If your old Android device has started showing its age and you cannot
upgrade to a newer one for one or the other reason, here are a few
simple tips that will greatly help in improving the overall performance
of your Android device.
6.
Factory reset – Over a period of time, you
end up installing/uninstalling hundreds of apps on your Android device.
You also end up with a bunch of apps that you will probably never use,
but they silently run in the background, draining battery and consuming
precious resources.
Doing a factory reset will give you a platform
to start fresh. I will also recommend readers to format the internal
storage/micro SD card, if any, as it will get rid of all the junk files
and folders left behind by uninstalled apps, and also help you reclaim
some free space. Make sure you only install the apps and games that you
actually need. This way you will make sure you don’t end up installing
unneeded apps that run in the background and consume precious resources.
5.
Update Software
– If you are not pretty tech-savvy and have a particularly old Android
device, chances are there must be a software update or two available for
it. While most of the software updates generally fix some bugs and
improve battery life, a Jelly Bean update can do wonders for your
device.
4.
Disable System apps – One of the main reasons why
your Android device slows down over time is due to the lack of RAM. Apps
keep running in the background take up precious RAM, which greatly
slows down your device. While the 1st point above will definitely help
you in reducing RAM usage, you can reduce it further by disabling some
of the system apps that unnecessarily run in the background.
This feature is only available in Android 4.0 and higher devices
though. You can disable system apps by going to Settings ->
Apps/Application Manager and then swiping to the
All tab. From there, tap the name of the System app that you want to disable, and then select the
Disable option.
Don’t disable all the system apps though, as it might cause some
stability issues. A quick Google search will provide you with a list of
apps that you can safely disable on your Android device without any
stability issues. You should especially use this option to disable all
the carrier apps that come pre-installed on your phone, if you buy it on
a contract.
3.
Greenify
– Greenify is a must have app if you own a pretty old Android device.
The app basically allows you to hibernate apps from running in the
background, which helps in saving resources and improves battery life.
Hibernating an app using Greenify does not have any side-effect. The app
will work just fine when you open it. You can also Greenify some of the
system apps from the paid version of the app without any issues.
Even on a device like the Galaxy S3, Greenify can do wonders and help
you free up a lot of RAM that is otherwise taken up by apps that you are
not using.
2.
LagFix
– Some manufacturers use cheap NAND to help reduce their total
manufacturing cost. While they don’t save much by going cheap on the
NAND, they do end up sacrificing performance. While at first the side
effects of a slow NAND are not visible, they can greatly affect the
performance of an Android device after six to twelve months.
On such devices, using LagFix can lead to a major boost in NAND
performance, which can greatly improve the system responsiveness under
load. You can download LagFix from
here, but keep in mind that you must have root access to use it.
1.
Root and flash a Custom ROM – If the above steps
fail, your last resort is to root your Android device and flash a custom
ROM. While rooting can be a tedious process, the gain in speed on your
Android device will be totally worth it. As a bonus, you will also get
to use some new features, and depending on the custom ROM you flash,
also enjoy a new version of Android.
