The majority of smartphones all over the world are running the Android Operating System in one way or another.
With so many mobile phone companies providing a huge variety of phones with different Android versions, customized UI, and such, there is one problem that is universal in all Android phones is the lag, at least up to an extent under certain conditions.
We’ve all been there at least once, frustrated by lag and wondering how to resolve this issue, while lag may not be completely imperishable in most instances due to hardware limitations, there are still some pretty effective methods that may reduce your lag to the bare minimum and today, we will we discussing just that.
Ways To Fix Android Lag
There are countless ways you can fix lag by solving problems caused by you, a third-party app, or the system itself. The lag you mostly face has nothing to do with the hardware but the software itself, in some rare occasions though such as an old device or a hardware issue, the lag may be unresolvable through futile efforts.
Some common methods that may help you with this are listed below.
1. Clearing Cache And Junk Files
While it may sound pretty cliche, it certainly is necessary for you to clean junk files and cache to keep your mobile phone running as fast as possible. Cache is temporary data stored in your storage to keep an app or service as optimized as possible for later use.
While some apps are just limited to storing the necessary data to run the app or service, there are some day-to-day apps we use that store a little more data than usual as cache that may affect it one way or another.
A prime example of this is Whatsapp. Whatsapp not only stores the required data for the app to run as smoothly as possible, but it also stores some app data to keep the app updated as much as possible i.e. Profile Pictures, WhatsApp Statuses, etc.
Clearing the cache for these kinds of apps may cause you to refresh the app data increasing the first launch time of that particular app so you may or may not want to clear the cache for these apps according to your convenience.
Junk Files are another one of the waste materials in your phone that needs to be taken care of from time to time, much like the name suggests. Junk files are a bit similar to cache but have a distinct trait.
While the cache for particular apps is always useful so long as the app exists, Junk Files are temporary files that were once useful but are now just a liability for the device, hence the name “Junk Files”.
Clearing both the cache and the junk files in your Android phone will free up a significant amount of space that may increase the performance of the device, resolving some if not all lag issues you’ve been facing.
2. Using Custom Launchers
If you’re facing heavy lag that is not limited to a single app or service, it may be because of the launcher you are using at the moment which I assume would be the default launcher for most users.
It doesn’t matter if you’re using a stock Android experience UI or a customized UI by the mobile phone companies, it will be relatively slower and sloppier than any fast and simple third-party launchers. It is most likely due to the third-party launchers being more lightweight and taking up less CPU usage.
Modern-day phone companies especially the ones that provide a customized Android experience such as Mi, Realme and Samsung, etc come equipped with tons of unnecessary features, options, and appearances that are heavier than usual resulting in a laggy or sloppy user experience, mostly in some low-end devices.
If the lag you are facing fits within this particular description then maybe changing your launcher might be the best option for you. Here are some free lightweight Android launchers that will enhance your user experience.
Nova Launcher
Nova is one of the most popular launchers in the Android launcher market and for good reason. Nova is fast and reliable but most importantly, it has tons of features that make it a great choice for customization freaks.
I’ve been personally using Nova Launcher for years now before switching to another launcher (Next Entry) because I like minimal features and UI but in these years I’ve had almost little to no issues with Nova and have had an overall better experience than the stock launcher.
Lawnchair
Just as I mentioned above, I recently switched to lawnchair from Nova a couple of months back and it is just as good as Nova but a lot more minimal. Lawnchair has fewer features than Nova but also reduces the lag and sloppiness just as much.
For a faster experience, you may want to use lawnchair as your third-party launcher but you will have to compromise on some extra features and customizability in the process since, well it’s minimal in comparison to Nova but an awesome choice for minimalists like myself.
Lawnchair Alpha
Lawnchair Alpha is just an even more simplistic, minimal, and lightweight version of the Lawnchair. The reason it is listed here as an individual entry is your user experience may vary a lot depending on which Lawnchair version you go with.
If you want the fastest experience and/or minimal features then you should definitely go with Lawnchair Alpha but if you are a customization freak then Nova or the standard Lawnchair may be a better option for you.
I’ve only mentioned a handful of launchers here but there are tons and tons of launchers out there with awesome features that may reduce the lag you’re facing, if you don’t want any of the launchers listed here, you can look for one yourself.
3. Frequent Restarts
Although it might come off as obvious to some, you will be surprised to know just how many people don’t know that you should restart your phone once in a while to keep it functioning well.
Restarting your mobile phone wipes unnecessary cache files and data and refreshes the entire system making it smoother than it previously was. Restarting your phone at least a few times a week can help with the lag.
4. Uninstalling Unnecessary Apps And Bloatware
Again, it might sound pretty obvious but uninstalling unnecessary apps that you don’t use or unnecessary bloatware that you don’t need can make a big difference in your device’s overall performance.
Uninstalling bloatware may require you to have either your bootloader unlocked or your phone rooted, which is a direct violation of the manufacturer’s warranty conditions, thus voiding the warranty on the spot. If you don’t have the requirements to uninstall bloatware, a simple disable would do the job just fine.
5. Factory Reset
If none of the methods listed above work for you then, at last, you can try factory resetting your device to completely revert back to its original state which may resolve any kind of lag that was left undetected.
Factory Reset is a setting that resets your entire device, from apps to settings to your entire internal storage; it resets any kind of changes you may have made while using your device. It may also reset any sort of problem that made it laggy in the first place.
Conclusion
To conclude this article, these methods will work for most cases, however, if the issue persists, it’s either a hardware issue or something wrong with the system itself. In case you are facing lag with a certain application then chances are, that particular package is the main cause of the lag whether it be compatibility issues or poor optimization.
Often in cases of such lag is either a third-party application, the user’s personal fault which in this case not taking proper care of their device, or an update rolled out by the manufacturer. There have been many instances where the user faces some sort of bug, system crashes, and even device bricks on some rare occasions, but the most common is lag itself.
If the lag is at last caused by a system update, a completely new update, or just a simple security patch, there is no way to fix that lag aside from just waiting for a new update and hoping your manufacturer will fix it in the next one.
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