Are you still happy with your G5?

[dayoungtx]

So, we've all had our G5s for a bit now. Lots of new phones out on the market. I'm wondering if you are still happy with your G5 and if so, why?

Have you done anything to make the phone more functional since you bought it?

thanks
Derek

 

[pkcable]

Was the G5 LG's attempt at a modular phone? Is anyone still using that feature? I had a Moto Z and while I really liked the phone being 100% honest the modular aspect never really thrilled me. I guess the backup battery mod was cool, but I think I used my projector mod twice while I owned the phone! lol

 

[mikey1273]

I still like mine. The specs and Performance are good. Battery life is acceptable, it will last all day with moderate usage and if you dim the screen a little. A lot of screen time with brightnees up all the way the battery goes faster than I expected. It does charge fast and can swap batteries. The modular features I think were cool on paper and in thought, in life not that useful and the modules werent very available either. As a phone and how it shipped is fine, modular thing however was a flop even for Motrola who excecuted it a bit more elegantly.

 

[bruiser49]

Love my g5, except for the 16mp camera. This quit focusing properly after about 3 months (2000 pics). Cleared cache, factory reset 3 times, and replaced the camera. No improvement. Running nougat 7.0.
Bought it used, so no warranty. Any others with same issue?

 

[RVNut]

Also looking at the Verizon G5, but the GPS and LTE problems have e having second thoughts, any comments?

 

[experiment 626]

Also looking at the Verizon G5, but the GPS and LTE problems have e having second thoughts, any comments?

At this point the G6 is the better long-term deal. Though my GF's G5 is still running great. The G5 was a very good device that took an unfair amount of criticism over LG's poor module design.

 

[Jeff Bellin]

I am still very happy with this phone. I've had it for 7 months now and it hasn't loat a bit of speed or responsiveness. I'm fine with the cameras though clearly they've made a quantum leap since, from everything I've read about the V30 (which I drool about!) but these cameras are awesome, especially the "std" 16 mp with amazing manual mode and, honestly, totally kick-butt auto performance, both stills and videos. I also have found the wide angle mode to be far more than a gimmick, enabling me to take shots that just would not have recorded pieces of my personal history without, fisheye or no fisheye! From the 15 or so reviews Ive seen of the V30, they've really made the wide angle feature in league with a 28mm DSLR now.

One unsung feature of the G5 I really appreciate is the high loudness of its internal speaker. Small feature but so often made playing youtubes to a small group possible when 90% of other phones just don't get loud enough.

Battery life is disappointing to me, and it will cause me to replace this sooner than I otherwise would. I though the interchangeable feature would make the far less than day-long endurance bearable, but inevitably I find I'm virtually out of juice at a totally inconvenient time to switch out (and put the near-dead one in the charging "casket" and plug it un, etc) I have learned a lot of techniques to stretch times; it's just the one issue that makes this phone feel like a compromise, not the high-luxe flagship it otherwise fully is.

If you can get past the battery issue, however, new ones are still available on Swappa for around $175, truly a steal for a truly lovely, powerful smartphone with a gorgeous screen and a 1st class camera.

Last thought: I never thought the modular design was a silly gimmick - I just wish there was a single module ever released for use on U. S. versions! It certainly wasnt a disadvantage though. The other thing that people panned this phone for - its "nongmetallic looking finish - is to me a virtue. It doesn't gather fingerprints like the glass-covered backs of the Samsung and Apple" pretty " phones, and it looks stylish and sophisticated. Oh well, can't please everyone! I think this phone got a bum rap and that the price cuts it caused made this the best value flagship phone if its time.

 

[RVNut]

Thanks for the replies I thought SWAPPA was only used? How is your GPS & Signal?

 

[Jeff Bellin]

GPS and signal have been fine, though wifi is somewhat disappointing. I have Verizon gigabit Internet, which delivers wifi speeds of 400mb/s on most of my laptops and on my wife's iPhone 6s but only reaches about 200mb/s through the G5. Its way more than sufficient, of course, but disappointing that it's not true flagship performance in this regard.

Swappa has a category called "new/resale" for resellers who buy in bulk (usually w/ltd warranties).

