Speed Up Your Mobile Device with These Simple Steps

Mobile devices have never been more abundant in our culture. For many of us, our phone is the first things we see in the morning and the last before we go to bed.

In today’s modern age, it’s difficult to imagine life without these beloved devices. But after a few years, your device starts slowing down and the love quickly begins to fade. A slow, non-optimized device brings your mobile experience from a sprint to a crawl.

Why Are Old Mobile Devices So Slow?

Every smartphone owner knows the inevitable frustration – at first your phone was blazing fast, with no lag time. You could install all your favorite apps without impacting your device’s performance. But as time went on, that shiny new device slowed down, and now it’s a struggle to pull up a single photo or visit your favorite websites.

So why do old devices slow down and what can you do to bring them back to life?

The fact is, the more jam-packed your device gets with data, the slower it will run. For this reason, it’s important to regularly delete temporary files, old photos and anything else that might be clogging up your smartphone or tablet. Even if your device is far from full, temporary files and other junk could really slow it down. Removing those unnecessary files could be all it takes to bring your old device back to its former self.

The best place to start is with a simple reboot, a strategy that is often remarkably effective. If your phone is on all the time, you may not take the time to restart it, so make that your first step.

If it’s still slow, try turning off those fancy animation effects. Your device may not look as visually appealing, but it should perform much better.

Mobile devices tend to slow down as they age, but the steps above can help you mitigate the impact. While it’s not realistic to expect your old Apple iPhone to be as speedy as a brand new (and hugely expensive) iPhone X, freeing up space and deleting old files can bring it back up to speed and allow you squeeze a few more years of life out of the device.

How to Make Your Android Phone or Tablet Faster

We’ve all heard stories of Apple deliberately slowing down its older iPhone models, but those age-related slowdowns are not unique to Apple devices. If you have an Android phone or tablet, you may have already noticed a slowdown in performance.

There are a lot of rumors about how to speed up an Android smartphone or tablet, but which actions really make a difference? Here are some tried and true tips to speed up your Android device.

1. Reboot your device regularly. Sometimes the most effective strategy is also the simplest. Rebooting your Android smartphone or tablet every couple of days is one of the best ways to keep it running at peak performance.
2. Slim down your home screen. A crowded home screen can slow down your Android device, so stick to the icons you really need.
3. Switch browsers. Some browsers are faster than others, especially on mobile devices. Experiment with different browsers and stick with the one that responds the fastest. In addition, try clearing your browser cache. No matter what browser you use, clearing the cache regularly will speed up your device and help it run more efficiently.
4. Change your launcher. If your Android device is too slow, try switching to an alternative app launcher. The default app launcher is not always the fastest, and changing could speed up your device.
5. Ditch bad/unnecessary apps. It is easy to download a dud app here and there, and those bad apps could really hurt your performance. Keep track of what is running and consuming resources when your Android device slows down, then send the offending apps to the trash. It’s easy to go crazy downloading apps, so do some housecleaning now and then. Stick to the apps you actually use, and send the rest to the recycle bin.
6. Shut down auto-synching. Auto-synching apps may be convenient, but it is also time-consuming. Confine auto-synching to the apps that really need it – you could speed up your device tremendously.

How to Speed Up Your Apple iPhone or iPad

Apple makes some of the most reliable devices on the planet, but they too slow down over time. If your old iPhone or iPad is showing signs of age, there are things you can do to speed it up.

Keep your iPhone or iPad running as fast as possible with these tips:

1. Turn off auto updates. Not every app needs a constant stream of updates, and turning off unneeded updates can really speed up your Apple device.
2. Offload your old photos. It’s easy to turn your iPhone or iPad into a photo album, but offloading your old snapshots will free up space and make your device faster.
3. Delete those bloated apps. Apps that take up a lot of space can be real resource hogs, so look for leaner alternatives that work just as well.
4. Empty your browser cache. Clearing out Safari’s cache is one of the best ways to speed up your Apple devices. This is also something you should be doing on a regular basis to maintain optimal performance.
5. Delete old text messages. You don’t need to keep every message, so go through your iPhone and offload those you no longer need.

Keep Your Mobile Device Running Smoothly

Whether you use your mobile devices for work or just for fun, there’s no need to invest in a brand new device every year. By following these best practices, you can protect those devices and keep them running at peak efficiency.