Verizon has rolled out Android 5.0.2 Lollipop for owners of the LG G2, and while a lot of owners of the Korean smartphone maker's two-year-old device are excited to get the update, many people have also reported plenty of issues, ranging from minor inconveniences to major headaches that have their phones ending up useless.
Among the most common major issues reported by many users is the poor battery life and sluggish charging. Some users complain that the battery life on their G2 has significantly shortened compared to the battery life when their phones were running on Android 4.4 KitKat. One user cites an extreme example, saying his G2 now only lasts three and a half hours on a single charge, but many users who have similar but not as severe experiences say battery life has shortened by about half the normal time.
"Got my VZW LG G2 (VS980) Lollipop 5.0.2," says user Jeff Saul. "I heard the battery life was horrible but never expected it to be this bad... What the heck, Verizon?"
Android Lollipop is supposed to increase efficiency in charging, but many users report much slower charging for their updated G2s.
"I'm having real battery problems on the official Lollipop ROM from Droidth. When using GPS in my car, the battery is discharging even when plugged in," says Andy Long. "Is there anything that can be done to fix this? It's useless if I can't use it as a GPS on a journey!"
There are, however, many users who say they are having no battery problems on Android Lollipop. For instance, Bojan Tomic says his phone still had 46 percent of battery even after 13 hours of usage, with Wi-Fi constantly on and 50 percent of brightness while also spending some time exploring the new Lollipop features.
Other people have also reported the update interfering with their ability to send texts, make calls, or use their network's mobile data.
"So recently, my LG G2 has been having problems when making and receiving calls. The person on the other line can't hear me at all," says Malachi O'Hagan. "I thought it was a microphone problem. However, this [isn't] the case when I use speakerphone to make calls."
Some users think the problem has to do with Google Now, so they deactivated voice recognition on the app and voice improvement in the caller app and found they could make calls again. Others say the solution is not working for them, though.
It seems the process of upgrading to Android Lollipop is also rife with bugs, as many users report their phones suddenly stopped working in the middle of a system update or their phones showed Android KitKat even after it said it had successfully updated. One user, Arvin Nocon, says he accidentally flashed Android Lollipop and now his phone is stuck in fastboot mode and will not connect to a computer and has no recovery mode.
"I have LG G2 V980. I got the update and it finished installing but nothing has changed," says Stevie Archie. "When I look in my settings and the Android version, it still says 4.4.2, and when I go to System update it force closes."
Other irritating but not as frustrating issues include screens no longer rotating on Android Lollipop, the keyboard being slow or sometimes not appearing in some apps and not showing the arrow keys in other apps, the Power Off and Restart command shutting down the phone but not restarting it, and the ability to edit photos in the Gallery no longer available.
Neither Verizon nor LG has offered a solution, and Google has always kept mum on the bugs plaguing Android Lollipop, but many users suggest that restarting the phone can sometimes clear some of the problems. If not, though, one can always try clearing the cache and, if nothing happens, many say doing a factory reset pretty much solves nearly every problem. Just be sure to back up all important files before resetting the phone to its factory settings.
