Five ways to make your old Android feel brand new

If your Android smartphone is several years old and has become slow, you don't necessarily have to replace it with a flagship model. Models with long-term support from Google or Samsung can be made to work quickly. All you need to do is "clean up" the system and adjust the settings.

CNET explains how to do this.

Here's how to speed up an old smartphone

Optimize battery consumption

Turn off auto-brightness/adaptive brightness, then manually lower the slider below 50%. A screen that is too bright quickly drains the battery. In the settings, find the "Battery" section and enable "Adaptive Battery" and "Battery optimization for apps".

Enable dark mode

Android 10 and newer versions have a system-wide dark mode that reduces eye strain and saves energy on OLED displays. You can keep it on all the time or turn it on according to a schedule (for example, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.). On Android 9, look for a dark theme in the settings of individual apps.

Remove unnecessary items from your home screen

To prevent new app shortcuts from cluttering your screen, tap and hold an empty area. Then, open "Home Screen Settings" and disable options such as "Add new apps to home screen". You can always add shortcuts manually from the app menu as needed.

Set up "Do Not Disturb"

Go to Settings > Sound/Notifications > Do Not Disturb and set quiet hours. Night notifications will not wake you up, but will remain in the notification curtain. Add exceptions for repeat calls and selected contacts.

Update your system

Check "Settings" > "Software/System Updates". New versions often fix bugs that slow down performance. Connect to Wi-Fi before installing.

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