How to overclock an Android smartphone through the developer menu
The slowness of Android compared to iOS has always been a myth that for some reason millions of people believed. It’s just that Apple’s designers hid the delay from launching the application to its actual opening with animation, but Google didn’t think of this. A similar myth is Android's tendency to become clogged and slow down after some time of use. They say that system clusters become clogged and can no longer provide the previous level of performance. But no one says that it is usually the old devices that “slow down” and only in comparison with the new ones. But this does not mean that it is impossible to overclock Android at all. Can.
It is possible to overclock Android. There are special parameters for this in the OS settings
Android has what is called a developer menu. Despite the fact that it is really intended for software creators, ordinary users really like to turn it on, and then configure and change something there, supposedly improving the performance of their device. Often this is, of course, completely wrong. However, there are several add-ons that can speed up Android at least a little, making it a little more responsive, faster and more flexible. The main thing is not to overdo it.
Smartphones have reached the limit: what should Samsung and Apple do next?
You no longer need new smartphones. Of course, some of them are getting larger screens in more compact bodies. Cameras keep getting better if you look very closely. It’s hard not to know how popular last year’s Samsung Galaxy S8 and iPhone X models turned out to be. Many were confident that such luxurious devices would generate a wave of purchases to replace the smartphones people already owned. The reality is that more and more people in developed countries decide not to change smartphones every year. Or even every two years. In the US and some other countries, two-year contracts are no longer popular and you have to pay the entire price at once. The devices have become more durable and no longer cause such a stir even among geeks, the biggest fans of technology. Taking care of your smartphones is good for your wallet and also good for the environment. This means that users and manufacturers are starting to treat mobile devices like cars. The popularity of smartphones may have reached its peak. Global shipments in 2022 decreased by 0.1%. A decline in smartphone production was recorded for the first time in history, according to research company IDC. In the US, shipments increased by 1.6%, but this is the minimum increase in history. In 2015, Americans replaced their smartphones an average of 23.6 months after purchase, says Kantar WorldPanel. By the end of 2017, this period had increased to 25.3 months. Gartner analyst believes that smartphones have become more cherished than before. Modern models in most cases are able to take care of the everyday needs of their users. In February, Apple reported its first-ever decline in iPhone sales in the fourth quarter of the year. During the pre-New Year holidays, sales and profits are always the highest; this time 77.3 million smartphones were produced compared to 78.3 million in 2016. Perhaps the reason is that this year smartphones were sold one week less than a year earlier, but we can still conclude that a new purchase cycle has not arrived. Apple CEO Tim Cook said on the earnings call that the company doesn't pay too much attention to how often users buy smartphones. According to him, Apple is very pleased with the reception of the iPhone X. One of the main reasons for the change in user behavior is that smartphones are similar to each other. IDC believes that consumers are expecting something unusual both in appearance and in the capabilities of new devices. Some of the latest big innovations, like augmented reality, have come through software. The iPhone X uses cameras to recognize smartphone owners and their surroundings, but it will be some time before more interesting uses for these cameras emerge. The increase in the lifespan of smartphones can be considered a compliment for Apple, Samsung and other manufacturers. This is a sign of quality, thanks to which the devices are less subject to wear. The addition of protection against water and dust also improves durability. A slower update cycle won't necessarily lead to financial problems for Apple and Samsung. Their smartphones are becoming more expensive every year and the price has already exceeded $1000 for the iPhone X and Galaxy Note 8. It is for this reason that Apple’s profits continue to grow. In addition, they sell accessories like Samsung Gear VR and Apple HomePod, services like Apple Music. Still, owners of longer-lasting smartphones may have new needs. In December, Apple created demand for replacement iPhone batteries when it admitted that its software was slowing down devices with worn-out batteries. She offered to replace the batteries at a discount, resulting in orders lining up months in advance. This shows how many people are willing to repair their existing smartphone instead of buying a new one. One analyst estimates that replacing batteries at discounted prices will cost Apple $10 billion in unsold smartphones. In addition, Apple stores offer not only battery replacement, but also complete setup of the smartphone. It sounds like a car service. Software and hardware require maintenance, especially after long periods of use. Samsung is also starting to offer similar services. Smartphone manufacturers should consider software updates that take longer to reach older smartphones. iOS 12 will appear in the fall, but it will not be available on the iPhone 5S. Apple and Google want to develop features that will turn smartphones into full-fledged computers, but to do this, the new models need fast processors. So there is a limit to how long you can hang on to old devices. One analyst believes that the update cycle will not exceed three years. Even then, the smartphone market will become similar to the computer and laptop market. On the other hand, people upgrade their smartphones as a reflection of their personality since they always have them with them, unlike computers. Additionally, the fear of missing out on new innovations and new business models from manufacturers and carriers can drive the upgrade cycle. Statistics showed that in 2017, the average age of smartphone retirees increased by 78 days to 2.59 years. We can only hope that the future development of smartphones will not disappoint. A major leap in battery development is the most welcome innovation to change your smartphone for. Unfortunately, there are many technological obstacles along the way. Most likely, the next major update will be the spread of 5G cellular networks, thanks to which the speed of mobile Internet will increase significantly. Smartphones will remain with us for many years, as happened with computers and laptops. Perhaps someday a completely new technology will appear that we will decide to fork out for.
