We all want our Android smartphones to be as fast as they were they day we unboxed them but this is rarely the case. Usually after a number of months there can be a severe drop in performance, slowing the device down noticeably. There are a number of factors that contribute to this and actions you can take to help prevent this slowdown.  Below are some of the reasons that Android phone has slowed down:

Operating System updates and Apps

Your phone’s software does not remain the same after few months. Phone manufacturers offer system updates; some are bug fixes while some are for functionality and performance enhancements. Also, you install several apps over  time and these apps also need to update. The app can therefore become ‘heavier’ over time after updates and might demand more memory and processing power, causing the phone to slow down.

Solution: While there is not much you can do about Operating System updates; you can certainly uninstall heavier apps and look for lighter app alternatives.

Background Processes

You might have installed several apps that have a startup entry, and they launch processes the moment you switch on your phone. The background processes of these apps continue to use processing power,  battery power, memory, and access the Internet without you even being aware. Since Android allows for multitasking, these apps continue to run in the background which can slow down your phone significantly. Also if you are using a large number of widgets on your home screen, they can also use considerable processing power and memory to provide you with constantly updated information. Below are the steps to check for background process in Android (before 6.0):

1. Tap on Settings
2. Scroll down to Developer options and tap on it
3. Tap on Process statistics to see the list of background processes

Solution- Uninstall any apps that you don’t use. Also, check for default apps that you don’t need. If you are not able to uninstall them, you can disable them by following the steps given below

1. Tap on Settings
2. Scroll down to Apps and tap on it
3. Tap on the App you want to disable
4. Tap on Disable

A Nearly Full File System

Your Android phone needs free space to function smoothly. The internal storage space and your SSD card have a file system that slows down as it fills ups. Also, cache can consume a large amount of space and slow down your phone. See what is taking up space on your Android phone by following steps given below:

1. Tap on Settings
2. Scroll down to Storage and tap on it

You will get a detailed view of different elements (apps, pictures, audio, video, cached data, downloads) and the space occupied by them.

Solution- Delete unwanted files and clear the cache by following the steps below:

1. Tap on Settings
2. Tap on Apps
3. Go to the App for which you want to clear cache
4. Tap on the App
5. Tap on Clear Cache

All systems, whether it a phone, laptop or tablet, will slow down over time. In order to help counteract this, you should keep apps and files to a minimum, just keep what you need and either delete or externally store the rest.