How to Fix Telegram App Lagging
If your Telegram keeps feeling slow or laggy—that frustrating “why is this happening again?” moment—don’t worry. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of a few settings or tweaks, not necessarily reinstalling or messing with your device deeply. I’ve been there, trying everything, and often a quick restart or cache clear made all the difference. Even so, it’s easy to overlook small things that can bog down the app’s performance.
Restart Telegram Completely
This was literally my first move when it started acting sluggish. Yeah, sounds obvious, but it’s surprisingly effective. You need to close the app entirely, not just minimize or send it to the background. On Android, that usually means going into Settings > Apps > Telegram > Force Stop. Or, just swipe it away in your recent apps. On iOS, double-tap the Home button or swipe up from the bottom (depends on your model) and swipe Telegram off the screen. Once it’s fully shut down, reopen it. Often, this clears glitches or stuck processes that cause lag. I’ve seen apps that run fine for weeks, then suddenly slow down because of a background process or temporary bug. Restarting often resets that right away.
Clear Cache and Local Storage
If it’s still sluggish, next thing to try—clearing cache. Android users can go to Settings > Data & Storage > Manage Local Storage. Then hit “Clear Cache” or similar. Some device brands or custom skins might have a different submenu like Settings > Apps > Telegram > Storage > Clear Cache. For iOS, there’s no straightforward cache clearing, so the only way is to uninstall and reinstall. Just keep in mind, clearing cache might delete some offline media or locally saved stickers, so make sure you have backups if needed. Cache files can get corrupted or just pile up over time, especially if you’re sending and receiving tons of media, stickers, gifs, stuff like that. Clearing it forces Telegram to rebuild that data from scratch, which can really speed things up. It’s like giving the app a fresh start, but yes, sometimes, you’ll notice media re-downloading or a brief pause in media showing up afterward.
Make Sure Telegram’s Updated
Sometimes, lag is just because you’re running an older version. Outdated apps can have bugs fixed in newer releases, or performance improvements that you’re missing. Check in Google Play Store > My apps & games > Updates and update if a new version is waiting. On iOS, open App Store > Your profile > Updates. I’ve had lag vanish after upgrading, because devs often roll out bug fixes that improve responsiveness. After updating, I usually do a quick restart, just to let everything settle. Might be coincidence, but worth trying.
Stickers and Media Play a Role
This one caught me off guard—having a huge stash of stickers or tons of cached media can degrade app performance. If you’re someone who hoards stickers or constantly downloads media in chats, your app can get bloated. Check out Settings > Stickers and Masks—there’s options to delete unused sticker packs or archive old chats instead of leaving them all open. Also, turn off auto-downloads in Settings > Data & Storage > Media Auto-Download. Disabling auto-download reduces background data activity, which can make the app feel snappier. For me, turning off automatic videos and images helped a ton. Also, in Telegram’s chat settings, disabling animations (like “Show Animations”) can really lighten the load—especially on older or mid-range devices that can’t handle smooth animations all the time.
How Often Do These Issues Pop Up?
Honestly, it varies. For me, lag sometimes creeps in after long sessions or when the app has been running in the background for a while. Or after a reboot, it might be sluggish until I restart it properly. If your device only has 2GB RAM or a less powerful processor, this can compound the issue. Background apps eating up resources and outdated OS versions also don’t help. Make sure your system is up to date, and try closing other apps before launching Telegram. Sometimes, just a little housekeeping on your phone gives the app more breathing room.
Final Tips: Keep an Eye on Storage and Reinstall if Needed
If none of these tricks smooth out the lag, I’ve found that uninstalling and reinstalling Telegram can fix stubborn bugs or corrupted data. Just delete the app completely, then grab it fresh from the Play Store or App Store. Keep an eye on your device’s overall storage—if you’re low on space, every app can slow down. Free up some space if needed, because low storage impacts app responsiveness hard.
Hope this helped — it took me way too long to figure out some of these tips, and I wish I knew sooner. Sometimes, it’s just simple stuff that makes a huge difference. Anyway, good luck, and here’s to faster, less frustrating Telegram sessions!