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HTC One M8 Lollipop Update Problems & Fixes

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The HTC One M8 Android 5.0 Lollipop update is finally here and delivering tons of new features and changes to HTC’s flagship smartphone, but the Lollipop update is also causing problems for many. Since February many owners have received the latest software, AT&T pushed it out last week, and below we’ll go over some of the problems and potential fixes.

HTC’s One M8 Android 5.0 Lollipop update first arrived for the Google Play Edition last year, and then rolled out to a few small select markets, as well as for unlocked international models and the developer HTC One M8 here in the US. However, while most are enjoying the update, there are a few problems that appear to be causing problems and frustrating some owners.

Read: HTC One M8 Android 5.0 Lollipop Update: What U.S. Owners Can Expect

The Android 5.0 Lollipop update for the HTC One M8 is the first major update since the phone was released last year with Android 4.4 KitKat, and is delivering tons of new features and changes. And while it delivers a bold new look, fresh neat animations, and improved performance, some users are experiencing lots of problems on their M8 after the Android 5.0 Lollipop update.

New HTC One M8 Review -  7-X3

Not listed in the long HTC One M8 update change logs are the numerous HTC One M8 Lollipop problems that are plaguing some owners of the device. Over the past few months, and now after the update’s arrival in the United States, we’ve seen numerous complaints about the HTC One M8 Android 5.0 update, and more are surfacing now that the rollout has almost completed in the United States.

Read: Android 5.0 vs Android 4.4 KitKat: What’s New in Lollipop

With Android 5.0 Lollipop on the HTC One M8 users will notice a few changes immediately. The lockscreen has been completely tweaked and redesigned, as have the notifications in the pulldown drawer. These are better than ever and expandable, but a few have commented on them constantly freezing, not unlocking correctly to each app, and more. This is minor, and possibly something that can be fixed with Android 5.0.2 or Android 5.1 Lollipop and Sense UI 7.0 from the HTC One M9.

HTC One M8 Android 5.0 Problems

We first started hearing complaints from users outside the US who were first to receive the update, as well as some users in Canada that got the update in late January and February. Numerous threads over at Reddit and other forums have mentioned problems, lack of features, and more after the Android 5.0 Lollipop update for the One M8, and these problems are frustrating many owners.

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Most owners are reporting positive changes and smooth performance, not to mention slightly better battery life. They’re also enjoying the new lockscreen controls and redesigned notification pulldown bar. At the same time, users are claiming the keyboard has serious lag and often it doesn’t type what they write until they close the app or keyboard and try again. Apps have been crashing (a known Lollipop bug) as well as general stutters while using the device.

We’re also hearing battery life took a huge dip, but the update was supposed to increase battery life, not make it worse. Basically just general instability throughout the UI and with apps. Another change is Chrome web browser tabs are now individual “apps” in the recent apps menu, not one, which some don’t like. This can actually be changed in settings, but to each his own. In the recent apps menu hit the three dots for menu, and in settings change the recent apps or multi-tasking window back to the old mode.

Users can also disable the lockscreen notifications in settings if they’d like, by heading into settings and managing your security and what shows up on the lockscreen. With Android 5.0 Lollipop these new lockscreen notifications are extremely helpful, but some want them gone, or not showing all the details. This is a privacy issue. It’s also worth noting you can keep them, while opting for it not to show the content until the device is actually unlocked, for privacy reasons.

It’s no secret that Android 5.0 Lollipop has a few problems that Google has been working hard to address. They recently released an Android 5.1 Lollipop update, and we’re even seeing signs of Android 5.1.1 as well. These could all address some of the battery drain and app crashing, but for now users are stuck waiting for those to arrive. Android 5.0 has a memory leak issue that is causing apps to crash, freeze, start to slow or lag and more. This was thought to be fixed in 5.1 which isn’t on the One M8 yet, but we’re hearing will be solved in Android 5.1.1 Lollipop whenever that arrives. That could all arrive with the incoming HTC Sense 7 update for the One M8.

Updates Not Completing, or Starting on Their Own

While many on AT&T got the update but didn’t want it, on T-Mobile some users are getting a small update followed by a bigger Lollipop update, but some are reporting that is isn’t arriving or won’t finish installing. Many decided to hold off after hearing about issues, only to see the phone updated on it’s own rather than letting the user accept or deny the update.

