Help SERIOUS Problem: Android Phone Low On RAM!

[NewbAndroidUser]

Hey guys, I've got a Huawei smartphone here and it only has 512MB RAM.

It's running Android 4.1.

I only have these apps open:
--Chrome
--Default SMS Messaging app that came with phone
--Phone book that came with phone

This is the device here: http://www.gsmarena.com/huawei_ascend_g510-5250.php

Thank you!

 

[NewbAndroidUser]

I forgot to ask:

If I upgrade to the newest Android OS would I see better performance as it feels a big sluggish even after a reboot.

 

[Dannydet]

This phone was great back in 2013...
Now, not so much...
512 is not much to work with, at all.
And upgrade is not an option

 

[NewbAndroidUser]

Thanks!

What if I upgrade to Android 4.3 OS or Android 4.4 OS?

 

[NewbAndroidUser]

I can't seem to find the "minimum hardware requirements" for Android OS'...?

 

[Dannydet]

You've got 512, updating won't make it faster no matter what or what version.
My advice, spend your money on a new phone instead of spinning your wheels on this one.

 

[NewbAndroidUser]

Thanks, but I'd like to try upgrading the Android OS before I go out and buy a new device.

 

[Dannydet]

Go to settings,
about phone,
system updates,
and check if there are any for this device

 

[NewbAndroidUser]

Which Android OS is the most recent that'll run on my hardware?

I still can't find the minimum requirements for each Android OS...

 

[NewbAndroidUser]

Go to settings,
about phone,
system updates,
and check if there are any for this device

I just tried running "Online update", but it said no updates found.

I can just do an update via "Local update" anyway right?

 

[Dannydet]

Updates are provided by the phone manufacturer, OTA... Not sure where you will find any local update on ANY device.

 

[NewbAndroidUser]

I did some searching and I found the Android 4.4 OS download here:

https://www.android.com/versions/kit-kat-4-4/

 

[Dannydet]

Please keep us posted

 

[NewbAndroidUser]

Would I see better performance on Android OS 4.4 or a newer Android OS?

 

[NewbAndroidUser]

By the way, it's a Huawei phone guys.

I'm just wondering what'd happen if I updated via the "local update" and I updated to Android 4.4 OS?

 

[chanchan05]

Nothing. If that update wasn't specifically made for your device it will just kill the device. An update is specific to phone model to the extent that an update for a US s7 will kill an international s7.

Basically you need a new phone. Upgrading to a higher Android version will actually make it slower because higher Android versions need more power to run.

 

[mikedt]

You want to update an old Huawei, maybe a custom ROM? Can you read Chinese?

 

[NewbAndroidUser]

I thought a newer Android OS would run faster like how Windows 7 was much faster than Windows Vista.

 

[NewbAndroidUser]

I don't understand why I'm limited by my phone manufacturer...

If I buy a HP PC that came with Windows 8 it's no problem for me to upgrade it to Windows 10?

Doesn't this apply to phone OSes as well?

 

[psionandy]

No

 

[Hadron]

No, it doesn't.

Actually desktop Windows uses a fairly resource hungry system to make the install possible on a range of different PC hardware. No phone OS does that. The OS has to be built for the particular model, which is why you didn't actually find a download at that web page (and if you had it would have been source code which you'd have to adapt to and build for your phone).

 

[NewbAndroidUser]

Really? Wow that sucks.

I haven't changed my Huawei phone's Android OS so it's the same as when I bought it. It seems that it only supports the Android OS it came with... Isn't it weird that I can't even update the OS at all?

 

[Hadron]

It's because Huawei have decided it isn't worth them producing an update for it.

How much update support you get depends both on the manufacturer and where the phone lies in their range (flagships tend to get longer and faster upgrade support, lower-end phones much less). But this is entirely the manufacturer's decision (unless you buy it through a mobile carrier who modify the software, in which case _they_ decide whether to even bother with the updates the manufacturer provides).

 

[mikedt]

It can go to 4.4 Kitkat with a custom ROM, provided you can read Chinese. However the ROM is on Baidu Pan, which I don't think you can download unless you're in China or can register with a Chinese(+86) mobile phone number.
http://www.romjd.com/Rom/Detail/40546

So I suggest you search AF or Google for Huawei Ascend G510 custom ROMs, like CM. But I don't think there'll be anything more recent than 4.4 Kitkat.

 

[lunatic59]

Sorry, @NewbAndroidUser but you've been given the exact advice I would have told you. Officially Huawei stopped with Android 4.1. There were some major architecture changes with 4.2 and later which probably wouldn't be possible to run on a device with only 512MB ram. Even if you could install a custom rom with 4.4, it probably wouldn't run any better and you'd be introducing a whole new set of problems. That's just the way it is.