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How to make a cheap (and old) phone go faster

Nacho Requena Molina

Nacho Requena Molina

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Buying a smartphone is a real investment these days. Years ago, only a few models were released at a high price, while the market average was relatively affordable. However, in 2017, we’ve seen the bar of 1,000 euros surpassed with devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and the iPhone X, which has created a new dynamic, raising the cost of all models.

With these prices so prohibitive for most mortals, old cell phones will be hanging around longer. So, we’ve dedicated this post to you: how to make a cheap (and old) phone go faster.  

How to make a cheap (and old) phone go faster

Disable automatic downloads

A key point for all devices: to disable automatic downloads from WhatsApp. Considering that it’s the most used messaging service, it’s unusual to see a phone without it installs and downloads enabled by default.

To get rid of them, you only have to take the following steps: go to WhatsApp -> Click Settings button to open all options -> Click Data and storage -> Disable all automatic multimedia downloads (photos, audios, videos, and documents).

The next time somebody sends you something, you get to decide if you want to download it. That’s less space taken up in your memory, and more life for your phone.

Do a clean sweep

Most likely you have the wonderful CCleaner installed on your PC. If you have it there, why not for your cell phone too? The most famous cleaning software on the market is also available for smartphones and has nearly 100 million downloads in the Google Play Store.

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With CCleaner, we can enhance the performance of our phone; remove wasteful messages that, although they’re deleted, take up a small fraction of our memory; see which apps consume the most resources on our device and a long list of other possibilities.

This app can be downloaded entirely free, though it has a Pro paid option with improved features: it cleans automatically with a simple scheduling program; has priority assistance by the team; gets rid of the biggest files, etc.

Reset to factory settings

Another is a classic option that never fails: reset to factory settings or the default settings of your cell phone. In general, we’re all guilty of saying “my phone worked better when I first got it.” And you’re not lying; your smartphone performed better when you first opened it for one simple reason: it didn’t have anything installed on it.

Adding apps, as well as general wear-and-tear, has slowed down all its features. The best thing to do in this case is to reset to default settings, i.e., return your cell phone to how it was when you first got it.

You only have to open Settings, go to System, click on Reset settings, then Reset factory settings and finally Reset phone. Easy, right? This way, your phone will run faster, as good as new (but remember that you’ll lose everything if you haven’t made a backup copy).

Nacho Requena Molina

Nacho Requena Molina

Journalist specialized in videogames and technology. Almost two decades dedicated to it.

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