My Nexus 6 is slow to the point of being unusable, am I alone?

[ACG00]

I've had a 2014 MotoX for a few months now, but when I had the chance to play with a N6 I decided to make the jump. I have to say there's alot about it that I absolutely love, but my experience over the last couple days has been less than smooth. In a nut shell my phone is SLOW, is it just me though? What I've noticed is that when you first boot the phone up, it's as snappy and responsive as you would expect but as the day goes on it starts to slow down. Animations get laggy and in some cases don't draw correctly. For example I grouped my two email apps together, but when I touch the group to expand it, sometimes it draws properly but other times all I get is a white box minus the app icons. Switching between screens gets choppy and apps start to fall apart. I got a call earlier, and while the phone rang nothing came up on the screen even though it was on and unlocked. When it gets really bad, the screen 1/2 freezes - The left half gets stuck while the right is still responsive. Sometimes closing apps helps, but only very temporarily. It usually requires a reboot to get back to a usable level of performance.

I'm running all the same apps on the MotoX, which is also running Lollipop, and have none of these problems. I've also tried resetting the phone to defaults and starting over, and that hasn't helped. At this point I'm convinced either the phone itself is defective or it's just buggy. Either way, there's no way I'm going to live with it. Curious though, anyone else seeing something similar?

 

[Adranalyne]

I've had a 2014 MotoX for a few months now, but when I had the chance to play with a N6 I decided to make the jump. I have to say there's alot about it that I absolutely love, but my experience over the last couple days has been less than smooth. In a nut shell my phone is SLOW, is it just me though? What I've noticed is that when you first boot the phone up, it's as snappy and responsive as you would expect but as the day goes on it starts to slow down. Animations get laggy and in some cases don't draw correctly. For example I grouped my two email apps together, but when I touch the group to expand it, sometimes it draws properly but other times all I get is a white box minus the app icons. Switching between screens gets choppy and apps start to fall apart. I got a call earlier, and while the phone rang nothing came up on the screen even though it was on and unlocked. When it gets really bad, the screen 1/2 freezes - The left half gets stuck while the right is still responsive. Sometimes closing apps helps, but only very temporarily. It usually requires a reboot to get back to a usable level of performance.

I'm running all the same apps on the MotoX, which is also running Lollipop, and have none of these problems. I've also tried resetting the phone to defaults and starting over, and that hasn't helped. At this point I'm convinced either the phone itself is defective or it's just buggy. Either way, there's no way I'm going to live with it. Curious though, anyone else seeing something similar?

I'm curious to see how many people actually admit that it drops frames/gets choppy. It certainly does. I have no doubt it'll be fixed sooner rather than later, but it's most definitely an issue now. Now to say it's unusable, at least for me, is a stretch. People say that about Touchwiz as well and it makes me laugh.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[americasteam]

Mine gets quit choppy, but it's far from unusable. Irritates me to no end though.


Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus using Tapatalk

 

[TraderGary]

Mine is fast and runs very smoothly.
But then I have fast Wi-Fi and fast LTE everywhere I go.

 

[ACG00]

I'm curious to see how many people actually admit that it drops frames/gets choppy. It certainly does. I have no doubt it'll be fixed sooner rather than later, but it's most definitely an issue now. Now to say it's unusable, at least for me, is a stretch. People say that about Touchwiz as well and it makes me laugh.

Posted via the Android Central App

Choppy is a good way to describe how the phone operates most of the time, though mine seems to progress beyond that after a while. And I'd agree the phone isn't unusable all the time, but user experience is unacceptable in my opinion, especially given the cost of the device. It has however gotten so bad on a couple occasions where it was truly unusable forcing a reboot. I suspect that could happen more often if I wasn't frequently rebooting it, yesterday alone I think I rebooted the device 5 or 6 times.

Here's an example of what bad looks like: I've had this happen three times so far, once the screen was locked this way on the google splash screen that plays on boot.

 

[Wingznut]

At this point I'm convinced either the phone itself is defective or it's just buggy. Either way, there's no way I'm going to live with it. Curious though, anyone else seeing something similar?

My wife and I have had N6's for about two weeks now. Neither of us have seen any of the issues you describe, not in the least. So, it's definitely possibly you have a defective unit.

 

[Mooem]

I have experienced sudden choppiness two or three times so far (frame rates just drop like a slideshow....okay, that's dramatic but it is quite noticeable). A reboot seems to fix the issue, whatever the root cause might be. I have seen this happen on my Nexus 9 and Nexus 5 as well.

