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LG G4 Android 6.0 Update Problems Frustrate Owners

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Back around mid October LG started the first Android 6.0 Marshmallow update for its popular LG G4, and now it has slowly started to hit US carriers. First the update arrived on Sprint, then US Cellular with tons of new features and improved performance, but the update is also causing problems for many. Below we’ll go into more details.

On October 5th Google officially released Android 6.0 Marshmallow, the successor to Android 5.1 Lollipop. It’s loaded with new features, better performance, improved battery life and more. Less than a month later LG was the first major manufacturer to push out an update for small regions, and now in the US.

Read: LG Android 6.0 Marshmallow Update Release Breakdown

In mid-December the Sprint LG G4 Android 6.0 Marshmallow update was officially announced, along with a small changelog, but most users still haven’t received the update. In January it also arrived for US Cellular, and others like AT&T and Verizon are up next. However, some users may want to hold off.

LG-G4-all-leather

Now that the update has hit two major carriers in the United States, not to mention a few LG G3 owners, we’re starting to see an influx in reports that the update is doing more harm than good. Frustrating millions of LG G4 users, mainly on Sprint.

It was the first to receive the update, which may have been rushed, as we’re seeing reboot problems, WiFi issues, no internet access, devices that won’t go past the Android loading splash screen and more. This is a big issue, and we saw something similar with the LG G3 update to Android 4.4 KitKat that caused loads of problems.

Heading to various Android forums it looks like the Sprint LG G4 Android 6.0 update was slowly rolled out, maybe even delayed, then continued to arrive but only caused issues for lots of owners. Many problems which, are also surfacing for the US Cellular update.

While we’ve had good luck with Android 6.0 Marshmallow on the Nexus 5, Nexus 6P, and other devices, users with the LG G4 are reporting a slew of major issues. Some of those were present on Nexus devices, and some aren’t. With every update the possibility of problems is real, but most users should be able to proceed without any issues.

Read: LG G4 Android 6.0 Update Problems & Fixes

However, those with the Sprint LG G4 who have received Android 6.0 are seeing device reboots, then a phone that won’t work at all. Contacts have gone missing, internet is in and out and not even working for some, and loads of other issues. This seems like a big problem, and users can expect an update in the near future with more fixes.

The link above is a detailed guide full of many problems users are experiencing, and potential fixes for some of those. The contact sync issue seems to be the biggest one, so we’d recommend all users head to settings > accounts > their main Google account and make sure contact sync is enabled before the update. Then toggle it off and back on after the update, which should in turn make the phone sync and restore all contacts.

LG-G4-Camera-closeup

At the same time, other problems where the phone works fine for the first few days, then reboots, and gets stuck at the splash (loading) screen with the Android or Sprint logo, and it doesn’t work further. If this is happening a full factory data reset may be required. If users can’t boot into the phone, try booting into recovery and erasing everything. Of course this means you’ll have to start fresh, but this is something I do with every big update, as it’s the best route for a good experience to begin with.

Read: How to Backup Android in 5 Easy Steps

A last resort before heading to a Sprint (or other carrier store) for a replacement is heading into recovery mode and doing a factory data reset, then clearing the cache to delete remnants of the old software and update. Here’s how:

Turn off the LG G4. Then while off push and hold power and volume UP. Once the boot screen comes on keep holding. When the LG logo appears let go of power for one second then hold it down again. This should reboot the phone into “recovery mode” which users can use volume up/down to navigate. Head to Wipe Cache, and use power to select. Try this first, and reboot. If this doesn’t solve the problem, follow the same steps and do a “factory data reset” in recovery.

If all else fails, some users may need to head to a Sprint store for a replacement. We’ve reached out to LG for comment, and will report back once we know more.

39 Comments

39 Comments

  1. Jaco Venter

    02/05/2016 at 8:50 am

    Seems I am luckier than my USA friends. I have a LG G4 H815 the International edition. I don’t have any problems with Marshmallow. On the first of February 2016 I received an update addressing the battery life. My device is now on V20d-EUR-XX., without any problems.

