After enabling these 6 developer settings, my phone feels twice as fast

Out of the box, a new Android phone will work fine. It doesn’t matter whether it’s built by Motorola, Samsung, or Google; it’s designed to work right out of the box.

Still, customization is key to Android, and I change a few crucial settings right away to improve my experience.

However, some of the most important settings are buried in Android’s developer settings. These hidden tweaks make a huge difference to my Android experience, so I always enable them immediately after setting up a new phone.

Enable developer options first

Hidden, but easy to enable

Enabling developer options won’t void your phone’s warranty, but be mindful of some settings. Some settings (not included in this list) can dramatically change how your phone works for debugging purposes, so leave them alone.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Scroll down and tap About Phone.
3. Scroll down and tap Build number seven times until you see the pop-up message.
   

   

You’ll find the developer options in the System sub-menu of the Settings app. Now that it’s enabled, we can dive into my favorite developer settings to change.

Limiting background processes boosts performance

At the cost of slower notifications

As Android becomes increasingly bloated, I’ve become obsessed with finding ways to counteract the worst of its excesses.

Whether that’s by saving 7GB of space by disabling one preinstalled app, or freeing up 2GB of RAM, I’m constantly finding ways to improve my phone’s performance.

To achieve the latter, I always disable background processes on Android. While some notifications arrive more slowly as a result, the overall performance boost is worth it.

1. Open Developer options.
2. Scroll down and tap Background process limit.
3. Select No background processes from the pop-up window.
   

   

Enabling USB debugging rescues broken phones

A crucial failsafe everyone should enable

USB debugging lets me issue commands and retrieve files from my Android phone via a USB connection. It functions as a fail-safe if I can’t interact with my Android phone. It doesn’t impact performance and takes seconds to set up.

1. Open Developer options.
2. Scroll down and toggle on the USB debugging switch.
3. Toggle on the Disable adb authorization timeout switch.
   

   

Next, I plug my phone into my computer and approve the connection. By following step 3, I don’t need to re-authorize the connection each time, which is crucial if I can’t interact with my phone.

Doubling animation speed to ‘speed up’ my phone

The simplest trick to make a slow phone feel faster

No matter how powerful an Android phone I use, actions like opening apps are limited by animation speeds. Whether I’m using a budget Samsung Galaxy A-Series or a Google Pixel Pro phone, this setting makes my phones feel twice as fast.

1. Open Developer options.
2. Scroll down and tap Transition animation scale.
3. Select Animation scale .5x
   

   

While this setting doesn’t make my phones run faster, the visual trickery makes it feel like it does.

Tracking app memory usage with memory profiling

Vital when I’m setting up a new phone

Unlike the other settings I enable, I disable memory profiling after a few weeks. I use it to monitor my phone’s performance as I install and use new apps; it identifies which apps are using the most memory.

1. Open Developer options.
2. Scroll down and tap Memory.
3. Toggle on Enable memory usage profiling.
4. Select 1 day from the drop-down menu.
   

   

This setting requires a restart, but it’s invaluable for tracking my phone’s performance as I start using it and identifying problems before I forget about them.

Disabling absolute volume for greater control

Bluetooth earbud users must use this setting

While I use a pair of Pixel Buds Pro 2 as my regular earbuds, I’m constantly trying out and testing new pairs. But when each pair of Bluetooth earbuds or headphones has different maximum volume levels, songs sound different each time.

Disabling absolute volume lets me adjust my phone and earbud volume separately, allowing for greater utility and higher volume.

1. Open Developer options.
2. Scroll down and tap Bluetooth.
3. Toggle on the Disable absolute volume switch.
   

   

Forcing peak refresh rate for the best visuals

At the cost of increased battery usage

I change this setting on any Android phone I use that has a variable refresh rate capped at 120Hz or higher. To save battery, Android adjusts the refresh rate to keep things smooth, but I like to have the best visuals at all times.

Paired with the animation speed changes described earlier, this setting makes any phone feel faster than I think it can. It does drain the battery faster, so I disable it for long journeys.

1. Open Developer options.
2. Scroll down and toggle on the Force peak refresh rate switch.

Developer options unlock any phone’s true capabilities

I don’t touch 90% of the developer options on any phone. Most are only relevant for developers, so toggling them brings me absolutely no benefit.

However, the other 10% are useful settings that let me use my phone how I want with little or no drawbacks. There are many more to be found than those I listed here, but these have the biggest impact.