You’ve probably experienced it: your smartphone seems to slow down over time, even that top-of-the-line unit that seemed so speedy when you bought it. It happens because phones get older and new hardware improves. At the same time, software developers write updates that take advantage of that latest capability.Before you ditch your phone and buy a new one, try these simple troubleshooting steps to get it back up to speed.
Understanding Performance Degradation
Right out of the box, your Android or iPhone handset is a blazing-fast piece of technology, executing each swipe and tap command instantly. However, use your phone for a long enough period, and appreciable lag starts to creep in. This can be a huge inconvenience, particularly when sending or receiving texts or a lengthy multiplayer match in PUBG or League of Legends.
The underlying cause of this slowing down is simple. Your phone has limited operating capacity. As new apps are installed and updated, the system becomes more congested, and the hardware can no longer attend to each task as quickly as it could in the past.
This is exacerbated by the fact that developers lace their apps with more and more features that require more resources to perform well. Even very powerful phones cannot handle these demands as efficiently as when they first came out, resulting in slow performance.
The deterioration of a battery is another common cause of slower smartphone operation. As the battery degrades, it will produce excess heat that can stress the other components of the handset and lead to slower processing speeds. It can also reduce the power available for background operations, such as processing notifications or transferring files. Fortunately, there are many tried and tested ways to speed up your Android or iPhone device, such as restarting it, updating the software, deleting the cache, and factory resetting it. Each of these solutions will improve your device’s performance significantly. These tips will help your mobile phone work more efficiently and prevent it from lagging so much that you want to throw it away and buy a new one.
Common Causes
It’s common for smartphones to slow down over time. A phone’s processor will get hotter the more it runs and, as a result, perform worse. This heat can affect other components, too, such as the screen’s backlight or mobile data connection. All of this can create a lot of lag.
Another common reason that smartphone performance degrades is due to storage. Flash storage can lose its speed over time as more and more data is written to and read from the storage device. This can cause a noticeable lag between pressing the photo capture button and the picture showing up on your screen or the keyboard in an app taking more than usual time to appear.
Throughout owning a device, many users download apps that may only be used sometimes. This can cause a significant increase in the amount of memory and CPU resources each app uses, leading to reduced overall performance. The best way to address this is by deleting any apps that are not being used or switching the permissions of any such apps so they do not use location services, for example.
Software improvements also have the potential to impact a phone’s performance, as newer hardware can support capabilities that older devices cannot. This is why it’s a good idea to update to the latest operating system available for your device.
A restart may also boost your phone’s performance in the short term. It can clear some application cache and temporary files that accumulate over time. If the problem persists, it’s worth considering a factory reset to restore the default settings of your device.
Operating System Updates
The operating system software of a phone manages its hardware and software resources, providing a common user interface and utilities for managing the phone. It also controls the basic functions of your smartphone, such as power management and connectivity. Smartphone companies are constantly analyzing and improving their operating systems to make them work faster, smarter, and more stable. That’s why you should always watch those nagging software update notifications on your screen.
Some updates are major changes to your device’s overall look and feel, while others address specific problems. For example, a recent Android update introduced a new runtime called ART to replace the old Dalvik. This change should offer a smoother, faster performance on the latest smartphones with the newest versions of Android.
Another important function of an operating system update is to fix bugs and glitches. While avoiding all issues is impossible, major updates tend to remove many of them. For example, an OS update earlier this year finally fixed the StageFright vulnerability that began with Android 2.2 and lived on through Android 5.
When you see a notification for an update, don’t panic if it seems to burn through your battery more quickly than usual, as it installs, runs all the required verifications and checks, and does a lot of re-indexing. It’s worth it in the long run if you want your smartphone to perform optimally for years.
Managing Background Processes
When you’ve stuffed your smartphone with too many apps, they compete for system resources like storage space, RAM (random access memory), and CPU (central processing unit), which can cause your device to slow down. You can find this information by going to your Android Settings or Developer Options and reviewing the list of running apps and shutting down or ‘force-stopping’ those that aren’t essential to your daily life. You can also uninstall any apps you no longer need.
Even if you have plenty of free storage, your internal battery may have worn down to the point that you need an upgrade. The more the battery drains, the less power it has to run your device, which can lead to a noticeable decrease in performance.
If you’ve tried everything on this list and your phone still feels sluggish, it might be time for a factory reset. This will wipe your device’s data and return it to the condition it was when you first purchased it, except for any operating system updates installed by your manufacturer.
Summary
No one-size-fits-all solution exists to fix a smartphone that’s slowly slowing down. However, the tips in this article give you a good idea of what’s going on behind the scenes so you can make informed decisions about the best course of action. If you’re ready to get a new smartphone, this guide can help you find the right model for your needs. And if you still need to figure it out, we have some great reasons why your device might need an upgrade. It’s never too early to start thinking about your next device. You can sell old mobile phone online for best price, even you can get cash for old phone.