Essential Settings To Speed Up Your Phone

Some settings are hardly noticeable, and others are hidden in the Settings menu. But they all important to speed up your phone and significantly improve our relationship (not always friendly) with the mobile. Therefore, if you are launching a new smartphone or want to get the most out of all the options of the one you already have, take advantage of the opportunity to change some settings. In the long run, you will appreciate it. And a lot.

Is Synchronization Automatic?

When setting up your email accounts on your phone, it’s important to take control of the associated apps, such as your calendar, tasks, and notes. Do you really need your cloud storage to be synced automatically and constantly? And what about your contacts? By manually refreshing certain services that you don’t use often, you can extend your device’s battery life. On Android, head to Settings and navigate to ‘Accounts and Synchronization’, while on iOS, go to Settings, select the Accounts section, and adjust ‘Obtain data (Push)’. The same goes for third-party apps like Telegram, Skype, Duo, or WhatsApp.

Maximizing Battery Life

The screen is the section that devours the most autonomy on a day-to-day basis, so it is important to pay special attention to it. Among the precautions to take into account that of brightness: unless you are in broad daylight, do not keep it to the maximum and consider adjusting the brightness manually (instead of automatically).

Your phone’s battery is the engine that keeps it running, and the screen is the fuel that powers it. To maximize your device’s energy efficiency, you need to pay close attention to your display. One of the most critical factors is brightness: keeping it at maximum all the time is like burning fuel unnecessarily. Instead, adjust it manually to suit your needs, using the quick settings or screen configuration.

Also, if your smartphone has a panel with AMOLED technology (which lacks backlighting by literally turning off the black pixels), using the dark mode can give you a very helpful battery boost. and, of course, remember the connections: keeping 4G, WIFI, Bluetooth, GPS and NFC active simultaneously is nonsense, both in terms of battery consumption and security.

Navigation Controls

Buttons or gestures? Unlike in iOS, there are Android terminals that still incorporate a lower navigation bar by default, with three virtual buttons that are used to move between applications. Others, on the other hand, do not even implement gesture control (always faster and more intuitive).

If none of the system’s navigation options convince you and you need further customization, try apps like ‘Simple Control’ or ‘Navigation Bar – Assistive Touch Bar’. If gestures are more comfortable for you, ‘Gesture Control’, ‘Swiftly Switch’ or ‘Fluid Navigation Gestures’ is a good start: with them, you will gain speed and greater control.

Security Before Everything

To keep your smartphone free of all kinds of threats, there is no better recipe than keeping your terminal software up to date. To do this, confirm that you have both automatic system and application updates active. If you want to have the most modern version of iOS on your iPhone, check it in Settings / General / Software update, while for applications, go to Settings / App Store / Automatic downloads. If you have an Android terminal, go to System update. And in the case of Play Store apps, check it in Settings / Network Preferences.

Notifications Setting

Whenever we install a new application on our mobile, it keeps the notification permission active by default. And the same could be said of the web browser itself (Chrome, Safari, Brave, etc.): when we access a certain web page for the first time, it will always ask us if we want to receive new notices.

To improve your notification experience, you can customize it in the Notification section of your iOS or Android settings. From there, you can define how your alerts appear (always or with the screen locked), the style of the switches, the design of the notification bar, and whether or not you want a sound warning for incoming notifications, among other options.

Default Apps

There are no more annoying messages than those that constantly ask you which app you want to open a specific file with. If you want to prevent this, customize the default apps in Settings. The process on Android is very simple: go to ‘Manage applications’ and select ‘Default applications’ in the context menu. Thus, you can define your favorite internet browser, the photo app you like the most by default, the music player or the voice assistant (Alexa, Google, etc.).

On your iPhone, the process is more complex and requires you to install the latest version of its operating system, iOS 14. In this case, if you want to change Apple’s default email client to Gmail, you will first have to install this application. Once you enter it, look for the ‘Default Apps’ option.

Some Additional Suggestions To Speed Up Your Phone

Clear App Cache and Data : Over time, apps accumulate a lot of unnecessary data in the form of cache and saved preferences. Clearing this data regularly can free up storage space and improve the performance of your device. On Android, go to Settings > Storage > Cached data. On iOS, go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage > (select an app) > Offload App.

Disable Unused Features : Many smartphones come with a host of features and services that you may not use or need, such as NFC, location services, or screen rotation. Disabling these features can conserve battery life and reduce the strain on your device’s resources. On Android, go to Settings > Connected devices > Connection preferences. On iOS, go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services.

Enable Dark Mode : As mentioned in the article, using dark mode on smartphones with OLED or AMOLED screens can help extend battery life by reducing the amount of power used by individual pixels. Dark mode can also reduce eye strain in low-light conditions. On Android, go to Settings > Display > Dark theme. On iOS, go to Settings > Display & Brightness > Dark.

Use a VPN : A virtual private network (VPN) can help protect your online privacy and security by encrypting your internet traffic and masking your IP address. Many VPNs also offer additional features, such as ad-blocking and malware protection. On Android, go to Settings > Network & Internet> VPN. On iOS, go to Settings > General > VPN.

Customize Your Home Screen : Personalizing your home screen can make your device feel more user-friendly and efficient. Consider adding widgets, changing app icons, or organizing your apps into folders for easier access. On Android, press and hold an empty space on the home screen to access the customization menu. On iOS, press and hold an app icon to enter jiggle mode, then drag and drop apps to rearrange them.

Remember, everyone’s smartphone usage habits and preferences are different, so it’s important to experiment with different settings and configurations to find what works best for you.

Conclusion

Setting up your mobile device correctly can make a big difference in how you use it. You can make many small adjustments to improve your overall experience. By following the suggestions provided in the article, you can extend your battery life, simplify your app usage, and customize your device to your liking. These changes can ultimately lead to a more efficient and enjoyable mobile experience.