How to speed up the work of an old Android smartphone: top 7 tips

Sometimes, when your favourite Android smartphone starts to slow down, it seems that the only way out is to say goodbye to your pet and buy a new smartphone that will work much better. But you shouldn't resort to such radical methods right away, because a few simple steps can quickly bring your old friend back to life.

Usually, performance problems are not so much related to the aging of the smartphone, which has probably stopped receiving important system updates from the manufacturer, but also to the way you use it.

OBOZREVATEL tells you about seven steps that will help speed up an old Android smartphone. Please note that since different manufacturers adapt the Android operating system to their own needs, some of the steps below may not be available on your smartphone at all, while others will need to be found in the settings.

Switch off and switch on again

A ridiculously banal but always relevant advice is to restart the gadget. It may seem like a nonsense that won't affect the gadget's performance in any way, but a simple restart can clear the cache of certain apps and stop apps hanging in the background that are bothering you.

Be a minimalist

To browse Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or any other social network, you don't need to install its app, which will bother you with ads and drain your battery. Simply browse these sites through Chrome or another mobile browser: this will prevent social networks from running ads, free up both physical and RAM memory on your smartphone, and allow it to perform better.

You can also use simplified versions of apps designed for older smartphones. The camera can be replaced by a simplified application from Google Camera Go, and the usual Facebook can be replaced by its "little brother" - Facebook Lite. These apps will consume fewer resources, which your phone will like.

Update the software

Unless you have a very old smartphone, your manufacturer may have updated the software to the latest version of Android. This means that after the update, your smartphone should improve its performance and applications will be more optimised. Also, system errors that caused the gadget to slow down may be eliminated. That is why smartphones should always be updated to the latest OS version.

Unfortunately, however, most gadget manufacturers pay attention to updating their top models, while support for budget smartphones stops after a year or two.

Remove unnecessary apps

Smartphones are usually full of apps that have been opened once or twice, or those that you used only when the whole network was buzzing about them. Over time, they simply end up in your library and continue to collect dust, interfering with your smartphone's performance.

Keep in mind that even if you haven't used an app for a long time, it can still be running in the background, updating itself and using the sensors you've given it access to. To quickly uninstall these apps, go to Settings, then open Memory and Other apps - select and uninstall the apps you don't use. Some manufacturers may have this option on a different settings page.

Get rid of the rubbish

You may not even realise it, but you need a good file manager that lets you see what's taking up space on your smartphone. One such app is Files Go by Google. It's designed specifically for older Android smartphones, but you can use it with newer models to free up space quickly.

You can also check if Telegram, WhatsApp, Viber and other media apps that your friends and family send you are storing: you'd be surprised how much junk they can store. Check in the settings of these apps to see if they save media to the gallery, and set a limit on the size of the cache that these apps can store. Look for these features in the app settings in the storage or memory sections.

Store photos in the cloud

If you like to take photos, you need to back up your photos to the cloud. It can be Google Photos or OneDrive. In this way, you will not only save the photos in case something happens to your smartphone, but also free up space, as the original photos will be stored exclusively in the cloud storage, not in the gadget's memory.

Start all over again

If all else fails, the only thing left to try is the hardcore method. Make a backup of all the data on your Android phone and perform a factory reset. This is a simple and safe method that will wipe all data from your phone and restore it to the way it was out of the box. Then restore the data on your smartphone and enjoy.

Earlier, OBOZREVATEL also told how to disable background apps and their updates on Android and iPhone smartphones.