Common LG G6 problems and how to fix them

The LG G6 marked the company’s return from the experimental mods of the G5. It went back to the tried and true basics, with a beautiful design and an improved camera. However, it also marked new growth into the 18:9 display. Of course, no smartphone has ever been perfect, and the LG G6 has its own issues. Here are some of the most common LG G6 problems and how to fix them.

See also: LG G6 review

We’ll do our best to walk you through the most common problems, as well as how to fix them. If you want some information on Android safe mode or other problem-solving modes, we’ve included information at the end.

Common LG G6 problems:

Note: Not every LG G6 user will come across these issues, and in fact, it is more than likely that you won’t face any of these problems at all.

Device is Corrupted error after phone crashes

Quite a few users have come across a problem, where after the phone crashes, they see a “Your device is corrupt. It cannot be trusted and may not work properly” message. While this issue sometimes occurs when users unlock the bootloader, the message is popping up even when no modifications have been made in the LG G6.

See also: LG G6 update tracker

This issue seemed to stem from the Verified Boot process that Google introduced with Android 7.0 Nougat. Certain apps and other features may be interrupting the process incorrectly and leading to this message coming up. LG has never been quick about software patches, but your best bet to fix this issue is by restarting your phone a few times. Unfortunately, a single restart doesn’t always do the trick, so you may have to give it a few tries.

Fingerprint sensor not working

While most users have found the fingerprint sensor extremely fast and accurate, a few LG G6 owners have come across problems. The scanner fails to recognize a fingerprint most of the time or unlocks the device very slowly.

One of the easiest ways to fix this issue is by removing all of the stored fingerprints from your LG G6 and starting over. Map the fingers you use most often, and you can even try mapping a finger twice to ensure that it gets picked up. In other cases, clearing the cache has done the trick. Follow these steps to empty your cache:

1. Enter the Settings menu.
2. Head to General, then Phone Management.
3. Locate Device Storage and tap on Internal Storage.
4. Tap on Cached Data and clear it.

A few users have also found that this issue seemed to be related to disabling the Always On Display, and enabling it again had fixed the problem. However, since only a couple of people have found the two connected, this may not be a reliable fix.

See also: LG buyer’s guide: Everything you need to know

Performance and battery drain issues

Some users have encountered various performance-related LG G6 problems, like intermittent lag, random reboots, and slow startup times. There have also been cases where users have seen surprising battery drain — even the phone is on standby.

One place to start is with the Greenify app from the Google Play Store. Here, you can see a list of active applications on waking the phone, and you can then change the settings for these apps, which should help reduce any slowdowns.

A rogue app could be the cause for any stutter, lag, or battery drain, too. Boot the device into Safe Mode (you can find the instructions on how to do so below) and see if the problem persists. You can then either delete the last few apps you may have installed before the problem started or perform a factory reset and start over, even though that is recommended only as a worst-case scenario since you will lose all your data.

LG packs a lot of features into the software experience. You may boost your performance if you disable these, but only disable the settings that you do not use.

If you bought the LG G6 from a US network carrier, your device might also come with many pre-installed apps. While you won’t be able to delete all of these apps, you can disable them. Go to the Apps section in the Settings menu, find the relevant application, and disable it.

See also: RIP LG: Remembering the 6 best LG phones ever made

Auto-brightness issues

Many people aren’t happy with how the auto-brightness feature is working on the LG G6, where the brightness adjustments aren’t enough or timely.

This is a software issue, but there are a few ways to work around the issue if you haven’t gotten a patch from LG. For starters, you can download and use the Lux Auto Brightness app on the Google Play Store, which one of the best tools around to get better control over the device’s auto-brightness feature.

“OK Google” command not working

Some users have found that the “OK Google” voice command to launch the Google Assistant isn’t working, and it doesn’t recognize or pick up the voice when attempting to retrain the voice model either. Our own Andrew Grush had regular problems with this issue, too, so you’re not alone.

The best way to fix this is by clearing your Google app data. This is as easy as heading to Settings and finding the Apps section. Then follow these steps:

1. Locate the Google app in your menu.
2. Open the storage options and find Manage Space.
3. Tap on Clear all data.

Now, restart the phone, and you should now be able to retrain the voice model. The steps are as follows:

1. Go to Settings and find Google Services.
2. Enter the Search menu.
3. Locate Voice options and select “OK Google” detection.
4. Tap on the Retrain Voice Model setting.