 

[Greedog]

I've had my G5 since May 2016. And I too cannot understand why this phone received the reviews it did. I love this phone and for over a year I couldn't put it down.

The GPS is the only thing that was spotty. Everything else always worked great and still does. As much as I love it I recently picked up a V20 at a reasonable price and handed off the G5 to my wife but I can't pry the Nexus 4 out of her hand. (She is very resistant to change) So the G5 remains s on my desk.

The one thing I noticed straight off was how easy it was to get awesome pics with the G5 compared to the V20 in auto mode. I know the V20 is as capable but I'm going thru a learning curve and am getting the hang of it finally.

I don't get it. The complaints about the fingerprint sensor on the back (the best spot imho) and how the phone had to be picked up to unlock it. (Try doubletapping the screen moron!) But now some phones not only must you pick it up but now you need to look at it a certain way to unlock it. But that's not only acceptable now but also cool? I don't think so. Not to mention coming up with at least $1300 first to get that feature (I live in Canada.)

I think the finish was one of the best features of the G5. It was great to hold and was not a magnet for all the other crap. Yes! Other phones are very pretty in comparison but seriously. Who's not gonna put a case on two sandwiched pieces of glass?

I love the G5. I was hoping to get the audio "friends" but none came to Canada. I'm a musician and that's another reason I moved to the V20. The built in Quad DAC. It's awesome.

No complaints from me. It's awesome having a G5 as a backup phone. And once in awhile I even pop my Sim card back in and use it for the day.

I'd still grab that phone over any product using iOS even if they were equal in price.

 

[blindkangaroo]

I've had mine since November 2016 and I have to say that I've loved the phone. I too have no idea why it received so many criticisms. Performance has been great for me, no complaints about the camera and the fingerprint sensor placement is THE most convenient location (My wife has an iPhone and son as a Moto G5 and it's awkward to use those). The one thing that I have always been disappointed with is the battery life which has been worse recently. I'm thankful for the quick charge but I find myself charging at least once in the mid afternoon to make sure I have enough charge to get home at the end of the day and sometimes mid-evening as well. I leave my house in the morning with 100% charge and arrive at the office an hour and a half later with between 75%-80% and it mostly sits in my pocket for that time. I'm considering buying a replacement battery to extend the life of this phone until I find a worthwhile upgrade.

 

[lever2000]

I've had 2 now and the first one was a joke horrible signal strength with it my screen came loose from the phone my volume down button didn't work and the battery is not holding charge, but I sent it back for warranty and they sent me a brand new one and Wat a difference awesome signal strength and its updated to nougat really like so far.

 

[Eli Sayegh]

Love my g5, except for the 16mp camera. This quit focusing properly after about 3 months (2000 pics). Cleared cache, factory reset 3 times, and replaced the camera. No improvement. Running nougat 7.0.
Bought it used, so no warranty. Any others with same issue?

 

[Eli Sayegh]

Love my g5, except for the 16mp camera. This quit focusing properly after about 3 months (2000 pics). Cleared cache, factory reset 3 times, and replaced the camera. No improvement. Running nougat 7.0.
Bought it used, so no warranty. Any others with same issue?

I ordered a replacement camera from eBay for $18, I watched a YouTube video on how to replace camera. Replacement was a success. Back to like new.

 

[RapidTurtle]

I'm always looking to upgrade, but never find quite a compelling enough reason to. The G5 just does everything well. Still looks good, fingerprint sensor is flawless, gets a good signal, I haven't had any problems with the GPS. My one complaint is the camera doesn't handle background light very good. If I'm taking a picture indoors, and there is light coming through a window, it makes the photo very washed out, where as my sons note 8, has no issues at all with the same scenario. My problem, and it is a good one to have, is that I got the G5 for AT&T last Feb, for $5 a month at BB (with a spare battery and Charger) When I look at upgrading, I just can't justify the cost, for the minor upgrades that I would get from one of the latest and greatest phones. The G5 really is still a damn good phone.

