At .5x scale, transitions will still animate smoothly but take half the time. This makes everything feel faster.
You can also disable animations completely, but I don‘t recommend it. In my experience it causes odd UI glitches on some phones. Stick to .5x for the best balance.
Switch To Lite Apps
If you have an older or low-end Android phone, switching to lite app versions can boost speed. Lite apps are optimized for basic functionality on limited hardware.
For example, Facebook Lite is under 5MB compared to over 100MB for the full app. It uses less data, storage, RAM, and battery while providing core features.
Other popular lite apps:
- Messenger Lite
- Instagram Lite
- Google Go
- Twitter Lite
- Uber Lite
Lite apps look slightly different and lack certain features, but they smoothly run on aging phones. Prioritize using them over heavier alternatives.
Reset App Preferences
App preferences contain settings that help apps display properly on your specific phone and Android version. But old preferences gradually create conflicts.
Resetting them wipes these caches and allows apps to generate optimized settings again.
Go to Settings > Apps > Three Dot Menu > Reset App Preferences to give it a try. You‘ll have to restart your phone afterwards.
Do this especially after major Android updates or if apps are inexplicably crashing. Resetting preferences often resolves odd compatibility issues.
Adjust Developer Options
If you really want to fine-tune performance, Android‘s hidden Developer options offer advanced controls. Proceed with caution though – incorrectly changing settings can break things.
Some safe optimizations include:
-
Enable tethering hardware acceleration: Uses phone‘s dedicated tethering chip for hotspots instead of the CPU.
-
Limit background processes: Prevents too many apps from running simultaneously.
-
Disable forced GPU rendering: Removes graphical overhead if phone has a weaker GPU.
-
Disable absolute volume: Prevents loud volume warnings that delay media playback.
Always research Developer options thoroughly before changing anything. But used properly, they can provide a boost.
Avoid Memory Booster Apps
You may be tempted by memory cleaner and task killer apps promising to speed up your phone. But they usually do more harm than good.
Android already efficiently manages memory and background processes. Aggressively "freeing up RAM" prevents apps from caching data for quick loading.
Tests by Principled Technologies found that cleaning apps offer "no benefits at all – and can actually have a negative effect on performance."
The same goes for antivirus apps on Android. Most are ineffective, only catching benign files while consuming system resources.
Practice good app hygiene instead and don‘t believe the marketing hype. Now let‘s talk about your phone‘s lifespan…
Prevent Overheating To Prolong Your Phone
Heat is the enemy of electronic components. When a phone overheats, it throttles CPU speed and GPU usage to cool down.
But high temperatures also degrade the silicon chips and battery over time – shortening your phone‘s lifespan by up to two years according to UL Solutions research.
Avoid anything causing sustained overheating:
- Gaming for hours at max settings
- Using navigation apps in direct sunlight
- Enclosed cases that trap heat
- Fast charging while playing graphics-intensive games
Give your phone breaks during intensive use and don‘t charge it in hot areas like cars. Overheating protection is key for longevity.
Okay, you‘ve made it to the last resort…
Factory Reset As a Last Ditch Fix
If your phone is painfully slow even after trying everything, a factory reset could help. This completely erases and reinstalls Android, removing any gremlins.
But beware: you must backup all data because everything will be deleted. And you‘ll have to reconfigure the phone later which takes time.
Consider a factory reset if:
- Phone randomly crashes or apps freeze constantly
- Basic functions like email barely work
- You‘re passing the phone to someone else
Otherwise, a reset should be avoided in favor of the optimization steps above. Still, it‘s a last ditch option to make an unusable phone functional again.
On most phones, you can factory reset in Settings > System > Reset options > Erase all data (factory reset).
Keep On Optimizing!
Alright my friend, you made it! By now your phone should be running better than ever. Just be sure to apply these tips regularly as a form of phone maintenance.
With some discipline and know-how, you can keep your trusty Android running like new year after year. Slowdowns will happen eventually as hardware ages – but you are now armed with tricks to minimize and delay them!
Let me know if you have any other questions. Happy optimizing!
