Android phone running slow? 8 ways to speed it up

2 min read · 8 steps · Updated 2 October 2026

Short answer

Restart the phone, free up storage until at least 10% is empty, update Android and your apps, and uninstall apps you do not use. If one app is slow, clear its cache under Settings, Apps.

Phones slow down for a few predictable reasons: full storage, too many apps running in the background, and old software. You can fix most of that in ten minutes without resetting the phone.

Step by step

  1. Restart the phone

    It clears memory and stops stuck background processes. If you never switch the phone off, do this once a week.

  2. Free up storage

    Open Settings, Storage. When storage is more than about 90% full, everything slows down. Our step-by-step guide: how to free up storage on Android.

  3. Update Android

    Open Settings, System, Software updates. Updates fix bugs that waste battery and memory.

  4. Update your apps

    Open the Play Store, tap your profile picture, Manage apps and device, Update all.

  5. Remove apps you do not use

    Apps run background tasks even when you never open them. In the Play Store under Manage apps and device, Manage, sort by Least used and uninstall.

  6. Clear the cache of a slow app

    Open Settings, Apps, choose the app, Storage & cache, Clear cache. This removes temporary files and keeps your account and data.

  7. Check for a misbehaving app

    Open Settings, Battery, Battery usage. An app at the top of the list that you hardly use is working in the background. Restrict it or uninstall it.

  8. Reduce animations

    Open Settings, Accessibility, Colour and motion and switch on Remove animations. The phone does not get faster, but it feels quicker on older hardware.

Good to know

"Cleaner" and "booster" apps from the Play Store do not help and often show adverts. The tools above are already built in.

If the phone is hot, it slows itself down to cool off. Take it out of the sun and out of its case: why phones overheat.

A factory reset is the last resort and deletes everything. Back up first: how to back up an Android phone.

In short: Restart, free storage, update, remove unused apps, clear the cache of slow apps.

Sources
  • Google Android Help: Fix an Android device that is slow or freezes

Rules and prices change. Check the official source before you act.