How To Make Android Faster With Developer Options

Android has lots of tweaks available in its principal Settings app, likewise as the options panels in various apps. Simply did you know that the Developer options menu hides additional tools you lot can endeavour?

The Programmer options portion of Settings is hidden by default, only information technology's easy to reveal the menu and poke around inside. Let'southward dive into the all-time Android Developer options that you should check out.

How to Access Developer Options in Android

Android hides the Programmer options carte du jour by default. Because the options aren't necessary for normal use, this keeps inexperienced users from irresolute settings that could cease up harming their feel.

While we'll explain each setting as we go through them, be sure to watch what you tap in this carte du jour. Adjusting certain options past accident could effect in performance issues.

To unlock Programmer options, launch Settings and scroll all the way down to the About telephone section well-nigh the bottom. Tap this, then most the bottom of the resulting page, y'all should see the Build Number entry. Tap information technology several times until you see a bulletin that says You are at present a developer!

Once you practise this, get dorsum to the main Settings page and tap the Arrangement category. Expand the Advanced section (if necessary) and yous'll find a new Programmer options menu entry.

We used a Pixel 4 running Android 12 for this list. Go along in mind that this process (equally well equally the options in the card and their names) may differ if you have a phone from another manufacturer or run a dissimilar version of Android. Google likewise sometimes changes the settings in the Developer options card, so what'south here now might disappear in the time to come.

Now that you've opened this menu, what are the best Programmer options worth using? Since they are intended for software developers, not every option is relevant for the average user. Allow'southward wait at the most useful choices.

1. Stay Awake

With this option enabled, your phone's screen will stay on when plugged into a charger. For developers, this is useful for keeping an eye on your app over long periods of time, but normal users can take advantage of it, too.

If yous need to continue Twitter or a similar app open for alive updates without regularly tapping the screen to proceed it awake, this setting tin help. Just note that if y'all have an AMOLED screen, you should be careful about leaving the screen on for besides long to prevent screen burn-in.

ii. OEM Unlocking

As you may know, near Android devices give you the freedom to install a custom ROM, which replaces the default Bone with a new one. To practice this, yous must first unlock your bootloader. Without doing then, the flashing process—which overwrites the current Os—won't piece of work.

Annotation that enabling this setting does not really unlock the bootloader; it only gives the phone the ability to do so subsequently using fastboot commands. Thus, yous shouldn't enable this unless y'all program to install a custom ROM on your device. Having it turned on makes your phone more vulnerable.

3. Running Services

In Windows, you lot tin employ the Windows Task Manager to review current processes. Android doesn't accept an app equivalent to this, simply this Developer options entry is close. Running Services lets y'all view how much RAM currently running apps are using. Tap one to see each of its current processes and services in more detail.

While this is useful data, yous shouldn't worry about managing annihilation you see hither. Android does a fine task at handling RAM on its own, so you shouldn't need to arbitrate.

We recommend using this information for informational purposes but. If information technology seems like apps use also much RAM consistently, see how to properly manage retentiveness on your Android phone.

4. USB Debugging

No list of Android Developer options tips would be consummate without mention of USB debugging. It's essential for developers and useful for everyone else.

USB debugging lets your Android device interface with your computer by using certain commands. Paired up with the Android SDK on your computer, you tin can issue commands to your phone to install apps, collect logging information, or fifty-fifty root the device. Meet our full caption of USB debugging for more info.

Information technology'south a powerful function. But to stay secure, you should only enable this option when you need information technology, then turn it off afterward.

Android requires you to manually approve all USB debugging connections to new computers for condom. However, someone who stole your phone with USB debugging turned on could still mess with it by approving the connectedness to their own car. You can tap the Revoke USB debugging authorizations choice below the slider to reset all computers you've trusted in the by.

5. Select Mock Location App

It'due south no undercover that our phones regularly runway our location, which raises privacy concerns. But did yous know that Android is able to report fake locations instead of where yous really are? This setting requires you to install a dissever app that tin can create mock locations, such as Location Changer.

Once you take the app installed and selected from this Developer choice, y'all can use it to make your phone report that y'all're anywhere you similar. Even so, keep in mind that this simply spoofs GPS coordinates—apps and websites tin can detect where you lot really are through other information points, such as your IP address. You may wish to use a VPN on Android for boosted obfuscation of this information.

half-dozen. Feature Flags

You lot may recognize the term "flags" from other apps, like Google Chrome. They correspond experimental features that Google may add to stable releases in the hereafter or discard entirely. The Characteristic Flags menu is where you can look to find these features for Android.

At the time of writing, this bill of fare was empty on our Pixel 4 running Android 12. You lot may run into more options here at unlike times, especially if y'all're running a beta version of Android. Have a await every once in a while and encounter if at that place's anything you'd like to try.

vii. Force Peak Refresh Rate

Some newer Android devices, including the Pixel half-dozen line, have screens capable of outputting at high refresh rates. Historically, well-nigh phones take used 60Hz as standard, simply this is improving as devices become more powerful.

If your telephone dynamically changes refresh rates based on certain criteria, as modern Pixel devices do, you can force it to always utilise the loftier refresh rate with this option. Keep in listen that this will increase bombardment consumption, though.

As a companion choice, if you're curious to know what refresh rate your telephone is currently using, enable Show refresh charge per unit to display information technology all the time.

8. Mobile Information Always Active

With this choice on, even when your phone is connected to a Wi-Fi network, it will keep its mobile data connection alive. It does so to make network switching faster, which is user-friendly if y'all often switch between the 2.

