Speed up the internet on your Android smartphone

Unfortunately, phones don’t always run at peak efficiency; sometimes you have to step in and lend a helping hand. If you’re suffering from slow internet on your Android device, then we've got a few ways you can try and speed things up. 

None of these will turn a lower-spec phone into a premium powerhouse, but at the very least you should be able to cut down your browser’s load time or maybe even fix a lag issue that seemingly appeared out of nowhere and never went away.

Download lighter versions of apps

---

We're starting to see developers release "light" versions of their apps designed to run faster and use less data. Since they're using less data, you're downloading less, which in turn will make your phone feel faster. While many of these apps are built for emerging markets, a select few are available in Australia. These include Facebook Lite, Facebook Messenger Lite, and Google Maps Go.

Turn on data saver mode in Chrome

---

On the subject of reducing data usage, Chrome - the default browser for Android - has an optional data saving mode. To turn this on, follow the steps below:

• Open Chrome
• Tap the menu icon in the top right hand corner
• Tap Settings
• Scroll down to Data Saver and tap it
• Switch the toggle to on

Data Saver uses Google servers to compress pages before you visit them, which will in turn make them fast to load. And as a bonus, your precious data will last even longer!

Use an adblocking browser

---

Another way to speed up your Android internet experience is to use an adblocking browser. Once again, this is about saving data. Ads can easily make up half of a website's file size, so if you’re not downloading ads, a site could theoretically load twice as fast. 

If you want to give adblocking on Android a shot, you'll need to download a third party browser. We recommend Opera, which blocks all ads out of the box. Opera also compresses image files, which should further speed up your browsing experience.

Disable, delete, or uninstall unused apps and widgets

---

Most apps and widgets are relatively benign, but some use up a tonne of data while they run in the background.

The first step is to remove any widgets from your home screens that you don’t use. These are usually the biggest offenders and are easy to ditch. Just tap and hold on the widget and slide it up to the Remove icon at the top of the screen. This will not delete the widget, but remove it from the home screen and cause it to be inactive.

To totally delete an app you need to open your app drawer. In most cases you can tap and hold down on the app you want to uninstall and then drag it to the top right hand corner of your screen.

It is however worth noting that some apps can't be deleted. These apps are placed on your phone by the manufacturer, by Google or by your carrier. You'll just have to leave these to their own devices.

Use 4G rather than Wi-Fi

---

If your Android's internet feels a bit slow when you're connected to Wi-Fi, it might not be your phone, it could be the wireless network. The average Australian home internet connection is slower than a 4G mobile connection, so if you're finding the internet on your phone isn't as fast at home compared to when you're out and about, you might want to switch Wi-Fi off. Just make sure you have enough data, and try to avoid large downloads or excessive video streaming on 4G.

Check your network settings

---

If you're having severe internet trouble, then you might need to check your settings. These steps my vary slightly from device to device, but this process will let you make sure that your device hasn't been restricted to 3G speeds.

• Open the Settings app
• Tap Network & Internet
• Tap Mobile network
• Tap Preferred Network type
• Here, you'll want to make sure that you've got 4G selected

If your device was set to 3G rather than 4G, changing over to 4G may take up to 30 seconds to come into effect (assuming you're in an area with 4G connectivity).

Share this post