If you've been using your Android device for some time, you may feel it slowing down. This happens due to several reasons, such as the accumulation of data, app and OS updates, outdated hardware, etc. While this is a fairly common problem, there are various fixes available that you can try to speed up your Android phone.

Check for and install pending updates

Software updates often contain patches and bug fixes that can improve the performance of your device. If you feel that your Android device is slowing down, consider checking for updates and installing them if they are available.

  1. Open the Settings app and tap on 'System' or 'System Updates' if the option is available separately.
  2. Then tap on 'Check for updates'. If updates are available, your device will download and install them. You can then reboot your phone and check its performance.

Disable pre-installed applications

Smartphones from most manufacturers come preinstalled with multiple apps, which you may or may not use. Whether you use those apps or not, many of them can run in the background and use up precious system resources required by apps you do use. Such apps often include device scanning apps, theme stores, video/music players, etc. In many cases, you won't be able to completely uninstall these apps but may be able to disable them and prevent them from running.

  1. Open the Settings app and tap on 'Apps'.
  2. To view system apps, tap on the three dots on the top right and tap on 'Show system services' or 'Show all apps'.
  1. Tap on the app you want to disable.
  2. Then tap on the 'Disable' button. You may see a pop-up asking you to confirm whether you want to disable the app. Tap on 'Disable' again.

Revoke app permissions

Another way by which you can prevent unwanted apps from using system resources without removing or disabling them is to revoke their permissions. You can revoke permissions that require access to your physical activity, location, etc., and prevent such apps from automatically starting up in the background.

  1. Open the Settings app and tap on 'Apps' to view all installed apps.
  2. Tap on the app for which you want to revoke permissions.
  1. Next, tap on 'App permissions'.
  2. Tap on the permission you want to revoke, such as the camera.
  1. Tap on 'Don't allow' to prevent Amazon from accessing the camera on your phone. In the same manner, you can revoke other permissions for various apps but you may not be able to revoke all permissions for all apps.

Occasionally reboot your device

Rebooting your device can help you speed it up since it clears away all running apps, services, and processes. To restart your phone, simply press and hold the power button for a few seconds. This will bring up the power options on your screen. Tap on the 'Restart' option and wait for the device to reboot. Smartphones from certain brands like Samsung even allow you to schedule a restart at specific times, which can be handy if your device starts slowing down again after some time.

Clear app cache

App cache contains the data that apps store to load information quickly so the user does not have to wait for a long period each time they launch the app. However, over time this cache can get filled up and slow down that particular app or even your device. While you can remove and reinstall the app to fix this, an easier option is to simply clear the cache for that app, which does not get rid of your settings, history, and logins.

  1. Open the apps list in the Settings app and tap on the app for which you want to clear the cache.
  2. Tap on the 'Clear data' option at the bottom.
  1. In the pop-up that appears, tap on 'Clear cache' and confirm your choice if a prompt appears asking for confirmation. Be careful when clearing the cache because if you accidentally tap on the 'Clear data' option, all app data, including your login and settings will be removed.

Get rid of downloaded media and old chats

Messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram can also get bloated with time. These apps often store the downloaded data, including the chat database on your device locally. This can affect the performance of your device, especially if it is not relatively new and there are thousands of messages stored on it. To deal with this, you will have to manually go through your chat apps and delete conversations you no longer think are important. Some apps also have built-in options that let you automatically clean up your chats, including old media files such as photos and videos that can help speed up apps like the image picker and gallery.

Use lite versions of resource-intensive apps

Many resource-intensive apps have lighter versions available that you can install to improve the performance of your device. For instance, you can download Facebook Lite instead of the regular Facebook app, which is not only very bloated but also requires a lot of permissions. Similarly, apps like Twitter and Instagram have features like auto-playing videos, which can slow down your device. Lite apps do not have such features since they are designed to be more responsive and fast, which is why they can be an excellent solution if you feel your device is slowing down.

Use web apps

PWAs or Progressive Web Apps are an alternative to regular apps but are not installed on your device. In fact, many lite versions of apps are simply PWAs since their purpose is to work well on limited or older hardware. Web apps are basically websites that are packaged as apps and you can run them via browsers like Chrome. You can add web apps to your home screen and easily open them from there.

Keep your home screen simple

Dynamic items on your home screen including live wallpapers and widgets use a lot of resources and can adversely affect the performance of your device as well as its battery life. This is especially true for widgets and other items that refresh periodically to show updated information. Similarly, the Google pane on the left of the home screen can use a lot of resources.