  2. Derrick Tate

    02/07/2016 at 1:52 pm

    I’m in the US on Sprint’s network. Fortunately, I haven’t had any issues either. Initially the battery would discharge faster than usual, But after about 5 days of use I’m assuming the cpu applied an algorithm based on my app usage and battery management was optimized again. Needless to say I’m still enjoying my LG G4 along with the newest update.

  3. Juan

    02/08/2016 at 12:21 am

    Many reboots here… And the Play Store keeps freezing, which is only solved by reboot, by the way.

  4. Jaco Venter

    02/08/2016 at 5:40 pm

    Seems I spoke too early, my camera app is sometimes stopping to respond for no apparent reason.

    • Yhanik

      09/14/2016 at 10:37 pm

      I have an international version too. Everything works fine except my camera app and flashlight….any luck finding a solution?

  5. craig

    02/09/2016 at 8:02 am

    Bigger issue for me is international roaming. After making a few trips where I could dial out but not receive any calls while traveling internatiionally Sprint revealed that the problem was with LG’s software. It was a riot– I could place a call while roaming but would then lose all phone functions. All phone related options were ‘shaded’ or ‘grayed’. The only way to terminate a call was to pull the battery from the phone. Sprint claimed that LG was aware of the problem but had no solution. This is my second G4 after owning two G3’s. I feel I have given LG ample time to deal with the quirks. Nice design but if it doesnt work…

  6. Wes

    02/15/2016 at 11:36 pm

    My US Cellular LG G4 keeps hopping back & forth between wifi & 4G since marshmallow update. Never a problem with lollipop..

  7. Simon

    02/16/2016 at 8:46 am

    My LG G4 started running hot all the time and the battery lasted 2 hours instead of 12 when I updated to Marshmallow. I was going crazy looking for solutions, and looking in the Battery Usage section didn’t help. What I did was, I installed an app called “OS Monitor”, which shows you what apps are using what % of the CPU. I found that “Accuweather” was using 20% of the CPU all the time (“Battery Usage” did not show this app consuming any battery %). I uninstalled “Accuweather” and now my phone is back to normal, working like a charm like before. Hope this helps someone!

  8. Susan Mah

    02/18/2016 at 7:20 pm

    Data stopped working after I installed Marshmallow on my LG G4 H815 phone. Would a factory data reset fix this problem?

  9. Trytg

    02/19/2016 at 9:36 pm

    My locked files are missing. When I try to show my locked files it says that I don’t have any.

  10. Rosa

    02/21/2016 at 1:40 pm

    Since the update my phone shuts off. Several times a day and won’t turn back on until I take the battery out.

  11. Samia Nasir

    02/21/2016 at 10:32 pm

    My lg g4 from tmobile just stopped working one day after the update. I lost a lot of data from the phone. They sent me this phone and i thought it was just the phone, but i already start seeing getting slow and it just closes or freezes some app when i open. Too frustrating. Better to go to iphone i think. :(

  12. Bruce

    02/22/2016 at 11:39 pm

    Since this update was installed on my LG G3 from Verizon, my MSN email account won’t connect to the server anymore, and my Life 360 app just sits there with the message ‘loading family members.’ Haven’t found a fix for either of these problems yet … not happy.

    • Mike

      02/25/2016 at 8:52 pm

      Bruce I just tried to send an MSN Windows Live Mail email on my Verizon LG G3 and it failed to send. This was my first email attempt since downloading the new Android 6.0 yesterday. I’m not happy with it at all. How can I go back to my original Android version? Is it possible?

  13. Maanas

    02/23/2016 at 10:23 am

    I have a G4. Just got an update for Marshmallow. Following the update, I cannot download apps from PlayStore, WhatsApp does not work unless I Force Stop it every time I need to receive/send messages. Fortunately Gmail has no issues till now, however I expect Gmail too to stop working as I had the same issues on the G3. Due to these same issues, FIDO upgraded my phone to G4, but the problems crop up again.

