You must take good care of your Android gadget if you want it to continue operating efficiently. To remain in good operating order, it requires regular maintenance, examinations, and more.

Since you probably hold your phone up to your face every day, you should start by cleaning the outside of it. In addition to being unhygienic, dust, grime, and debris can quickly accumulate in the speakers and charging ports, reducing the longevity of your phone.

However, the most crucial maintenance is done underneath, which includes adjusting phone settings you may have never done before.

You can make your Android phone feel and look brand new with just a few minutes of work, at least until you can upgrade. To keep your Android phone in great condition, follow these five easy steps for organizing, tidying, and personalizing it.

Check out this year’s top Android phones if you’re interested in acquiring a brand-new gadget.

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Delete every app you’ve forgotten.

Spend a few minutes going through your app drawer or home screen and removing any programs that you are no longer using. In addition to consuming valuable storage space, those apps may also have access to the personal data or permissions you granted when the program was first installed.

Depending on the manufacturer of your device, there are differences in how to remove an app, but I addressed all the bases in this post. If you long-press the app’s icon and don’t see an uninstall option, give it a read.

The screen of a phone displaying the Google Play Store
Additionally, you can use the Play Store to uninstall apps.
Cipriani, Jason/CNET

Get rid of outdated files to increase storage space.

Go through the files stored on your Android phone to increase storage after deleting any outdated apps. It’s quite simple to forget about all the things you’ve downloaded at random, such as a friend’s GIF or the takeout menu from the new restaurant down the street. And those files mount up. Using the preloaded Files app is the quickest and most straightforward method of managing the storage on your phone.

In actuality, that identical app is used on some phones. For instance, it’s referred to as My Files on Samsung. It’s simply Files on the Pixel lineup. You get the idea. On the OnePlus 10 Pro, it’s File Manager.

I suggest pulling out your phone’s app drawer and selecting “files.” Whatever your phone maker calls the app, it’s likely to show.

Start by looking through the Downloads folder, where you may either move the files to a different location, like Google Drive, or delete the ones you no longer want.

Any large files stored on your device will also be visible through the majority of file apps. For example, the File Manager software on the OnePlus 10 Pro offers a special area for files that are consuming a lot of storage.

My Files on a Galaxy S10 Plus and the Files app on a Pixel 3.
Left: A Pixel 3’s Files app. Right: A Galaxy S10 Plus’s My Files.
Jason Cipriani/CNET screenshots

Change the home screen’s settings for a fresh appearance.

The ability to completely personalize the appearance of your phone is one of Android’s best features. There are several ways to customize your phone, ranging from adding app icon packs to swapping out the launcher entirely.

Start by exploring the home screen options your phone already offers, however you can certainly get right into downloading app icons and adjusting launchers. I occasionally do this, and it’s amazing how minor adjustments to features like app layout can give the impression that the phone is brand new.

You can choose Home settings (or a similar option) by long-pressing on a blank section of your home screen. This will bring up your home screen’s settings, where you can adjust a number of things.

parameters such as the app grid’s size. Going from a grid of 4×5 apps to a 5×5 grid may seem like a little adjustment, but adding a column can have a significant impact (the same is true for grid shrinkage).

Settings for things like swiping down on the home screen to view notifications rather than swiping from the top of the screen can be found here as well.

Examine the corresponding options on your phone and try out different configurations for your home screen.

A phone’s home screen
There are countless ways to customize your home screen.
CNET/Lexy Savvides

Make your device’s settings more optimal.

When it comes to settings, now is an excellent opportunity to review and adjust those that have been bothering you. To get the most out of any Android phone, I’ve compiled a list of options you should adjust and personalize.

For instance, enabling dark mode prolongs battery life while also improving the app’s appearance. Indeed, I even demonstrate how to prevent app icons from showing up on your home screen by default.

The rear of a telephone
Although it’s easy to overlook device settings, they’re crucial to getting your gadget just right.
Hoyle Andrew/CNET

Personalize your privacy settings.

Do yourself and your Android phone a favor before you go to bed: check your privacy settings one last time.

Select Privacy > Permissions Manager after launching the Settings application. Look through each category to find out which apps presently have access to which personal information. Do you want to prevent an app from accessing your location? Switch it off. The same is true for calendars, contacts, and cameras.

Going through each segment doesn’t take long, and even if it did, the effort would have been worthwhile.