slow networking on 5.1.1 on old Samsung A8

[yanyan_1337]

Hi, some time ago i noticed that network accesses from my Samsung A8 from 2015 running Android 5.1.1 have become slow.

1. Web browsing from Samsung Internet and Firefox: after typing a URL and pressing Go, it takes about 20+ seconds before things start loading. Sometimes (depending on the site) the entire page doesn't even completely load. Same long delay when touching links on pages, and when scrolling down progressive-loading pages like youtube.

2. Sending images and files on Viber: takes a few seconds before the transfer starts. There's also some delay when receiving messages. Searching for gifs takes a looong time.

3. The list of icons on the Google play store a looong time to load.

The issue appears to affect only establishing new connections. For example, downloading an update for an app goes fast once it starts.

I've tried to analyze this problem.

1. A new modem-router was installed sometime last year. Unfortunately i can't remember if the issue started around then. I tested using another smartphone, some Vivo thing, and it doesn't have the issue of my A8. Still not going to rule this out because i read somewhere it could be caused by IPv6 on the router.

2. It appears the last system update of my phone was done in 2017. Build date of the kernel is March 31, 2017. I can't tell if there have been any further updates to Android after that. I
could say this issue has nothing to do with my phone or OS being old. This phone is fast.

3. Sometime in November or December, Google play services was broken by an update. It was crashing every 2-3 seconds, popping up the "Unfortunately Google play services has stopped." message and making my phone painful to use. I couldn't go into play store or settings to attempt to uninstall the update. I downloaded an APK from apkmirror and play services was fixed. Some time after that, i uninstalled the update from app settings and let the phone update play services properly. I thought this was the cause, but it wasn't, so i could rule this out.

Any thoughts? What could i check?

 

[J Dubbs]

It's Lollipop, Android 5 is not supported by Google anymore, and is way too far behind in design to do what you're asking of it. I was using KitKat (Android 4.4) and it was working fine until suddenly it wasn't, that was when support was dropped for it. Now it's completely unusable. I tried some of the same things you have, but technology has a way of killing off the old stuff, no matter how much we'd like to keep using it sometimes

 

[yanyan_1337]

It's Lollipop, Android 5 is not supported by Google anymore, and is way too far behind in design to do what you're asking of it. I was using KitKat (Android 4.4) and it was working fine until suddenly it wasn't, that was when support was dropped for it. Now it's completely unusable. I tried some of the same things you have, but technology has a way of killing off the old stuff, no matter how much we'd like to keep using it sometimes

Huh. Too far behind in design to open network connections quickly and with no delay or latency? Okay.

 

[mustang7757]

Welcome to AC!

Not only apps are not going to be supported by the very outdated Andriod version , your service provider Goin force you to update for not being compatible on their network any longer

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! If you still really want to use that old device, then see if wiping the cache partition helps: https://www.hardreset.info/devices/samsung/samsung-galaxy-a8-2018/wipe-cache/. If that doesn't do anything, then see if it's also slow in Safe Mode: https://www.hardreset.info/devices/samsung/samsung-galaxy-a8-2018/safe-mode/

Last resort would be to do a factory reset.

 

[yanyan_1337]

Welcome to Android Central! If you still really want to use that old device, then see if wiping the cache partition helps: https://www.hardreset.info/devices/samsung/samsung-galaxy-a8-2018/wipe-cache/. If that doesn't do anything, then see if it's also slow in Safe Mode: https://www.hardreset.info/devices/samsung/samsung-galaxy-a8-2018/safe-mode/

Last resort would be to do a factory reset.

Finally a sensible answer, thank you very much.

The links you gave were for the newer A8, but i was able to find instructions for my old 2015 A8.

First, i wiped the cache, restarted the machine, then went into Samsung Internet to open some URLs. It still took more than a few seconds for the pages to start loading. So, no help here.

Second, i also found instructions for safe mode. From inside safe mode, i did the same test with Samsung Internet. Still took more than a few seconds for the pages to load. No help.