There’s no way around it updating on its own, but if it’s not completing you can try rebooting and downloading it again, or doing a factory reset. That will wipe all user data, but we’ll explain more on that below.

Battery Life

While some are reporting excellent smooth performance and better battery life, as Lollipop should be more efficient and make the phone run better, others are claiming the battery just drains super quick. This can likely be caused by 3rd party apps not supporting Android 5.0 Lollipop. Head into settings > battery, and see if any particular apps are draining your battery faster than normal.

Another thing that will almost certainly fix the battery life issues is clearing the data and cache of the device. Updates are big, have a lot of files, and fragment software similar to Windows computers. Clearing the cache can help, and your best bet is actually a factory data reset.

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Turn off the phone, then while holding down the volume down button tap and release power. Continue holding volume down until you see the Android guy at the bottom of the screen. When it boots into Fastboot, use volume down to navigate to Recovery, then tap power to select Recovery. You’ll now see a red triangle, push volume up and power at the same time, and release. You’ll now be in recovery. Tap volume down three times to navigate to cache, and wipe it. Make sure you wipe cache partition, and not a factory reset as that will erase everything. Then just reboot. Be careful, as you can do a lot of hard in this area of the phone.

Beginners can do something similar by downloading an app called Clean Master. This will clear all update and random files that are not only taking up space, but fragmenting your device storage and slowing down performance.

Change Your Keyboard

For whatever reason we’re getting a lot of complaints about the keyboard being lappy, not inputting taps, and just being a bit off. Try heading into the Google Play Store and trying one of the many different third party keyboards for a better experience. I use Google Keyboard myself, with the old Holo White theme, but Swype and SwiftKey are two great alternatives.

WiFi Problems

A smaller problem we’re still hearing a little bit about is WiFi issues after the update. And while this probably isn’t related to the update, a few steps could potentially fix it. Try forcing the M8 to forget the WiFi network that’s posing problems. Head to the desired connection in Settings and long press then select the Forget Network option. Once that’s done, users will then need to reconnect to the Wi-Fi network with the password. This could re-initiate the connection and fix WiFi drops and issues.

New HTC One M8 Review -  4-X2

Reboot Your Phone

If you’re getting random app force-closes, lag, problems with text messages coming or going, or just some general issues you’ll be surprised to see how many of these small little things get fixed by a full reboot of your phone. Not just the reboot option when you hold power, but actually turning it off, waiting a few minutes and turning it back on. This typically fixes most small bugs when family members ask me questions, so give that a try too. The update can take a minute to get settled in and apps optimized, so if battery or performance is bad the first day, give it a few days before you try anything major like our last step below.

Factory Data Reset

Doing a factory data reset is your last resort, but to be honest, probably your best option too. I always do factory resets on all my devices after updates, to start with a fresh clean slate. This will erase all user data, apps, pictures and more, so be sure to backup all your data.

With Android 5.0 Lollipop Google has a new feature called Tap n Go restore which will actually restore all your apps, data, WiFi connections and more within minutes. It’s extremely easy to do, and makes wiping your phone and setting everything up again easier than ever before. So try a factory data reset, which will likely solve almost all the problems on the HTC One M8 since the 5.0 update.

Read: How to Reset Your Android Smartphone or Tablet

Users can follow the guide above for the best information. That said, on the HTC One M8 head into settings and scroll down to Backup & reset and select this. It will remind you to have all the backup sync options checked, and it’s a good idea to check and let most of those sync first. At the very bottom is the factory data reset. Tap this, follow the instructions and do a factory data reset. If you have the option, don’t wipe the micro-SD card, as that likely isn’t a part of your problems.

All said and done some problems are likely caused by apps, others could be due to issues with Android 5.0.2 Lollipop. Google’s already released Android 5.1 with fixes, and 5.1.1 Lollipop could be coming soon. And while this is good news for M8 owners, carriers likely won’t get those pushed to owners for at least another month or two. Drop us a comment below with any questions, concerns, fixes, or feedback.

28 Comments

28 Comments

  1. Brad

    04/16/2015 at 4:10 pm

    I’m having these exact same issues on my M9 running 5.0.2. Help!

  2. Felix

    04/16/2015 at 4:24 pm

    Ever since the update my messages app, the stock sms app, is not showing the message preview at all. I have the HTC one m8 with t-mobile. I have also done a factory reset.

    • Cory Gunther

      04/16/2015 at 6:30 pm

      This is a setting in security for lockscreen, or inside the messages app itself. Check out the settings n see.

