LG G4 User Thread (Was: Rumor Thread)

[dkyeager]

Acquired a Mophie battery case for the G4 which shipped quickly:  http://www.mophie.com/shop/smartphones/juice-pack-lg-g4

 

Tested it in the early morning hours  for RSRP and bandwidth compared to a clear LION case and no case (none).

 

Here are the results with the best and worse samples removed out of 5 or six samples each:

 

 

Averages Horizontal Down Up    Vertical Down Up 

clear               35.4 11.3           19.5 3.4

mophie              18.1  1.9           19.0 3.1

none                27.2 11.4           16.6 2.2

 

I was charging the phone and found that the top line showing the -RSRP was infrequently shown. I was also curious about the phone held at 45 degrees away from the user. So here are the next mornings results without charging cable attached and three RSRP samples used for each:

 

 

Case Average Horiz RSRP Down Up  45 RSRP Down Up  Vert RSRP Down Up 

clear            -104.3 30.6 6.2  -106.3 27.3 4.9    -105.0 19.4 3.3

mophie           -105.0 25.5 2.7  -106.7 24.3 3.1    -103.0 30.0 4.4

none             -105.3 24.2 6.7  -106.0 28.5 5.6    -105.3 18.1 2.4

 

Much of the difference between the two sets of data is due to small sample size and somewhat data starved Clear B41 on a Microwave ring.

 

The interesting take-aways are the clear Lion case seems to improve performance except at 45 degree angle and the Mophie does best while not charging in the vertical position.

 

I will retest the charging versus not charging variations with the mophie.

 

NB: to be scientifically valid I would need a much larger sample size of 30 to 50 with the other variables controlled.

[metayoshi]

Back to battery life, it seems like my phone took a hit with the latest update. Before the update, my phone would sleep no problem. The past couple of days, my phone seems to be draining significantly in the background. I haven't installed any battery monitor apps yet to look at what is causing this, but the stock battery stats show Google Services and Android OS as my top two battery users now instead of my screen. I literally have a screen on time of 34m and my phone is at 61% battery life left. Android OS in particular has a 1h 11m wakelock on my phone. That's ridiculous. I even rebooted between yesterday and today, and it seems like the same thing is happening today.

 

 

Still looks like Android System is causing a huge wakelock. Don't know what the heck is happening.

 

I did notice that within Android System, there's a service called IPSec Service. It looks related to VPN and other "security" services. The company I work at decided to change security policies and we now have 2 factor authentication in order to remote desktop into our work machines. I had to download a Symantec VIP Access app. They allow a push notification to be pushed onto the phone when trying to login through VPN, instead of typing the number down. Uninstalling the app is pretty much not an option, so I disabled the push notifications for that app. Hopefully it helps this time...

Yep, so it was this app. Android System has the same wakelock pattern (58m of a wake lock today vs 1h 11m last time I tested it), however today, I am sitting at 83% at 4:27 pm. I added that stupid Symantec VIP Access app to my greenify list, and it made my battery life go back to where it used to be.

 

So for those that aren't experiencing good battery life on this phone, remember that all it takes is 1 badly designed app...

[transitwatch889]

Has anyone else experienced issues with the leather back and reception dropping off?

[dkyeager]

Has anyone else experienced issues with the leather back and reception dropping off?

Yes, it is well documented in the last few pages i believe.

 

Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk

[jonathanm1978]

I'll be heading to Louisiana / and staying 5 days in McComb, MS tomorrow (Monday). Tomorrow night, in Slidell, I know I'll have great service on LTE...it's McComb I'm worried about -all C-Spire area. From what I can tell, McComb looks almost like Sylacauga, AL....3 towers with LTE, with exception of McComb having green versus the yellow in Sylacauga.

In hoping to find that LTE reaches around Lloyd Hamilton rd, since I'll spend all week there. I wish there was LTE roaming on C-Spire...but maybe next trip. Curious to see how well the G4 works there, as here I'm seeing better RF...LTE in places my G3 didn't pick up..

 

 

It looks like the G4 does pretty good on C-spire 3G.

 

[irev210]

I gotta say, this is a very nice phone.  Overall, it actually seems faster and has better battery life than the GS6.

 

The camera is very different but is also excellent.

 

Great phone.

[jonathanm1978]

What's the ???? star in the notifications? http://imgur.com/J62Qecb

[transitwatch889]

What's the star in the notifications? http://imgur.com/J62Qecb

on my device usually means priority mode is active! So check if u turned it on with out noticing.

[jthawks]

So my phone took a dive off a second story balcony and survived the fall with only the glass around the camera but the was not affected in any way. The cracks don't go over the lens. My case took the brunt of everything obviously. The corners are scratched. I was lucky

[PythonFanPA]

For anyone who's a fan of Zerolemon's cases with the high capacity batteries (i have one for my current Galaxy S4), I got confirmation that they're planning on releasing one for the G4.  No firm ETA yet but its coming.

 

Per a post on their Facebook page, ZeroLemon's G4 extended battery case should be coming out in late September:

 

https://www.facebook.com/zerolemon

 

Not sure quite yet if I'm going to upgrade to a G4 or not, but if I do I'll be buying one.

[JDP121]

Got the G4 today & am pretty happy with it so far.

[smooth25]

Got mine a few days ago and im pleasantly surprised after having a note for so long.

 

Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk

[jonathanm1978]

Been using the g4 since before my trip to McComb / Slidell / Tylertown / north shore... I'd say it done very well in performance..especially in comparison to the same trip a year ago with the g3. I'm actually impressed, and I see similar performance from the g4 and galaxy tab s 10.5" when they are side by side.

