Why Is My WhatsApp So Laggy?

If your WhatsApp is lagging, you probably want to get it back up to speed as quickly as you can. There are several things you can try that may fix the problem. Some, such as deleting old messages, are very easy to do. Others, such as clearing the cache or installing an anti-spyware app, are a little more complicated. None of them are complicated, though.

Dec 9, 2022

WhatsApp is one of the most-used messaging systems on the planet, so if your WhatsApp is lagging a lot, you may be understandably frustrated and annoyed. There are a lot of potential reasons why this could be happening. Read on to find out what you can do about them.

If the App Is Slow to Open

If the app is slow opening but runs well once opened, you probably have too many messages stored. Processing and loading them when the app opens is taking a lot of time. The fix is simple: delete any messages you can. If too many are essential, back them up elsewhere and then delete them.

Close Other Apps

If you have many apps running simultaneously, this could be the problem. Close as many as you can and free up some of your device's RAM. That may fix the problem.

Clear the Cache

WhatsApp stores a lot of information in its cache. If it has too much, it could be slowing down the app's operation. To fix this problem, follow these instructions:

  1. Select Settings.
  2. Go to Apps.
  3. Find WhatsApp in the list of apps installed on your phone.
  4. Tap on it.
  5. Select Storage.
  6. Select Clear Cache.

Following these instructions should most likely fix the problem. Please note that your messages will be slower to load for a short time after you do this. That's because you cleared out the data that helps them load faster. However, it should get re-established in the cache pretty soon, and your WhatsApp should be running smoothly again in no time. Do not select Clear Data. That will delete your account too.

Look for Updates

If nothing else has worked so far, look for WhatsApp and your mobile device. The problem might be that your software is out of date.

Get an Anti-Spyware App

WhatsApp may be running slowly because your mobile device has spyware stealing your data when you use the app. An anti-spyware app could find out if this is the case.

Uninstall and Reinstall WhatsApp

If everything else fails, try uninstalling and reinstalling the app. You should back up any information you want to save first, though.

Contacting WhatsApp

If you can't get the app to run well, ask a WhatsApp customer support representative for help on WhatsApp's help forum. There is no phone, email, or chat to use.

Further questions?

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Jeff truly believes that all customers deserve good service. He’s been building tools, inventing phone tree hacks and helping customers since before his days at GetHuman. He's also a Google GDE and involved in the Angular community.

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GetHuman has been working for over 10 years on sourcing information about big organizations like WhatsApp in order to help customers resolve customer service issues faster. We started with contact information and fastest ways to reach a human at big companies. Particularly ones with slow or complicated IVR or phone menu systems. Or companies that have self-serve help forums instead of a customer service department. From there, we realized that consumers still needed more detailed help solving the most common problems, so we expanded to this set of guides, which grows every day. And if you spot any issues with our Why Is My WhatsApp So Laggy? guide, please let us know by sending us feedback. We want to be as helpful as possible. If you appreciated this guide, please share it with your favorite people. Our free information and tools is powered by you, the customer. The more people that use it, the better it gets.

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Updated 2 years ago
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