Sounds like an issue with Lollipop or potentially an app (or both).

 

[Adranalyne]

Choppy is a good way to describe how the phone operates most of the time, though mine seems to progress beyond that after a while. And I'd agree the phone isn't unusable all the time, but user experience is unacceptable in my opinion, especially given the cost of the device. It has however gotten so bad on a couple occasions where it was truly unusable forcing a reboot. I suspect that could happen more often if I wasn't frequently rebooting it, yesterday alone I think I rebooted the device 5 or 6 times.

Here's an example of what bad looks like: I've had this happen three times so far, once the screen was locked this way on the google splash screen that plays on boot.

View attachment 153448

Generally they haven't had issues with performance on these devices, but Lollipop seems to have caused some issues. Part of me wants to blame it on encryption, but my device isn't encrypted any longer and although it benchmarks higher, it hasn't stopped the issues we're discussing. Part of me wants to blame the QHD display along with the Snapdragon 805, but other Nexus devices are seeing it on lower res screens. The 805 isn't suited to run 1440p -well-, but it can run it.

I'm going to say this is just software being half baked at this point. They'll fix it. They don't tend to disappoint when it comes to how well their OS performs.

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[qnet]

I'm curious to see how many people actually admit that it drops frames/gets choppy. It certainly does. I have no doubt it'll be fixed sooner rather than later, but it's most definitely an issue now. Now to say it's unusable, at least for me, is a stretch. People say that about Touchwiz as well and it makes me laugh.

Posted via the Android Central App

People say that about Touchwiz because that's what happens. I have the Note 4 and it happens. When I go back to the Nexus 6, I always notice how much more fluid it operates.

Having said that, the Nexus 6 is not without issues. It's slower to change wallpapers, bootup, and initiate a few actions. I'm assuming this is due to the encryption. I haven't had a lot of stuttering but it has happened a few times, nowhere near the level of the OP however.

It sounds like something may be wrong with the OP'S phone. I've had issues but nothing like half the screen working, or folders expanding and showing nothing in them.

I wish I could help because in the past I've had issues with phones that no one else seemed to have, and sometimes it's hard to find an answer.

 

[N4Newbie]

You guys all have one or more incompatible apps installed; rebooting "temporarily resolves the problem" is a sure sign of this.

Look especially carefully at system-type apps: battery savers, antivirus, backup apps, launchers, and any app which can run in the background such as Facebook. Also be leery of games as all but the best designed can be troublemakers.

 

[ACG00]

You guys all have one or more incompatible apps installed; rebooting "temporarily resolves the problem" is a sure sign of this.

Look especially carefully at system-type apps: battery savers, antivirus, backup apps, launchers, and any app which can run in the background such as Facebook. Also be leery of games as all but the best designed can be troublemakers.

That occurred to me as well, but I have all the same apps installed on my Moto X, which is also running Lollipop, and have none of these issues on it. That's not to say that there can't be an app that for some reason is causing issues on the N6 that doesn't bother the MotoX, but regardless I wouldn't expect a single app to cause such a user experience issue. Plus I'm also not a big app guy to begin with - everything is rather mainstream coming from major publishers with no games at real resource hogs that I'm aware of.

 

[Adranalyne]

People say that about Touchwiz because that's what happens. I have the Note 4 and it happens. When I go back to the Nexus 6, I always notice how much more fluid it operates.

Having said that, the Nexus 6 is not without issues. It's slower to change wallpapers, bootup, and initiate a few actions. I'm assuming this is due to the encryption. I haven't had a lot of stuttering but it has happened a few times, nowhere near the level of the OP however.

It sounds like something may be wrong with the OP'S phone. I've had issues but nothing like half the screen working, or folders expanding and showing nothing in them.

I wish I could help because in the past I've had issues with phones that no one else seemed to have, and sometimes it's hard to find an answer.

Touchwiz on the Note 4 is far from unusable. Does it have the occasional jank that can get annoying? Sure. As far as the Nexus 6 goes, this is just going to be a waiting game for a point update. Google has always been good about correcting performance issues promptly.