>Heroes & Generals - Problem Solving
Android Developer Settings
First, we need to activate the developers menu. If you already have it, go straight to the third point of the instructions, and if not, start from the first. But remember that activating these options may result in increased resource consumption and reduced battery life.
All necessary options are hidden in the developers menu
Activate these three options and disable animation
Heroes & Generals won't launch. Error during startup. Solution
Heroes and Generals is installed, but simply refuses to work. What should I do?
Does Heroes & Generals show any error after crashing? If so, what is its text? Perhaps it doesn't support your video card or some other hardware? Or does it not have enough RAM?
Remember that the developers themselves are interested in building a system for describing errors when a crash occurs in their games. They need this to understand why their project is not running during testing.
Be sure to write down the error text. If you do not speak a foreign language, then contact the official Heroes and Generals developer forum. It will also be useful to take a look at large gaming communities and, of course, our FAQ.
If Heroes & Generals does not start, we recommend that you try to disable your antivirus or put the game in the antivirus exceptions, and also check again for compliance with the system requirements and if something from your build does not comply, then, if possible, improve your PC by purchasing more powerful ones components.
How to speed up Android
You can overclock Android both in games and when working with the interface
These three parameters can really overclock the interface of your smartphone. Here's how it happens:
GPU acceleration activates the graphics accelerator when rendering 2D elements. It would seem, why is this necessary at all? Meanwhile, the entire interface of your smartphone and most websites consist entirely of 2D elements. By activating acceleration, you will force the smartphone to use the graphics coprocessor when processing all these components, and since there are quite a lot of them in everyday life, the performance increase will be noticeable in most tasks.
Enabling the 4x MSAA can directly impact your gaming experience. Whether you're running a 2D or 3D game on your device, this option enhances edge detail by minimizing ripples and judder at the edges of drawn objects. The result is a smoother rendering of visible graphics components. If you want, this is a very cheap analogue of the 120 Hz mode, which increases the refresh rate and makes the picture smoother.
Files, drivers and libraries
Almost every device in a computer requires a set of special software. These are drivers, libraries and other files that ensure the correct operation of the computer.
You should start with the drivers for your video card. Modern graphics cards are made by only two large companies - Nvidia and AMD. Having found out which product drives the coolers in the system unit, we go to the official website and download the latest driver package:
A prerequisite for the successful functioning of Heroes and Generals is the availability of the latest drivers for all devices in the system. Download Driver Updater to quickly and easily download the latest drivers and install them with one click:
- download Driver Updater and run the program;
- scan the system (usually it takes no more than five minutes);
- Update outdated drivers with one click.
