How To: Boost Performance & Battery Life on Your Rooted Android Device

Performance boosters generally get a bad rap, but that doesn't mean they should all be dismissed—particularly when they're as well thought out as the latest work from developer Danijel Markov. After recognizing a few inefficiencies in the way Android handles memory management and other system-level functions, he created a flashable ZIP that will apply many fixes in one fell swoop.

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Markov's mod, dubbed "L Speed," offers a command prompt interface for optional fine-tuning, but can easily improve performance without any adjustments. By default, the ZIP applies several kernel tweaks, RAM optimizations, and CPU calibrations that should give almost any Android device a hefty boost in performance and battery life.

Requirements

Step 1: Download the L Speed Flashable ZIP

To begin, point your device's web browser to this link, and the L Speed flashable ZIP should begin downloading automatically. When the file has finished saving to your device, go ahead and boot into custom recovery.

How to Boost Performance & Battery Life on Your Rooted Android Device

Step 2: Create a Backup (Optional)

Before you flash this ZIP, make sure you have a NANDroid backup on standby. If anything goes wrong or if you want to undo this mod, the easiest way to get things back to normal would be to restore that backup.

Step 3: Flash the ZIP

Go ahead and tap the "Install" button from TWRP recovery's main menu. From here, navigate to your device's Download folder, then select the "L_SPEED_V2.0_REVOLUTION.zip" file. After that, just swipe the slider at the bottom of the screen to install the mod, and when that's finished, tap "Reboot System."

When you get back up, many system tweaks will have already been applied to your device. By themselves, these tweaks should make a noticeable difference in your device's performance and battery life, but if you'd like to customize L Speed a little more, read on for a guide on the command prompt interface.

Step 4: Customize L Speed Settings (Optional)

To fine-tune some of the L Speed optimizations and even enable a few additional options, start by downloading an app called Terminal Emulator for Android.

After installing Terminal Emulator, go ahead and open the app and type su, then hit enter. From here, the app will ask for Superuser access, so tap "Grant" on the popup.

Now that Terminal Emulator has root access for this session, type LS and hit enter to access the L Speed menu. From here, enter the number 2 to access the L Speed settings wizard.

From here, there are several different RAM, CPU, and kernel tweaks that you can enable or disable, and each has a corresponding number. To toggle one of these features on or off, simply type in the number and hit enter. Most changes will require a reboot before they'll become active, so apply any tweaks that look good to you and reboot your phone.

How well has your device performed since installing L Speed? Let us know in the comment section below, or drop us a line on Android Hacks' Facebook or Twitter, or Gadget Hacks' Facebook, Google+, or Twitter.

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17 Comments

Can this work on CM 12. Android version is 5.0.2

It works on any ROM that has init.d support, and I'm fairly certain that CM 12 does, so you should be good to go.

Hi, I have elemental x kernel and xposed unofficial for 5.1, will it work? I affraid it will bootloop..

The Nexus 5 I tested this with had ElementalX and Xposed installed, and everything went off without a hitch. Just to be safe, though, I'd still recommend making a quick NANDroid backup (in TWRP, tap "Backup," then swipe the slider at the bottom of the screen) before flashing.

OK thanks, another question, does it replace the kernel?

And do I need to wipe cache and dalvik cache after the L Speed installation?

It may tweak some of your kernel settings (if you're using the ElementalX kernel app to set custom values, for instance), but it does not replace your kernel. Even then, you can disable these tweaks in the L Speed settings menu (Step 3). You can wipe cache and dalvik if you want, but it shouldn't make any difference.