Consider removing widgets and other live items from the home screen, which can help you save resources and improve device performance. You can also disable the Google pane and instead rely on the Google app for news and stories. To disable it,

  1. Open the Settings app and tap on 'Home screen'.
  2. You will see an option that lets you configure the Google Pane. Depending on your device, this can appear under different names. For instance, on Redmi devices, it appears as '-1 screen'. Tap on it.
  1. Then select 'None' instead of Google Discover.

Turn off digital assistants

Digital assistants like Google's Gemini use resources while running in the background, which can slow down older devices or those with weaker hardware. To prevent that from happening, you can stop these assistants from running in the background.

  1. Open the Google app on your Android device and tap on your profile picture on the top right.
  2. Then tap on 'Settings' in the pop-up menu.
  1. Next, select Google Assistant to access all assistant-related settings.
  2. Then tap on 'Voice Match' on the next page.
  1. Finally, tap on the 'Hey Google' toggle to turn it off. This will prevent Google Assistant from waking up in the background but you can still access it manually by swiping diagonally up from either corner of the screen or by holding down the home button. If you have other digital assistants like Bixby or Alexa, consider disabling them as well.

Prevent apps from updating automatically

When apps and services update, they use system resources. If your device is short on those, you may experience it slowing down when apps automatically update in the background. Fortunately, you can easily change this behavior from the Play Store.

  1. Open the Play Store and tap on your profile picture on the top right.
  2. Tap on 'Settings'.
  1. Next, tap on 'Network preferences'.
  2. When the Network preferences dropdown expands, tap on 'Auto-update apps'.
  1. Finally, tap on the 'Don't auto-update apps' option to select it.

Avoid task-killer and antivirus apps

The Play Store has lots of task-killing apps that claim to help you free up system resources and improve your device performance. Sometimes, manufacturers also preinstall such apps on their devices. However, such apps should be avoided since they can actually worsen the performance of your device. Android is already a mature enough OS with built-in features that hibernate apps you haven't used for a long time.

Similarly, antivirus apps are not as effective on Android as they are on desktop platforms like Windows since the former keeps apps isolated from the system and from each other. On top of that, Google Play Services and the Play Store have built-in functionality to detect malicious apps. If you do wish to use other features of antivirus apps, like photo vaults, anti-theft detection, and VPN services, simply disable the antivirus functionality to save resources on your device.

Change animation speed

Android has various animations baked in that appear when you perform various actions, like opening or closing apps, switching between them, and more. On less powerful and older devices, these animations can feel as if they're slowing down the system. You can change the animation speed or completely disable animations if that's the case.

  1. Open the Settings app and tap on 'About phone'.
  2. Find 'Build number' on the About Phone page and tap on it seven times until you see the 'You are now a developer' message.
  1. Now go back and tap on the 'Developer options' setting that has now appeared.
  2. Inside, you will find the 'Window animation scale', 'Transition animation scale', and 'Animator duration scale' settings. Tap on each one and set it to a lower value.

Perform a factory reset

If nothing else works, consider resetting your phone to its factory defaults. This will remove all your apps and you will have to reinstall them. However, this will get rid of all unrequired and unused data, potentially speeding up your device.

  1. Open the Settings app and tap on 'System'.
  2. Tap on 'Reset options' on the System page.
  1. Then tap on 'Erase all data (factory reset).
  2. Finally, tap on the 'Erase all data' button on the bottom right and confirm your decision. Your phone will reboot as it resets and removes all your data. The process can take some time, so wait until it is complete before you set it up again.

Things to know

  • Restarting your phone is another trick you can employ to help speed it up since it clears all running processes that may be slowing it down.
  • Your phone can also feel sluggish if the storage is full or close to filling up. In such a case, consider uninstalling apps by tapping and holding the app icon and then tapping on the 'Uninstall' option.
  • Just like apps, your phone's browser can accumulate data over time, causing it to slow down. If you're using a browser like Chrome, which is installed on most Android devices, open it and tap on the three dots on the top right before tapping on the 'Clear data' option to clear up unneeded data.
  • In situations where your device doesn't speed up even after trying all the fixes, you can shift to a custom ROM, especially if you have an old phone. Custom ROMs can extend the life of such devices by allowing them to remain usable even after the manufacturer stops providing official updates.