    Any solutions? LG/FIDo/Google have none.

    Thanks!

  14. B Young

    02/23/2016 at 6:33 pm

    Downloaded Marshmallow over the weekend, last night the phone froze, I removed the battery then proceed to charge the phone, it would not stop vibrating, removed the battery again and tried charging again, vibrated once like normal but never charged, no charge light.
    Wife called Verizon this morning, they immediately offered to send out a refurbished replacement.
    Something tells me they are not letting the full story out!
    Will see what happens when I get the replacement tomorrow.

  15. Denny G

    02/25/2016 at 7:22 am

    Verizon LG G3, after update, phone failed to recognize SIM Card. Tried removing the Battery, SIM and all other suggestions. Went to the Verizon store who performed the same steps and tired replacing the SIM Card to no avail. Then backed up phone manually to computer, cleared down phone… still would not recognize SIM Card. Eventually Verizon replaced with a refurbished phone. Today getting pushed update… are you kidding me?

    • Anne P

      03/03/2016 at 4:49 pm

      Same here, LG G3 practically bricked now. , same problem with the replacement Verizon sent. And all my contacts backed up to cloud, but cant run cloud on the new phone. NOT pleased

  16. Anthony

    02/26/2016 at 8:20 am

    Verizon LG G3. After update, have a bunch of issues. Slow or no internet connection. Doesn’t recognize that wifi is on/connected. Bluetooth is erratic. Sometimes phone thinks Data has been turned off. Though turned all the way up, there’s low volume. Callers can’t hear me. My music player volume output is practically nonexistent. Worst of all, every time I open my phone for anything, it keeps taking me to the Google Play store. I love the Android platform, but these updates are making things worse.

  17. Scott

    02/26/2016 at 11:16 pm

    I have a Verizon LG G3 getting no internet connection notice on my intuit go payment app. Hard to run a mobile business if u can’t accept credit cards. Called Google and they know about the problem came up with 6.0.1 update but I can’t get it HOW STUPID IS THAT.

  18. Tosha

    02/29/2016 at 10:40 am

    The issue started with my last LG G3. It had the blue screen of death. I did the update probably 2 weeks ago now but when my phone crashed 2/24/16 it had been on there for a week! Now They sent me a replacement, it asked me to update to the new 6.0 marshmallow. I KNEW I should not have accepted the update. I got the replacement on 2/26/16 my phone just crashed on 2/29/19 about an hour and a half ago. Off to Verizon again! I am so furious! Until now, I have had my phone since July 2014 and NEVER had an issue EVER. I did not even know you could take the battery out or the back off because in almost over a year and a half I have never had to. I am so pissed!

  19. Ederson Perin / Madison WI USA

    02/29/2016 at 9:02 pm

    I trade my Note 4 for the LG G4 four days ago …T mobile network…love the 6.0 …phone did the update on the first night on his own. got no issues whatsoever! Android 6.0 fast and stable. Love how everything got much faster after the update.

  20. Liz

    03/04/2016 at 11:10 pm

    I have the LG G3 and since updating to marshmallow my home Wi-Fi disconnects every few minutes which is very annoying. That’s the only thing that I’ve had an issue with. I’ve deleted the wifi and added it and even reset the router but still nothing..

  21. sirlorcan

    03/25/2016 at 5:06 am

    LG G4: Updated to 6.0 overnight and in the morning when my alarm went off the screen wouldn’t turn on so I couldn’t snooze it. Pushed the button over and over, nothing. I turned my bedside light on and held the phone under the light and tried again, it came on. As it turns out, if my screen has been of for a few minutes the screen wont turn on unless it is directly exposed to a bright light. I haven’t noticed any other issues. My wife has the same phone, she updated a few weeks later and she has the exact same issue.

