When you’re struggling with slow tech, even simple jobs can start to feel like tedious chores.
Luckily, you can speed up your old devices without having to splash out for costly upgrades.
According to tech experts at Which? you can get your computer, phones, WiFi, and even printers back up to full speed with a few quick changes.
Lisa Barber, Which? tech editor, says: ‘While our first instinct is often to replace or upgrade tired tech, we’ve found some surprisingly simple tips and tricks that can get your devices back up to speed – and all without having to spend any money.
‘Next time you’re despairing of an unresponsive device or slow connection, it’s well worth giving these a try before shelling out for a pricey new model.’
Devices like phones and computers gradually become slower over time as we clog them up with unnecessary software, files, and apps.
All that extra digital junk diverts computing power from tasks your device really needs to do, slowing the whole system down.
But by following this guide, you will learn how to clean up your devices and leave them as fast as a brand-new replacement.
If you’re struggling with slow tech, the experts at Which? have revealed the simple tricks for speeding up your devices (stock image)
Computers
If your Mac or Windows PC is running slow, the first thing you should do is restart the computer.
Although ‘turn it off and on again’ isn’t always great advice, this simple step really can speed up your PC.
Which? says: ‘A full restart clears your Ram, freeing up valuable system memory. It also applies any outstanding updates, flushes your system cache and resets background processes.
‘This clears out temporary files and terminates system activities that can drag down speed.’
Just make sure that you select ‘restart’ in the operating system rather than pressing the power button or turning the computer off at the plug.
If the computer is still slow when it turns back on, that might be because you have too many apps automatically running when the computer boots up.
These ‘startup apps’ seriously slow your computer down, so make sure to turn as many off as you can.
The best thing to do for a slow Mac or Windows computer is to restart the system. This will clear out any background processes and speed up your device
You can find the option to do this under the ‘Task Manager’ in Windows or through the ‘Login Items’ setting on Mac.
However, you should always leave any security apps, such as antivirus software, enabled to keep your computer safe.
You should also uninstall any software that you don’t need, since unwanted apps and programs hog valuable storage space and put a strain on the computing power.
This is also true of any old junk files that might be cluttering up your hard drive.
Freeing up storage and deleting any temporary files will free up important functions to work more efficiently.
Finally, one thing you should be doing regularly is ensuring that your operating system and software are all updated to the latest version.
Which? says: ‘Windows and macOS frequently receive updates that fix bugs, plug security holes and optimise your system.
‘Making sure you have the latest updates installed can resolve performance-related software issues and make your operating system run more efficiently.’
Unnecessary files and apps slow down your computer and put strain on the CPU. Delete anything you don’t need to speed things up (stock image)
Phones and tablets
Just like a computer, your phone or tablet can also become clogged up with unnecessary files and apps, which put a strain on key processes.
As always, the first thing to do is restart your device, which can solve a number of problems.
Restarting your device will wipe your device’s RAM clean and force any apps running in the background to close.
Turning it off and on again also clears out any temporary files and can fix minor software glitches that might be causing trouble.
Similar to a computer, getting rid of any unnecessary apps and making sure that everything is fully updated will also keep your device fast.
To further speed up your phone, one important step to take is turning off ‘background app refresh’ on iOS or ‘background data’ on Android.
These settings allow apps to look for and download new content automatically, such as a news app looking for the latest headlines.
Just like a computer, deleting unnecessary apps from your iPhone or Android device will speed up loading times by freeing up space
You can turn this off for individual apps without preventing them from working; they will just wait until you open them to start refreshing.
On iPads and iPhones, you can do this under the ‘Background App Refresh’ tab in the General section of settings.
On Android devices, go to the ‘Apps’ page of settings and select each app individually.
The option to turn off background data will be under the ‘Mobile data and Wi-Fi’ setting for each app.
Wi-Fi
As you can probably guess, if you want to speed up your Wi-Fi, the first step is to restart your router.
Which? explains: ‘This instantly clears any potential network congestion or IP conflicts by resetting all active connections.
‘It will also re-establish a fresh connection to your internet service, which can fix any instabilities you may have been experiencing.’
Which? recommends unplugging your Wi-Fi router from the mains for 60 seconds before plugging it back in. This will restart the router and establish a fresh connection to your internet provider
The simplest way to do this is by unplugging your router from the mains power, waiting 60 seconds, and then plugging it back in.
Routers will also periodically receive firmware updates, so ensuring that your device is up to date can help boost speeds.
The method for this varies from device to device, so it is best to check the manufacturer’s instructions for more details.
However, you are still having trouble getting a good Wi-Fi connection, which might mean there is a problem with the signal.
Wi-Fi is an electromagnetic wave which can be blocked by obstructions like walls, doors, and ceilings.
That means you’ll need to move your router to a central location in your home where there will be as few objects between your device and the router as possible.
Similarly, Wi-Fi networks work by using different channels within the wireless radio band.
If your neighbours are using the same Wi-Fi channel as you, this can lead to signal congestion and interference, which slows down your connection.
If nearby Wi-Fi networks are using the same Wi-Fi channel as your network, this could lead to signal congestion and interference. Check which channels other networks are using and ensure yours isn’t on the same bandwidth
Using a free tool like NetSpot or WiFi Analyzer, look to see if any nearby Wi-Fi networks are using the same channel as your own.
If there are, you can manually change the Wi-Fi network’s channel by logging into the router’s admin controls online.
How to access these settings varies, so check the manufacturer’s instructions for more information.
Printers
If your printer is taking a long time to print out documents or photos, it might be due to a few different issues.
For printers that connect wirelessly, it could be due to a bad connection, so ensure that the printer is as close to the router as you can.
For all printers, it is worth ensuring that your print settings aren’t causing an issue since printing in the highest quality, using colour, or printing double-sided can all slow things down if speed is your main concern.
Finally, Which? recommends: ‘Running your printer’s maintenance routine to clean print heads and keep the ink nozzles clear and updating its firmware can also improve performance.’
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .