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

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

Usually, performance problems are not related to the aging of the smartphone that has probably stopped receiving important system updates from the manufacturer. It is more due 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 customize the Android operating system, some of the steps listed below may not be available on your smartphone at all.

Turn it off and on again

A ridiculously trite but always relevant advice is to restart the gadget. It seems that this is nonsense that will not affect the operation of the gadget in any way, but a simple restart can clear the cache of certain applications, as well as stop programs that are hanging in the background and interfering with your life.

Be a minimalist

To browse Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or any other social network, you don't have to install its app, which will bother you with ads and drain your battery. Simply visit 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 applications that were developed 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, contributing to battery life.

Update the software

Unless you have a very old smartphone, it's possible that its manufacturer has 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 optimized. System errors that caused the gadget to slow down may also be eliminated. That's why smartphones should always be updated to the latest OS version.

However, unfortunately, most gadget manufacturers pay attention to updating their top models, while support for budget smartphones stops in 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 just end up in your library and continue to "collect dust" and interfere with your smartphone's performance.

It's important to understand 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. Here, select and uninstall the apps you don't use. On some phones, this option may be located on a different settings page.

Remove trash

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

You can also check whether Telegram, WhatsApp, Viber, and other apps don't store media sent to you by friends and family: 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 they 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. This way, you will not only save the photos in case something happens to your smartphone but also free up space since the original photos will be stored exclusively in the cloud storage, not in the gadget's memory.

Start from scratch

If all else fails, the only thing left to try is the hardcore method. Back up all the data on your Android phone and give it a factory reset. This is a simple and safe method that will delete all data from your phone and restore it to the way it was out of the box. Then copy your data and enjoy.