Whether y'all should use this depends on your use case. Having mobile information on in the background will apply upwardly more than battery life, especially if you're in an area with poor reception. In such cases, yous might want to keep this Developer option off.

Even so, if you use Wi-Fi Calling, you should leave this enabled. Without it, calls will drop if you switch network types.

Too, if you oftentimes apply MMS to send picture letters, you shouldn't turn this off, as MMS doesn't piece of work on Wi-Fi for some carriers. It'southward best to leave it on and but plough it off if you desperately demand better battery life.

ix. Default USB Configuration

Android has several modes y'all tin can use when connected to a computer via USB. By default, information technology will only charge your device and you have to select a data transfer mode each time, which becomes tedious if y'all connect often.

Apply this option to select a default mode, including PTP, USB tethering, and others. For maximum security, though, you should leave this alone.

10. Disable Accented Book

By default, absolute Bluetooth volume is enabled on Android, which means that the volume buttons on your phone and your Bluetooth device both control the aforementioned volume level. Generally, this is convenient, only it can cause bug with some Bluetooth devices.

Turning absolute volume off (enabling this slider) means that your phone volume and the Bluetooth device will use two separate book levels. Effort doing then if your Bluetooth device's book doesn't piece of work properly with your phone, or if information technology'due south extremely loud or quiet. With absolute volume disabled, you can set your Bluetooth device'south volume to an acceptable level, then use your phone's book buttons for fine-tuned adjustments.

You may demand to disconnect and reconnect any Bluetooth devices, or even reboot your phone, for absolute volume changes to take effect.

11. Show Taps and Pointer Location

This pair of options lets you see more than about what you're touching on your telephone. When Show Taps is enabled, a small-scale circle appears on the screen wherever your finger touches. This can be useful in 2 situations.

The starting time is for accessibility—those who take difficulty with precise motion might appreciate having feedback of where they're touching. Having these circles is also useful if yous're creating a screencast from your phone, such as a tutorial. They allow viewers see exactly where you're touching.

For more than touch information, try enabling Pointer location. This volition show lines on the screen representing where you've touched, along with data most your inputs at the very top of the display. This could be useful if yous're testing to check why a part of your Android screen is not working.

12. Animation Scales

Depending on how fast your phone is, yous might not discover them, simply Android plays animations when opening or switching betwixt apps. Using the Window animation scale, Transition animation scale, and Animator duration calibration, yous can adjust how long these transitions have.

Endeavour setting these at ane.5x the normal speed (or college) if you'd like to make your Android device experience a bit snappier. However, depending on how speedy your device is, these animations might act to mask some hidden loading times when switching between apps. Thus, it might be best to change them back to normal if your phone seems clunky after speeding them up.

13. Override Force-Dark

Starting with Android x, the Bone has had a system-wide dark way. If you have it turned on at Settings > Brandish > Dark theme, compatible apps should too appear in dark mode, just not all apps support this yet. Enabling this slider makes all apps use a night mode, which is prissy if you hate light modes.

Keep in mind that results will vary, though. For instance, some apps still use light elements or accept text that'due south hard to read on a dark background. Requite it a try and see what your favorite apps look like. And in the meantime, don't forget to use the best Android dark mode apps that include the feature natively.

14. Don't Keep Activities

We include this Android Developer option as an educational case. When you enable this slider, Android volition destroy every app's procedure as soon as you lot leave it. Developers tin can use this to test how their app behaves nether different circumstances, and we can utilize it to see why you shouldn't constantly close apps on your Android device.

Regularly endmost apps manually, or using a task killer, destroys processes running in the background—processes that Android keeps live to make sure you can switch back to other apps quickly. This ends up forcing your phone to do more than work stopping and starting the process than it would if you lot had merely left information technology solitary.

You tin can enable this setting if yous desire to feel the awful operation that killing every app brings, simply you shouldn't get out it on in one case yous've tried it out.

15. Standby Apps

Modern versions of Android keep track of which apps y'all utilize the nigh frequently, assuasive your phone to allocate resources to apps according to the time you spend on them.

This usually happens in the background, but if y'all're curious what frequency your phone has assigned to each app or want to modify it, open this menu. Next to each app, you'll run across one of several values and tin can tap any entry to adapt its setting.

The settings are:

Agile: Apps that you're using now or take used very recently. These apps have no restrictions on background usage.
Working Set: The app runs often, just is not currently active. Usually, these are apps that you lot use daily. Android puts a few minor restrictions on these.
Frequent: Any app that you use often, but not every twenty-four hour period. This would include apps that you lot launch at regular times throughout the week. They have more restrictions than the above.
Rare: Apps that you don't use often, like those that yous only utilise at specific locations. Android puts a lot of restrictions on these apps.
Restricted: The app uses a lot of resource, is almost never used, or acts in a suspicious style.

If you've disabled Android's Doze optimization for whatever apps, you'll see them grayed out and the Exempt status listed.

In that location's as well a subconscious Never entry, which only applies to apps that y'all've installed but never opened. Android restricts these apps more than than any other category.

The Best Android Programmer Options for Everyone

There are enough of other settings in the Developer options menu, but about of them are useless unless y'all're developing Android apps. Information technology's great that Google provides these tools for developers, who would otherwise accept to jump through a lot of hoops to recreate certain conditions.

And fifty-fifty better, every bit we've seen, many of these Programmer options still take a purpose for the average user. Try them today to get fifty-fifty more from your Android telephone.

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