 

[RickJo]

I really like the G5, I chose it to replace a Nexus 4, almost entirely on the replaceable battery. I don't replace phones very often, and the Nexus was the only one I've had in years that didn't have a swappable battery (even back in my pre-Android Palm days!).

An easily replaceable battery, with offline charger, is just so much simpler as a way to keep your phone running than hunting for plugins, or carrying a charger pack. I've never understood why the majority of phone owners just don't get it!

I got mine SIM-free, and use a cheap monthly SIM-only deal (UK).

Anyway, I like just about everything about the G5, including the external SD card and twin cameras (not perfect, but I'm not a perfectionist in photography - I'd have a Nikon or Canon if I was). I even picked up a Cam+ cheap which does make the phone easier to use as a camera. But there is one glaring exception - GPS.

The GPS signal reception is really sub-standard, and I've spent a lot of time messing with it, even buying a cheap broken G5 to play at swapping parts. Fortunately the G5 is really easy to open and tweak (another of it's good points). I've concluded the GPS signal issue is a design flaw. The main antenna is actually on the front, under the screen top-right, and works perfectly if you run the phone with the back off. But bringing the metallic back within a few millimetres of that antenna kills it, obviously a design oversight. :-(

As a result there is an extra pressure contact on the antenna track that connects with a pad on the back, all looks very like an afterthought. It kinda works, but the efficiency of that extra contact seems questionable, and the signal is never as good as with the back off, and is probably very noisy so the GPS performance is erratic. I've improved things a bit with judicious use of copper foil and conductive glue, but it's still not good.

It's a great shame, and spoils what in all other respects is a really nice phone. Still, i'll probably be keeping it for quite a while.

 

[whocares82313]

So, we've all had our G5s for a bit now. Lots of new phones out on the market. I'm wondering if you are still happy with your G5 and if so, why?

Have you done anything to make the phone more functional since you bought it?

thanks
Derek

I bought a brand new LG G5 RS988 (Factory Unlocked) in July. Everything worked, and then Nougat was pushed out. Once I loaded it with Nougat, I immediately ceased connecting to LTE Band 17, which my network (Cricket) uses. I can still get service via LTE Bands 2 and 4, but we have a piece of family property where the only service available is via LTE Band 17.

Around the same time I bought my wife a new ZTE Axon 7 Mini. She is rocking Android 7.1 and gets full LTE Band 17 connectivity. My in-laws have much older, crappier phones and both get LTE Band 17.

I bought the G5 due to the fact it is advertised as being LTE Band 17 capable. Seriously. There are a few other phones I was considering. One or two didn’t have LTE Band 17 antennas, and I took them off my list. One that I should have gotten instead was the Motorola G5 Plus. Seriously should have pulled the trigger on that one. But, I wanted to avoid a Chinese – Lenovo phone.

Now, after contacting LG numerous times and being told I can turn it in for repair, only for it to be sent back to me on Nougat (meaning no LTE Band 17), I have a paper weight while away at the property with family. Its quite a shame seeing I have the most technologically advanced phone out of the group.

I was told LG was working on an update. Looks like that update was a security update only. No help to me.

Now I have to wait to see if Oreo, if we ever get it, will fix my issue.

I have checked all my settings. Done numerous resets and factory restores, etc. I have contacted Cricket. I have searched online for answers. I am not the only one with LTE Band 17 connectivity issues.

I wish LG would stand by the product and service and admit there may be an issue, and try and push an update to fix it. Should be a simple fix. Nougat killed LTE Band 17. Should be a simple re-write to have the software turn it back on.

Wont be going back to LG. Will likely end up upgrading shortly to a competitor. If it weren’t for the LTE Band 17 death………………. I am pretty happy with the phone. But, when I cant even check an email………………with a former flagship phone………… something is off.

 

[lucky.luc.go]

No. GPS problem. It don't fix.

 

[Jeff Bellin]

How do I test my gps? As far as I know it's fine (Uber location is always perfect) but, forgive my ignorance, how do I test it?

 

[Aeroshep]

How do I test my gps? As far as I know it's fine (Uber location is always perfect) but, forgive my ignorance, how do I test it?

Use GPS toolbox. It will tell you how many satellites it is connected to.