Over time, your iPhone or iPad slows down. Upgrading the inside will be difficult, but in terms of software you can arrange a lot of things yourself. Here are 9 tips to speed up your iPhone or iPad.
Speed up iPad and iPhone
In general, iPhones (and iPads) last an awful long time, but electronics remain susceptible to aging. It is therefore insurmountable that your device slows down a bit at some point. Fortunately, it is possible to make your iPhone a bit faster. In this article we present you 9 practical tips.
1. Update regularly
A big plus of Apple devices is updates. The Cupertino company updates iPads, iPhones and Macs with new software for years after the release date. These updates not only close security holes, but also streamline your operating system.
It is therefore wise to update iOS (or iPadOS) regularly. To do this, dive into the Settings app, tap ‘General’ and choose ‘Software Update’. Your iPhone will then search if a new software version is available for you. In most cases it is wise to update immediately.
Sometimes, however, there are errors in a new iOS version, which causes problems. Fortunately, we spend on iPhone regular attention to new software versions, and of course we will keep you informed of any bugs. Sign up for our newsletter or install the free app to make sure you don’t miss anything.
2. Unused media
Photos, music, podcasts and videos are of course nice, but they also take up a lot of storage space, and that makes your device slower. It is therefore not a bad idea to check your iPhone storage for unnecessary files once in a while. Removing media frees up storage space and gives your iPhone (or iPad) a speed boost.
3. Apps refresh in the background
Many apps have the option to refresh in the background. On the one hand, this is useful with WhatsApp, for example, because you won’t miss a single message, but on the other hand, your battery drains faster. Moreover, this slows down your iPhone.
Fortunately, you can silence these auto-refresh apps. To do this, open the Settings app, go to ‘General’ and tap ‘Refresh in background’. Here you will find a list of apps that can refresh automatically. Slide the switch for programs that do not necessarily need to be refreshed continuously.
4. Location services
With the help of location services, your iPhone or iPad checks where you are. This is done in the background, even if you are not using a navigation app, for example. Just as with the automatic refresh of apps, you determine which apps are allowed to view your location.
To speed up your iPhone, you only give permission for this to relevant apps, such as Google Maps or Maps. To do this, tap on ‘Privacy’ in the settings and go to ‘Location Services’. In iOS 13 you can also indicate that apps are only allowed to view your location during actual use. This is good for your privacy and battery life.
5. Clean up your apps
How many apps and games do you really use? There is a good chance that there are a lot of unnecessary programs on your iPad or iPhone. Take a critical look at all your apps. Do you never actually open it? Do delete the program. This way you free up storage space and your iPhone faster.
Also Read: 5 Tips To Organize Your iPhone Home Screen And Keep It Tidy
6. Clear your history and cache in Safari
Clearing your history and cache in Safari frees up a bit more memory, which in turn contributes to a faster iPhone and iPad. As a result, you will not be able to find your visited websites, but you can also simply save them with your bookmarks.
Do you want to clear the history and cache? Then open the Settings app, tap ‘Safari’ and choose ‘Clear history & clear cookies and data’. If you do this regularly, your iPhone will keep faster.
7. Restart your iPhone
You probably turn your MacBook or computer off regularly to turn it back on the next day. This is a lot less common for telephones. Still, it is not unwise to restart your iPhone or iPad every now and then. You don’t have to do this every day, but once a week certainly won’t hurt.
Restarting your iPhone will start with a fresh start. All previously opened apps are closed and all processes are restarted. Not only does your iPhone get faster, you also get more peace of mind. It is not at all wrong not to be continuously available every now and then.
8. Free up working memory manually
Your iPhone and iPad normally control the use of the RAM themselves, but if they become slower or falter, it can be useful to empty this manually. You can do this by restarting your device, but it will take a few minutes.
If you have no time to lose, follow the steps below to quickly free up the working memory of your device with the same result.
- Unlock your iPhone or iPad;
- Press and hold the power button. The Shut Down screen will now appear;
- Press the home button for a few seconds. The Shut down screen will disappear after a few seconds and you will return to the home screen.
Do you have an iPhone X or newer model (such as the iPhone XS or iPhone 11)? Then you don’t have a physical home button. In that case, follow the directions below:
- On your iPhone, go to the Settings app and tap ‘General’;
- Choose ‘Accessibility’ and slide the switch at ‘AssistiveTouch’;
- Go back to ‘General’ and choose ‘Shut down’ at the bottom;
- Now press the AssistiveTouch button and put your finger on the Home button.
9. Delete old messages
WhatsApp, iMessage and SMS: messages pour in all day long. This can be great fun, but the chats take up a lot of space. By regularly deleting old and unnecessary messages, you can easily free up space on your device.
In the Messages app, delete chats by swiping the message to the left. Then confirm by tapping twice on ‘Delete’. Unfortunately it is not possible to download conversations. This is possible in WhatsApp. That way you can save the chat on your Mac, for example. Check out our article on Archiving WhatsApp chats for more info.