WinOptimizer will remove all unnecessary files and clean the registry
When you are finished with the drivers, you can start installing the latest libraries - DirectX and .NET Framework. They are used in one way or another in almost all modern games:
Another important thing is the Visual C++ extension libraries, which are also required for Heroes & Generals to work. There are a lot of links, so we decided to make a separate list for them:
- (Download Service Pack 1)
- (Download Service Pack 1)
- (Download Service Pack 1)
- (Download Service Pack 1)
If you've made it this far, congratulations! The most boring and routine part of preparing your computer for gaming is complete. Next, we will look at typical problems that arise in games, and also briefly outline ways to solve them.
Increase the performance of your smartphone
Even speeding up the Android interface is a big deal
Disabling hardware overlay allows the graphics coprocessor to be used when rendering screen components, which frees up the CPU resource so that it is no longer loaded on basic tasks. It may seem that this parameter completely contradicts the first one, but this is not entirely true. Or rather, not at all like that. They are simply responsible for different processes.
Change exposed passwords. What does this mean and how to react
Changing the speed of animation is a purely visual, or, if you like, cosmetic indicator. It doesn't actually make apps launch faster, it just removes the default animation that fills the gap between when an app launches and when it's activated. But if before there really was such a void, and it needed to be filled with something, then modern smartphones practically do not allow it. As a result, applications seem to take a little longer to launch due to animation.
Source
Clean up your Android desktop
Everyone cleans their house from time to time. The same needs to be done on an Android device. If you have live wallpapers on your desktop, widgets showing you the news, weather, social networks, then you may notice a slight slowdown when moving between tables. If you have renderers like Bixdy enabled, consider disabling it .
Installing a launcher very often helps make the device cleaner. I personally try to limit my smartphone desktop to one desktop. This will not speed up Android, but it will speed up my work with my smartphone, since I can quickly go to the desired application.
How to Speed Up Any Android Phone with a Secret Tweak
Today we will talk about the Android developer mode, the functionality of which can be accessed by absolutely every user of a device of this operating system. To do this, you just need to activate this mode using a secret action.
So, go to “Settings” and open the item “Phone information” → “Software information”.
We find here the item “Build Number”.
To enable developer mode, click on it 7 times in a row. The system will notify us several times about the current stage of enabling the mode, after which it will notify us of activation.
We return to the previous settings page and see that a new “Developer Options” item has appeared in the menu.
Now you can independently control the operation of your device and more flexibly configure various system parameters, such as:
Customize your desktop
Try to refuse various system improvements. All these widgets, live wallpapers and other visual effects put a lot of stress on the system. Place a static image, remove unnecessary widgets and leave a minimum of shortcuts on the desktop.
All this can help your smartphone be faster. Ideally, of course, you would leave one desktop screen altogether and not use any widgets, but this is a completely radical option; you can get by with what is described above.
Of course, as a result of some of the above actions you will lose certain functionality. But if you have an old smartphone, you can use it. However, it is not necessary to complete all the points; even a few of them will help your device work a little faster.
Setting up the graphics accelerator
Setting up the graphics accelerator will help us speed up the system.
All applications, depending on the developer, can be processed either by the main processor or by the graphics accelerator. Using developer mode, we can force the device to process all applications using the graphics accelerator, thereby unloading the main processor when working with applications.
This option is located in the Hardware Render Acceleration option menu, but depending on the version of Android and your device model, it may be called differently (Force GPU Rendering, GPU Rendering, or GPU Acceleration). Its task is to activate forced rendering of the application interface using the GPU.
The only drawback of this feature is a slight increase in RAM consumption when working with applications. But for most modern smartphones that have a large supply of RAM, this can be completely neglected in order to improve the smoothness and speed of operation.
The second item that speeds up the system is “Disable hardware overlay,” which also allows you to connect GPU resources when composing the screen, freeing up the main processor.
The last menu item of the “Hardware rendering acceleration” parameter, which allows you to speed up the device, is “Enable 4x MSAA” (“Force 4xMSAA”). The setting adds detail to contours, reducing ripples, making games look smoother.
Hardware rendering acceleration
Working with graphics. In addition to developers, it can be useful for problems with 3D.
GPU acceleration. Involves constant use of the graphics chip for 2D processing.
Show screen updates.
Blinking highlights areas of the interface processed by the GPU.
Show hardware updates.
Highlights elements processed by hardware in green.
