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Why is my Grid 3 running slowly?

If you have experienced Grid 3 running slower than usual, even though your device meets the minimum specifications found at the bottom of the page here: Grid 3 Minimum Requirements –  it may be due to your power plan or other applications using your device’s resources. It could also be a result of your grid set being too large. 

Checking your power plan and battery saver

Smartbox devices come preinstalled with a Smartbox power plan which is optimised for device performance. Depending on your settings, Windows may change your power plan, or you may have changed it manually. To check your power plan:  

  1. Search for Control Panel inside the Windows Start menu (4 squares in the corner of your desktop) and select the top result. 
Finding Control Panel using Windows Search.
  1. Set the View by:  drop down menu in the top right corner to Large Icons and select Power Options. 
The View by drop down menu.
The Power Options category in Control Panel.
  1. Ensure the Smartbox power plan is selected and close Control Panel

Note: on older devices, the Smartbox power plan may not be present and will be named Balanced instead.  

If Smartbox is present, but not selected, you can select it by ticking the checkmark next to the power plan.  

Once the power plan is configured correctly – you will need to ensure your Battery Saver settings are correct. 

  1. Open the Windows Start Menu and select Settings (the cog symbol from the left hand side) 
the Settings option inside the Windows Start menu.
  1. Select System and then select Battery from the tabs on the left hand side. 
The System tab in Windows Settings.
The Battery tab inside the System settings.
  1. Under Battery saver, make sure Turn battery saver on automatically at is set to Never. 
Setting battery saver to Never.

  

Disabling unwanted background applications 

Other programs and applications can use your device’s resources and slow down Grid 3. Some of these programs may be required for the device to run successfully, but others may be additional programs that are not vital to the device.  

  1. Open the Windows Start menu and select Settings.  
the Settings option inside the Windows Start menu.
  1. Browse to Privacy – Background apps, turn the following apps off:  
  • 3D Builder 
  • Microsoft Store 
  • Paid Wi-Fi & Mobile 
  • Skype 
  • Xbox 
  • Mobile Plans 
  • Get Help 
  • Office 
  • One Note 
  • Your Phone 

Note: you may not have all these available depending on your version of Windows, these are standard Windows applications that will have no impact on your use of the device.

The background apps options in Windows Settings.

Once disabled, Windows will not be able to run these processes in the background, freeing up resources for other apps (like Grid 3). For other applications, you may want to remove them from your device entirely instead.

  1. Open the Windows Start menu and select Settings.
the Settings option inside the Windows Start menu.

2. Browse to Apps Apps and Features.

The Apps option in Windows Settings.
The apps and features options.

3. Browse through the list, if you find an app you do not use, select it and press Uninstall.

An example of uninstalling an app.

Note:  Do not uninstall any apps you do not recognise, or do not immediately know what they are. Some apps are required to run to ensure your device’s stability, even if you do not use them yourself. If you are unsure, leave them installed and contact Smartbox Support if they are causing issues.

Identifying and reducing the size of large grid sets

Grid 3 running slowly is not entirely dependent on Windows. Grid 3 will struggle to open large grid sets, and whilst in the grid set, jumps between pages and other more complex commands will take longer to process. You can find the size of your grid set using Grid Set Analysis:

  1. Open your chosen grid set, browse to the menu bar (three lines, top left corner) and select Settings.
The Grid 3 menu

2. Browse to the Grid set tab on the left hand side and select Grid Set Analysis.

The Grid Set settings.

The File size of your grid set will be listed as the 2nd item. Grid sets over 30MB are considered large and may slow down on slower devices. Above 50MB, and you will start to see problems, particularly with Remote Editing or syncing via Dropbox.

Grid Set analysis of Super Core 50.

Grid sets can be reduced in size by removing:

  • Photos being used as symbols on cells
  • Play music/video file commands
  • “Floating” grids – grids that are not accessible

You can also use the Change grid set command to split your grid set into multiple grid sets, reducing the size of each. This is especially effective if you have pages for Accessible Apps (like YouTube).


Last Revision: 14.01.2022