How to Manage Ram on Android
Modern smart phones are much like computers and include advanced hardware like dual and quad-core processors and RAM chips up to 3 GBs. However, unlike what most people believe, these specifications don’t necessarily mean the device is equal to a proper computer and functions up to par with a similarly built personal computer. Since the Android operating system is different from traditional PC operating systems, there are differences in performance and requirements as well. If you are experiencing stuttering and lag while navigating your Android device, you are probably running short on RAM and there are applications running in the background which are hogging it all and affecting performance. In order to make sure that your device runs smooth and at its best, you need to learn how to better manage the RAM on it. Keep reading this article to find out how you can do that to improve the performance of your Android smart phone.
Instructions
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1
In order to effectively manage RAM, it is essential that you understand how it works. Like personal computers, RAM on Android also means Random Access Memory. This space is used by the operating system to store temporary information, such as the data from games and apps that are running. This information resides in the RAM chip for as long as the app is running to ensure that there is no lag or delays in the transfer of this information when it is needed. Once you start running out of RAM, you start noticing stutters and lag because the data being used is not being extracted from the temporary storage but the main storage, which is slower.
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2
You need to check the status of your RAM and which applications are using the major part of it. To do this, you will need to go to the Settings menu on your device and choose the Applications option to view details about the apps you have installed.
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3
On the applications page, you can scroll towards the left and switch views to see which apps you have downloaded, which are installed on the SD Card and which are currently running. The running apps tab is what you need to view. Here you will see the amount of used and free RAM on your device and the space each running app is taking up.
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4
After you note the apps which take up the most space, you can select them from the list of running apps and tap the ‘Stop’ option to kill them. Additionally, if it is an app you don’t use much, you can choose to uninstall it in order to prevent high memory usage.
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5
Review your RAM usage again after uninstalling the apps which took up the most space and you will notice performance improvement. Remember, you are limited by the hardware on your device and the storage it provides. All you can do is manage your apps to regulate the use of your limited space.
