In today’s digital age, our mobile phones have become a significant part of our lives. From staying connected with loved ones to running our work schedules, our phones are with us every step of the way.
However, with regular use, our phones can gather a lot of junk files and slow down, affecting their performance. Cleaning up your phone and optimizing its performance is a simple yet effective way to expand its lifespan and improve your overall user experience.
This article will discuss some easy-to-follow tips and tricks to help you clean your phone from junk and speed it up, so you can enjoy using it without any glitches or slowdowns.
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1) Reboot your device
Despite the seeming banality, this is one of the easiest and most effective ways to “revive” a slow, freezing gadget. Restarting restarts not only all system processes but also deletes various temporary files that take up space and slow down the smartphone.
To restart is usually enough to press and hold the power button until the menu appears, and then select the appropriate item. If it does not work, you can simply turn off and on the gadget again – the effect will be the same.
2) Install available updates
With each firmware update, manufacturers eliminate bugs and increase the performance of smartphones. Therefore, it is recommended to always install the latest software versions available. The only exception is very old devices, which due to weak hardware, may start to slow down even more on modern firmware.
On iPhone, go to “Settings” → “Main” → “System update” to check. On Android smartphones: “Settings” → “System” → “System update”. Wait until the available updates are checked and install them by pressing the appropriate button.
3) Clear the cache
Another way to remove temporary files and various junk is to clear the system cache. Since iOS doesn’t have a separate function for this, it happens during a device reboot. In Android, on the other hand, you can do this by opening “Settings” → “Storage“, then select the internal drive and click “Free space”.
It is better not to use third-party cleaners and optimizer utilities: they do more harm than good. The only thing that can be recommended for Android is the official Google Files app. In the “Clean” tab, with its help, you can delete the accumulated temporary files, which take up disk space and can slow down the smartphone.
4) Delete unnecessary apps and their data
The lack of free space on the internal drive leads to slower access to files and, as a consequence, to a decrease in the speed of the device. It’s not recommended to fill up the storage up to the eyeballs – it’s desirable to leave unoccupied at least 10% of the total volume and better – 20-25%.
Over time, apps accumulate data and can take up an obscene amount of space. To remove them, open “Settings” → “Storage” → “Other apps” on Android or “Settings” → “Main” → “Storage” on iOS. Next, go through the programs that are taking up the most space and tap “Erase Data”. If the app doesn’t have a wipe option, you’ll have to uninstall it and install it again.
You can also get rid of unused programs, including built-in programs, to free up space.
5) Install Lite Versions of Applications
If the issue of saving disk space is very acute, the logical solution would be to remove regular browsers, messengers, and social networking clients and install lite-versions instead. You can find them on Google Play and the App Store by adding lite to the application name.
They have an ascetic interface and sometimes a more modest set of functions. But they take up much less space and work much faster.
6) Transfer Applications and Data to the Memory Card
The internal memory has a faster write speed, so by default, all applications are installed there. The most important and frequently used programs are really better to keep on the built-in drive, and all the rest can be transferred to the SD-card in order to save money.
To do this, go to “Settings” → “Applications“, open the desired program and use the “Move” button. Unfortunately, not all smartphones provide this function. Read more about this in a separate article.
Since the iPhone does not support memory cards, the above only applies to Android devices.
7) Remove Unnecessary Content
If, after doing all of the above, your smartphone’s storage is still full, you’ll have to review photos, videos, music, and other media content. Anything unnecessary can be deleted immediately, and files that are valuable can be uploaded to one of the cloud storage services or copied to your computer.
8) Reduce the Number of Widgets
Like other optional features, widgets can load the system and cause it to slow down. This is especially noticeable on low-end and outdated devices. There’s only one way out: remove all the unimportant items and leave only the essential ones.
To remove it, just hold your finger on the widget and drag it to the appearing cross or click on the minus icon.
9) Disable Interface Animations and Other Effects
Animations of transitions between desktops and drawing other interface effects load the processor so much that the outdated or not the fastest smartphone because of this can significantly lag. By disabling these options, you can increase performance.
On iPhone, you need to go to “Settings” → “Universal Access” and then under “Display and text size,” turn on the toggle switch “Decrease transparency”, and under “Motion” – activate “Reduce motion”.
On Android devices, you must first enable developer mode. Then go to “Settings” → “System” → “For Developers” to find the “Drawn” section and set the “No animation” option for the “Window animation”, “Transition animation” and “Animation duration”.
About the author
Steve O’Neil is a writer and translator with a master’s degree in marketing. He has a passion for learning to understand how things work and how events proceed. He is also expertise in various fields, including social media marketing, lifestyle, and data analytics. Now, he is a regular editor and essay writer at write my essay for me service, which helps students with their college papers.
