4 pro tips to speed up your slow iPad
Is your iPad running at a snail’s pace or does its power seems to be sucked dry after a few hours? While this is more likely to happen with older devices that don’t have the processing power of the iPad Air and iPad Pro, even the newest tablet can seem slow at times.
There are a variety of reasons why your device may run slowly, including apps constantly running, some kind of internal issue or even just a slow internet connection. Thankfully, these problems are easy to remedy.
Here are four tips to help speed up your slow iPad. And if you’re thinking it’s time to simply upgrade, tap or click here to learn which one is best for your needs.
1. Apps running in the background
Apple previously stated that closing active background apps doesn’t directly affect the speed or battery life of their products; however, it’s been seen that background apps that are actively running a process can take their toll.
So how do you deal with the apps running in the background? You can give your iPad a speed boost by disabling apps that perform background tasks. These tasks can include constantly refreshing your email or tracking your GPS location when you’re not actively using your email or map apps.
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Additionally, you can check which apps are running by double-tapping the iPad’s Home button. Open apps are shown in small windows with their icons. Tap the window of the app you want to close and swipe it toward the top of the screen to force it closed.
2. Out of date
Keeping your iOS updated can be hit-or-miss when it comes to speed. Newer iOS versions introduce new and more efficient code, and patches for known problems. They also add new features, which can slow down older devices. The trick is once you update, there’s no going back, so update with caution.
If your iPad is still noticeably slow after trying all the other tips you’ll find here, it’s definitely time to update. If you aren’t already running the most recent version of iOS, tap Settings > General > Software Update and check if there’s a new version of iOS available.
3. Weak Wi-Fi
The issue might not be with your iPad, but instead with your internet connection. It doesn’t matter how fast your iPad is, if your connection to the internet is weak then it’ll significantly slow things down.
Download a speed test app such as Ookla’s Speedtest and run it. Consider this: anything under 5 Mbs is slow. You want around 8-10 Mbs to stream HD video, though 15+ is preferable.
If you find that your internet is extremely low, around the 1-4 Mbs mark, that might explain why your iPad is running so slowly — especially in Safari and other apps that require an active internet connection.
Since your Wi-Fi is slow, try moving closer to your router, or look into Wi-Fi extenders to provide wider wireless coverage in your home. If it’s still weak, try rebooting the router. If you still have no luck, you’ll need to perform additional troubleshooting on the router.
Check other devices like your laptop and iPhone to see if they also show a weak Wi-Fi connection. If they do, it might be time to contact your internet service provider. After all, you’re paying for better internet so they should be delivering it.
4. Cluttered cache
If Safari is the main app experiencing slowdown, this could be caused by a full cache. The cache stores temporary internet files, including parts of web pages, login info and tracking cookies. Its purpose is to speed up web browsing, but when it becomes too full, it can do the opposite.
To see if this is a cache issue, clear it out. But before you do so, remember to bookmark any important websites because deleting the cache will also delete all of your browsing history.
When you’re ready to clear your cache, tap Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data.This should speed up the Safari interface, although web pages may take slightly longer to load in the short term (as the cache fills back up).
If you’re still experiencing a slow device, it might be time to consider malware as a possible culprit. Contrary to popular belief, Apple devices can get viruses and malware. Tap or click here to learn how to check your iPad for malware.
Tags: Apple, Apple iPhone, battery, malware
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