Your Android device most probable came with 64GB (or more) of storage, but it'southward the RAM that really affects what you can practice with it. Most high-end Android devices ship with 2GB or more of RAM, but some cheaper devices might accept only 1GB of RAM or even 512MB in some cases.

But tin can y'all add RAM to a phone similar you can with a PC?

Why Does Your Telephone Need More RAM?

The importance of additional RAM cannot be overstated.

While more storage infinite gives you more media and app storage, additional RAM helps the processor to piece of work faster. This aids media creation and playback besides equally running apps and games more than efficiently.

For case, some playback bug are erroneously blamed on a slow internet connection. In truth, they could exist speeded upwards with boosted RAM, rather than faster wireless.

How Does RAM Swapping Increase Telephone RAM?

On a desktop estimator or laptop, y'all tin can dedicate a portion of hard disk drive space to increase RAM. This is known every bit a bandy file and takes advantage of costless space on your HDD or SSD when RAM fills up. Rather than discard the data, it is stored on your drive.

Windows ten has avant-garde swap file direction which mean you will probably never need to adjust the settings. If you lot did, still, y'all would exist able to increment the portion of your HDD or SSD allocated for bandy file purposes.

The same can be done on Android to effectively increase RAM.

While the underlying principle is the aforementioned, the execution of this on Android differs. You'll need defended software to make it work. You'll also need to root your device.

By default, sure files and permissions are blocked in Android. By rooting the device, you lot proceeds control of the entire operating organisation and hardware. This enables y'all to access otherwise restricted files and hardware, as well as install and run specialist software.

While easier than it used to exist, rooting tin can be a difficult process. But if you want to increment RAM on your Android phone or tablet, information technology is necessary to root the device first.

What You Demand to Increase Android Phone or Tablet RAM

Using the swap file method of increasing RAM on Android has iii main components:

  • A quality microSD carte du jour (class 4 or higher is best)
  • A rooted Android phone or tablet
  • An app for managing the swap file

While rooting Android is straightforward, it may not be enough. Some phones (due east.g. the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4) limit swap file size at the kernel level. This ways that no corporeality of rooting and bandy file management volition increase RAM on your Android.

Instead, you'll need to buy a new phone.

To relieve time investigating whether you can manually increase Android RAM, use a checking app. A proficient example is MemoryInfo & Swapfile Cheque.

Download: MemoryInfo & Swapfile Check (Complimentary)

Simply run the app and tap Get-go RAMExpander Test Here to brainstorm checking. If increasing the swap file is possible, the app will betoken this with a bulletin of "Congratulations", along with the maximum possible increase.

Y'all'll notice that this is a useful utility that also lists various RAM and storage details.

Choose a Good Quality SD Card to Increment RAM

If your phone or tablet'southward swap file can be tweaked, it's time to consider your phone'south microSD card. As noted above, this needs to be a fast and resilient card.

Don't just buy any former microSD carte. Instead, spend a little extra on some storage that is more than resilient, which will result in better reliability. Check the rating on box when buying a new microSD carte - Class 4 minimum is recommended, but Class 10 is the all-time.

And be sure to lookout out for fake microSD cards. Bad quality SD cards bring several disadvantages to your Android telephone

Beware: Using an SD card to increment RAM in your Android device will result reduced lifespan of the media.

Information technology is important to notation that some phones will not let external storage (your microSD card) to exist used for swap file. If your phone has sufficient internal storage, withal, this tin be used instead, but its lifespan can be similarly reduced.

Two Apps That Increment RAM on Android Phones and Tablets

While it is possible to manually specify the swap file on your Android device, you might find it easier to use an app:

  • Swapper - ROOT (Complimentary)
  • Costless Swapper for Root (Gratuitous)
  • AMemoryBoost (Swap enabler) (Free)

Note that these are all advertising-supported options.

Both apps piece of work in the aforementioned way:

  1. Launch the app
  2. Create a swap file
  3. Specify the size of the required swap file
  4. Choose the location for the swap file (external microSD card or internal storage)
  5. Wait for the swap file to exist created

You may need to reboot your phone after completion for the bandy file to initialize.

Call up to leave the app installed for as long as yous require the bandy file to piece of work.

No Root? Practice Better Android Retentiveness Management

If your phone cannot be rooted, or your telephone'due south manufacturer has placed limits on manual swap file management, all is not lost.

Gaining a amend thought of Android memory management can make it seem equally if you have increased RAM without doing so. This involves things like using lightweight versions of apps, uninstalling apps yous no longer use, and fugitive things similar RAM boosters and task killers. These don't work quite as described---if anything, they run in the background, actively using RAM!

Find out more in our guide to managing retentiveness on Android.

Does Increasing RAM Improve Your Android'due south Performance?

If you've been successful in allocating a portion of your telephone'due south SD menu to RAM, yous should instant results. If you're a great mobile gamer, you should find that games previously incompatible will now run.

Beyond this, the device should be more than useful and productive than e'er. This comes with a trade-off, however.

You now need to go along an middle on your storage. This is now essentially smaller than before, thanks to the swap file allotment. With less infinite dedicated to files and media, information technology will fill quicker than expected. Avert this by keeping your data synced to your favorite mobile cloud storage.

viii Google Drive for Android Features You Should Be Using

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Virtually The Author

Christian Cawley (1593 Manufactures Published)

Deputy Editor for Security, Linux, DIY, Programming, and Tech Explained, and Really Useful Podcast producer, with extensive experience in desktop and software support. A contributor to Linux Format mag, Christian is a Raspberry Pi tinkerer, Lego lover and retro gaming fan.

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