Almost every technological advance we’ve come up with so far has some kind of downside to it. 

For smartphones, it’s probably the fact that it doesn’t take much to slow one down.

Bridge Base Online is created to run on the majority of smartphones and other systems, but if you’re still experiencing issues with the speed at which your smartphone is willing to operate, the problem might be something on the phone itself.

Here are 10 essential quick fixes for a slow smartphone. 

Still having trouble? Contact support@bridgebase.com for any BBO-related questions.

1. Check Your Internet Connection

The first thing to check if you’re experiencing trouble is your internet connection.

Assuming that the phone itself shows no forms of slowing down but your internet does, try the following of these three options: 

• Restart the internet connection.
• Restart the phone.
• Change the Access Point Name (APN) under Data Settings to ‘internet’ instead of your current one.

If the problem continues, you might want to consider switching to another network provider.

2. Download BBO Again

Downloading the latest version of the official BBO app might fix any issues with sudden app closure or lag.

Many times, bugs can sneak in during the installation phase – or the version of BBO might be an outdated one. In both of these cases, simply downloading BBO again from your relevant app store can help. 

3. Clear Browser History (or Switch Browsers)

One of the worst culprits for slow smartphone operation is the amount of junk files that your internet browser collects over time.

If you don’t remember when you last cleared your browser history, now might be a great time. Just remember that it might also clear all active logins at the same time.

If this doesn’t work, change to another browser. You’d be surprised at how resource-heavy some browsers can be (and how it can slow down your smartphone as a whole).

4. Free Up Additional Space

A lot of additional space and resources can be freed up just by checking your phone’s File Manager for anything you don’t actively use, but might have downloaded and forgot about. 

• Some installed apps will keep the .apk file, which is much like the installer package for software installed anything else. Once the app has been installed, there’s no need to keep this file (and it really just takes up unnecessary space).
  
• Always check your Downloads folder for more assorted “stuff” that might be there just to take up space.
  
• Backup memories and important files like videos or photos to the cloud and free up the space on your smartphone.

5. Remove Apps

Somewhere in the main menu, all smartphones have some variety of App Manager which tells you which apps are installed, which ones are running and how much space and resources they are currently taking up.

Remove any unused apps for a quick smartphone speed boost. 

6. Remove Cached Data 

The App Manager also usually shows an option to Remove Cached / App Data. 

Clicking on this is a quick way to the “erase history” button that works for most apps on your smartphone. The majority of apps save some form of user data here, and most of this data is useless to the user themselves – and thus, safe to get rid of. 

Again, like clearing history, active logins might be removed.  

7. Close Background Apps

Every time you open and close an app on your smartphone, this app might still be running in the background – and it’s likely taking up much-needed memory.

Most smartphones have at least three “buttons” at the top. One of them functions as the back button, while the other opens up a tab of all background apps. 

Click the X (or usually, swipe to the side) to remove background apps and free up current memory on your smartphone. 

8. Hotspot: Off

Are you currently using your smartphone as a wi-fi hotspot? 

Don’t. It can be resource-heavy, and it might slow the phone down in addition to draining the battery down faster than it’s meant to. 

Instead, try USB or Bluetooth Tethering, usually available in the same settings panel as the hotspot option.

9. Update the Firmware

If your smartphone simply won’t co-operate, move over to your device’s Settings and find the Device Information. 

Here, you might have an option to update the firmware.

Updating the firmware is like stripping the Operating System from a computer’s hard drive just to reinstall a newer version of the OS. 

Sometimes, it’s a lot like a good kick up the behind of a slowed-down device – and all it needs to speed up.  

10. The Last Resort: Factory Reset

The Factory Reset setting is reserved for resetting a device back to the manufacturer’s settings, as though it was just taken out of the box for the first time.

As a caution, keep this method for when nothing else has worked. Resorting to the factory reset will clear absolutely everything on the device – including all downloaded or saved files, and any plus all logins. 

Sometimes a factory reset can resurrect an entirely screwed device when you’re stuck.

Every device has a way to return it back to its original state. Just so that nobody finds these settings by accident and blames this column, I won’t describe it here – but instead, recommend that you look up the make and model of your smartphone together with the words “factory reset” for the best results.