How I Made My Old Android Phone Faster Without Rooting

Introduction: A Slow Phone Doesn’t Always Mean a Dead Phone

Like many of you, I’ve faced that frustrating moment when your phone, once fast and

responsive, now lags while opening even the simplest of apps. My old Redmi Note 8 had

started showing its age. But instead of upgrading, I decided to test how far I could push its

performance—without rooting, factory resetting, or installing custom ROMs. What

happened next genuinely surprised me. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of what worked

for me—and might just save your own phone too.

Step 1: Replacing Heavy Apps with Lightweight Alternatives

The biggest change came from replacing bloated apps with lighter versions:

Facebook → Facebook Lite

Instagram → Web app (via browser)

YouTube → NewPipe (open-source)

Gmail → K-9 Mail

Google Maps → Maps Go

Each replacement freed up hundreds of MBs and significantly reduced background load.

Pro tip: Use Lite or Go versions from the Play Store whenever possible.

Step 2: Disabling Animations

Android’s default animations look nice but slow down older hardware.

How to disable:

1. Go to Settings > About phone > Tap 'Build number' 7 times to enable Developer Options.

2. Navigate to Settings > Developer Options.

3. Set animation scale options to 'Off'.

Result? Everything felt snappier instantly.

Step 3: Using a Lightweight Launcher

Most default launchers are overloaded with features and animations. I switched to Niagara

Launcher—clean, minimal, and lightning-fast.

Alternatives: Nova Launcher, Smart Launcher, Lawnchair.

This also reduced RAM usage, which helped with multitasking.

Step 4: Clearing App Cache (Safely)

I didn’t uninstall apps. Instead, I cleared the cache of resource-heavy ones like Chrome,

WhatsApp, and Instagram.

Steps: Go to Settings > Apps > [App Name] > Storage > Clear Cache

Pro tip: Don’t clear 'Data'—that will log you out or delete settings.

I made this a weekly habit.

Step 5: Limiting Background Processes

Still under Developer Options, I set:

- Background process limit to 2 apps

- Turned off 'Don’t keep activities' to avoid closing apps I was actively using

This step significantly helped with battery life and overall speed.

Step 6: Removing Unused Apps & Bloatware

Many pre installed apps were never used. While some couldn’t be uninstalled, I disabled

them:

Settings > Apps > All Apps > [App] > Disable

Disabling saves RAM and reduces boot time.

Step 7: Periodic Reboots & Storage Cleanup

Rebooting once every few days helped with memory refresh. I also kept internal storage

below 80%—Android slows down when storage is nearly full.

Used Files by Google to:

- Delete duplicate files

- Clear WhatsApp junk

- Remove unused APKs and downloads

Before vs After: The Results

Metric | Before | After

-------|--------|------

App Launch Time (Instagram) | 4.5s | 2.2s

Free RAM (on boot) | 750MB | 1.3GB

Battery Drain Overnight | 12% | 5%

Storage Free | 2.1GB | 6.8GB

Not a miracle, but it felt like I had a new phone again.

Instead of spending 15,000–20,000 on a new device, a few hours of tuning brought life ₹

back to my phone. No root, no reset—just smart usage.

If you’re on a tight budget or want to make your phone last longer, I highly recommend

trying this before shopping for an upgrade.

Got your own tips? Share them in the comments or tag us on Instagram @edgetechzone.