Delete the junk files that have been
cachedbyappsonyourphoneEnsure your phone is up-to-date to keep it
runningsmoothlySpeedupyourmobilebrowsingby
switchingtoChrome’sLitemodeWhy your phone is so SLOW
9^hXjhhhadl"e]dcZ¿mZhat http://www.facebook.com/webusermagazine 5 - 18 February 2020 51
Refreshandeitherturnoffthefeature
completelyorjustforspecificapps.
CACHED
DATA
Just as your desktop browser stores
temporary files downloaded from
websites, the apps on your phone
cache data, which helps them to load
frequently used apps faster. Over time,
all that cached data eats into your
storage and can lead to your phone
becoming slower.
You can clear the cache for individual
Android apps by going to Settings,
Apps, selecting an app, then choosing
Storage and tapping Clear Cache.
Alternatively, open Files by Google,
select Browse and choose Apps. Tap the
three-dot menu in the top-right corner,
choose ‘Select all’, then tap the menu
again and select ‘Delete junk files’.
While you’re at it, you can also select
the Clean option in Files by Google to
delete duplicate files, space-hogging
photos, old downloads and other junk.
OnaniPhone,youcanclearcached
datafromappsbygoingtoSettings,
General,iPhoneStorage.Here,you’llsee
a listofapps,withtheonesconsuming
themostspaceatthetop.Selectone
andenablethe‘Resetcachedcontent’
option.YoucanalsochooseOffload
Apptofreeupstoragebyremovingthe
app,withoutlosingimportantdata.To
purgeallyourjunkfilesin onego,you’ll
needtoinstalla third-partycleanup
app,suchasPhoneCleaner(bit.ly/
cleaner494), whichcosts£1.99.OUTDATED
SOFTWARE
Updates to the Android operating
system and the manufacturer software
on your phone aren’t just about new
features and security fixes, but often
address performance issues, too. So
rather than ignoring the prompts to
install updates, because of the time it
takes, it’s worth grabbing them as soon
as you can, and regularly checking if a
system update is available.
On your Android phone, go to
Settings, System, ‘System updates’ to
manually check for updates. On an
iPhone, go to Settings, General,Software Update. Enable Automatic
Updates to ensure you’re always running
thelatestversionofiOS.BLOATED
BROWSER
It’s when browsing the web on your
phone that you’re most likely to notice
slow speeds, with pages taking ages to
load whether you’re on Wi-Fi or mobile
data. Assuming you use Chrome on your
Android device, as nearly 90% of users
do, there is a quick fix you can try. Tap
the three-dot menu in the top-right
corner of Chrome and choose Settings,
then scroll down to and tap ‘Lite mode’.
Switch the slider to On and Chrome will
now use Google’s servers to rewrite
slow web pages so that they only load
essential content. Google claims this
will use up to 60% less data and make
pages load significantly faster. The ‘Lite
mode’ screen shows you how much data
you’re saving.Lite mode isn’t available in the iOS
version of Chrome, and Safari doesn’t
offer an equivalent option, but you may
get a speed boost from Apple’s browser
by clearing its cache. Go to Settings,
Safari and, in the Privacy & History
section, select ‘Clear Web History and
Website Data’, then tap to confirm.
Some users have also found that
temporarily disabling JavaScript in
Safari’s Advanced settings decreases
page-load time.If noneofouradviceimprovesyour
phone’sperformance,andrestarting
it doesn’thelpeither,youmayneed
totakethedrasticstepofperforming
a factoryreset.Thiswillwipealldata
fromthedevicesoyoucanstart
afreshand,hopefully,faster.Your
synceddataandpreviouslyinstalled
appsareeasytorestoreafterwards.
On an Android phone, open the
Settings app and tap System,
Advanced, ‘Reset options’. Select
‘Erase all data (factory reset)’ and
you’ll be told exactly what you’ll lose
by resetting. Press Reset Phone to
continue.
On an iPhone, go to Settings,PERFORM A FACTORY RESET
General, Reset, ‘Erase All Content
and Settings’. Confirm that you want
to reset your device, and enter your
Apple ID or passcode. You can also
reset via iTunes by connecting your
iPhone to your computer and
choosing Restore [device].