Cleaning up your Android device for optimal performance.
While you might put off spring cleaning your home, don't forget to take a moment to clean up your phone!
In this video we'll give you some tips to optimize your device's performance and show you how to use your My Verizon Mobile app to run a Device Health Check.
It's very important to keep your device software and apps up-to-date.
Updates often provide fixes for known issues and help to ensure your device keeps running smoothly.
We recommend connecting to Wi-Fi and making sure your battery is, at least, 60% charged before completing any updates.
To update the software on your Android device:
- Tap Settings.
- Then tap System Updates.
Here, you can view your system update history or check for new system updates. If an update is available, follow the prompts to install it.
To update apps:
- Tap to open the Google Play store.
- Tap the Menu icon.
- Then tap My apps & games.
You can select Update All or tap an individual app to update, or, uninstall it if you're no longer using it!
Now that our device and apps are up to date, let's open the My Verizon Mobile app which has a built in Device Health Check to help identify software and hardware issues.
We'll focus on the software check that reviews battery, storage, connectivity and performance.
Once the app opens:
- Tap the Support tab.
- Tap Run Device Health Check.
Then, a red or yellow warning icon displays if the Device Health Check notices settings that can be adjusted to improve performance. Just tap the item you want to check and follow the prompts to make changes.
For example, if you're having issues with your battery life and you notice a warning icon, select Battery.
This section will show you settings or apps that are impacting your device's battery.
Keeping the screen too bright, using live wallpapers, or having a long screen timeout setting will cause the battery to drain more quickly.
Location settings also affect battery life. When location settings are on, the phone frequently connects to GPS to determine your location.
Adjusting location settings or only enabling them when you need them is a great way to increase battery life.
Now, let's review the Storage section.
The health check will review both internal memory and any removable memory cards, if available.
Optimizing will remove temporary files without losing any personal information.
Over time, phones become cluttered with texts, apps, browser cookies, music and more. As less memory is available, you might notice the device takes longer to load apps, browser pages or just responds sluggishly. The more memory available to use, the better your device will perform.
If possible, go through your content and backup or remove anything you no longer need.
The Performance section displays many items that can impact your phone's performance and security.
One of the most common items you'll see is the Restart Check which assesses whether any issues appeared during the last restart or if your phone could benefit from being turned off and back on.
Even if the health check determines a restart isn't needed, powering the phone off and on every 48 hours is a simple way to help keep it running smoothly.
Another item in the performance section that can negatively impact your device is High Risk Apps.
An app is considered high-risk if it causes the phone to lose a data connection, generates high data usage, drains the battery faster than normal, or causes security or privacy exposure.
If you notice a high risk app is installed on your device, click to learn how the app is impacting your device performance. You can also uninstall the app right from this screen!
Or for device specific help, visit: Verizon.com/support/troubleshooting