Connectivity issues

As is the case with any new device, you may face some connectivity issues with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Once you track down the source of your issues, you can try one of these two routes to make repairs:

Wi-Fi issues

• Turn the device and the router off for at least ten seconds, then turn them back and retry the connection.
• Go to Settings, then Power saving, and ensure that this option is turned off.
• Use the Wi-Fi Analyzer to check how crowded your channel is, and switch to a better option.
• Forget the Wi-Fi connection by going to Settings, followed by Wi-Fi, long-tapping the connection you want, and then selecting “Forget.” Re-enter the details and try again.
• Make sure the router firmware is up to date.
• Make sure the applications and software on the device are up to date.
• Go into Wi-Fi, then Settings, and Advanced and make a note of your device MAC address, then make sure that it is allowed access in the router’s MAC filter.

Bluetooth issues

• With issues when connecting to the car, check the manufacturer’s manual for the device and the car and reset your connections.
• Ensure that you are not missing a vital part of the connection process.
• Go to Settings and Bluetooth and ensure nothing needs changing.
• Go into Settings, then Bluetooth, and delete all prior pairings to start over from scratch.
• When it comes to issues with multiple device connections, only a future update will address this problem.

Apps crashing

Some users have found that apps tend to crash a few seconds after opening them. This problem seems to be particularly prevalent with WhatsApp, but users have come across this with other apps.

The first step in fixing app problems is to make sure that the app is kept up to date. When a previous update results in problems that make an app crash, the app developer usually sends out another update quickly to address this problem. You can also try to uninstall the app and download it again from the Google Play Store.

It may help to clear the cache as well. To do so, go to Settings and Application Manager, find the app you are looking for and tap on it. Tap on “Storage” and then tap on “Clear Cache.” Further, you can clear all cached data by going to Settings, then Storage, tap on “Internal Storage,” then “Cached Data,” and tap Clear.

If clearing the app cache doesn’t work and remains unusable, your only option may be to uninstall the app and wait for it to get updated.

“Moisture detected” issue, the phone will not charge

While the “moisture detected” alert is a useful safety precaution, some users have come across this alert even when the phone has not come in contact with any water, and they are unable to charge the phone.

Some versions of the LG G6 in certain markets come with an app called “Hi Security.” For some users, clearing the cache of that app has done the trick, and the alert has gone away. You can find the steps to clear the app cache in the app crashing LG G6 problem above.

When plugging the phone into the computer, some users have it set to “file transfer.” Now connect the phone to a PC, set it to “USB connection for Charging,” and select Always at the bottom right corner. The alert goes away after making this change. If you are getting the alert after the phone has been in contact with water, your best option is to wait for it to dry out. You can speed up the process by using the old phone in a bag of rice trick.

How to soft reset, hard reset, boot into Safe Mode, or hardware control mode

Now, we’re firmly into the let’s fix things section of common LG G6 problems. We’ll start with the easiest option and work through some more complicated fixes that could take you a bit longer. Luckily, most of these fixes will work without sacrificing too much of your personal data. Start with a soft reset, then give safe mode a try. If neither one helps, it might be time for a hard reset.

Soft reset

• When the screen is not responsive, press and hold the power button for 10 seconds until the device restarts.

Hard reset

• Turn the device off.
• Press and hold the power button and the volume down key simultaneously. When the LG logo is displayed, release only the power button, immediately press the power button again, and wait until the factory reset menu comes up.
• Press the power button to continue or the volume keys to cancel.

Booting into Safe Mode

• Turn off the phone and restart it. When the LG logo appears, press and hold the volume down key until you see the home screen, which should take it into Safe Mode.
• When the phone is on, press and hold the power button till the shutdown options appear. Press and hold the “Power off” option till a confirmation pops up and tap OK. This will boot the device into Safe Mode.

While the first three fixes mostly take care of software problems, but we have one more trick up our sleeves. If you’ve busted your LG G6 display, you can still control it with the hardware buttons. Here is how to activate hardware control mode as well as the commands you can use:

Hardware control mode

• Use the power button to turn off the phone as normal.
• Press and hold the power button and both volume keys together for more than 10 seconds to enable the hardware key control mode.
• Press the volume keys to scroll to the option you want, and press the power button to confirm.
• If you want to answer a call, you can now press both volume keys at the same time to do so.
• Then, to end a call, press the power button during the call.
• To stop an alarm, press and hold the volume keys together when the alarm rings.

There you go, just about every fix we can imagine for LG G6 problems. We’ve done our best to hit the major issues, but the G6 certainly shows its age. If you haven’t upgraded, it’s probably just about time to do so. Here are the best Android phones you can buy right now.