How To Clear Cache On iPhone & iPad: Get A Speed Boost

The iPhone and iPad tend to clog up – and slow down – as they gradually fill with unwanted files and apps. In this article, we look at how to clean out the cache, the junk and the memory-clogging files on your device and get it to run faster.

iOS devices may not need the same level of maintenance as macOS (or, heaven forbid, Windows), but they still need some attention to run at optimum speed, and the performance of older iPhones and iPads in particular will benefit from a spring clean. A clear-out also helps on a human level, because it enables you to focus on the things you do use.

Step 1: Delete Safari’s cache

We’re going to start by clearing out the cache in Safari. Note that this will log you out of any websites you’ve signed into.

1. Open Settings, and scroll down to the fifth group of options (with Passwords & Accounts at the top). Tap Safari.
2. Scroll down again and tap ‘Clear History and Website Data’.
3. Tap ‘Clear History and Data’ to confirm.

Step 2: Clear app data

Data stored by other apps can be cleaned out using the Usage option in Settings. Follow these steps:

1. Tap Settings > General > iPhone Storage. (On an iPad, unsurprisingly, it will be labelled iPad Storage.)
2. At the bottom of the screen you’ll see your apps, arranged by the amount of storage they take up. Tap an app that’s taking up a lot of space.
3. If the Documents & Data figure is more than 500MB, you should consider deleting and reinstalling the app to clear this space. (The app below has just 3.3MB, so we wouldn’t bother.) Just remember that this isn’t dead data: it will include save games, documents, preferences, downloaded data for benchmarking apps and similar.
4. If you decide to proceed, tap Delete App, confirm, then head to the App Store (or your Purchased list) and re-download it. This clean install won’t include data and documents.

Step 3: Free up memory by restarting your iPhone or iPad

For the most part, iOS will do a good job of managing memory without any user involvement. But we do find that restarting an iPhone from time to time is a good way to clear out the memory and ensure that important apps have enough to run happily.

Here’s how to restart your iPhone:

1. Hold down the power button (at the top or top-right of the device) until “slide to power off” appears. If you’ve got an iPhone without a Home button (a XR, 11, 11 Pro and so on) you’ll need to hold down both power and volume up until the slider appears.
2. Swipe the power off slider.
3. Wait until the device has fully powered down, then press and hold the power button to turn the iPhone on again.

Doing this on a regular basis used to be vital on an iPhone, but is less so these days. Still, it can still be useful on older models.

Step 4: Download a cleaner app

There are plenty of apps out there that do a quick and efficient job of getting rid of files you don’t need. These are normally downloaded to your Mac or PC; you then connect your iPhone (or iPad) and let the app do its thing.

A cleaner app is normally the most effective way to make space on your iPhone, but if you want a fully featured one they usually cost somewhere in the region of £20/$20. Better that than having to cough up for a whole new phone.

PhoneClean

PhoneClean by iMobie can be used to remove junk files from iOS. Follow these steps:

1. Plug the iPhone into your Mac.
2. Open PhoneClean and click Scan.
3. Once the scan is complete, click Clean.

Some PhoneClean features, including Photo Caches, are only available in the Pro version. This costs $19.99 (around £14) per year, for a single Mac or PC.

iMyFone Umate

Much like PhoneClean, iMyFone Umate for Mac and Windows can be used to quickly remove temporary and junk files from your iOS device.

1. Connect the iPhone to your Mac or PC.
2. Open iMyFone Umate and click Scan (on the Home tab).
3. Check the Junk Files and Temporary Files sections, then clear them to free up space on your device (we managed 4GB on our test iPhone).
4. You can also clear out any large files, and see which apps take up the most space, then delete them.

There’s a free version if you want to try the application out for yourself. The paid version, which also sets you back $19.95 (£14), adds more advanced features.

That’s all for today, but we hope the tips above help you to improve your device’s performance. For more general iOS speed tips, it would be worth taking a look at our broader tutorials: How to speed up a slow iPhone and How to speed up a slow iPad.

Via MACWORLD