Although there have been some complaints about the LG G4’s plastic casing, some feel like this is the phone that you should be married to this year. However, we know that no marriage is perfect, and once the honeymoon phase is over the cracks begin to show. The phone has gotten a bad reputation for having dead spots in certain spots of the screen. There have been countless videos on YouTube verifying that the screen issue was very real. The problem became so obvious that LG officially acknowledged the issue and released an update to fix the problem. Although that was definitely the biggest issue, there were some other problems with the device. Here are the top 10 problems with the LG G4 and the troubleshooting methods you can take to address each one.
Problem1: LG G4 Screen Issues
Many users have been complaining that sometimes the screen won’t register their taps. The operating system is ignoring user taps quite frequently. There have been so many complaints about this bug that LG made an official statement and software update for it. Others users have complained that the LG stock keyboard was not responding to their touches to the screen. To determine that your phone is not responding to your touch, let’s test this out by using a built-in app on your G4
Step 1: Test Your Device to See if it’s Missing Your Taps
Open the dialer on your phone and type 277634#*#. Then tap Device test > Service Menu > Manual Test > Touch Draw Test > Manual Begin to tap random areas of the test screen, making sure to touch the screen with more than one finger at a time. If a red dot doesn’t appear when you touch the screen, then your device is ignoring some of your taps. Alternative App for Testing Your Device for Dead Spots on the Screen
Step 2: Alternative App for Testing Your Device for Dead Spots on the Screen
The Multitouch Test app does exactly what the app built into your phone does. If you do not feel like using the service code to access the tap test app on your device, simply download this app and tap the device to see if it misses your taps.
Step 3: Replace Your Stock LG G4 Keyboard with Swype
If the LG G4 stock keyboard isn’t registering your taps, then you need to replace your stock keyboard with another keyboard from the Play Store. In my opinion, Swype is one of the best keyboards out there. It allows you to swipe letters rather than tapping each letter individually.
Step 4: Developer Settings Fix for Screen Dead Spots
For those who are willing to tinker with the developer settings, there is a secret way to manipulate the GPU settings for your phone. We’re going to try to fix the issue by toggling “Force GPU rendering”. Go to Settings > General > About Phone > Software Info > and tap the build number repeatedly until you receive a message that says, “You are now a developer.” Go into the developer options. Scroll down until you find the option to Force GPU Rendering and toggle it on.
Step 5: Screen Protector Issues
Are you using a screen protector? Many smartphone users use a screen protector to prevent the screen from cracking. However, this adds another layer on top of the phone that may sometimes prevent the phone from registering your tap. You may have to risk it and take the screen protector off if it is causing problems.
Step 6: SGS Touchscreen Booster to Manipulate Touchscreen Settings
SGS Touchscreen Booster is an app that manipulates the touchscreen settings on your phone without root. It allows you to adjust your phone’s sensitivity to your touch, how long it should register your touch, and what touch should register as a swipe or a tap. This app definitely proves that the missed taps are a software calibration problem. If you haven’t received the official update from LG yet, then this app will definitely help you in the meantime.
Step 7: The Whole Screen is Unresponsive
If your whole screen is unresponsive to touch, then it’s probably a hardware malfunction. You will need to get a replacement device to resolve this issue.
Problem 2: LED Notification Issues
Many users have reported that the LED will start flashing even they have not received any notifications from the phone. Some users have said that even if you clear the notifications the light continues to blink.
Step 1: Alarm Clock Fix
Do you have an alarm set up on the stock LG alarm app? Then you’re going to need to turn it off and download a better one from the Play Store. Here is a way to clear the notification light by trying the alarm clock fix.
Clear all NotificationsTurn off the ScreenNow just wait until the notification light starts blinkingTurn on the ScreenGo to Clock and disable your AlarmDouble tap the Status bar and turn off your screenYour notification light should stop blinking
You can try to use your alarm clock again and see if it doesn’t cause your LED to blink. Just be mindful that there are many other alarm clock apps that won’t cause this problem.
Step 2: 3rd-Party Messaging App Issues
Some have reported that 3rd party messaging apps are causing the LED problem. Consider removing the messaging app and see if the problem persists. Hopefully, this won’t always be necessary once there is an update, but until then you may have to stick with the stock Android messaging app.
Step 3: Last resort
If you can handle using your phone without the LED light, you can turn the LED off completely. Go to Settings > Sound and Notification > Notification LED
Problem 3: Software Lag
The G4 is a feature phone with top of the line specs, and yet people are still complaining about how the phone still lags after using it for a while. Even though it’s chock full of ram and has a blazing fast processor, it may begin to slow down in the future.
Step 1: Greenify Will Speed up Your Phone
Greenify is–for the most part–an app killer. The purpose of it is to kill apps that force themselves to load in the background. Greenify is great for disabling apps that you use maybe once a week. Unlike your standard app killer, which tries to kill all apps that it can, Greenify will only kill the apps that you choose. Simply tap the plus button to add the apps to the list and press the “ZZZ” button to put those apps to sleep. You may have to press the “ZZZ” button every time you restart your phone.
