I’m a cellphone repair expert – here’s the hidden reason your phone is running slow

Most people ignore the main reason why phones run so slowly, according to a tech repair expert who specializes in refurbishing old handsets.

Many apps run “stealthily” in the background, which can slow your device to crawl, says Kewin Charron, senior lead refurbishment operations manager at BackMarket.com.

There are also a number of battery optimization features that most users are completely unaware of. Thankfully, in both iOS and Android, it’s easy to disable battery-intensive apps and optimize your handset with a few simple settings tweaks.

He said: “The increasing computing power of our phones, combined with an ever-increasing number of apps available for download, means that phone users are using more apps today than ever before.”

Apps can also run “in the background,” taking up your phone’s RAM and CPU and slowing down the entire handset, Charron explains.

Users often do not realize that they are active.

To get this under control, you need to visit your phone’s settings menu to determine which apps can and cannot run in the background.

He said, “Both iPhone and Android users can adjust their settings to automatically check and stop apps running in the background.

For Apple users, go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and select Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi and Cellular Data or Off to stop Background App Refresh altogether.

Similarly for Android users, to see what apps are running in the background, go to Settings > Developer Options > Running Services. You can then close these apps by going to Settings > Apps, selecting an app you want to quit, then tap Force Quit.”

You’ll need to enable developer options first – find ‘developer’ in your settings menu, then enable it (how you do this depends on the handset you’re using).

Background apps can be disabled using certain settings on iPhone and Android

Charron said, “This should have an immediate effect on phone speed.”

Another classic reason for a phone to run slowly is when the phone’s storage is running low — this means the phone has less memory to play with, which can slow things down, Charron warns.

Charron said, “Phones need about 10 percent of available storage space to store cache and temporary files, which helps apps run smoothly on your device.

“Available storage space also means you can keep the phone’s software up to date.”

To free up space, Charron recommends uninstalling old applications — games in particular use up a lot of space — and deleting videos or moving them to cloud storage.

But if you want a more thorough “spring cleaning,” it may be worth taking extreme measures, advises Charron.

For a more extensive cleanup, first make a backup of your phone. Then restore the device to default settings and finally restore the backup version.

This clears the cache and clears the “other” storage from your phone. You can also uninstall and reinstall individual apps.

Battery issues are another common cause of a slow phone, says Charron.

The AccuBattery app can help

Even newer batteries can fail, especially if they’ve been used heavily — and the display on your phone doesn’t always reflect the reality inside the battery.

Charron said, if you have an iPhone 6 or later, updated with the latest operating system, click Settings > Battery > Battery Status to see your battery’s maximum capacity, which should be somewhere between 0 and 100 percent .

A typical Apple battery should retain up to 80 percent of its original capacity.

As the battery ages, this percentage may decrease, causing the battery to no longer be able to hold a charge.”

There’s another setting you can visit to check how well your battery is performing, says Charron.

He said, “Under ‘Battery Health’ you can also view the ‘Peak Performance Capacity’.

This will show you if the battery is working normally, d, or if the battery status has deteriorated. If your battery is not working properly, consider replacing it.”

Android users will need to download an app, Charron advises – but if they have a poor performing battery, it’s worth replacing it (rather than replacing the entire handset).

Charron says, “For devices with an Android operating system, you need an app like the AccuBattery app (compatible with Android 5.0 and above) to check the battery status.

This app shows everything from your phone’s current battery capacity, the estimated time left before you need to charge, to the charging and discharging health history and the speed of the charging cable. If your battery is nearing its end of life, you should replace it, as a low battery has a hard time holding a charge.