Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

Alert

LG G4 bootloop and useless support

Sep 25, 2017 12:08PM PDT

1) Apparently there is a known, acknowledged problem where the phone spontaneously goes into this bootloop, they know about it, will fix it for free, but they don't notify users of the vulnerability.
2) Sprint and my insurance with them will supposedly try to repair it but I was told that it's virtually impossible that they will fix it, and I'll get a new (refurbished phone with the fix). During the period of time for them to decide and get me a replacement phone, I DO have a loaner since I have their expensive insurance.
3) With their option, my data is gone for good.
4) I contacted LG. I can send it to them (one facility n the whole US), and they can fix it. However, as is their policy, they will wipe out the phone. So my data is lost, and if I take this option, I have no phone for 2 weeks.

Until this "minor thing", I was very happy with the phone. Now it looks like I can never trust LG again. NO warning that your data can be lost at any time because of this known problem, and no chance that any option will recover that data. Also no proactive repairs, and apparently too they haven't given the info so that sprint or asurion (warranty) can make the repairs.


So customer data is of no concern, nor is the inconvenience of losing phone access WHEN the device gets bricked. As it probably will.


If you have this piece of junk, I recommend you replace it soon, and until then, take regular backups (the LG backup was pretty good).

I think google was doing backups. It did get me my pictures, but texts were lost, as were any contacts I didn't have synced to google (or existed in the LG backup I took 2 years ago).

Forget "the customer is always right". In this case, the customer is unimportant, apparently.

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
I use a lot of phones.
Sep 25, 2017 1:10PM PDT

And just like a PC we have to backup or sync our data since besides a phone dropping dead or lost, you have this story.

I carry a LG G4. Great phone. But now at years old, it's now something I will change out before loss. But I won't lose any data because I backup.

- Collapse -
Backups
Sep 25, 2017 1:27PM PDT

1) I kept getting messages after every picture, about it being backed up... I just didn't know how much or how little was being backed up.
2) As few people who back up their PCs, I'd guess that far less back up their phones.
3) I admit that at one time on this phone (my first smart phone)) I did back it up and copied the backup to my PC, but after seeing the automatic backups, I pretty much stopped. Mistake.


In any case, it doesn't change the complete lack of concern about their customers that they never offered to fix them, never warned, never suggested that because of this, it would be prudent to back up regularly. AND the fact that their fix, with 2 weeks downtime, also intentionally wipes out all your data, and either they haven't shared details on the fix with other repair facilities (it can only be done in their Texas facility), or sprint just isn't interested in implementing it.

- Collapse -
Opposite story here.
Sep 25, 2017 2:01PM PDT

I rarely find no repair offered. Phones however are exchanged and not repaired in most cases and it costs to do this exchange. A lot of folk skip backups or don't look into how this is done.

Just last week I synced a new phone I'll move to later. I used Google Sync and for the most part everything made it up to the Google cloud and into the new phone. The remaining items are minor so I'm calling it a success.

About that lack of concern about your data. All makers seem to be at the same state here. Backup remains ours to complete. It's our data, not theirs and folks that encounter this do scream loudly.

The fix I know for all phones that start boot looping usually end up replacing the main board so data is wiped out again.

Try the usual. Unplug the SIM and MEMORY CARD then try again. I have recovered a few like this.

Sorry to read your story and I'm on travel so replies may be slow but Google Sync is really a nice thing. Hard to kill the data since it's not on our PCs.

- Collapse -
Same problem as the OP Bob.
Sep 25, 2017 2:24PM PDT

About 4 months ago mine did the same. It was a great 'phone with a great camera. Tried everything to revive it but no go.
Dafydd.

- Collapse -
Google Sync
Sep 25, 2017 3:59PM PDT

Looks like I have been doing google sync, which explains why the pictures and aoos came back, as well as SOME app settings. It remembered some credentials, others I had to enter.

Most notable is that it did not include texts. I just went to google sync settings and I don't see text messages as an option. BUT I did see an option to store texts on the SD card. Next I'll have to find where they store some things, and save those off the phone.

I also don't know about contacts. Unless it changed, I may have had an option to put all my phone contacts (copied from previous phone) to google; new contacts I used to have an option whether to keep them local or to google; I likely let them go to google. The new phone synced a lot from google, but I had a fraction of my contacts. Restored the 2-year old LG backup, and I had a lot more... so many of them are not on google.

Guess when I get the replacement phone I should first do an LG backup, but before I restore that, see if google NOW restores all my contacts. I did just copy my contacts to google, although it was already set to sync contacts, so maybe it only does google contacts. I can't see how to set that for new or existing contacts. (LG backups won't help when I go to a non-LG phone).


And none of this addresses the fact that they knew about this problem for 2-3 years, had a fix for almost 2 years, but didn't even alert customers that the problem existed, knowing people don't do backups. (And beyond data loss, there's the loss of the phone at possibly a time you critically need it.)