Is it my phone buggy or is it the operating system?

[AC Question]

I have a Samsung Galaxy S6 that I bought new from Verizon. It's only a few months old, but I'm already having consistent problems with it. When I press a button to turn the screen on, there's about a 5 second lag time before the screen lights up and then it almost immediately goes dark again. I have to push a button a few times before the screen lights up again and I can swipe to unlock it. It's doing this almost all the time now. None of the apps or camera load as fast as they used to either.

What I'm wondering is - how can I tell if I'm having problems with the phone itself or if all of these are issues with the operating system? All feedback and suggestions are welcome! Thanks!

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Try wiping the cache partition: https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-21095

 

[AndroidDC11]

Thank you so much - that seemed to help a lot!

How did you know that would work and what did it do? THANKS!

 

[B. Diddy]

The system cache partition holds temporary system data, which can sometimes cause various issues or performance degradation. Wiping the cache partition can be a useful all-purpose troubleshooting step that doesn't erase any personal data. Glad it's working better now!

 

[AndroidDC11]

Hi,

Thanks for all your help. I have one more question maybe you can answer for me. When I'm typing I used to be able to double tap on a word to select it, for example to copy it, but now when I double tap nothing happens. Now I have to long press on a word to select it. I can't tell if this is a function of an upgrade. I don't think I've installed anything that should be interfering with it. I use samsung's texting app. Thanks!!

 

[B. Diddy]

Long-pressing the word has been an Android convention for a while (at least on stock Android on Nexus devices). I'm not sure how long it's been that way on Samsung devices, but presumably they decided to make it more like stock.

 

[bbtkd]

The system cache partition holds temporary system data, which can sometimes cause various issues or performance degradation. Wiping the cache partition can be a useful all-purpose troubleshooting step that doesn't erase any personal data. Glad it's working better now!

Ironically, although I have advised dozens of others who have done it to clear random problems, and even though I have been a 'Droid' owner since the first Moto-droid in 2009, I just now cleared my own cache for the first time! I never have had a problem that seemed to indicate the need, but finally decided to try one to see if I see any difference in battery life. When I did it, it first tried installing an update, which failed, and then it went on to the menu. Is that normal? I just installed a successful VZW update last week.

 

[AndroidDC11]

Thank you!

 

[B. Diddy]

Ironically, although I have advised dozens of others who have done it to clear random problems, and even though I have been a 'Droid' owner since the first Moto-droid in 2009, I just now cleared my own cache for the first time! I never have had a problem that seemed to indicate the need, but finally decided to try one to see if I see any difference in battery life. When I did it, it first tried installing an update, which failed, and then it went on to the menu. Is that normal? I just installed a successful VZW update last week.

That's curious. When did it try to install the update--after the cache wipe and reboot? And was it a system update, or an app update?

 

[bbtkd]

That's curious. When did it try to install the update--after the cache wipe and reboot? And was it a system update, or an app update?

It was after I did the three finger salute and before it went to the menu, so an OS update - or at least it thought it needed to do something but then erred out because there really was no update. Almost like when you apply Windows updates to a PC and then reboot to finish the updates. Maybe the last update didn't completely finish - but I had rebooted a couple of times and the Verizon had added Wifi calling which did work.

 

[B. Diddy]

After the 3 button press but before the Recovery Menu? Are you sure you didn't accidentally boot into Download Mode (where it says "Downloading, Do Not Turn Off Target")? Download Mode is reached by pressing Power/Home/Vol Down, while Recovery is Power/Home/Vol Up​.

 

[bbtkd]

After the 3 button press but before the Recovery Menu? Are you sure you didn't accidentally boot into Download Mode (where it says "Downloading, Do Not Turn Off Target")? Download Mode is reached by pressing Power/Home/Vol Down, while Recovery is Power/Home/Vol Up​.

Don't think I did, but possible. Would it go to the same menu afterwards?

 

[Travo79]

Don't think I did, but possible. Would it go to the same menu afterwards?

My S6 did the same thing. I went to clear the cache after the latest verizon update and there was a message about applying an update or something for about 20 seconds. The update failed and went straight to recovery. I did my wipe, and had no issues.

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