10 Hidden Android Settings You Should Turn On Right Now to Speed Up Your Phone | Tech Info
Is your once-blazing-fast Android phone starting to feel a little sluggish? We have all been there. You tap on an app, and instead of opening instantly, your phone takes a frustratingly long pause. Before you start looking at expensive new phones, we have some great news for you: your current device likely has plenty of power left, but it is bogged down by factory settings.
Android is an amazingly flexible operating system, but many of its best performance-boosting tools are tucked away inside obscure menus. By tweaking just a few toggles, you can breathing new life into your smartphone. Here are 10 hidden Android settings you should turn on right now to dramatically speed up your device!
1. Lower Your Animation Scales
This is the ultimate trick to make any Android phone feel instantly faster. Android uses animations when you open apps, switch between screens, and pull down notifications. By speeding up these animations, your phone moves much quicker.
First, unlock "Developer Options" by going to Settings > About Phone and tapping Build Number seven times. Once unlocked, go to Settings > System > Developer Options. Scroll down until you find these three settings:
- Window animation scale
- Transition animation scale
- Animator duration scale
Change all three of these from 1x down to 0.5x. Your phone will instantly feel twice as snappy!
2. Enable "Remove Animations"
If lowering the animation scale isn't enough and you want instantaneous app opens, you can turn animations off completely. This setting lives in the Accessibility menu and cuts out the visual fluff altogether.
Go to Settings > Accessibility > Text and display (or Visibility enhancements on Samsung devices) and toggle on Remove Animations. Now, apps will pop open without any lag or delay.
3. Turn On Adaptive Battery
When too many apps run in the background, they eat up your phone's processor capacity and system memory (RAM). Android’s Adaptive Battery feature uses machine learning to figure out which apps you rarely use and stops them from running behind the scenes.
Head to Settings > Battery > Adaptive Preferences (or Battery Saver settings) and toggle on Adaptive Battery. Not only will your phone speed up, but your battery life will also get a massive bump!
4. Enable Wi-Fi Scan Throttling
By default, your phone is constantly searching for Wi-Fi networks, even when you are already connected to a reliable home network. This constant scanning drains system resources and taxes your CPU.
In Developer Options, look for Wi-Fi Scan Throttling and make sure it is switched ON. This reduces battery drain and frees up system resources for tasks you are actually working on.
5. Set Up Auto-Restart
Think about how often you restart your phone. If the answer is "almost never," that might be why it is feeling sluggish. Restarting clears out temp files, stops rogue background processes, and clears memory leaks.
Modern Android phones let you schedule this automatically while you sleep. Go to Settings > Device Care > Auto Optimization (or search for "Auto Restart" in your settings menu) and turn on scheduled restarts once or twice a week.
6. Turn On Virtual RAM (RAM Plus)
If you love multitasking, running low on RAM will severely slow your phone down. Many modern Android brands like Samsung, Xiaomi, and OnePlus now include a feature that converts a small portion of your storage space into extra virtual RAM.
Go to Settings > Device Care > Memory (or System Settings) and look for RAM Plus or Memory Extension. Turn it on and set it to 4GB or 6GB for smoother multitasking.
7. Enable "Unused App Hibernation"
We all download apps that we use once and completely forget about. Unfortunately, those apps can still auto-update and consume system resources in the background.
Go to Settings > Apps, select apps you rarely use, and make sure Pause app activity if unused (or Unused App Hibernation) is toggled ON. This revokes background permissions and keeps unused apps completely frozen until you need them again.
8. Enable "Suspend Execution for Cached Apps"
This is another secret power feature buried deep inside Developer Options. When enabled, Android freezes cached apps completely so they cannot use CPU cycles in the background.
Navigate to Developer Options, search for Suspend execution for cached apps, and set it to Enabled. You will need to restart your phone for this change to take full effect, but the performance boost is well worth it.
9. Activate Processing Speed / Performance Mode
Many Android devices default to an "Optimized" power mode designed to conserve battery life, which intentionally caps CPU speeds. If you prioritize raw performance over extra battery life, you can change this toggle!
Go to Settings > Battery and Device Care > Processing Speed (or Battery > Performance Mode) and switch from "Standard" to High or Maximum. Your processor will now run at full capacity.
10. Turn Off Background Location Scanning
Apps continually tracking your location in the background can severely impact system performance. To prevent unnecessary background operations, you can restrict location permissions.
Go to Settings > Location > Location Services and turn off Wi-Fi scanning and Bluetooth scanning. This stops your phone from constantly pinging nearby devices when you aren't looking for them.
Quick Tips for an Even Faster Phone
While the hidden toggles above make a massive difference, practicing good smartphone maintenance goes a long way. Keep these quick tips in mind:
- Keep storage below 80%: Full solid-state storage slows down significantly. Delete old videos and large games you no longer play.
- Clear system cache: Use your phone's built-in "Device Care" or "Storage Cleaner" utility once a month to clear temporary cached files.
- Uninstall launcher apps: Third-party heavy custom themes and animated launchers often consume massive amounts of system memory. Stick closer to stock options for maximum speed.
- Keep software updated: Ensure you install system updates promptly, as developers regularly release performance optimizations and bug fixes.
By taking just five minutes to turn on these hidden Android settings, your device will feel faster, smoother, and far more responsive. You don't need a brand-new $1,000 flagship phone—you just need to optimize the awesome hardware you already own!
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