Is your smartphone running extremely slow? Troubleshoot with these reasons why your phone is so slow and how to speed up a slow smartphone running on Android or iPhone.
Why is my phone so slow?
This is a question almost all of us have asked at some point. So have our readers with us. We know how annoying it can be and it can be extremely troublesome, especially when you are trying to finish an important task quickly.
In this article, we will discuss the reasons for your phone running slow and the ways you can make it run faster. We have brought you a list of possible solutions for both Android and iPhone.
You can try them and see if your phone picks up the pace.
What You Will Learn:
Reasons for Slow Phones
You must have asked yourself and others many times why is my phone slow? Here’s the answer to that question:
#1) Background Apps
Talking about myself, one of the primary reasons my phone is slow often is because I don’t close my apps. They keep running in the background, resulting in the phone running slowly.
Over time, we often accumulate a lot of apps, most of which we often don’t use and forget about. Most of them run in the background, updating themselves, refreshing their data, etc., for when it is needed.
The phones currently have limited resources in the form of RAM and CPU and are split between all apps – high-priority tasks and background apps. So, the more apps running in the background, the fewer resources it will have to dedicate to the functions you need. This will slow your phone down.
What can you do?
Close all apps and uninstall the ones you don’t use.
Tap on the square icon at the bottom of your phone screen. All the open apps will pop up. Tap the close button at the bottom to close those apps.
For iOS, double-tap the home button and swipe up on the app you want to close.
You can also check which apps you are not using and uninstall them. To do that, you will need to go into developer mode. Go to settings and tap on the About Phone. Then tap seven times on the build number.
Now, go back to settings, tap on Apps, and click on the manage apps option.
Here’s a screenshot where you can see which apps are used and which aren’t used in a long while.
Click on Uninstall and tap on the apps you want to remove from your phone. Once the app is installed, restart your phone and your phone should be working at a better speed.
#2) Full Storage
When the internal storage memory of your phone fills up, its performance starts lagging. It could be because of your accumulation of apps, undeleted photos and videos, uncleared caches, etc. Usually, phones display notifications once your phone starts running out of memory, asking you to clear some space by deleting unused files and media.
You can take the long road and manually search for the apps, files, videos, and photos you don’t want on your phone and delete them. Or you can use a phone cleaner. It will help you delete files, apps, and photos effortlessly. You can also transfer the data to an external drive or cloud storage.
Go to Settings, tap on About Phone, and select stores. You can see how much storage is consumed and in what manner. You can then tap on the arrow beside each to see which file or app is consuming the most storage and tap on it to uninstall.
Clearing Cache
If you are wondering, why is my phone so slow all of a sudden? it could be because of your cache. Here’s how to clear the cache on Android:
- Open Chrome on your phone, tap on the three dots and then tap on Settings.
- Then tap on Privacy and Security.
- Select the Clear browsing data option.
- Tap on Advanced and select everything you need to clear and tap on the clear data option.
If you have an iOS, you can clear the cache for the Safari browser. Launch Safari, tap on settings, go to Safari and tap on clear history and website data.
Clearing App Cache
Here’s how to clear the app cache on your phone:
- Go to Settings.
- Tap on App.
- Click on Manage Apps.
- Tap on the app.
- Select clear data.
- Select clear cache.
Reboot the phone and it shouldn’t be sluggish anymore now.
#3) The Age of Your Battery
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One of the drawbacks of portable electronic devices is that their batter age as well. The electrode films build up in them and that increases the internal resistance within them. This can affect your phone’s performance.
It can cause your phone to heat up. Since CPUs are temperature sensitive, the power management controller will reduce the speed of the processor. The old battery cannot provide a stable voltage or required current. This means the power controller will further reduce the speed of your phone or risk errors in execution.
In simple terms, an unstable power supply makes it hard for the CPUs to keep up their highest speed and it is just as troublesome for RAM and ROM as well. The resolution to this problem is changing the battery. However, phones today come with a sealed battery, and changing them could be extremely expensive. So, you will have to buy a new phone.
#4) Failing Phone Memory
Over time, the phone’s RAM and flash memory start to fail as well. Over time, their oxide layer deteriorates, thus slowing down your phone. The life of your phone’s memory largely depends on how much data you save. Once the memory starts to become redundant, there’s nothing you can do but repair or change your phone.
