This guide will walk you through a variety of quick solutions for how to fix a Samsung tablet that’s slow and laggy, has slowed down after an update, or takes a long time to open Android apps and perform tasks.

Why Is My Samsung Tablet So Slow?

A slow Samsung tablet is usually the result of:

Samsung tablets are different than stock Android tablets so, while some of the tips on this page can be applied to Android tablets, all of them are written with Samsung devices in mind.

  • Too many apps or services running in the backgroundA lack of memory or storage, or an app optimized for a more powerful deviceAn out-of-date operating system/appMalware

How Can I Make My Samsung Tablet Run Faster?

Here are all of the tried and true solutions for dealing with a slow Samsung tablet and helping it run faster. It’s best to work through these fixes in the order presented below.

  • Restart your Samsung tablet. A quick restart can give your tablet a bit of a refresh and improve its performance.
  • Run Samsung’s Optimize feature. Select Settings > Battery and device care > Optimize now to simultaneously close background apps, scan for malware, and detect any battery issues which might be slowing down your Samsung tablet.
  • Check the app’s requirements. Open the app’s page in the Google Play Store or Galaxy App Store and see if it requires a more powerful tablet to run.
  • Change the app’s settings. If an app is running slowly on your Samsung tablet, open its settings menu and see if you can reduce its resolution, animations, and graphics to help it run faster. Not all Samsung tablets are designed for running all video games.
  • Update your Samsung tablet’s operating system. System updates often include a variety of performance improvements which can help Samsung tablets run faster.
  • Check for app updates. One or more of your tablet’s Android apps may have a bug using up a lot of the processing power.
  • Close all open apps. Especially on cheaper and older Samsung tablet models, having multiple apps running at the same time can slow your device down.
  • Minimizing an app isn’t the same as closing it. When you minimize an app or switch to another one, it’s still open in the background.
  • Check available storage. Select Settings > Battery and device care > Storage to see if your Samsung tablet’s storage space is almost full. You can also delete files from this screen to free up space.
  • Delete or move photos and videos from your Samsung tablet. Free up space on your tablet by deleting personal files or transferring them to a disk or cloud storage service.
  • Uninstall unused apps. Removing apps you no longer use is a very effective way of freeing up space which in turn can help Samsung tablets run faster.
  • Use a single home screen. Move all your app icons and widgets to the front Home screen so your Samsung tablet doesn’t have to process multiple icon layouts.
  • Remove Android app widgets. Widgets can also slow down a Samsung tablet so try removing some until you notice a performance improvement.
  • Disable background tasks. Select Battery and device care > Memory > Clean now to turn off background tasks.
  • Turn off your VPN. Your VPN, if you use one, could be slowing down your Samsung tablet. If this works, you may want to consider switching to another VPN provider.
  • Perform another restart. Restarting your tablet again after performing any of the above fixes can make a big difference.
  • Factory reset your Samsung tablet. As a last resort, you may need to return your tablet to its as-new state. This will remove all of its files and apps so make sure to back up everything you want to keep.

Restart your Samsung tablet. A quick restart can give your tablet a bit of a refresh and improve its performance.

Run Samsung’s Optimize feature. Select Settings > Battery and device care > Optimize now to simultaneously close background apps, scan for malware, and detect any battery issues which might be slowing down your Samsung tablet.

Check the app’s requirements. Open the app’s page in the Google Play Store or Galaxy App Store and see if it requires a more powerful tablet to run.

Change the app’s settings. If an app is running slowly on your Samsung tablet, open its settings menu and see if you can reduce its resolution, animations, and graphics to help it run faster. Not all Samsung tablets are designed for running all video games.

Update your Samsung tablet’s operating system. System updates often include a variety of performance improvements which can help Samsung tablets run faster.

Check for app updates. One or more of your tablet’s Android apps may have a bug using up a lot of the processing power.

Close all open apps. Especially on cheaper and older Samsung tablet models, having multiple apps running at the same time can slow your device down.

Minimizing an app isn’t the same as closing it. When you minimize an app or switch to another one, it’s still open in the background.

Check available storage. Select Settings > Battery and device care > Storage to see if your Samsung tablet’s storage space is almost full. You can also delete files from this screen to free up space.

Delete or move photos and videos from your Samsung tablet. Free up space on your tablet by deleting personal files or transferring them to a disk or cloud storage service.

Uninstall unused apps. Removing apps you no longer use is a very effective way of freeing up space which in turn can help Samsung tablets run faster.

Use a single home screen. Move all your app icons and widgets to the front Home screen so your Samsung tablet doesn’t have to process multiple icon layouts.

Remove Android app widgets. Widgets can also slow down a Samsung tablet so try removing some until you notice a performance improvement.

Disable background tasks. Select Battery and device care > Memory > Clean now to turn off background tasks.

Turn off your VPN. Your VPN, if you use one, could be slowing down your Samsung tablet. If this works, you may want to consider switching to another VPN provider.

Perform another restart. Restarting your tablet again after performing any of the above fixes can make a big difference.

Factory reset your Samsung tablet. As a last resort, you may need to return your tablet to its as-new state. This will remove all of its files and apps so make sure to back up everything you want to keep.

  • How do I defrag a Samsung tablet?
  • Samsung tablets don’t really have a defrag option like Windows PCs do but you can still clean up files on these Android tablets by selecting Settings > Battery and device care > Optimize now.
  • How do I fix a constantly restarting Samsung tablet?
  • The first thing you should try if your Samsung tablet is stuck in the boot cycle is charging it. Connect the power cable, and then press and hold the Power button until the device shuts down. You can also enter Android System Recovery Mode by starting up the tablet, while holding Volume Up and Power. Select Wipe cache partition, and then restart the tablet. The most extreme fix is to reset the tablet to factory settings.

Samsung tablets don’t really have a defrag option like Windows PCs do but you can still clean up files on these Android tablets by selecting Settings > Battery and device care > Optimize now.

The first thing you should try if your Samsung tablet is stuck in the boot cycle is charging it. Connect the power cable, and then press and hold the Power button until the device shuts down. You can also enter Android System Recovery Mode by starting up the tablet, while holding Volume Up and Power. Select Wipe cache partition, and then restart the tablet. The most extreme fix is to reset the tablet to factory settings.

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