  3. Timothy Higgins

    04/16/2015 at 5:11 pm

    My M8 is with Verizon. No battery issues, no lagging. Keyboard is fine. I’m running great, with a minor exception. Smart Lock is hit or miss. Trusted face starts up only about half the time. Awakening my phone the 2nd time usually works, if I’m patient enough.

    • Cory Gunther

      04/16/2015 at 6:29 pm

      Good to hear. Yea I’ve never been a fan of trusted face. But setting smart lock to know your address, or recognize my BT stereo in the car is a godsend.

  4. Jeanetta Glass

    04/16/2015 at 7:25 pm

    M8 AT&T. After the lollipop update, my phone has an annoying notification sound. It’s not the sound I’ve selected for notifications and I can’t find it, so I can’t turn it off. I use Hangouts and the notification sound is the Hangouts sound. In phone settings, notification sound is set to Heather.

  5. Tony

    04/18/2015 at 1:26 am

    Hi there, fist of all the phone is not doing an actual reboot, when I reboot my phone it supposed to kill all running applications to and give me a fresh start but no, I still see all resent ups there when I press that resent ups button, another major bug is that I can’t have a wake up call from alarm if my phone is in power off mode, the alarm can’t wake up phone to do the job, there is a slightly reduced of volume on speakers after the update and boom sound is not so boom any more, and some more bug’s with some Pre installed APS but I suppose these fix will come slowly with time or the senses 7

  6. Bryce

    04/26/2015 at 6:01 am

    My messager, Facebook, words with friends and as time goes by other apps crash when I try to type.

  7. Kyle e.

    04/27/2015 at 5:41 pm

    I have an htc one M8 on verizon, my apps randomly shut down, but I happened a little while after I received the lollipop update. I had battery life issues initially and a factory reset helped that, but it did nothing for the app killing. Any tips, suggestions, or ideas…. I can’t play my favorite game!

  8. Jeremy

    05/11/2015 at 6:54 am

    My update went smooth and so far has been a pretty nice upgrade. My beef is that my volume buttons no longer work. If I want to mute I have to go to settings>sounds>notifications> then manually mute everything. I cannot seem to find a button programming under settings anywhere. Suggestions????

  9. nazmul

    05/17/2015 at 11:59 pm

    I bought my M8 a couple months ago and everything was great until two months ago, one of my friend told me that she couldn’t hear what I was saying. It was a complete silence. I asked different people to call me, and the problem is the same. The thing is, I can still hear everyone but no one can hear me unless I yell at the speakerphone, or use the headset to talk. I tried to restart, then reset the phone, then update the newest version, blow in the bottom mic, and clean the hole, but nothing works. It’s really got me frustrated. I mean whenever someone call me, I gotta find a headset to plug in, and by the time I do it, it takes too long and they hang up. So what should I do next?

  10. Bryson smith

    05/20/2015 at 6:29 pm

    Hey I have an HTC m8 its for Verizon but I’m using it for straight talk my phone tried to get the update but now it doesn’t even show up I tried to hit check new but it still says my phone is up to date when it is not please help!!!!

  11. gohan

    05/28/2015 at 2:17 am

    my m8 eye is facing heavy battery drain after 5.02 update . battery life decreased a lot when compared to kikkat 4.4. even battery apps like du and battery doctor are not helping. hope the next update might fix this problem.

  12. s.dash

    06/11/2015 at 2:25 am

    cannot set a password for wifi hotspot

  13. J McCallum

    07/01/2015 at 9:12 am

    Have had my M8 since April/14. Has been a great phone. Updated to LP in Feb/15. I do not like this phone any longer. Text messaging is nearly unusable, slow to load and and send. I can type an entire message before it appears, then it is full of errors. I have tried a few different keyboards, the default one is the worst but none are working like they did before the update. I also have intermittent problems with my email client. Messages continually are not getting sent. I have to shut off wifi and mobile data a number of times, this may or may not work, depends on the day. I have spent a considerable amount of time with my service provider (Telus) and they have thrown in the towel. They want me to upgrade since it is now over a year old. I have contacted HTC and they advise it is due to apps, etc. but this all started immediately after the update. Very disappointed.

  14. amit jung

    07/14/2015 at 10:31 am

    after few months of updating my phone to lollipop, i found problem like automatic screen rotation, automatic hands free…when my charger gets plug in, the display of phone remains ON for longer time. i did factory reset for many times…but the problem is same…HTC m8 is really so problamatic phone…disappointed!!