Debugging overlay. Highlights areas where GUI elements overlap each other.
See also: Huawei P50 may be delayed due to the release of “budget” flagship smartphones
Debugging operations of truncation of complex shapes. Selecting elements of complex shape in the GUI.
Enable 4x MSAA. Enables 4x image smoothing. Makes the picture smoother, but loads the chip.
Disable hardware overlays. Uses the GPU to process overlays.
Simulate an anomaly. Adapts color rendering for people with impaired color perception. Monochrome mode can be useful for devices with OLED screens in reading mode (when color pictures are not needed), since it saves battery.
Visualizer. Selecting a graphics processing engine. The item is not available on all smartphones.
Animation settings
Another item in the developer mode menu that can help speed up your smartphone is setting animation in the “Rendering” parameter.
By default, on all Android devices, the “Window Animation”, “Transition Animation” and “Animation Duration” items are set to “1X”. To speed up the work of opening windows, you should reduce this value to 0.5 x or even turn off the animation completely.
This life hack will allow you to reduce the time it takes to switch between windows and you will immediately be able to feel the difference in the speed of opening applications on your smartphone.
Rendering
A set of settings regarding the interface. Useful mainly for developers; inexperienced users are of little interest, except for the last point.
Show surface updates. Shows interface elements that are updating using flickers.
Show element borders. Displays the borders of interface elements.
Mirror interface. Forces switches, sliders and checkboxes to the right, and aligns text to the left.
Window animation. Animation speed in application windows.
Transition animation. Animation speed when switching between items/programs.
Duration of the animation. Almost the same as the previous point.
Emulation of additional screens. Displaying an additional screen on top of the main one, with a duplicated interface.
Minimum width. The most useful item is needed to control the scale of the interface. If the elements are too large, you can increase the DPI; if the elements are very small, you can decrease it (minimum 320). The function is available in Android 7 and later.
How to enable developer mode on Android
Developer mode on Android is a special set of features that is inactive and hidden by default. Once activated, it provides access to a set of auxiliary settings and features. Among them: additional items for working with smartphone hardware and software, tools for debugging, logging, creating reports, diagnosing the device, etc.
In most cases, the functions of the developer mode are of little interest to the average user, since they are intended primarily for professionals: programmers, firmware developers, application creators and service center technicians. But sometimes the need to use developer mode arises for the average user. You cannot do without turning to the functions hidden in this section when you need to enable USB debugging, enable bootloader unlocking, or show touches on the screen (for example, to record screencasts). Read below on how to activate this mode and get into its menu.
Applications
This subsection is responsible for working with applications.
Displacement of background activities. Deletes application data after completion.
Limit of background processes. Limits the number of processes that are simultaneously active in the background.
Background check. Shows processes that are running in the background.
All ANR. Enables notifications that the application is frozen and unresponsive.
Show alert channel alerts. Enables display of notifications outside the valid channel.
Inactive applications. Shows and allows you to change the status of active/inactive applications.
Allow saving to external storage devices. You can install applications on a flash drive, even if the flash drive does not have support. May help on devices with small (8-16 GB) memory.
Resizing in multi-window mode. Allows you to forcefully resize application windows in multi-window mode.
Enable MIUI optimization. An item available in the developer menu on Xiaomi. It improves system performance, so it is active, but disabling it can be useful for some bugs.
Notify about dangerous functions. Available on Xiaomi. Warns if an application exhibits unusual and suspicious activity.
How to enable developer mode on Android
On Android 4.1 and below, the “For Developers” item is located in the settings menu. In new OS versions it is hidden by default.
To activate it, from Android 4.2 to Android 7.1, go to settings and find the “About phone” section (at the end of the settings menu). Find the “Build number” item there and quickly click on it 7 times in a row.
A message will appear on the screen telling you how many times you have left to click. Continue until you see the “You are now a developer!” notification.
After this, the “For Developers” section will appear in the main settings menu.
How to activate the “For Developers” item on Android 8 and 9
On Android 8.0 and later, to enable the developer menu, go to the "System" section (the last item in the settings menu). In this section, find the sub-item “About phone” (also at the very bottom).
