HOW TO SPEED UP A SLUGGISH ANDROID SMARTPHONE

If getting rid of superfluous apps on your smartphone doesn't solve the problem, reinstalling factory stock software likely will. Like rehab -- or the drunk tank -- for our lethargic, wrong-side-of-the-tracks smartphone inhabitant, this operation may
sound like a big deal and a lot of work, and unfortunately it is, because you have to reconfigure your apps.

One of the disadvantages of retaining a phone after the expiration of a two-year contract -- as many of us do -- is that those older phones have accumulated a few years' worth of digital gunk.

They're clogged up like an aging sewer on the wrong side of town.

Just like on a PC, bits of app and OS code become discombobulated -- orphaned from the parent program. On board digital debris becomes disoriented like a drunk stumbling out of a favored hole-in-the-wall; jumbled lethargy sets in, and the device can take forever to start or become sticky in operation.

Well, just like a PC -- or a run-down apartment house, for that matter -- you can freshen up a gloopy smartphone. Here's how to go about speeding up a slowing Android smartphone.

Reinstall the Factory Stock Software

If the previous steps haven't solved the problem, this likely will. Like rehab (or the drunk tank) for our wrong-side-of-the-tracks inhabitant, this operation may sound like a big deal and a lot of work, and unfortunately it is, because you have to reconfigure your apps.

Step 1: Open the Backup and Reset menu item from Settings and check Backup My Data along with your Google account details if prompted.

Tip: Leave the phone connected to the Internet overnight if you are newly creating a backup. This will give the Google servers time to pluck the settings data like WiFi connections and passwords, which it will restore later. You can skip this, but you'll have to re-enter a bunch more stuff manually.

Step 2: Select Factory Data Reset from the same menu and follow the prompts to perform a full wipe and OS reinstall.

Tip: Before a reset save, off-device, any internal storage-stored media files, like captured photographs. A reset wipes internal storage.

Step 3: Allow the phone to restart and follow the prompts to set up your Google account on the device anew.

Tip: If your downloaded apps don't immediately show, you can kick-start the installation from Google's Play store My Apps menu item.

Step 4: Reconfigure your apps' settings.

Tip: This is the tried-and-true method to get the phone back to stock and a just-out-of-box state. Avoid restoring from backups in this case because you may reintroduce the issue or issues.

I hope this article helps a lot...