Thankfully, there are lots of ways for you to speed up a slow S6. Here’s a list of the best ways to boost a slow device, with a step by step guide for each of the methods when necessary. Let’s get started. These methods will work for both the S6 and the S6 Edge.
Method 1: Restart Your Device
Depending on your issues, restarting your device could be a quick and easy way to speed up your device. If you’re not sure how, you just have to hold the Power button, and select restart to reboot your device. Alternatively, you can hold the Power and Volume Down physical buttons for several seconds to restart the device. Turning it off and on again is one of easiest troubleshooting issues, and you should make sure to try it before resorting to some of the more drastic measures found on this list.
Method: 2 Delete Unused Apps
Another easy way to free up space and help your speed in general is to delete any unused apps from your device. They take up unnecessary space, and some of them quietly chug away in the background, draining your resources and slowing down your device. You can delete unused apps by:
- Entering Edit mode on your S6. This can be done by tapping the top right hand corner of your apps window.
- From here, you can delete more than one app at a time.This could give you a decent performance boost depending on how many you have to get rid of.
Method 3: Reduce the Number of Startup Apps
Reducing the number of apps that start up when your phone does is a great way to make it faster, and you can download an app for better control over this on the Play Store. Greenify is free to download, and it’s a useful way to help speed up a slower device. It sets apps to hibernate, further reducing the drain on your resources. Some of the features are locked behind root access, but it’s a good way to put unnecessary apps to sleep regardless. Method 2 in this article has more information about installing Greenify and setting apps to hibernate. (If you want a rooting guide specifically for the Galaxy S6, we have one of those as well.)
Method 4: Clear the Cache
This is another well-known method, as the cache can often get filled up with temporary folders that can slow down your device over time. It’s worth cleaning your cache now and again, as many of the files are useless. To clear your cache data:
- Go to your Settings, and tap App Manager.
- Tap on the app that you would like to clear the cache for.
- Once you’ve decided, tap the option called Clear cache located at the bottom of the screen.
- You can do this for each and every app, and you would be surprised how much cache data accumulates over time.
Method 5: Turn Off Widgets
Widgets are usually pretty useful, but they’ll affect the performance of your device if you have too many running at once. If you don’t use them often, consider turning them off to give your device an extra boost. (It’ll also help your battery life in the long run.) You can also check the Battery menu found in the Settings to check which apps are using up your resources, or check our guide If you want to extend the battery life on your S6.
Method 6: Speed Up Animations
Speeding up the animations is one of the easiest ways to get a more responsive device, and you don’t need root access to use this nifty trick. It has to be seen to be truly appreciated.
- Go to your Settings, and tap your build number repeatedly to access the Developer Options (It’ll appear in the same menu after several taps.
- Open the Developer Options menu, and find the option called Window animation scale.
- Change it to 0.5x and check the difference.
- Your device should now be a lot snappier during general use, and you can always change it back in the same menu.
Method 7: If Your S6 Keyboard is Slow
A few users have reported that the stock Samsung Galaxy S6 keyboard just isn’t quick enough for those of you with fast fingers, so downloading an alternative Android keyboard could be helpful if you’re experiencing lag while you’re typing on your device. The Google keyboard is one of the best alternatives available, and it’s free to download on the Play Store. It should be a lot more responsive to your commands, which is handy if you’re a quick typist. Either way, it’s worth a try if you’re having issues with the stock option.
Method 8: Factory Reset
A factory reset will definitely speed up your device, but it’ll delete all of your personal data and apps along the way. (It’s partly the reason why it’s so effective, because it’ll restore the device to how it was when it first came out of the factory.) Before you start the factory reset, make sure to back up your important files. There are a variety of apps and methods you can use, including Google’s services and connecting your device to your PC to copy the files over directly. Consider yourself warned. To factory reset your Samsung device:
- Open your Settingsand navigate to Backup and reset.
- Tap Factory data reset.
- You should now see a prompt appear onscreen asking you to confirm the reset.
- Confirm, and press Reset device. Your phone should now be restored to factory settings.
Method 9: RAM
You might think that freeing up your RAM will give you better performance during resource heavy tasks, but we advise you to leave it alone if possible. Unlike a computer, having your RAM running at 70-80% is fine, and it isn’t worth messing around with your device if you’re not sure what you’re doing.
Method 10: Disable Bloatware
The S6 range can often come with a lot of pre-packaged bloatware, but you have the opportunity to disable it all from the app drawer. To disable undeletable apps;
- Go to the App drawer, and tap Edit in the top right hand corner.
- Select the app you would like to disable and confirm your choice on the popup screen.
Method 11: Stay Updated Whenever Possible
These can sometimes take their toll on your device if it’s a little older, but the devices are more than equipped to handle the latest updates, and it’s easy to get the latest one on your handset. To manually get new updates to your device:
- Head to your Settings, and tap About Device.
- Go to Software Update, and tap Update Now.
- Your device will now check for any available updates online.
- You can set your device to auto-update from this menu, but it will only search for new updates at set intervals. (Setting it to automatically update should be fast enough anyway, unless you want it as soon as possible.)
Method 12: Download Files Faster with the Download Booster
The download booster is a new feature for Android that boosts your download speeds. (They chose an obvious name.) It’s pretty useful, and it’s quick and easy to setup on your device;
- Go to your Settings, and tap More connection settings.
- Tap the Download booster, and turn it on for faster download capabilities. However, your speeds will also depend on your carrier and your location, and it won’t boost it any further than your collection will allow. Be careful if you’re on a limited data plan.
Method 13: Speed Up Web Browsing
Slow web browsing is the reason why many of us go for expensive data plans, but what if your device itself is the one to blame? A few users have reported issues with the Chrome browser, but you can access hidden features to speed it up. (This may only work for the standard S6 model.)
- Go to the Chrome browser, and type this into the URL bar: chrome://flags
- Look for #max-tiles-for-interest-area from the list.
- Tap the dropdown menu called Default and change it to 512.
- Tap the option called Relaunch Now to confirm your changes. You should now see faster internet speeds while using the Chrome browser.
Method 14: Speed Up the Fingerprint Sensor
The fingerprint sensor is a nifty addition, but it’s a little known fact that you can speed it up with this one cool trick! (Sorry.) Basically, the sensor slows down as you add more prints, so delete any multiples, and add one only for the quickest speeds. Use a combination of different fingers on the one profile to make sure that your device is as secure as possible, because you want your device, (and personal information) to be as safe as possible.
Conclusion
There are so many different things you can do to speed up your device, and it won’t cost you anything to try the different methods on this list. Hopefully, you’ll be able to see the difference when you put some of these tricks to use, as it just isn’t the same when your phone suffers from slowdown. If you’re still hankering for more tips, here’s a list with an incredible 38 tricks for the S6. If we’ve missed an easy way to speed up your S6 Edge or you have questions about one of the methods on this list, let us know in the comments below, or you can contact us via Facebook or Twitter and we’ll get back to you ASAP. Featured Image Credit
