How to Fix Your Android When it Starts Slowing Down
So do you remember that fancy Android device you bought a year ago? Well you probably don’t because right now it isn’t loading apps as quick as it once did and quite frankly it’s slower than the snails you see outside. This kind of thing happens to all our electronic devices, whether it’s an Android device or a shiny new laptop. Unfortunately as time goes on they begin to accumulate more problems and enjoy testing your patience.
However…that doesn’t mean you should throw it out and buy a new one. There are ways to improve the speed of your device and make it run just like it did when you popped that powerful little device into your pocket for the first time.
Have a tidy up of those unused apps
We’ve all been there when our friend has told us about this great app or we’ve opened the Play Store and tried a game of Russian Roulette with the top new games. Then after opening the game or app once we decide it’s not our thing and leave it installed just eating away at your CPU and stealing the efficiency of your Android. Well delete them…delete all of them! Any app or game which you don’t use any more is just ruining your device (well maybe ruining is a bit extreme but you get the idea).If you just look out of the window to check the weather rather than those three weather apps then delete them. Once you’ve been through all of your apps and deleted the ones you never use then you will probably notice an almost instantaneous effect of improvement.
Clean up those pesky files
You’re out in the sun and have a beautiful landscape behind you so you think ‘hmm…let me take a selfie’. It takes you seven attempts before you’re happy with the result. What happens when you do this for months and months? Your Android device begins to build up so many useless photos and videos that you don’t need any more. Open your gallery and work your way through every single photo you have and delete any that you really don’t need. This applies to your videos too.
Next you’ll want to navigate to your ‘Downloads’ folder and again, work your way through every zip file and image you’ve ever downloaded. If you don’t need it any more then delete it from your device. Once you’ve done all this then make yourself a drink, settle in your chair and breathe. Your sparkly phone is almost ready to show you its true colors.
Months of cached data has no place here
Every app you have on your device stores cache. This is just a way to make them show you certain bits of information without having to regenerate or without the need to download it again. That said, it slows down your device and can actually make some apps go a little crazy. You can delete it all without consequence. So what do you do?
- Go to “Settings”
- Find the “Device Storage” or something along those lines
- Navigate to “Cached Data”
- Tap “Yes” on the pop-up to remove all of the cached data.
Isn’t that a good feeling? By now your device will be feeling like it has been through cosmetic surgery as it should be running loads better.
The last resort
If you’ve reached this part of the article and your device isn’t working right still then there is one shining sparkle of light in the distance. Factory reset…(queue the dramatic music)…This is extreme and you will lose every single thing on your device. You should definitely make sure you do a backup before you do this just in case there is stuff you need on your Android device. Check out this post on how to safely backup your data if you aren’t sure.
Hopefully by now you’ll be sitting there enjoying a year old phone that is operating like a brand new Lamborghini. Just listen to that purr. If you have any other tips on how to improve the speed of your device then make sure to let us know in the comments.
