How to Configure or Disable RAM Plus Virtual Memory on Samsung Galaxy Devices for Better Performance

Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablets running One UI feature a virtual memory tool called RAM Plus. By default, RAM Plus reserves a portion of your phone’s internal UFS flash storage (typically 2GB to 8GB) to act as secondary paging memory (swap). While marketed as a way to keep more background applications active, many users notice subtle micro-stutter, delayed app launches, and increased battery consumption. Understanding how RAM Plus operates allows you to optimize or disable it entirely for faster responsiveness.

Why Does RAM Plus Cause Stutter on Some Devices?

Physical smartphone RAM (LPDDR5 or LPDDR5X) operates at transfer speeds exceeding 50,000 MB/s. In contrast, even high-end internal flash storage (UFS 3.1 or UFS 4.0) operates at roughly 1,500 to 4,000 MB/s. When Android swaps background apps into flash storage:

• Read/Write Latency: Retrieving compressed memory pages from flash storage takes significantly longer than reading from true physical RAM.
• Aggressive Swapping: The Android kernel may swap app data into storage prematurely, causing brief frame drops when you switch back to recent apps.
• Storage Wear: Constant paging writes gigabytes of transient data to NAND flash cells, slightly increasing long-term storage wear.

If your device already features 8GB, 12GB, or 16GB of physical RAM, virtual paging is rarely necessary and turning it off often produces a noticeably smoother user experience.

How to Access and Configure RAM Plus in One UI Settings

To inspect your current virtual memory allocation on Samsung Galaxy handsets running One UI 5, One UI 6, or One UI 7:

1. Open the Settings app on your Samsung Galaxy device.
2. Scroll down and tap Device care (or Battery and device care).
3. Tap Memory. The system will run a brief diagnostic scan of current RAM consumption.
4. Scroll down to the bottom and tap RAM Plus.
5. You will see available virtual memory tiers:
   • 2 GB
   • 4 GB (Default on many handsets)
   • 6 GB
   • 8 GB
6. Select your preferred allocation size, or proceed to the next section to disable it entirely.

How to Completely Disable RAM Plus for Faster Performance

Starting with One UI 5.0, Samsung added a native toggle to turn off RAM Plus completely:

1. In Settings > Device care > Memory > RAM Plus, locate the toggle switch at the top of the screen.
2. Tap the toggle to switch it to Off.
3. A dialogue prompt appears stating: “Restart your phone to turn off RAM Plus”.
4. Tap Restart.
5. Once your phone reboots, virtual paging is permanently deactivated, and Android relies solely on ultra-fast physical RAM.

When Should You Keep RAM Plus Enabled?

While mid-range and flagship devices benefit from disabling RAM Plus, entry-level Galaxy handsets equipped with only 3GB or 4GB of physical RAM may require virtual memory to prevent background apps (like Spotify or navigation tools) from being abruptly killed by Android’s Low Memory Killer (LMK). On lower-tier devices, setting RAM Plus to 2 GB offers the best compromise between multitasking stability and storage speed.