Phone being extremely slow? Read this first.

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Just got done helping a few people out with their outrageously slow Droids, so I figured I'd just start a thread for it.

1. Clear Cache: Often times, different applications will store temporary information to make things easier. This can be anything from stored images to make pages load faster, recent search terms, history, etc. Generally, this information isn't vital to the operation of an app, therefore, it should be deleted if needed. Settings > Applications > Manage Applications > Options > Filter: ALL > Options > Sort by size. This will give you a list of applications based on how much space they're taking up. Click any given application and it should give you the option to clear the cache. Normally, this won't make a monumental difference, but it's a step in the right direction.

2. Uninstall Unneeded Applications That Constantly Run: The biggest example of this is your antivirus program (if you have one). In my opinion, it's a waste of space and memory. Android phones are Linux-based, so you don't need to be as cautious as some people are on their Windows machines. (For more info on this, you can refer to Oh Thank Goodness, Someone Made an Antivirus App For Android - antivirus - Gizmodo. Just don't be an idiot with the internet and don't open suspicious emails and you'll be fine. You'd be surprised how many people complain about outrageously slow phones because they think they need an antivirus. Some other things that have the potential to slow you down (or waste battery life) are Google Latitude, Maps, and things like that.

3.Widgets: Another great way to speed up your android phone is to minimize widget use. Apps/widgets that enable more than one screen tend to cause the phone do slow down and/or lag for a lot of people. A decent alternative to having more than one screen is to just make folders. For instance, I have an entire folder for my apps and another for my tools. I found that the facebook app sometimes even slows down my phone. This wasn't a big loss because I could always just open the facebook app and check that. A good rule of thumb is if you don't need it, get rid of it. If you do need it, explore alternatives.

TIP: Don't waste your time with programs that specialize in closing running programs. It's not needed. Android phones (maybe not all of them, but at least the Droid) will close apps when they need more memory. As far as battery life goes, you don't need to worry about renegade apps either. From what I understand, when you escape from a certain app, it doesn't keep running, but instead, it makes a little note of what you were doing so when you start the app back up, it reads the note, and jumps back to where you were, using a very limited amount of memory.

That's all I have for now. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to comment below or shoot me a pm.
 

JonKyu

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What about minimizing widget use? I just switched back to the stock home screen and having only three screens available has greatly reduced my widget use, my phone feels so much more snappy now. Great post by the way.
 

Oohyeah

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I've been wondering about widgets in particular, such as WeatherBug, and CalWidget (calendar/upcoming events widget). And how about the Battery widget for that matter?

Would love to hear opinions on whether having these widgets really does slow the phone down and if so is it really significant?

We should also list down popular apps which are known to slow down the phone.

Home ++ (current version) seems to be one example (apparently GDE too).

and I'm particularly wondering about Locale, as I have heard it is another big culprit. Would love to hear other's opinions.
 

KZIWarrior

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Curious as to home much you all think Home++ slows that Droid down. I just put it on the other day (ran my first 2 days w/o it) and don't notice a real difference (but I have no widgets running other than the Home++ defaults, like the clock).

Also wondering if I get rid of Home++ is there a way to duplicate the bottom scroll/menu bar at the bottom, that's really the main reason I use it (well, I do like the flip clock w/date).
 

whatelsewhatever

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HOLY CRAP !!! thanks ..it was the "wonderful, great idea, must need" Antivirus that waaaaayyy slowed my Driod. WHOO HOO !! Loving my Droid ..again :)
 

Jscullin

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Nice. Streetview was using about 10mb and the browser had about 8mb. Not a lot, but I'll take that back thank you very much.

Didn't notice much of a bump, but good to know.
 

apalm87

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Still Slow

I love my Droid X phone but it is acting so slow lately. I am only using 500 MB and still have 6GB free so I don't think it is because of space. I have no new updates so its not that. I have a weather widget and a calendar widget, but it doesn't seem like having these should make my phone as slow as it is. The browser is extremely slow so I switched to opera mini browser but that didn't really help with the speed. I'm not sure what the next step is.

Any advice would help
Thanks
dancedroid
 

AngryHatter

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Look at the recently installed apps.
It is obviously not the phone but the interaction of an app installed.

Also, when you say slow...slow doing what? Something basic like answering a call? Or apps are slow in opening?
 

apalm87

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ok

First, if it was obvious that the problem was the interaction of an app I wouldnt have asked the question.

Second, when I saw it is slow I mean, it opens slow, the calls take a long time to register, sliding between screens is slow, browsing is slow, opening apps is slow, clicking on anything is slow, loading is slow. To put it easier, there is nothing fast about my phone. There is also a problem with the camera force closing and not registering pictures; also, sometimes when people call or text there is no sound or vibration randomly.
 
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