My iPad feels slow and I think too many apps are open. I’m not sure how to fully close them out. Can someone share simple steps so I can free up memory and make things run faster? Need help ASAP.
Ah, the ‘my iPad is slower than a snail on an uphill climb’ problem. Classic. So, here’s the rundown so you don’t need to throw it out the window:
- Double-click the Home button (that round one at the bottom) if your iPad has it. If not, swipe up from the very bottom edge and pause in the middle until you see all your open apps like little digital playing cards.
- Now, check out all those apps you forgot you opened. Yep, you DID play Candy Crush at 2 am last night.
- To fully close an app, use your finger and just swipe the app preview up and off the top of the screen. Gone, like your patience.
- Do this for as many as you want—or all, if you want to be absolutely thorough.
- Don’t worry, you’re not deleting the apps. You’re just “force quitting” them in tech speak.
- Once you’re done, tap anywhere below or push the Home button to get back to normal.
Bonus: Despite the ancient myth, iOS is actually pretty smart about memory, so you don’t always need to close apps (unless one is stuck or being laggy), but I get it, sometimes it just feels right.
If it’s STILL slow after this, maybe try restarting the iPad by holding down the power button and sliding to turn off, then do a regular restart. Or if your storage is packed with 2000 selfies, clearing some space will also help.
PS: Don’t expect it to run like a space shuttle if it’s a 2014 model. At some point, it’s just gonna act its age.
Tbh, I kinda side-eye the whole “close your apps to free RAM” advice ’cause Apple’s iPads are pretty boss about juggling memory in the background. Not tryna throw shade at @boswandelaar, their steps are spot-on (loving the snail reference btw), but closing apps usually doesn’t give you the magical speed boost you’re hoping for unless an app is actually glitching out or frozen. Like, unless you legit see an app crashing or stuck on a black screen, iOS is already hibernating stuff you’re not using—you might be swiping away like a maniac for minimal effect.
But okay, let’s get to some less obvious stuff since you already got the swipe-up demo:
- Have you checked your storage? If your iPad’s packed to the gills (Photos app hoarder, anyone?), it’ll lag hard. Go Settings > General > iPad Storage. If that bar’s flaming red, start yeeting unused apps or old videos.
- Software update lately? Go to Settings > General > Software Update—sometimes a quick update fixes weird slowdowns.
- Background App Refresh: Some apps love to party in the background. Check under Settings > General > Background App Refresh and turn off stuff you don’t use, could help.
- Safari tabs: If you live in browser tab chaos, closing like 200 open Safari tabs can weirdly help, too. Hold down the tabs icon and whack “Close All Tabs.”
- If you’ve tried all that and it’s still crawling, time for a restart as @boswandelaar wisely mentioned—can’t tell you how many times that’s the real fix.
Real talk: if your iPad is ancient, no combo of app closing and hopeful prayers will make it zip like new. Hardware just gets tired (sounds familiar, lol).
So yeah, close those apps if you want, but if your iPad’s still struggling, probably one of these other things is the issue. Hope that helps before you decide to use it as a cutting board or something.
You’ve already gotten the classics: close those apps or give your iPad the ol’ restart. But before you go wild swiping up every single app and expecting a miracle (for real, iOS is smart, let it do its thing), let’s think a bit differently. Apple’s multitasking works like “freeze-drying” unused apps, so nuking everything from the app switcher isn’t the silver bullet unless an app’s acting up.
Here’s what rarely gets mentioned: sluggishness can also come from bogged-down system resources because of stuck processes, ancient iOS updates, overloaded cache, or even dodgy WiFi. One hidden trick? Go to Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data. Caches build up over time if you binge YouTube or do a lot of web browsing—this can legit help.
Another overlooked area: reduce motion and transparency! Offload those pointless UI pretties. Head to Settings > Accessibility > Motion, and switch on “Reduce Motion.” In the same Accessibility section, under Display & Text Size, hit “Reduce Transparency.” This frees up a bit of GPU/CPU (sounds minor, but on a crumbling iPad, it counts).
Now, about storage: It’s not just about deleting selfies; check for bloated “Other” system data. Sometimes (annoyingly), the only way to clear this out is a full wipe-and-restore, which is a pain but works wonders if your iPad’s basically a potato.
You got steps from the other two regulars here—one likes to joke about snails (no shade, I snorted at that), the other dives deep into memory management myths. Both make sense but there’s more to it, right?
Pros for closing apps the standard way: it can squash a stuck or looping app and maybe feel mentally satisfying.
Cons: it doesn’t always speed up your device and, ironically, sometimes re-launching an app from scratch uses more battery and power than just letting iOS handle it. Both ombrasilente and boswandelaar had solid breakdowns, but let’s not overpromise on RAM boosts—biggest wins are deleting files, updating iOS, and managing background refresh.
Competitors (ombrasilente and boswandelaar) nailed most technical steps; just don’t ignore those small tweaks like accessibility settings and browser/cache bloat. They add up, especially on older devices.
If only there was a magic “make my iPad young again” button… Until then, try out these tweaks for improved readability and a legit speed-up—short of that, time to eye that upgrade, friend.