  22. Mike

    04/19/2016 at 11:05 am

    wish I could say it has been painless. after first update my phone died the boot screen lock death. the Sprint “Tech team” couldn’t get it out even after attempting to wipe and re-flash the phone. After a protracted fight they agreed to replace the phone. fast forward less than 24 hours later I have the new phone back up and running with all my content etc and …wham!.. No data over cell network. Yes, I have done a hard reboot, checked all mobile data settings etc. I am officially done with LG. I have really wanted to like this phone but it (and Sprint) have failed me for the last time.

    • chris

      08/26/2016 at 9:47 am

      that awkward moment when blame a carrier for a manufacturer issue.

  23. John

    04/23/2016 at 11:16 pm

    I have the AT&T version of the G4. After flashing 6.0 OTA update, call forwarding and call waiting settings gives me a error message that the two services aren’t available and after clicking on them, their options are greyed out. This isn’t a isolated issue because I was told by two employees from AT&T that this is a known issue. I called LG tech support and the claimed not to know anything about it and also never mentioned looking into it and perhaps a a quick patch fix for this.

  24. Melba Mauldin

    04/25/2016 at 9:50 pm

    I have LG3 ANDROID. Since Marshmallow update, I cannot load Fox App, phone gets very hot, battery life shortened, WiFi disconnects often, and constant message that mobile data is off. Contacts became wonky after Marshmallow update. Contacts update fails to cloud every night.

    Last, most important, some individuals have difficult seeing. The LG3 phone at the time I purchased it had awesome Font Sizing capabilities, however with the Marshmallow update that “Accessibility” feature of Font Sizing was taken from us. The price of my phone was worth the money for that one feature. Yet, developers take that feature away. That is like taking a person’s cane away from someone who cannot walk. Did anyone stop to think about the problem for users with poor eyesight this would cause. Developers and upgrades should never take Font sizing, or other “ACCESSIBILITY” features away! A person purchases a phone for the features that best assist their particular handicap issues only to have it taken away! More tabs were added and thus Font and tabs are now so small, very difficult to read. Young millennial developers should think twice when doing updates, that older people and people with special physical issues purchase phones that meet their needs. Please think before you make so many drastic changes that affect abilities to see it operate a phone.

    Too many updates. We have had three in one year. Two in 3 months! Stupid! Do not download “Marshmallow” on your phones. Nightmare waiting to happen,

    I have continually reported this to Google, LG, FOX News and Google. Out comments seem to fall on DEAF ears and BLIND eyes.

    Phone is not even eligible for upgrade yet, so that means it is not that old, yet phone no longer functions. We should be either upgraded for free or the problems should be corrected.

    Perhaps class action litigation might get some attentiom. We paid a lot of money for our phones and pay a lot of money for our service, yet our phones no longer work.

    Beware of “Marshmallow” update! Not a good move! Person who created it should be fired! It has created nightmare for both my husband and myself on our LG3 phones.

  25. Amanda

    05/01/2016 at 7:07 pm

    I just updated 2 days ago and now my blue tooth is acting crazy. I cant sync any of my devices. All my contacts are different and the font sizes just change on their own. I am so pissed! I reset my phone and the update is still there and nothing freaking works. How can this update still have all these bugs when I am seeing people have had this instalked all the the way back in February. This is April and I just did the update…I don’t even know where to begin.

  26. Guv

    05/02/2016 at 9:30 am

    I really fedup with this update, wasted whole day today to Fix the Issue I am facing below issues
    1. No Mobile Network
    2. No Mobile Data active(icon gone greyed)
    3. Can not search available mobile network
    4. Can not add Google Account(Comes out with error’ Unfortunately Goodle play stopped working’)
    5. Can not access Google play

    I will not recomend this update, I did all solutions found on net cashe cleaning, uninstall google play, lucky patcher etc but no use…

    Please if you have solution email me on [email protected]

    Many Thanks

  27. JOHN

    05/12/2016 at 6:54 am

    before the update i could select how the screen looked when i turned off the screen but that feature AS WITH A LOT OF OTHER FEATURES were silently removed! from my LG G3 ANDROID on 6.0..