Meanwhile i've also been looking at the settings of my modem-router, but it's a chinese piece of ****e without much in the way of configurability. I want to try and disable IPv6, which i've seen mentioned as being an issue on Lollipop.

I wonder if i could now rule out a non-system app interfering somehow with the networking. The last system update, as i mentioned in my first post, was done years ago. Since then, the phone worked fine until a few months ago. For the record, this phone has not been rooted.

 

[B. Diddy]

Since this persists in Safe Mode, I think you've effectively ruled out a non-system app causing problems.

What's the brand and model of the router?

 

[yanyan_1337]

Since this persists in Safe Mode, I think you've effectively ruled out a non-system app causing problems.

What's the brand and model of the router?

Is it possible for a non-system app downloaded from the Play Store to overwrite core Android libraries and/or drivers? Or change system configuration?

I'm using some no-name chinese router provided by my ISP.

No offense to you or anybody, i appreciate your help but this forum isn't exactly a technical forum, is it? I'm probably wasting your time by posting in the wrong place.

 

[B. Diddy]

I don't believe any app you install from the Play Store could do that -- that would presumably require root anyway.

Strange that your ISP would provide you with a no-name router. I was asking so I could try researching the available settings on it.

You're correct, this forum tends to be more of a practical one. The forums at XDA-Developers.com or Android Stack Exchange tend to be more technical.

 

[J Dubbs]

Is it possible for a non-system app downloaded from the Play Store to overwrite core Android libraries and/or drivers? Or change system configuration?

I'm using some no-name chinese router provided by my ISP.

No offense to you or anybody, i appreciate your help but this forum isn't exactly a technical forum, is it? I'm probably wasting your time by posting in the wrong place.

If you are trying to run current versions of browsers and other updated apps on a 2015 hardware spec phone, you are going to run into slow hardware, trying to run modern apps, designed on the backend for much faster hardware. If you try and run old software/apps your going to run into incompatibility issues with modern sites and newer Google apps like the play store, which will also give you slower and inconsistent performance.

I have a KitKat 4.4 Android tablet, a 2015 Moto X Pure Edition, and a 2016 pixel which I all tried every trick on to get as much life as possible out of them, and with a combo of research, finding compatible apps etc I was able to get them to last quite a while. But now they all crash to some degree with the play store, no apps update on the 4.4 tablet, some on the Moto X, and a fair amount on the pixel when it doesn't crash because of the new play store version. In the end technology passes the hardware by, and the only one that still runs acceptably is the 2016 pixel. But AT&T killed it because of no VoLTE capabilities... so it's now regulated to the same drawer as the other 2 devices.

And it's running Android 10... enough to be a decent wifi device, but no longer allowed on most carriers as a phone because of a lack of VoLTE.

You might be able to find a ROM that will bump you up an Android version, but nothing's going to be able to take 2015 spec hardware and let it run like a phone 7 years newer. It can be fun trying to resurrect old tech though... I'm still trying to find ways to make my hand built top of the line windows xp gaming system do more than just play old games... although realistically I know that's all it's good for anymore. I really liked that machine

Good luck with your quest

 

[yanyan_1337]

I don't believe any app you install from the Play Store could do that -- that would presumably require root anyway.

Strange that your ISP would provide you with a no-name router. I was asking so I could try researching the available settings on it.

Par for the course in the philippines. I was being facetious; it's a PLDT-branded router made by chinese company named Fiberhome. HG180U2 VDSL2 802.11ac Home Gateway. Just a step above no-name, if you ask me.

You're correct, this forum tends to be more of a practical one. The forums at XDA-Developers.com or Android Stack Exchange tend to be more technical.

I'll try posting there, thank you.

 

[B. Diddy]

This is a for a different router model, but does the settings menu look like this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI2pc_KVkpE

 

[yanyan_1337]

This is a for a different router model, but does the settings menu look like this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI2pc_KVkpE

Hey man, no that's a different router. I wish my router was as configurable as that; the menus on mine are really bare. Thanks for the help.

I realize i could also try connecting to a different WLAN.