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12 Ways To Make Your iPhone Run Faster
We use our phones for nearly everything, which is why the slightest bug or glitch can feel unbearable.
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If your iPhone feels like it's running a bit slow, there's usually a problem that can be easily solved.
Two years of everyday use can take a toll on your iPhone, but these tips and tricks should be able to hold you over until your next upgrade.
Deleting unnecessary files is another great way to speed up your phone. If you've got hundreds of photos on your iPhone, try syncing them to iPhoto on your desktop or backing them up through iCloud and erasing them from your phone.
The more bloated your iPhone is, the slower it's going to run. To see how much space a single app is occupying, head over to Settings>General>Usage.
Back in 2004, I remember consistently being frustrated with my Motorola Razr for its agonizingly slow performance. As it turns out, the problem was my own fault. I never deleted any text messages, so it literally weighed down the phone's software. Today's smartphones have come a long way since then, but deleting your old text message threads is still important to keep your phone as speedy as possible.
Treat your iPhone like you would a computer. This means you need to empty Safari's cache to keep it running smoothly. To do this, head over to Settings>Safari>Clear History. Then tap Clear Cookies and Data, which is located right underneath Clear History.
If your iPhone is running a little slow, that's because it may be trying to update apps in the background. Try updating your apps manually instead. To change this in your settings, head over to Settings>iTunes & App Store >Automatic Downloads. Switch the sliders to off mode where it says Updates.
Similar to automatic updates, automatic downloads can also bog down your iPhone. If you have automatic app updates turned on, an app that you've downloaded on your iPad could automatically begin installing on your iPhone. While useful, it can certainly make your phone a little slower. To turn it off, navigate to Settings>iTunes & App Store >Automatic Downloads. Switch the sliders to off mode.
Closing apps that are running in the background could make your phone run a little more smoothly, especially if you've got big, cumbersome apps such as a mobile role playing game open. "They could use up RAM, and just like any other computer, it could slow down the way it operates," Francis Sideco, senior director for consumer, mobile, and IT electronics at IHS told Business Insider.
Does your iPhone usually ask if you'd like to join nearby Wi-Fi networks? If it does, you may want to turn that feature off. According to Sideco, any time your phone does anything automatically, such as scouting out nearby Wi-Fi or updating apps, it can slow the phone down. Turn this off by heading to Settings>Wi-Fi>Ask to Join Networks. Switch the slider to off.
Again, your phone is a miniature computer, so it should be treated as such. It's easy to get into the habit of leaving your phone on all the time, but everyone once in a while it's healthy to restart it. Similar to shutting down apps running in the background, turning off your phone can help your iPhone let go of some of the resources it might have been holding on to that were weighing it down.
Software updates often include bug fixes, some of which can be related to an issue that makes your phone seem slow or glitchy. If it's a minor update, chances are it'll fix a few things. But if it's a major update, it depends on the phone you're using. For example, iOS 7 runs much slower on older iPhones. The hardware in previous models such as the iPhone 4s and earlier simply can't handle the software as well as newer phones.
When a phone is running slow, it's likely due to an issue with its memory. According to Macworld, this Battery Doctor app can show you how fast your phone is running. If it's running slow, you can tap the Reallocate Memory button to re-distribute the memory in your iPhone. The team at Macworld claims that this is the first thing they do whenever they're iPhones start to lag.
If you back up your phone regularly, you may want to try restoring it to a previous backup if it keeps giving you trouble. If anything has happened to your phone recently that may be making it more sluggish, restoring it could do the trick. To do this, plug your phone into your computer, open iTunes, then select your iPhone from the upper right section. Under Backups, click Restore Backup. Apple also has some helpful instructions here.
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