By clicking on the “Build number” line 7 times, you will receive a notification that you have become a developer.
The “For Developers” item will appear in the “System” section of the main settings menu.
Developer mode in MIUI on Xiaomi
In MIUI firmware on Xiaomi, the developer menu is activated in a similar way. The “About phone” item is the first one in the settings menu. Go into it and find the “MIUI Version” parameter. By quickly tapping on it 7 times in a row, the notification “You have become a developer!” will appear on the screen.
After activating the mode, go to the main settings menu and find the “Advanced settings” item there (in the “System and device” group). The “For Developers” menu is at the end of the list, it is the third item from the bottom.
Menu Features Overview for Developers
The functions in the developer menu are grouped into categories. A brief description of each of them is below. Some options are not present in all smartphones, but since developer mode is part of the kernel, most options are available regardless of the firmware (pure Android, MIUI, EMUI, Flyme, etc.).
Memory . Displays the average RAM consumption of the Android OS and applications over the last period of use.
Bug report . Can be interactive and detailed. The first allows you to take a screenshot, supplement it with information about the problem, and track the status. Detailed – collects detailed information about the system, covering many parameters. Used if the smartphone works poorly, does not respond to actions or is very slow.
Backup password . Allows you to set a password to protect your backup data.
Don't turn off the screen . Leaves the screen backlight constantly active when the device is charging.
Enable HCI Bluetooth Log . Allows you to save Bluetooth HCI data packets to the log file BTSNOOP_HCI.log (file location differs on different smartphones and OS versions). Using special software, you can analyze the log data, for example, determine in what mode the sound is transmitted to the headphones (SBC, AAC, aptX, etc.).
Factory unlock . Allows/prohibits unlocking the bootloader on devices with a locked bootloader. Activation is required, for example, to install unofficial firmware.
Working applications . List of running programs and display of system resource consumption by each of them.
Color mode . Activates the SRGB color scheme.
WebView service . Selecting an engine for processing web pages by applications that do not have standard browser functions.
Automatic system updates . Enables installation of system updates when the device is rebooted.
Debugging
The “Debugging” mode items are responsible for debugging the operation of the OS from a PC via a USB cable.
USB debugging . Enable/disable support for debugging from your computer.
Revoke access . Prevent computers from which debugging was previously carried out from interfering with the system.
Bug report . Displays the corresponding key in the menu.
Select a dummy location app . Responsible for selecting an application that transmits false location coordinates (Fake GPS).
Enable attribute checking . Enables attribute checking in debug mode.
Select application to debug . Selecting a specific application for debugging. Useful for programmers and software developers.
Wait for the debugger to connect . The item is inactive until the application for debugging is specified.
Check the application during installation . Checking application security when installed via ADB/ADT.
Log buffer size . Responsible for the size of the buffer into which the debugging process log is written.
Debugging the GPU . Enables loading of GPU debug layers.
Tracking system updates . Monitor and analyze workflows to improve OS performance.
This section of the developer menu is responsible for wired and wireless (USB, BT, Wi-Fi) connections.
Certification of wireless monitors . Displays WiDi/Miracast display certification options.
Detailed Wi-Fi Log . Extended log for network connections.
Switch to mobile network . Automatically switches to mobile. Internet if Wi-Fi is bad.
Always enable searching for Wi-Fi networks . The smartphone searches for networks even when using EDGE/3G/4G.
Don't turn off your mobile internet . Keeps the EDGE/3G/LTE connection always active, even when Wi-Fi is running. Useful when your Wi-Fi connection is unstable.
Hardware acceleration in modem mode . Using acceleration when connecting as a modem. May be useful when internet speed is low.
USB Configuration . PC connection mode: charging, MTP (data transfer), PTP (in camera mode), RNDIS (network card), audio source, MIDI (sound synthesizer).
Show Bluetooth devices without names . Displays the MAC addresses of available wireless gadgets.
Disable absolute volume level . Disable absolute volume level. May help if BT headphones play too soft/loud.
Enable in-band playback . Transmits sound signals from the phone to headphones. Activate if the headset does not report an incoming call or message.
