4 Ways to Fix Slow Android Phone

Our phones have become an integral part of our life, helping us to perform a variety of tasks ranging from communicating with others to shopping online among other things. However, many issues could cause the device to slow down including storage issues, outdated firmware and many other reasons. It can be both annoying and inconvenient when your smartphone lags or takes too long to respond. If you are experiencing such an issue, this guide explores the various ways to fix slow Android phone.

Related: How to fix slow iPhone?

Fixing Slow Android Phone

Depending up on the issue, follow the below instructions to fix slow Android smartphones.

1. Restart your phone
2. Increase storage space
3. Update Android firmware
4. Fixing slow apps

1. Restart Your Android Phone

Your phone could be slow due to some apps or processes running silently in the background. Therefore, in most cases simply starting your device afresh will speed up the device.

• To restart your device, long press the power button and select “Restart” option.
• Alternatively, you can press the power button for about 20 to 30 seconds or until it shuts down and then press the button again to turn on.

If it was only a temporary issue, the device should now respond without any lags or freeze. If the phone is still slow after you restart, you can proceed to other troubleshooting options.

2. Check and Free Up Internal Storage Space

One of the issues that could cause your device to slow down is limited internal memory (ROM). Therefore, it is advisable to check if your device storage is full or nearly full and free up some space to resolve the issue.

Checking Your Device Internal Storage

• Go to the device main menu and tab the “Settings” app (a gear icon).
• Scroll down the settings and tap “Storage” from the list.
• This will display the device storage showing how the used and free space. Depending on the model of your Android device, you may the breakdown of memory usage.

How to Free Up Space?

You can free up space by clearing the device cache or removing some of the bulk yet unnecessary files.

• Scroll down the storage device storage, tap the “Cache” option and confirm the action to clear the data.

• You can also check and uninstall apps that you do not use or delete files such as images, videos that you no longer need.
• If you do not want to delete your files completely, you can transfer them to another device such as your PC to create more space on your Android device.
• Another solution is to invest in a spacious secondary storage (SD Card) to complement your device internal space. This allows you to store bulky files or even install apps in the external storage, thus offload the device ROM.

3. Update Your Android and Firmware

• To check for and install the system updates, go to the phone settings and scroll down the last menu item “About phone”.

• This will open the device “Updater” window, displaying the current version and update status.
• Click the “Check For Updates” and install any available updates.

Related: How to fix slow Wi-Fi issues in Android phones?

4. Fixing Slow Android Apps Related Problems

Mobile apps enable us to perform a variety of task within our smartphone. However, these apps sometimes can cause the phone to slow down or become unresponsive.

Closing Apps to Boost Performance

Opening multiple apps at once can be convenient especially when you want to multi-task or switch across various tools. However, too many running apps take up much of your phone internal storage spacing slowing down the device.

• Press or tap the “Running Apps” button (mostly a square icon next to the device home button) to display a list of all running apps.
• You can selectively close apps that you do not need by swiping them away one at a time. Alternatively, tap the “Clear All” option to close all the current active apps.

Disable or Uninstall Bloatware Apps

In most cases android devices ships with pre-installed commercial apps, installed by either the carriers or the manufacturer. These apps consume resources, causing unnecessary lags.

How to Disable Pre-installed Apps?

• To disable an app, go “Settings” and then select “Apps” from the settings menu.
• Look to the app and tap on it to open the “App Info” page. At the top of the page, touch “Disable” button.
• Confirm the action when prompted. Disabling pre-installed apps ensures that the apps are not using the RAM by running in the background.

Remove Pre-Installed Apps

Another way to deal bloatware apps is removing them completely from your device. However, there is no option to uninstall the app but if you are an advanced user, you can still uninstall these apps.

• First, you need to root your Android phone to all you to remove bloatware apps.
• Once rooted, go to the apps settings and tap the “uninstall” button.

Check for and Install Apps Updates

Outdated apps can consume more resources than necessary, resulting in a slow Android device.

• Launch the “Play Store” app and go to “My Apps & games” section. Under the “Updates” tab, you will see a list of apps with available updates.

• You may touch the “Update All” button to download and install updates for all apps or tap the “Update” button beside the apps to update one at a time.

Summary

There are several reasons that could slow down your android phone, making it a bit difficult to identify the cause and fix the problem. To resolve your phones sluggish performance, you may have to try a number of fixes ranging from restarting the device to uninstalling pre-installed apps. In some cases, resetting your device to default manufacturer settings helps to fix slow android device issues. Moreover, it is advisable to only install lightweight apps as well as ensure your apps are always up to date.