    SINCERELY F*** 6.0

  28. Jim

    05/13/2016 at 1:09 pm

    Mine has been buggy since the update but now all of sudden my rear camera this weird pixelated screen and completely unusable or the phone will lockup and restart

  29. Hasani

    05/29/2016 at 9:25 pm

    After 6.0 my mobile data stopped working on my G4. The phone is 4 weeks old and LG says I got to pay to send it from barbados to Texas which is like buying the phone again even though the phone is under warranty. I was excited about this phone but this experience was the worst. The call center support is also poor due to the fact they were more interested in their script than offering real solutions. Can anyone roll back to lolipop please help
    #disappointedinLG

  30. Amy Williams

    06/30/2016 at 8:43 am

    My husbands camera stopped working and when ever he tried to make a call, it just simply said called failed. Some of the issues with this update. His phone had crashed last week while trying to perform a firmware update and all of these things started to happen. Took the phone to a verizon store, they opened it and said, there is water damage so there is nothing we can do for you. We explained the phone had not been submerged, etc, etc. The Verizon employee says, it doesn’t really matter, it could just have been moisture from having it in the bathroom while you were taking a shower (which probably happened), at any rate, we were left with a broken phone with still over 300 on the contract before he could get a new phone. I put an older phone on the account and then just started tinkering around with the flashing software (you can’t root android 6.0 don’t even bother trying it). After about 10 attempts, I noticed that the camera was finally working and then reinstated the phone on the account and guess what? It works perfectly. These technicians need to be better trained and LISTEN to the customer, the issue I was there for was caused by a firmware update crashing and NOT water damage. Luckily I am a technician myself and kept messing around with the phone.

    • Burhan

      09/10/2016 at 2:09 am

      Hey Amy
      I have the same issue. How exactly did you resolve yours?
      What flashing tool? And how?

  31. BurnSoul7

    07/10/2016 at 1:36 pm

    My LG G4 sticks freeze a lot while normal use of some social apps … lately it’s been freezing then restart itself on its own … Camera stop responding… all problems!s started after Marshmallow update … in last 3 days my phone froze like 8-9 times…

  32. Matt in Fl.

    07/12/2016 at 8:43 pm

    Verizon LG G4…excellent trouble free device, purchased in december 2015. ..didnt even know the battery was removable untill 7-8-16…when the update forced itself ….lost part of my Outter box franticly trying to get it unfrozen to complete a big money call. Then it would freeze on random incoming calls/ battery out reset required 4 or 5 times friday. (heavy useage day) …also froze once using the camera, & once using google maps. Strangely seamed to work fine on the following sunday & monday, but went back to the random freezing / pull battery dance, on tuesday, when my usage went back up. It also seamed to be a little warmer than usual, & bat life was down.
    I stopped working to spend 4 hrs on the phone with tech… then a full wipe, lost my settings, apps, passwords, etc. Had to $ upgrade my cloud capacity to back up pics, contacts & texts.
    (“if that dosent fix it, we will mail you another phone”)
    Missed calls=Missed customers!
    Not happy. VZW tech was patient & walked me through everything, but what about a half day of my time, & several inconvenienced, possibly lost customers!
    Who gets booted off the Christmas list… LG? or Verizon?

    • chris

      08/26/2016 at 9:55 am

      that awkward moment when you blame a manufacturer issue on a carrier….

  33. Carla

    12/14/2016 at 6:26 pm

    I wasn’t as lucky as most. My phone wont get past the LG screen before it shuts down. Nothing worked so i was told to send it off to the LG repair center. Got a call today letting me know that since my phone is out of warranty by a month its going to cost me to have it repaired. Something i’m not to happy about. If it would have been something i had done to it would have been one thing, but it being there update that broke it in the first place i don’t see why i should be responsible for the repair bill. So i’ll be looking for not only a new phone service company since the one i currently use wanted to charge me 279.00 for a replacement of a phone i’m still having to pay for until march that’s nothing more than a paper weight right now . As far as for LG i’ll never purchase anything LG again after this experience which has been a total nightmare.

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