Don’t settle for your Android smartphone’s out-of-the-box, bloatware-saddled condition. A few expert tweaks can optimize its overall performance. Here are six tips and tricks to make your phone work more efficiently and quickly all the time.

Bloatware and Digital Files

Bloatware consists of unneeded apps preloaded on your smartphone by the phone manufacturer and your wireless carrier. These apps bog down your mobile device. They can be readily disabled by clicking Settings and then selecting them from the Apps menu. To completely get rid of them, however, you need to root your phone, a move that could potentially void your warranty. Rooting your mobile device also makes it more susceptible to a brute force attack that can reveal passcodes.

To improve your Android smartphone’s performance, simply remove unwanted mobile apps and files. A smart way to free up memory is to store your files on your personal cloud account or a microSD card.

Cache

Your apps have their associated cache memory. And if you use a lot of apps, the accumulated cache can noticeably impact device performance. You can manually clear the app cache from the Settings tab or you can install an app that does the job more efficiently and in a few clicks. Examples of app cache cleaners that can be downloaded for free from the Google Play store are Cache Clean Easy and the all-in-one CCleaner from Piriform.

Active Apps

Close apps that you’re not using. Don’t simply have them run in the background. This can make your Android device work sluggishly, because all those active apps are using up your phone’s meager system resources. Go to Settings, hit Apps, and then click the tab that says “running.” This enables you to close active apps that you don’t need.

Auto Sync

Your smartphone has a nifty auto sync feature running in the background. It automatically checks for email updates and the like, consuming system resources and battery life. If continuous syncing is unnecessary because you can simply open an app to see what’s new, then go to Accounts & Sync in Settings and disable Auto Sync.

Animations

If you opted to personalize your mobile device with a screen launcher app that shows dazzling special effects on your home screen, then that can cause your phone to slow down. Give your Android smartphone a much-needed speed boost by finding a way to disable these screen extras.

Widgets

Consider getting rid of unneeded widgets on your home screen. When there are too many of them running simultaneously, they can hog your smartphone’s memory and negatively affect its performance. It helps to be more selective and to install only the widgets that you deem truly important.