Nova Launcher Prime is one of those apps that, years after being purchased, keeps on giving. Many users run the non-premium version and still rate it above many other third-party launchers. However, this feature-rich custom launcher is not perfect. Some users have had a hard time with it, as their Android devices won’t keep Nova Launcher in RAM memory.
This results in longer-than-usual loading speeds on the home screen. Some users also reported issues with RAM management, when Nova uses up to 600 MB of RAM (normally, it should use no more than 200 with integrations). We made sure to list a few applicable solutions to address this without too much hassle.
Table of contents:
- Make sure Nova is the default launcher
- Check all permissions
- Reset Nova Launcher
- Prevent the stock launcher from working in the background
- Reinstall the launcher
Nova Launcher doesn’t stay in the memory
Solution 1 – Make sure Nova is the default launcher
The first thing you should do is just restart your device. Chances are this will fix the problem with Nova Launcher and keep it in memory in order to avoid constant redrawing.
If restarting didn’t help, you need to ensure that Nova Launcher is your default launcher. It might be that the system defaults on its own to stock launcher so it is really important to make Nova Launcher the default one.
Follow these instructions to set Nova as your default launcher:
- Open Settings and, in the search bar, type Launcher and open Default Launcher.
- Under the Default launcher, select Nova Launcher.
- Restart your device and look for improvements.
Solution 2 – Check all permissions
An app with such a wide usage on Android, as custom launchers, requires a lot of different permissions in order for everything to work as intended. Now, you don’t have to grant permissions you don’t feel safe giving, but remember that this will either limit certain features or affect the way the launcher is running on your device.
In addition, we suggest disabling RAM and Battery optimization for Nova Launcher in System Settings.
Here’s what to do in order to ensure Nova has all necessary permissions granted:
- Open Settings.
- Choose Apps > All apps.
- Open Nova Launcher from the list of all apps.
- Open Permissions. Some Android custom skins have Other permissions, as well. Don’t forget to access that menu as well.
- Grant all permissions to Nova and reboot your device.
- If that doesn’t help, navigate to Settings > Security > Special apps access (or Special access apps) and grant Nova Notification access, Display over other apps, and Usage access permissions.
Solution 3 – Reset Nova Launcher
The next thing you can do is reset the launcher. There’s an option to restart the launcher within Nova Settings. If you have any Home Screen widgets, it’s recommended to enable the Restart widgets on resume option in Labs.
Here’s how to restart Launcher and enable restarting of widgets in order to lower the redrawing time:
- Tap and hold on the Home Screen to open Nova Launcher Menu.
- Select Settings.
- Tap and hold the Volume down button to bring up the Labs menu.
- Once there, enable the Restart widgets on resume option.
- Get back to Settings.
- Scroll to the bottom and expand Advanced.
- Tap Restart Nova Launcher.
Alternatively, clear cache and data and start from scratch. Of course, before clearing data, make sure to back up your Nova configuration.
Follow these instructions to clear cache and data from Nova Launcher:
- Open Nova settings from the Home Screen.
- Select Backup & import settings.
- Back up Nova configuration either locally or upload it to Drive.
- Once you’ve done that, navigate to Settings > Apps > All apps > Nova Launcher. There, open Storage and clear cache and data from the app.
Solution 4 – Prevent the stock launcher from working in the background
Now, even though Nova Launcher is set as the default launcher, what we want to do is disable the system (stock) launcher from working in the background. Stock launchers, like Pixel or MIUI System launcher, will read notifications in the background and, potentially, disrupt Nova Launcher.
So, make sure to navigate to Special access apps and disable Notification access for the system launcher. As we already stated, granting Notification access to Nova, on the other hand, is a good idea.
Solution 5 – Reinstall the launcher
Finally, if after 4 steps, you still can’t keep Nova Launcher in memory and it’s frequently redrawing for a couple of seconds whenever you go to the home screen, you can reinstall the app. After removing Nova, download it again, load your back up, and look for improvements.
Additionally, we recommend leaving the Beta program for Nova Launcher. Although usually stable, Beta releases are not as stable as the public release.
With that said, we can conclude this article. Thank you for reading and don’t forget to share your questions or suggestions with us. You can do so in the comments section below.
