If you’ve had your Android device for a while, you may have noticed it’s becoming slower. Apps take longer to open, and menus show up more slowly. This is normal, but there are ways to fix it.

This problem isn’t exclusive to Android—try using an older iPhone with the latest iOS and you’ll feel how slow it’s become. The fixes differ for each platform, so let’s explore how to solve it on Android.

The first and easiest thing to try is restarting your Android device. This will clear the memory and give everything a fresh start. Often, a simple restart can solve small issues and speed things up.

On most Android devices, just press and hold the power button until a menu shows up. Then, choose “Restart” from the options.

Restarting your device can give it a quick performance boost, but it won’t last if there are bigger problems causing the slowness.

To clear the cache on an Android device, go to Settings > Apps > Choose an app > Tap “Clear Cache.” This can help improve performance, but the files will be redownloaded later.

Start by opening the Settings and going to the “Apps” section.

Here’s the list of apps installed on your Android device (you might need to expand the list to see all of them). Choose an app to proceed.

Next, go to “Storage & Cache” or simply “Storage.”

Then, select “Clear Cache.”

The cache will be cleared! This works for almost any app, but you might want to take extra steps to clear the cache for Android browsers.

Sluggish performance can happen if your Android device is running outdated software. To check for updates, go to Settings > System > System Update. Keeping your device updated is important. Even if the latest Android version isn’t available, you may still have monthly security patches to install.

There probably won’t be an update waiting for you, but it’s always good to check. Using an outdated Android device isn’t safe for several reasons.

An Android device that’s full can experience poor performance. Luckily, there are several ways to free up storage space. Clearing the cache, as mentioned earlier, is just one way to do it.

In our guide to freeing up storage on Android, we list eight methods you can try. You can use the built-in feature in the Files by Google app, clear the downloads folder, empty the trash, move photos to cloud storage, and more. If storage is the issue, this is a great place to start.

Unused apps can clog your phone and slow it down. The simplest fix is bulk uninstalling from the Play Store. Though Android restricts inactive apps, deleting them is better.

Go to the Play Store, tap your profile icon, and select “Manage Apps & Device.”

Open the “Manage” tab, choose the apps to delete, and tap the trash icon at the top to uninstall.

Removing unused apps is smart for better performance and security.