By now, nearly all Google Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X users have updated their phones to the latest Android Oreo operating system.
Just like any other OS upgrade, Android Oreo comes with a slew of new features, upgrades to previous features as well as performance enhancements when compared to the previous Android Nougat. In addition to these, Oreo also comes with its ugly side. Your Google Nexus 6P or Nexus 5X may start locking up, freezing, lagging and even sometimes randomly rebooting after installing the new OS.
Such performance problems can be annoying, but good for you, we have a few remedies that if applied, they can speed up your Google Nexus 6P or Nexus 5X and help you avoid having to deal with Google customer service.
Restart your phone
Never underestimate the power of a simple reboot. If you start noticing performance issues with your Google Nexus 6P or Nexus 5X, hit that power button and restart the phone. This can work magic, especially if you haven’t restarted your phone in a while.
Wipe the phone’s storage
Given that the Google Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X have been here since 2015, you must have accumulated lots of stuff on the phone’s storage. Some of these files might no longer be useful to you and it’s about time you wiped them off your phone. Whether it’s apps you rarely use, screenshots, downloaded photos or any other files in the storage, getting rid of them will for sure step up the performance levels of your phone.
The good side of the story is that Android Oreo makes life even easier by showing you what is taking up space on your phone. This can be done through Settings>Storage. There’s an even quicker way of wiping the storage by simply hitting the “Free up space” button that appears below the storage tally. There are even a few tips for you there, for instance, if there’s an app you haven’t used for long, you’ll be recommended to delete it.
Another nifty way of handling storage is to enable Smart Storage. This feature will scan your phone for old photos and videos and remove them. You can have it done after 30, 60 or 90 days.
Update your apps
If you are suddenly noticing poor app performance on your Google Nexus 6P or Nexus 5X, try checking the Google Play Store for app updates. Just like the OS itself, new apps have a good and bad side and more often than not, the latter will cause poor performance. Developers of these apps are always working out solutions and release them in new versions. Make sure your installed apps are all up to date. If the problems persist even after updating, you might also consider installing the older version because some issues are usually caused by new updates.
Check background apps
Android Oreo has a new feature that lets users of the Google Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X limit apps’ background activities. For instance, apps such as Facebook are always running in the background to ensure you don’t miss anything, but this can strain your phone’s resources. This function is enabled by default for all Oreo apps, otherwise, you will have to enable the feature via Settings>Battery and then tap on an app. If it still doesn’t support Oreo, a Background activity toggle will appear under the Manage battery usage option, which should be toggled off to prevent the app from running in the background.
Keep in mind that this will affect the normal operation of the app. For instance, you won’t be able to receive notifications, but this shouldn’t be a problem considering it’s a sacrifice for getting superior performance.
Rest your network settings
There are some people experiencing slow downloads on their Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X handsets after updating to Android Oreo. This isn’t strange at all and in fact, the fix is very simple. All you need is to reset your network settings. This can be done through Settings, System and then hit Reset. You should see Network settings reset option at the top. Tap on it and then hit Reset Settings, but make sure you have all the login details with you because they’ll be deleted.
Clear cached data
Even though most cached data helps in speeding up the execution of tasks, a lot of it can affect the overall device’s performance. So, if you really need to have cached data on your Google Nexus 6P or Nexus 5X, you’d rather keep data from apps you use frequently, otherwise, clear the data from apps you don’t use.
In Android Oreo, it’s no longer possible to delete all cached data at once, rather, you will be forced to tackle each app individually. This can be done through Settings> Apps & Notifications and select App info, where a list of installed apps will pop up. Make sure to only select apps you don’t use and once in, hit Storage>Clear cache.
Downgrade to Nougat or factory reset
If none of these tips are working, another great solution would be to downgrade to Android Nougat. Although it can be time-consuming, this could ensure that your phone goes back to using an OS that was perfect. Alternatively, a factory reset should also help breathe new life into your Google Nexus 6P or Nexus 5X.
When you do a factory reset, the phone will go back to its original factory defaults and wipe all files stored on the phone. With this in mind, it’s recommended that you create a backup of your files before proceeding with the factory reset.