Why is my phone so slow? 10 tips to make your phone run faster

There are few things in this world more frustrating than a slow-moving cell phone. You have people to contact, info to search for and social media feeds to scan. So what is making your phone so slow? And what can you do to speed it up? This article will walk you through common causes of phone sluggishness and the easiest ways to resolve it yourself. 

Why is my phone so laggy?

There are many reasons why a phone could be laggy. Some happen over time, some happen much faster.  Here are some reasons why your phone could be slowing down: 

1. Too Many Apps Running at Once
   Having multiple apps running in the background consumes your phone’s memory & processing power, which can slow it down quite a bit.
2. Lack of Storage Space
   Your phone needs free space to operate efficiently. If the internal storage is nearly full, that can impact its performance.
3. Outdated OS
   If your phone is running an older version of its operating system, it’s likely not optimized for the latest apps & features.
4. App “Bloat”
   Over time, many apps accumulate data that can increase their size and slow down your phone.
5. Old Hardware
   Like with most electronics, as phones age, their hardware components (like the processor, RAM and battery) can degrade, causing them to slow down.
6. Malware or Viruses
   Yep, your phone can get a virus too. If malicious software gets access to your phone, it can run unwanted processes in the background, slowing it down significantly.
7. Excessive Widgets or Live Wallpapers
   Using a lot of active widgets or live wallpapers can use up your phone’s processing power (and drain battery life), slowing down your phone.
8. Poor Battery Health
   When your battery starts to deteriorate, your phone will throttle or slow down performance to conserve power.
9. Overheating
   When your phone begins to overheat, it may automatically slow itself down to try to cool itself.
10. Network Issues
    A slow network connection can cause any apps that rely on internet access to lag, only making it seem like your phone is slow, when it’s actually the internet.

10 tips on how to make your phone run faster

1. Close Unused Apps
   Fully closing apps when you’re not using them will allow your phone to operate much more smoothly.
2. Clear Cache Data
   That temporary data that can cause apps to “bloat?” Clearing an app’s cache every now & then can free up storage and give your phone’s processor a break.
3. Update Your Operating System & Apps
   Keeping your OS & apps up-to-date ensures you have the latest optimizations, bug fixes & security patches—all of which are crucial to maintaining your phone’s speed.
4. Uninstall Unnecessary Apps
   Uninstalling any apps you no longer use can free up a lot of space and reduce background activity.
5. Disable or Limit Background Processes
   Some apps keep running in the background, even when you’re not using them. Disabling or at least limiting some of these background actions (like auto-syncing) can conserve processing power and speed up your phone.
6. Restart Your Phone Regularly
   The most tried & true troubleshooting method. A simple restart can clear out temporary files, close apps running in the background and refresh your phone’s memory.
7. Reduce Animations & Effects
   Fancy animations and effects might look good, but too many can slow down your phone. Reducing or disabling these features can improve your phone’s speed and response time.
8. Free Up Storage Space
   In addition to apps, deleting old photos, videos and unused files can free up storage space, allowing your phone to run more smoothly. Use cloud storage for the stuff you want to keep so you can free up even more internal memory.
9. Check for Malware
   Use a trustworthy security app to scan for any malware or viruses that may be slowing down your phone and remove them.
10. Factory Reset
    If your phone is still slow after all this, a factory reset will wipe all of its data & settings, restoring it to how it was out of the box. This can eliminate software issues and give your phone a fresh start. Just be sure to back up any important stuff before a reset.

Ready for a new phone? Ultra Mobile has you covered.

If you’ve tried everything and your phone is still crawling, it may be time for a full upgrade. Ultra Mobile happens to have great deals on new phones that have all the features you need, including 5G·4G LTE compatibility (which is essential to avoiding phone slowness). Browse our selection today and see why Ultra Mobile is the best option for you and your new phone. 

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