Bluetooth version AVRCP . Selecting the control signal protocol version. The change sometimes helps if the smartphone does not respond correctly to button presses (pause, rewind, volume) of wireless headphones/speakers.
Audio codec for transmission via Bluetooth . Selecting the audio encoding mode. Allows you to switch between SBC, AAC, LDAC, aptX, etc. Which is logical, only works if the headphones support several codecs.
Sampling rate when transmitting via Bluetooth . BT audio sampling rate. The higher, the better the quality, but it doesn’t always work, and is only effective for Lose-less music formats.
Audio encoding depth when transmitted via Bluetooth . Likewise: the higher, the better the quality.
Bluetooth audio channel mode . Switch between mono and stereo. Can be useful if headphones don't want to play in stereo.
LDAC Audio Codec for Bluetooth: Playback Quality . Choosing a balance between connection quality and speed. Raising it sometimes improves the sound, lowering it sometimes improves the quality of the connection.
The section responsible for displaying touches. Allows you to test the screen sensor.
Visual response . Shows finger touch points. The correct operation of the sensor is checked.
Show touches . The same thing, but in the form of dotted lines rather than dots.
Rendering
A set of settings responsible for the interface. Useful mainly for developers; inexperienced users are of little interest, except for the last point.
Show surface updates . Shows interface elements that are updating using flickers.
Show element borders . Displays the borders of interface elements.
Mirror interface . Forces switches, sliders and checkboxes to be placed on the right, text is aligned to the left (in Arabic style).
Window animation . Animation speed in application windows.
Transition animation . Animation speed when switching between items/programs.
Animation duration . About the same as the previous point.
Emulation of additional screens . Displaying an additional screen on top of the main one, with a duplicated interface.
Minimum width . The most useful item is designed to control the interface scale. If the elements are too large, you can increase the DPI; if they are too small, you can decrease it (minimum 320). The function is present in Android 7 and later, but not everywhere.
Hardware rendering acceleration
Working with graphics. In addition to developers, it may be needed for problems with 3D.
GPU acceleration . Enables constant use of the GPU for 2D processing.
Show screen updates . Blinking highlights areas of the interface processed by the graph. processor.
Show hardware updates . Highlights elements processed by hardware in green.
Debugging overlay . Highlights areas where GUI elements overlap each other.
Debugging truncation operations of complex shapes . Selecting elements of complex shape in the GUI.
Enable 4x MSAA . Enables 4x image smoothing. Makes the picture smoother, but loads the chipset.
Disable hardware overlays . Involves graph. processor for processing overlays.
Simulate an anomaly . Adapts color rendering for people with impaired color perception (color blindness, etc.). Monochrome mode can be useful for devices with OLED screens in reading mode (when color pictures are not needed), as it saves battery.
Visualizer . Selecting a graphics processing engine. The item is not available on all smartphones.
Multimedia
Disable audio transfer (USB) . Disables audio output to external devices, such as amplifiers/DACs/sound cards/Type C headphones with digital output.
Monitoring
Strict regime . Makes the backlight flicker when performing resource-intensive tasks.
Show CPU usage . Displays CPU load data. Not available on all smartphones.
Profile GPU rendering . Displays GPU activity in the form of graph bars, or transmits to ADB.
Set aside
The “Debugging” mode items are responsible for debugging the operation of the OS from a PC via a USB cable.
USB debugging. Enable/disable PC debugging support.
Revoke access. Prohibit interference with the operation of the PC system from which debugging was previously carried out.
Bug report. Displays the corresponding key in the menu.
Select app for dummy locations. Responsible for selecting the application that transmitted false location coordinates (Fake GPS).
Enable attribute checking. Enables attribute checking in debug mode.
Select the application to debug. Selecting a specific application for debugging. It will be useful for programmers and software developers.
Wait for the debugger to connect. The item is inactive until the application for debugging is specified.
Check the application during installation. Checking application security when installed via ADB/ADT.
Log buffer size. Responsible for the size of the buffer into which the debugging process log is written.
Debugging the GPU. Enables loading of GPU debug layers.
Track system updates. Monitor and analyze workflows to increase operating system productivity.
