How can I speed up my mobile?
A slow mobile experience can be really frustrating, especially if you rely on speed for work, surfing the web, or making urgent phone calls. Fortunately, there are some simple steps you can take to make using your mobile much speedier, whether you’re using an iPhone or an Android.
Keep your smartphone updated
Every now and again you’ll receive a software update alert from Apple or Google. These are designed to fix bugs and add new features, helping your smartphone run more smoothly. It might be tempting to delay it, but you really shouldn’t if you care about your mobile speed. Activate a software update by simply going into your settings menu and tapping ‘download’.
Download speed-boosting apps
There are some really handy apps from the Apple or Google Play Store you can download to help your mobile speed. For example, a strong Antivirus application will protect your mobile against malware, which can really slow down your phone. There are also app cache cleaners available, which will erase any unneeded data stored in your phone’s internal memory. Plus, a startup manager can help manage the number of apps which kick into action when the phone boots up.
Track your memory space
Downloaded a lot of pictures and music recently? You’re probably eating up a lot of memory space, which could slow down your phone more than you think.
On an Android smartphone, simply open the Applications tab and hit ‘settings’ to check your memory space. To free up space, move files onto an external memory card, such as an SD card or an online storage service. You’ll be surprised at how much faster your mobile will be.
On an iPhone, you’ll need to go into your settings and check your ‘Storage and iCloud Usage’. You’ll then be able to view a list of items you have saved on your phone and delete anything you don’t need.
Reboot your phone
“Have you tried turning it off and on again?” is one of the most common answers you’ll hear if you’re asking for help with a tech problem. It often works – and this case is no different. However, this may only help solve the problem temporarily.
Reduce motion
If you’re an iPhone 5 user, but are using iOS9 software, you might find it runs quite slowly. Fortunately, there’s a simple way to speed things up. Simply go into your settings app, hit ‘general’, then ‘accessibility’ and then turn ‘reduce motion’ on. By doing this, you’re essentially turning off animations when opening and closing an app. You’ll be able to use your iPhone much more smoothly. This option is also available on an Android – just go into your settings and find the ‘Reduce Motion’ option.
Uninstall apps
It’s easy to download apps, realize you don’t actually need them, but forget to delete them. Unfortunately, this will slow down your mobile. Simply go into your settings, click the ‘usage’ option and display a list of apps and how much space they’re occupying. Delete the ones you don’t need and enjoy a smoother mobile experience overall.
Clear web history
Make sure you’re clearing your Safari, Firefox or Chrome searches regularly to maximise memory space. Just open the settings app and scroll down to your browser. Choose ‘clear history’ and ‘clear cookies and data’.
Eliminate Automatic Downloads
You might not be aware of this, but if you’re an iPhone user, there will be apps running automatically in the background when you upload music or download files. These can have an impact on your mobile speed. To solve the problem, simply tap settings, go into your iTunes and App Store and turn ‘automatic downloads’ off. You can also turn off Background App Refresh on the settings menu, which will also make your mobile run faster.
On an Android, you can also turn automatic updates on or off by opening Google Play, going into ‘settings’ and tapping ‘auto-update apps’.
Delete text messages
If your mobile’s running slowly, then it may be time to consider whether you really need all those old text messages saved on your phone. They take up memory space and slow your smartphone down, so it’s probably worth deleting them.
As you can see, there are plenty of ways to make your mobile run a lot faster, and boost that all important speed. Got any questions? Drop us a question in the comment section below.
