When your smartphone starts to slow down, you be able to miracle or it is histhe beginning of his end. However, it could just be digital junk that has accumulated throughout the year and gobbles up the works. As 2022 is coming to an endthis is as good a time as any clear the clutter from your Android and start the new year with a faster phone that you can hold longer.
WWe’re talking about Android hereso keep that in mind that almost every smartphone has a different interface. Some of our suggestions may not apply to your specific phone and others are available in different menus. You can always use the search function on your device or within the Settings app to apply this advice to your situation.
Turn it off and on again
Perhaps the most clicheOne piece of advice from all, but it’s number one for a reason: A a large number of Android problems (and technical problems in general) can be solved with a simple reboot. If your phone has been slow try restarting it for a while to see if that fixes the problem.
Try a minimalist approach
Instead of running apps for every service you want to try, go minimalist to boost your phone’s performance. For example, Instagram’s app is designed to keep you hooked and make sure you watch as many ads as possible. The same logic applies to TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, and pretty much every social media app out there. If you uninstall these apps and browse to these sites from Chrome, you will notice a significant reduction in battery consumption because the sites can’t use that many of a browser’s sensors.
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Another approach is to use “Lite” versions of popular apps. These are stripped-down versions of apps designed for low-end smartphones. Go to Google Play and search for Camera Go (a camera app designed by Google) or Facebook Lite. These apps consume less resources and make your phone run better.
Check for software updates
We usually recommend updating to the latest version of Android available for your phone, but if you want to use your phone longer, there’s a trade-off. If there is one safety update, you should definitely install it to protect your phone and keep it free from malware. However, general updates can be a pain. If the update contains major changes, a quick Google search should reveal what other people have experienced with the new software. When your phone is old, a poorly optimized software update can cripple the device so you should always check for performance issues reported by others before updating.
Phone manufacturers often release patches to fix software update issues. Once any lingering bugs are destroyed, updating your phone can definitely improve its performance. Anyway, Google is your friend here.
Remove apps you don’t use
We are all guilty of downloading apps when they are trending or popular, only to forget they exist soon after. If your phone is full of unused apps, uninstall them to improve battery life and usability.
Many apps tend to run in the background and use your phone’s sensors, even if you’re not actively opening them. down your device. To quickly uninstall these apps, go to Settings > Storage > Other apps and uninstall unused apps. This option may be on a different settings page on some phones.
Remove clutter to free up space
A good file manager app is a must to keep track of what is taking up space on your smartphone. from Google Files go app is aimed at old and slow Android phones, but you can use it with any device to free up space quickly. There are many other ways to free up space on your Android phone, but none are as universally effective as Files Go.
You can also check the settings of your favorite messaging apps to see if you’re accumulating too many files. Apps like WhatsApp allow you to disable automatic media downloads and prevent all open media files from being saved to the photo gallery.
Move your photos to the cloud
If you only keep your photos on your smartphone, you are one small incident away from losing a lot of good memories. Backing up your photos to the cloud, using apps like Google Photos or OneDrive, will keep them safe and free up storage space on your device to make it run more smoothly.
Start all over again
In the event that none of these tips help, backup all data on your Android phone and start over. There are two ways to do this. The easier and safer route is to do a factory reset, which wipes and restores your phone to the way it came out of the box. You will not lose your data as long as it is backed up securely first, but a new version of Android can make things feel like new again.
If you’re adventurous and don’t mind daily troubleshooting for the first few weeks, you can try installing a custom ROM on your phone. This is hard, and wears a risk that either will void your warranty and block your phone, so don’t try this on your primary smartphone.
However, there are also significant benefits if you choose the right Android flavor for your smartphone. For example, Pixel experience is a ROM aimed at providing a Google Pixel-like experience on other Android phones. Likewise, Paranoid Android is a privacy-focused version of Android.
Custom ROMs let you get rid of Google’s invasive tracking, try out the latest versions of Android on your phone, and add useful features that were never available on your phone. If you’re a tech-savvy person, this could be a fun way to breathe new life into your old phone. However, the hassle isn’t worth it for most people.
