What tips do you have to help your phone run faster?

[Toby]

Hi guys,

A member of the O2 Guru team has shared some great tips on how to improve a slow phone (CLICK HERE) by making sure its running as smoothly as it can be. Below are some of the tips and you can find full descriptions of each over on the business blog itself, but I've included the first one below:

- Clear that cache 

The first thing we did  – and something we’d highly recommend – was to ask an O2 Guru for their advice. Our Guru says:

“When a slow phone is the issue, I explain that it’s just like maintaining a car; as long as it has a checkup every few months, it’ll run almost as well as it did when you first bought it. The best thing you can do is to go into the App Manager on an Android phone, go into each app and see if the ‘Cached Data’ has a large amount of storage. This is a buildup of used data (such as statuses and videos on Facebook) and by clearing the cache, or ‘unclogging the pipe’, it makes the app run faster and also helps the phone gain the extra space required to take more photos and videos.”

- Delete forgotten apps

- Use SD cards and external storage

- Giving your device a soft reset.

How do you speed up your device? What tips do you have that can share with everyone here? 

                                     

[jonsie]

Simply reboot every couple of days and do the empty cache at least once a week.

I use Clean Master personally,  perfect for getting rid of junk files etc.

[Anonymous]

Turn off location settings completely or just the apps that you don't want to use your location because the phone will continually search for your location which then drains the battery

[viridis]

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@jonsie wrote:

Simply reboot every couple of days and do the empty cache at least once a week.

I use Clean Master personally,  perfect for getting rid of junk files etc.

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Samsung agree, clean master tech is part of the system resources on galaxy s6, keeping it all running as smooth as possible. 

[jonsie]

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@viridis wrote:

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@jonsie wrote:

Simply reboot every couple of days and do the empty cache at least once a week.

I use Clean Master personally,  perfect for getting rid of junk files etc.

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Samsung agree, clean master tech is part of the system resources on galaxy s6, keeping it all running as smooth as possible. 

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I can't fault it to be honest apa r t from the constant reminders to activate the anti virus.  Maybe I'll get rid of Lookout and do it....

[cyrillicguy]

Assuming we're talking Android then, if you feel confindent and don't mind loosing your warranty, then root it and uninstall all the manufacturer's bloatware. 

Another thing to do once your phone is rooted, get the "Wakelock Detector" app and the "Disable Service" app. The first one is to detect services that constantly keep your phone awake even when the screen is off, and the second one - to actually disable these services.

All the above though has to be done with strict caution.

One of my phones is a Chinese dual-sim gadget, one of the cheap and cheerful noname ones, bought it for something like £80. So the above procedures really helped in terms of speeds and battery life.

That said, I've got a Z3 Compact phone as well, which tbh I did not even think of rooting. Done all the tweaking using standard Android means - disabled a few apps, restricted background data on other few, cache cleaning now and then as it was mentioned already. But the phone is fast and responsive as it is. Great gadget

[MI5]

I do nothing other than turning off and back on once a week (or when I think about it).
Cache clearing will save a few kb's at best and will be replaced as soon as you open the app again anyway.
I also leave apps open that I use regularly as this saves battery and processing power by not having to keep opening and closing them.
I also won't touch a phone with less than 2gb of RAM these days as anything else just won't cope with my demands.

[perksie]

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@MI5 wrote:

I also leave apps open that I use regularly as this saves battery and processing power by not having to keep opening and closing them.

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Many people find that hard to understand, but from what I've read it's quite true.

[MI5]

I'd never lead anyone astray

[Mark_1980]

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@perksie wrote:

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@MI5 wrote:

I also leave apps open that I use regularly as this saves battery and processing power by not having to keep opening and closing them.

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Many people find that hard to understand, but from what I've read it's quite true.

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Yep, it's true. Leaving apps open does use less battery than constantly closing and re-opening them (certainly true on iOS). This is because, as MI5 explained, the phone doesn't have to use battery and processing power to continually re-open them.

iOS 'pauses' each app when you come out of it, so that it's not using any power. The only time that an app will use power in the background is if you have background usage enabled. The app would then use power whether it has been closed or not. Examples of this would be apps such as Facebook or Twitter where the phone is continually checking for notifications. Battery usage is absolutely minimal though