Step 2: You May Have a Bad App Installed
There is a chance a malicious app is infecting your phone. If you’re lucky, solving the problem might be as simple as uninstalling all of your downloaded apps and seeing if that solves the problem. If that doesn’t fix it, then you may have to factory reset the phone. Howto factory reset your phone:
Backup all data on the internal memory.Turn off the device.Press and hold the Power and Volume down buttons on the back of the device.When the LG logo appears, release and then re-hold the Power button while continuing to hold the Volume down button.
Step 3: You Have Too Many LG Apps On
Dual Window, QSlide, Smart Bulletin, and smart notice can all cause delays as they all require processing power from your phone. Consider disabling the apps you don’t use often.
Problem 4: Short Battery Life
Do you feel like you’re not getting enough battery life from your G4? There may be a couple of reasons for this. Have you downloaded a bunch of apps that require a constant internet connection? If so, it may be wise for you to delete the apps that you don’t really find necessary.
Step 1: Uninstall Apps that Require Internet
You know that an app requires an internet connection if you turn on airplane mode on your phone and the app cannot function. You should also delete unnecessary apps that run in the background. You can find out which apps are running in the background by going to Settings > Applications then going to your application manager and then looking at the Running Apps tab. If you have any apps running, and you don’t usually use them, uninstall the app.
Step 2: Disable Wireless Connections
You may also want to disable some wireless options if you don’t use them. If you know that you’re going to be at a location where you won’t be using Wi-Fi for a while, you should turn Wi-Fi off. If you don’t use any Bluetooth devices be sure to turn that off as well.
Step 3: You Have a Bad Battery
Finally, you may have received a faulty battery from the manufacturer. Batteries aren’t perfect devices, and sometimes your phone happens to come with a bad battery. You’re going to have to buy an OEM battery from LG. It’s not a good idea to get a third party battery because you don’t know if the battery can provide the same performance that an LG battery can.
Step 4: Phone Charging Issues
Having a phone charging issue is a common problem with most phones. The G4 is equipped with Qualcomm 2.0 quick charging technology. Having this technology on your LG means that the phone should be able to take a charge twice as fast as most other phones.
Tenergy Quick Charge 2.0 18wIncipio Quick Car ChargerAukey Quick 2.0 ChargerPureGear Extreme ChargerAnker 18w Quick Charger
Problem 5: Phone Overheating
All phones tend to overheat when the processor is under heavy usage. Data-heavy apps, video, and video games especially can make a phone so hot you can cook an egg on it. We seem to forget that our phones are just miniature computers. Don’t forget that the only reason most desktops are as fast as they are is that they have powerful fans placed directly on top of the CPU. Take out the fan and you can sear steaks on top of your CPU.
Step 1: Get the Fire Extinguisher Ready
If you ever find that your phone is excessively hot, turn it off and let it cool it down before continuing. Sometimes an app may misbehave and overuse your CPU causing your phone to heat up. If your phone heats up immediately after turning it on, you may have an app that is misbehaving as soon as you turn your phone on. If deleting all downloaded apps does not fix it, and then your last resort is to factory reset your phone. If the problem persists, it’s a battery issue, and you need to get a replacement battery.
Problem 6: Smart Lock not Working Correctly
The G4 comes with the ability to unlock automatically based on location or when other devices (like Bluetooth, or NFC) pair with the phone. Some users have complained that the phone will continue to stay unlocked even if they are no longer near their home. Pinpointing a cellphone’s location can still be difficult sometimes. Make sure that your GPS and Wi-Fi are on, as the accurate location is dependent on both these services.
Problem 7: Wi-Fi Issues
Sometimes it’s hard to tell if your phone or your Wi-Fi router is the issue when you’re trying to connect to the internet. After being sure that your phone’s Wi-Fi is on, try to turn the Wi-Fi router on and off. Next step would be to go to the Wi-Fi settings on your phone and to forget the connection to your wireless router. After 30 seconds reconnect to the router, this should fix the problem.
Problem 8: Camera Issues
The LG G4 camera is highly praised by many users. However, what should you do if it doesn’t work at all?
Step 1: Restart Your Phone
If your camera always worked in the past and suddenly stopped working then restart your phone. Power cycling your phone tends to reset any software issues and some hardware issues, not to mention the software that controls it.
Step 2: Clear the Camera’s Cache
Go to Settings and go to your application manager, then tap Force Stop. Afterwards tap Clear Cache and open your camera app again. This should clear most problems.
Problem 9: Bad Cell Signal
There haven’t been that many complaints about bad cell signal service with the LG G4. If you’re having consistent bad signal problems, then you need first to figure out if you experience this everywhere you go, or if you’re in an area where the signal is generally bad. The construction of a building can actually stop the cell phone signals. If you get bad signals everywhere you go, then the radio inside your phone is bad and you need to get a replacement device.
Problem10: Bluetooth Problems
Bluetooth can be finicky sometimes. The first thing you need to do is make sure that your phone’s Bluetooth is on, and then you want to turn on your Bluetooth device. If a connection isn’t established, open up the Bluetooth settings on your phone, look for the device, and connect to it. If the device isn’t listed, then there is a possibility that your device has connected to someone else’s phone by accident. You may want to factory reset your Bluetooth device and try the above process all over again.
Conclusion
That solves most of the major problems with the LG G4. If you have a problem that isn’t listed here, then let us know in the comments section, and we’ll try to help you out. Be sure to subscribe to Joy of Android by clicking the Facebook, Twitter, or Google Plus link at the top of this page. Featured Image Credit
