There’s a common misconception that the settings on your phone are set in your phone’s favor. While some default settings can enhance your user experience, for sure, many can also do a number on your battery and storage space, and can make your phone stall and work slower. You can have more control over some of these settings and ensure they don’t weigh your phone’s speed down, but first you need to know which settings are among the biggest offenders.
Start with these six default settings you can adjust for a faster phone, longer battery life, and more.
Background App Refresh
You probably don’t need Background App Refresh on — although it’s wonderful at updating your apps at all times (even when you aren’t using them), the battery power and resources it consumes in return isn’t worth it. Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and either turn it off completely or choose Wi-Fi only.
Widgets
You may not need all of the widgets on your phone, and they take up battery power. Swipe right on the Home Screen, scroll to the bottom, tap Edit and delete as many widgets as you can live without.
Turn Off Location Services
Allowing apps to track your location takes up a lot of battery. This isn’t always avoidable and you’ll need location services enabled to use Maps and other apps that are helpful, but your phone does not need your location at all times. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services and adjust settings so that apps that don’t need your location are cut off from accessing it.
Clear Safari Cache
The cause of your phone slowdown could be a Safari cache that is clogged with old files and search history. Go to Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data. This should help speed things along.
Reduce Motion
Cool graphics are one thing; cool graphics that force you to sacrifice on speed and battery are another. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Motion and toggle on Reduce Motion. This will minimizes the parallax effect of icons and transitions.
Update Software
If you’re not consistently updating your iOS software, you are allowing your phone to work less efficiently than it otherwise would. Go to Settings > General > Software Update. If there is an update available download it.