[mmark27]

Oof, this isn't good news for G4 early adopters: http://www.droid-life.com/2015/07/24/lg-to-introduce-super-premium-phone-later-this-year-as-g4-sales-disappoint/

 

Not sure why companies do multiple flagships in a single year.  That will be 3 for LG in 2015 alone.  Seems really ridiculous.  I mean, I'm not an Apple fan at all, but I can respect their update cycles and single* devices. 

 

*-single of each variant annually

[Dkoellerwx]

Oof, this isn't good news for G4 early adopters: http://www.droid-life.com/2015/07/24/lg-to-introduce-super-premium-phone-later-this-year-as-g4-sales-disappoint/

 

Not sure why companies do multiple flagships in a single year.  That will be 3 for LG in 2015 alone.  Seems really ridiculous.  I mean, I'm not an Apple fan at all, but I can respect their update cycles and single* devices. 

 

*-single of each variant annually

 

I hope they don't keep pushing the leather back. Does anyone actually like those? (not to mention they kill reception). I filled out several surveys telling them this. Hopefully they heard.

[mmark27]

I hope they don't keep pushing the leather back. Does anyone actually like those? (not to mention they kill reception). I filled out several surveys telling them this. Hopefully they heard.

 

Problem is they sunk a lot of advertising money into that fact and are trying to use that as a differentiator, but if you look at the damage the leather backs take on after a couple months, I can't imagine they'd stick with it.  Plus it has to be expensive for them to make them considering the time and hands on, etc. 

 

If "super premium" means lousy metal or sealing up the battery, I just hope they go with a 4000mAh battery and include Qi charging as standard.  Make it at least IPX7 resistant and I'm listening hard.  But they can not keep up with the device creep in size.  It's big enough as is, too big for my liking, but I get it for other folks that love that. 

[JDP121]

I hope they don't keep pushing the leather back. Does anyone actually like those? (not to mention they kill reception). I filled out several surveys telling them this. Hopefully they heard.

 

That's one of the reasons why I didn't go with the leather back version of my G4 and went with the sliver backed on instead is because I figured that the leather backed version would have reception issues. 

[WiWavelength]

I hope they don't keep pushing the leather back. Does anyone actually like those? (not to mention they kill reception). I filled out several surveys telling them this. Hopefully they heard.

That's one of the reasons why I didn't go with the leather back version of my G4 and went with the sliver backed on instead is because I figured that the leather backed version would have reception issues. 

 

Leather tanning often involves metallic elements.  I wonder if that is the explanation behind the weakened RF performance.

 

AJ

[travismheim]

Oof, this isn't good news for G4 early adopters: http://www.droid-life.com/2015/07/24/lg-to-introduce-super-premium-phone-later-this-year-as-g4-sales-disappoint/

 

Not sure why companies do multiple flagships in a single year. That will be 3 for LG in 2015 alone. Seems really ridiculous. I mean, I'm not an Apple fan at all, but I can respect their update cycles and single* devices.

 

*-single of each variant annually

I don't see how that is bad news for early adopters. The G4 is still a great phone at a decent price, anything they launch later this year doesn't change that.

 

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

[MarshieZ]

Could low sales of the G4 be because of the G3 doing so well? Were as people are still on contract and/or they are happy with their G3 that they don't see a need to switch/upgrade quite yet until they get more out of the G3?

 

Granted there is C.A. and greater RF performance in the G4 and some other minor upgrades over the G3, but to me nothing overly "major." But I guess that's just my opinion.

[UnlimitedDataIsInBeta]

Could low sales of the G4 be because of the G3 doing so well? Were as people are still on contract and/or they are happy with their G3 that they don't see a need to switch/upgrade quite yet until they get more out of the G3?

 

Granted there is C.A. and greater RF performance in the G4 and some other minor upgrades over the G3, but to me nothing overly "major." But I guess that's just my opinion.

Just my $0.02, but I don't see the G4 selling well because of fierce competition from Apple and Samsung. That, and maybe LG still leaves a bad taste in people's mouths from the Optimus G days of dysfunctional SMS.

 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[MarshieZ]

Just my $0.02, but I don't see the G4 selling well because of fierce competition from Apple and Samsung. That, and maybe LG still leaves a bad taste in people's mouths from the Optimus G days of dysfunctional SMS.

 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

My tired brain totally blanked on that aspect of it... everything kinda all came out at the same time.

 

Good points.

[dkyeager]

Could low sales of the G4 be because of the G3 doing so well? Were as people are still on contract and/or they are happy with their G3 that they don't see a need to switch/upgrade quite yet until they get more out of the G3?

 

Granted there is C.A. and greater RF performance in the G4 and some other minor upgrades over the G3, but to me nothing overly "major." But I guess that's just my opinion.

 

Without the phone upgrade being bundled-in to the price, many people will keep their phone until it fails apart, which also helps to avoid the pain of upgrading your apps and screen layouts.  The G2 early adopters are just now passing 2 years. 

 

For those in urban areas it does make a difference with its improved B41 and CA.  Out in the country, the b25 of the G2 is better.  I did my comparison with many sites, but it was in the international boundary exclusion zone. A quick real-world  B26 test reveals both to be about the same.  The G4 is much much more response than the G2 and I have never seen any lags, whereas my g2 lags several times a day. Just one person, but then I have always pushed my computing devices to the edge and beyond.

[JDP121]

Anyone have any good advice on a good case with a clip? I'm already gonna get the Otterbox Defender Series for it. But would like advice on another one as well.

[PythonFanPA]

AnandTech had a pretty good review for the G4 posted today:

 

http://www.anandtech.com/show/9379/the-lg-g4-review