  15. mickey alderman

    07/25/2015 at 9:58 am

    Major issues listed above after the update, and a factor reboot did not help. After talking to a tech rep at att he said shut my phone on and sent a code to my phone and the majority of the issues stopped with the exception of the issues with messages, that lags, freezes and shuts down. He said this is a common issue and att is working on this.

  16. Gordon

    08/17/2015 at 12:26 pm

    I thought HTC was a cutting edge company with great products. After this Lollipop upgrade, I will NEVER buy an HTC product again. This is how companies die.

  17. Martin Leemans

    08/24/2015 at 1:54 am

    second time i have to reset my phone to factory settings. Still doesn’t work!!!!! And off course no more garanty…….Thanks HTC We all have a lot of problems and what does HTC for us???

  18. shunthono

    08/31/2015 at 7:44 am

    After update from kitkat to lollipop, last four months my HTC M8 randomly shutdown (daily 8/9 even sometimes more then 20 times) I did everything “Factory reset! Reboot! ETC…bla bla bla” nothing is working! I spend lots money to buy this Mobile and try to fix this deferent place! Now I’m 10000% sure this is software problem! So “HTC company” solve this problem! or refund my frustration!

  19. Edgar

    09/05/2015 at 12:36 pm

    I have a HTC M8 that I rooted so I could uninstall the Sprint preloaded apps. The thing is that a new update came in and when I try to install, it always reboot my phone to the BIOS. Does anyone knows how can I solve this. Thanks

  20. Basil

    09/14/2015 at 7:19 am

    There is no update option shown in settings my phone is still on a 4.4.2 version

  21. Ryan

    09/17/2015 at 8:41 pm

    I’ve had the same problems as everyone listed above…lagging phone, forced re-boots, apps not starting, apps lockup up phone, massive battery drain, dropped calls/calls that can’t hear me…on and on. I’ve got Verizon and they have sent me 2 “refurbished” phones so far. The weird thing is that the problems only get worse with each replacement phone. Trying to be patient in waiting for HTC to fix it. My son has a Samsung Galaxy…smooth as silk. I’ll never buy another HTC…EVER!!!

  22. k v

    09/22/2015 at 4:16 am

    i have the same complaint my new htc m8 shutdown regularly 7,8 times please help me..

  23. nima naghshtabrizi

    10/29/2015 at 1:06 pm

    Hi there,my m8’s android version is 4.4.4, but when I check the updates it doesnt find new one and it says “there are no new updates for your phone. ” How can I fix it ?

  24. David

    11/19/2015 at 8:13 am

    hello, i just updated my htc m8 last night after plugging it into my laptop htc manager keeps popping up to upgrade…so thats what i did…..its the worse thing i ever done my phone won’t work again..its stuck on the htc powered by android white screen ….tried power volume up ..click recover ..reboot …fast reboot ..factory reset nothing back to the same white screen…i called htc they’re currently helping me fix the problem but based on my investigation online, there is no resolution….i will keep u guys posted on what happens …I’m awaiting a call from htc in an hour.

    • Natalie

      01/27/2016 at 5:35 am

      Same thing has happened to me it’s stuck on the White htc screen. Did you get it fixed?

  25. Mario Fusaro

    01/06/2016 at 4:32 am

    I tried several of the Internet “fixes” for my HTC One M8 with WiFi problems after Lollipop upgrade. After trying numerous so called “fixes” off the Internet, I performed a fix that has kept the WiFi working properly for 3 weeks. What seems to have happened is that one of the receint updates changed the name of the phone and the WiFi software cannot make up for this change. Step 1 below is a big change from all of the fixes on the Internet so be sure you do this procedure again if you have already tried the other “fixes” and they failed.

    On your HTC One M8:
    1. Go to Settings – About – Phone Identity and see what the Phone Name is for your phone (write this down), then exit.
    2. Go to Settings – WiFi and tap on your connection (or lack thereof). In the upper right, you will see 3 dots, click on them.
    3. Click on WiFi Direct and see what is entered on the top line. This is supposed to be the same as the Phone Identity that you wrote down. If not, click the 3 dots in the upper right then click Rename Device.
    4. Enter the Phone Identity that you wrote down earlier and click OK.
    5. Reboot your HTC One M8 and that is all there is to it.

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