Wondering how to get your old iOS device back working as wonderfully as the day you bought it? Well, there is a solution, and it won’t cost you a pretty penny. Best of all, it only takes a mere 5 minutes to do. Let me show you how:

Don’t Jailbreak

I’ve jailbroken my iPod Touch on several occasions, and while it was great at first to customize the crap out of everything, things suddenly became less predictable. Apps started crashing left and right, swiping across the screen elicited delayed reactions, and it was just plain slow.

Plus, lots of great features that were previously available only by jailbraking your device was soon packaged in the latest iOS software updates; ie, multitasking, notifications center, background wallpaper(yup, that wasn’t even in iOS in the early years!).

So, if you want your iOS device to stay in top condition for as long as possible, forgo your jailbreak and join the land of stability and relative assurance.

If you would like to unjailbreak your iDevice, you need to restore it via iTunes. First, hook up your device to your computer. After iTunes launches and finished syncing, go to the Summary tab and click on Restore. Afterwards, just sync your iTunes library with your device.

Disable Spotlight Search

Do you use Spotlight Search on your iDevice? I know I never do. My only encounters with it is whenever I mistakenly hit the home button far too many times.

If you never use Spotlight, I’d recommend disabling it to boost your device’s performance. Just head to your Settings, then General, and Spotlight Search. From there, uncheck all items from the list. This effectively stops Spotlight indexing of your device’s content, and should make things run smoother.

Source: Cult of Mac

Recalibrate your Home Button

If your home button is acting less responsive these days, you can recalibrate it using a simple fix. Just follow these three steps:

1. Open a default app; Stocks, Weather.
2. Press and hold the lock button until the “slide to power off” message appears.
3. Press and hold the home button until the “slide to power off” message disappears and your app quits.

This should make your home button more responsive. I’ve tried it myself, and the general consensus from other blogs that have posted this tip supports its effectiveness.

Source: iDownloadBlog

Kill off Multitasking Apps

Update: I was wrong about how multitasking works. Here’s why.

Multitasking is incredibly useful for jumping back and forth between various apps with minimal delay. I often switch to 1Password Pro when I encounter a login form, and being able to jump right back into my app right where I had left it is a huge benefit.

Unfortunately, multitasking can seriously put a strain on your battery life, and more importantly affect the performance of your device.

Killing apps running in the background is definitely a hassle. In case you didn’t know, double click the home button, or, if you’re on an iPad, swipe up with four fingers, to access all of the apps currently running. From there, press and hold an app until it wiggles, and start hitting that red minus sign.

Source: The Oatmeal

Download the Latest Software Updates

You hear this wise piece of advice all the time, and yet, do you actually follow it? Of course not. Yes, it’s embarrassing to admit but the sooner you fix this terrible habit of yours, the better.

Besides, when was the last time you connected your device to iTunes? The day you bought it, amiright? I know. You don’t even have to say it to me.

So, how do you make sure your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch stays in top shape? Let me know in the comments section below!