#5) Pending Updates
You should update your OS as and when they arrive. You can check your phone for updates.
Follow these steps:
- Go to your phone settings.
- Tap on About Phone.
- Tap again on your phone’s version.
- Tap on check for updates.
Usually, when there’s an update, your phone prompts you to apply them. If you haven’t updated it in a while, checking it will make sure you haven’t missed any. Also, check the System app updater to see if any of your apps are pending updates.
On an iPhone, go to settings, select general and tap on software update. You can turn on automatic updates in both Android and iOS, so your phone can automatically update itself at a certain time.
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Simple Solutions to Speedup Your Phone
Still wondering ‘why my phone is slow?’ Well, here are some simple things you can try to speed it up.
#1) Restart Your Phone
Sometimes your phone starts lagging all of a sudden and you get annoyed asking yourself why is your phone so slow all of a sudden. Don’t worry, just restart your phone.
Restarting iPhone
To restart your iPhone, follow these steps:
- Pree and hold the button on the right side.
- Slide the bar on the phone to switch it off.
- Power on your iPhone.
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Restarting Android
To restart your Android device, follow these steps:
- Long press the power button.
- Select Restart.
[image source]
#2) Turn Off Location Services
Sometimes permission for location services can slow your phone down. Try turning off location services for apps that don’t necessarily need it. You can also switch the permission to ‘while using the app’.
- Go to Settings.
- Select Privacy.
- Tap on Location Services.
- You can see which apps have location service permission for all time
- Tap on the app you want to change the permissions for.
- Select ‘while using the app’ or don’t allow, or ask every time.
#3) Scan Your Phone for Malware
Malware is known to make phones slow. So, use a good and reliable antivirus to scan your phone for them. Run them occasionally to keep your phone free of viruses, spyware, and malware. This will keep your phone running smoothly.
#4) Check Your Internet Connection
Sometimes, it’s not your phone running slow, it’s the internet. And if it’s the internet connection, that means your phone is working fine. Finding a stable network connection will sort things out. You can also try resetting your network connection.
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Reset Network Connection
On Android, here’s how you can reset your network settings:
- Go to settings.
- Tap on Connection and Sharing.
- Select Reset Wi-Fi, mobile networks, and Bluetooth.
- Tap on Reset Settings.
- Enter your Pin.
- Confirm to reset.
On iPhone, Go to Settings, tap on General, and then on Reset. Then, select Reset Network Settings and enter the pin. Tap again on Reset Network Settings again to confirm.
#5) Restore to Factory Setting
If nothing works, restore your phone to factory settings. You will find it in your general settings. But remember, it is your last resort since it will erase all your data. And there’s no guarantee that your phone will start working any better after that.
Some of these tips might fix the speed of your phone. And if nothing works, it’s time to get yourself a new phone.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Q #1) Why is my phone suddenly so slow?
Answer: Your phone could be slow because of low storage space. Try cleaning the memory of your phone, delete the apps you don’t use, and backup your files and photos on an external drive or cloud storage and delete them. Reboot your phone and it should do the job.
Q #2) Why is my iPhone so slow and laggy?
Answer: See if there is any update pending on your iPhone, delete files and apps you don’t use, and tweak settings a bit for location permission. It will boost the speed of your iPhone.
Q #3) Can iPhones get viruses?
Answer: It is a rare occurrence but there have been incidences of iPhone getting viruses. This could happen if an iPhone is jailbroken.
Q #4) Does Apple still slow down phones in 2021?
Answer: Apple has confirmed that it is deliberately slowing down older iPhones. Phones can shut down for many reasons, like older batteries, cold climate, and low charges. So, Apple has worked out an algorithm that slows down the older iPhones and saves their components.
Q #5) What iPhones is Apple shutting down?
Answer: Apple is shutting down iPhone 7 and earlier models. The latest OS updates can only be installed in iPhone 8 and later models.
Conclusion
Usually, doing a soft reset or freeing up storage can speed up your phone. We have tried to answer one common question- why is my phone so slow?
Try one or a few tricks to see if your phone functions faster now. We have discussed how to turn off location settings, restart the phone, factory reset, check for malware, updates, and many other things that you can try. A combination of these options just might fix the speed of your phone.