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[Jeremy8000]

That occurred to me as well, but I have all the same apps installed on my Moto X, which is also running Lollipop, and have none of these issues on it. That's not to say that there can't be an app that for some reason is causing issues on the N6 that doesn't bother the MotoX, but regardless I wouldn't expect a single app to cause such a user experience issue. Plus I'm also not a big app guy to begin with - everything is rather mainstream coming from major publishers with no games at real resource hogs that I'm aware of.

If you don't use that many added apps, you might find it worthwhile to...

1. Uninstall them all and see if the issue persists. If it does, it's likely an issue with your specific handset and you should consider seeking warranty replacement. If not, it's an app incompatibility, so...
   
   
2. Add on your next most 'gotta have' app, run it, and see if the problem resurfaces within roughly the time the problem normally arises for you after a reboot with your full app collection as currently loaded). Repeat this step till you find the culprit.
   
   
3. Once you identify the app causing the issue, check to see if there's an update you've missed that may resolve it, then, for the moment, uninstall it, and cycle back to 2 until you've tested all of your apps.
   
   
4. For those apps you've determined to be causing/contributing to the issues, you're basically stuck with the decision of doing without (and enjoying a hiccup-free phone) until such time as they're updated to be more lollipop-friendly, keeping them installed and dealing with the issues they introduce, or seeking a replacement app that is less troublesome (at least until the affecting apps are resolved).

Note that if you're running an active wallpaper, going to a static option may considerably reduce phone jitters (though I'm running with one and have had absolutely none).

 

[ACG00]

If you don't use that many added apps, you might find it worthwhile to...

{SNIP}

Note that if you're running an active wallpaper, going to a static option may considerably reduce phone jitters (though I'm running with one and have had absolutely none).

I *could* try to pin down which app it is, but given the fact that I have none of the same issues on my MotoX which is running more or less the same OS with the exact same apps, I'm not all that interested in investing the time to be honest. I'm a minimalist, everything I have installed is there for a reason and is more or less used daily.

I'm pretty certain it's a software issue - something with current N6 build. Maybe 5.0.1 or whatever the next update for the N6 is will fix it, who knows. I'd be hard pressed to believe future updates won't take care of bugs like this (that's assuming that's what it is) At the moment though my user experience is poor enough that i've swapped back to the MotoX. Question is, do I sit on the damn phone and hope the next update makes things better, or just return it and maybe buy another one in the future when things are a bit more mature.

(the other question is whether or not T-Mo gives me a hard time returning without a restocking fee. They seem to be pretty firm on that)

 

[bjrosen]

I've read that the encryption seriously degrades the performance, have you tried disabling it? There is no switch to disable it but their is a hack to do it, try Googling Disable Nexus 6 encryption to find out how to do it.

 

[Adranalyne]

I've read that the encryption seriously degrades the performance, have you tried disabling it? There is no switch to disable it but their is a hack to do it, try Googling Disable Nexus 6 encryption to find out how to do it.

My device isn't encrypted any longer and I have some of the same issues he's describing.

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[Stevieboi]

Quick and smooth as butter here.

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[CarbonOak]

You guys all have one or more incompatible apps installed; rebooting "temporarily resolves the problem" is a sure sign of this.

Look especially carefully at system-type apps: battery savers, antivirus, backup apps, launchers, and any app which can run in the background such as Facebook. Also be leery of games as all but the best designed can be troublemakers.

I have a feeling that those types of apps can certainly cause problems, and people don't realize it. I'm not saying that it is the case in the OP's situation, but it's definitely plausible. With Lollipop just being released, some apps are probably unstable with the new version, and they could be causing issues.

I've had the phone for a week and have had zero performance issues. Although I have various apps and games installed, I don't have any ones that monitor/save the battery, backup, launchers, or any system-level stuff. I do have a live wallpaper app (Muzei). It's been a great phone otherwise.

 

[TonyStarks260]

Flash those factory images and start fresh. If you're still seeing issues contact google and see about a warranty replacement. Simple. I can't say I've had similar performance issues, so that hardware could be suspect.

Let us know how the factory images work out

 

[dmlv]

i have not noticed any slow downs at all. i really use my smartphones as a bus tool.... two email accounts, cal, goog docs, etc, and for multimedia/music at the gym/cycling. I don't game or any other heavy stuff so maybe this helps me.

i would hang tight though. 5.1 is around the corner and then I am sure 5.2 right after. 5.1 should really help a lot of what ppl are experiencing. look at what apple went through with iOS 8. my employees were going crazy until the first update.