Why Is My Android Slow And 5 Important Reasons Behind It

All Android users may be well aware of the slowing down of their devices after a certain period.  Screen freeze, app hanging up, increased load time, and other related problems emerge when the device is constantly used. 

If your slowed Android annoys you, you must know it’s completely normal. It’s not something that only Android users face. Even iOS users are equally affected by this. The solution to this problem depends on which OS you’re using, so below are some reasons and a list to cope with this lag on your device.

Why is my android slow?

1. Higher resources are utilized by Operating System And Apps
2. Android System updates
3. Use the lighter version of the Apps on your Android phone
4. Apps running in the background of your Device
5. Tricks and Tips to clear the clutter from your Android Device

1. Higher resources are utilized by Operating System And Apps

You must have tapped on the Android operating system updates in your notification at least once in a while. 

This means that your OS must be updated and better than its previous version, which may not be as optimized as before.

However, to enhance the performance, the OS often consumes some unnecessary amount of RAM storage, and slows down the device.

Another reason can be the presence of unwanted third-party software, which may cause things to slow down while running in the background. 

2. Android System updates

A system update notification may have never popped on your device, but the apps on your Android are still updated.  The newer hardware and technology often develop the system updates. 

Hence, often latest phones run the same OS smoothly that older devices struggle to function with. These updates often do not work as efficiently as they should on older devices. 

With technological advancements over the years, software, apps, and websites require much storage space and more memory. For example – Many users are still not using Microsoft 2010 on their PCs and laptops. 

Users demand more features and technologies with every update. Similarly, Android Apps are also upgraded with more innovative features.

3. Use the lighter version of the Apps on your Android phone

Though there aren’t many implementable options available to resolve this issue, if the slow operating system annoys you excessively, you can go for a customized version of the OS. 

Here you can keep or download only those specific software required by the System to function properly.  However, the issue with this approach is that it requires technical expertise and could be difficult to implement for normal users. 

The easier method is to go for the lite version of the apps that occupy less storage space.  For example- You can use Instagram lite, Facebook lite, or Twitter lite. These lite versions use less RAM than the normal versions of these social media apps.

4. Apps running in the background can also decelerate the speed of your Device

• Most of the apps are built such that they can run in the background or may automatically run on boot up. 
• If your Android has a bunch of apps that utilize resources in the background, that may increase the CPU consumption and take up a lot of memory.
• This will result in heating up of the device and slow performance. Live wallpapers, too many graphics, variety of tools activated on the Android also occupy memory, hold up other resources, and reduce battery life.  
• Reduce such clutter from your device, and you’ll notice a significant change in the functioning of your device.  

How to fix this? 

• Remove clutter from your device by uninstalling unwanted apps or disabling useless built-in apps. Avoid fancy wallpapers or tools on the home screen and lock screen. 
• Disable the Run in Background option for the apps by going on the App Manager in the Settings (on Marshmallow or higher versions).  
• Alternatively, you can also disable or uninstall apps that occupy too much memory and are not even useful. Try going for a similar app with a lesser memory requirement.    
• Adding files to the file system on the disk space becomes slow as the hard disk drive or solid-state drives are crowded with unwanted apps and software. 
• This results in the slow performance and speed of the device. 
• One can check the disk usage of their device by clicking on Settings, where the unlimited usage by every app is shown in bar chart forms or a pie chart form. 
• Your device also has a separate storage area for the temporarily required files. These files are known as cache files.  Piling up such cache files, if allowed, can cause poor system performance and unsolicited disk lodging. 
• Clearing up such files is very important. You can either manually delete them or download some lightweight clutter-clearing apps from the Google Play Store.

Today’s gen Z has a craze for capturing every moment whose price is paid by the performance of your device. 

Too many photos and videos in your gallery hinder the system’s functionality. Removing undesired or duplicate photos and videos from the system is usually better. 

It is usually a better idea to store your pictures on cloud storage or backup for free on google photos.

5. Tricks and Tips to clear the clutter from your Android Device

1. The first preferred option is to delete undesired apps and files no longer required and clear up the temporary data from the apps to release some disk space.
2. An easy way to do so is to click on the factory data reset button and download only those apps you need. This refreshes your phone like a newly bought one in just a few clicks.
3. Check for the cache data. Click on App Info. There you will find a section for cache data showing the amount of cache data in KBs. Just click on that, and it will prompt you to remove it. Tap OK, and you are all done. This process may be different for different phones. 
4. As mentioned earlier, things differ with different Android versions. For instance, the process may be more tedious on Android Oreo as Google has replaced the viewing of cached data option with a more complex yet easy-to-get user interface.
5. The storage menu is now more interactive with much more advanced options than in the older versions of Android and is still available in the Settings menu of your Device. The cached files are separate for each app and can be cleared by going onto that particular section or clicking on the “Other Apps” option.

What not to do?

We have already learned how to speed up the performance, but what are the things that should not be done so that the device maintains its performance over time. 

This could be explained in layman’s language. You may think at first that it’s weird to say not to use task killers. 

People generally perceive that task killers speed up system performance and increase system productivity. 

But it’s not often the case. Task killers can sometimes even abort important background tasks. Hence, we suggest never depending on task killers to increase system performance.

• Clicking the factory reset button will delete your device’s apps and data. The next step is to install only those apps which you require. 
• Though bloatware issues won’t be solved by this still, it will aid in the system productivity. Often it has been observed that reinstalling an Operating system improves a slow device.

Conclusion

If you properly follow the steps mentioned above, that would solve the major problems of the lagged device.  However, to prevent your phone from getting slowed in the future, use a good storage system and a safe internet browser. 

Remember to have your storage system well partitioned or fragmented and have a proper file management system. 

This way, your phone or tablet will be prevented from any hang-up or delays.

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