Web User - UK (2020-02-05)

Files by Google lets you uninstall multiple

space-hogging apps in one go

Youcanlimithowmanybackground

processyourAndroidphonecanrun

Android’sdeveloperoptionsletyousee

what’srunninginthebackground

50 5 - 18 February 2020

SPACE-HOGGING

APPS

You’ve probably installed lots of apps

that you tried once then forgot about,

and which are now consuming valuable

storage space and slowing down your

phone. A quick app-cleanup can yield

a significant speed-up, so it’s worth

regularly reviewing what you have

installed and removing anything you

don’t need.

On an Android phone, you can

uninstall space-hogging apps

individually by pressing down on their

icons and dragging them to the

Uninstall option at the top of the screen.

However, a much quicker method is to

use the brilliant free Files by Google

(bit.ly/files494) to remove multiple apps

at once. Tap Browse at the bottom of

the screen, choose Apps and press to

select all the apps you want to get rid

of. Tap the three-dot menu in the

top-right corner and choose Uninstall.

In future, Files by Google will tell you

whichunusedappsarewastingspace.

Similarly,onaniPhonerunningiOS13,

youcanuninstallindividualappsby

pressingtheiriconsandchoosingDelete

App.Toremovemultipleappsin onego,

keeppressinganappiconuntilan‘X’

appearsin thetop-leftcornerofevery

apponscreen.Tapthe‘X’sforallthe

itemsyouwanttodelete.

BACKGROUND

PROCESSES

Even when you don’t have any apps

open, there are lots of things going on

in the background on your phone that

drain its battery and make it less

responsive. These include apps checking

for updates, your email client(s) syncing

with the mail server, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi

services, and - most commonly - hidden

bloatware installed by the manufacturer.

On an Android device, there’s a secret

way to view and ‘kill’ background

processes. Go to Settings, System,

‘About phone’ and tap ‘Build number’

seven times to unlock developer options.

Now go back to the System screen and

choose Advanced, ‘Developer options’,

then Processes or ‘Running services’.

Select a background process and tap

Stop to terminate its services. If an

unwanted process keeps restarting,

consider uninstalling the tool altogether.

You can also limit the number of

processes that can run in the

background on your phone, although

Android is supposed to do this

automatically. On the ‘Developer

options’ screen, tap ‘Background

process limit’ and make your choice.

On an iPhone, iOS stops most apps

running in the background when you’re

not using them, so they don’t guzzle

battery life and processing power –

indeed, some developers have

complained that iOS 13.3 is too

aggressive at closing them. However, a

feature called Background App Refresh

allows apps to check for updates,

such as new emails, so it may be worth

disabling if your iPhone is very slow. Go

to Settings, General, Background App

Why your phone

is soSLOW

Don’t let a sluggish smartphone drive you to despair.

Robert Irvine reveals the most common causes of poor

phone performance and suggests the simplest solutions