Imagine a world in which your phone doesn’t lag every time you use it. You type an email and the keyboard follows your commands. You try to download an app and it’s ready to use in less than an hour. Sounds like a pipe dream? Deleting a few settings that may be stalling your phone can help.
These three settings take up a lot of your phone’s resources. They can be important and convenient to keep on at certain times, but the battery power and storage they consume isn’t worth it. Turn them off (or change how you use them) and benefit from a faster-running phone.
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1. Background App Refresh
Background App Refresh is a convenient setting that gives apps permission to update their content in the background. That means it uses up significant battery power to keep apps fetching mail, syncing your data, and refreshing content, even when you aren’t using them. The obvious benefit — that your content is fresh the second you click on the app and there’s no waiting around — doesn’t always outweigh the negative side to this setting.
Background App Refresh can slow down your device because it makes your phone’s CPU work harder and uses up RAM memory. Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and turn it off completely or limit it.
2. Location Services
Some apps, like maps and weather apps, will need your location in order to perform their regular duties. But your phone’s battery usage increases when it uses GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and mobile networks to constantly track your position. You can limit the number of apps that have access to location and help give your phone a boost by going to Settings > Privacy & Settings > Location Services > Scroll down and set individual app permissions to Never, Ask Next Time, While Using, or Always.
3. Push Notifications
When Push Notifications is turned on for apps, you’ll never miss an opportunity to learn about a new message or post that might interest you. But keeping up to date at all times will cost major battery power and can lag your screen. Manage notifications (or turn them off completely for the sake of your phone and peace of mind) by going to Settings > Notifications > toggle Allow Notifications off.
