LG G6 a flop? Low sales?

[MSFTisMIA]

I understand that folks like us who hang out on tech forums will see threads on issues that might make us think the issue is more common than it is, I know friends, people at my work (and several from two dog parks I frequent) and not a single person has escaped the G4 bootlooping issue. Not one. A couple of people at the dog park in particular I asked about bootlooping, and they reported that they never saw anything like that, only to tell me later on that they did in fact experience it.

I'm guessing that the number would be around 10-12 folks total. Two people had the issue shortly after the 1 year warranty expired, and I had to coach them to escalate (one friends of mine I called LG on their behalf and talked to thee RMA rep on the phone). In each case, LG did actually repair the two phones outside of warranty free of charge, after we insisted and mentioned that the bootlooping is a known issue.

I don't doubt it happened to those people for a second.

That's why earlier in the thread that LG has to ensure it's QC issues are behind them in order to win back some people who have either experienced issues directly or know of people who have. I think they started to do this with the G6, outside some questions about the strength of the GG3 on the display. LG really needs 1.5 - 2 full cycles (to me) to clear this QC cloud.

 

[MA2GA28]

That's the difference. You all work in technology and have an interest in it.

I can go to almost every one of my friends right now and ask them for specs on phones theyve had for at least a year. Not a single one can tell me anything except the maker of the phone. No clue about processors, storage, ram, screen type etc. My wife doesn't even know what storage option she has in her iPhone.

I worked at Best buy for a few years and people wanted "the phone from the commercial" or "the new iPhone". Then I helped with some training at an At&t store and was dumbfounded to find out how many sales people don't have a clue what they're selling. The customers were another problem all on their own. In the time I was there, the only questions a customer asked were "how much is this one" and "is this the newest one out".

People buy blindly on alot of things. Technology, cars, etc. They tend to look at cost and brand recognition as primary deciding factors. Drives me crazy.

Days behind here, but you're right about general consumer knowledge. You also hit the nail on the head about salespeople too. I had a friend who worked at an AT&T store for years as his full time adult job. He would try to pass bogus information about cell phones all the time (Apple phones are higher quality than Androids was one of his go to fabrications). And when I engaged in the convo and started busting out real facts, he'd back off and not want to talk anymore, saying, "I just care about selling the accessories."

 

[MA2GA28]

I understand that folks like us who hang out on tech forums will see threads on issues that might make us think the issue is more common than it is, I know friends, people at my work (and several from two dog parks I frequent) and not a single person has escaped the G4 bootlooping issue. Not one. A couple of people at the dog park in particular I asked about bootlooping, and they reported that they never saw anything like that, only to tell me later on that they did in fact experience it.

I'm guessing that the number would be around 10-12 folks total. Two people had the issue shortly after the 1 year warranty expired, and I had to coach them to escalate (one friends of mine I called LG on their behalf and talked to thee RMA rep on the phone). In each case, LG did actually repair the two phones outside of warranty free of charge, after we insisted and mentioned that the bootlooping is a known issue.

The problem is that you are perpetuating a myth.

From what I've seen, the bootloop issue was tied to a physical hardware issue, not software. LG acknowledged the issue, and fixed the problem. Any future software related bootloop issues are probably no more widespread than any other manufacturer (my wife's old iPhone had a bootloop issue due to an update).

Point is, by telling them to avoid LG because of the issue you have turned them off of LG phones for the foreseeable future, even if you never talk to them again. They have no counter argument to base an opinion off of, so now LG = Bad to them. All because of an issue that happened 2+ years ago.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

The problem is that you are perpetuating a myth.

From what I've seen, the bootloop issue was tied to a physical hardware issue, not software. LG acknowledged the issue, and fixed the problem. Any future software related bootloop issues are probably no more widespread than any other manufacturer (my wife's old iPhone had a bootloop issue due to an update).

Point is, by telling them to avoid LG because of the issue you have turned them off of LG phones for the foreseeable future, even if you never talk to them again. They have no counter argument to base an opinion off of, so now LG = Bad to them. All because of an issue that happened 2+ years ago.

That's the reason why it's hard to discuss these issues with people when asking for phone buying advice.

I've got the "worst" kind of LG phone available - a pre production unit/ review unit. I say worst because there is no warranty for me...there is not FCC ID - it's even marked "not for sale". So if anything goes wrong, I'm screwed. Now, so far...zero issues. The pre production software was solid and I was able to flash a more updated software on it and it works fine. I also had a used G4 before - no issues there either.

Because these items are mass produced, there'll always be some QC issues. What I think is helpful if how LG handles the pending lawsuits over bootloops and other QC issues going forward. Myths or bad experiences get hard to debunk once they get too entrenched in people.

 

[chriskwarren]

Not sure when they 'fixed' the issue on the G4. Originally, there was a code on the back of the device and folks were saying that it was a mobo issue from date such and such based on the manuf code, but that turned out not to be the case. So yes, I agree that the majority of bootlooping issues with the G4 were hardware related. Multiple repairs never solved it either, and this was reported by a few sites, such as this one: LG admits G4 bootloop problem is a hardware fault, will repair affected devices - Android Authority

I know people who had multiple repairs done for bootlooping. These people do not do any modding or flashing, etc.

Earlier this summer, a colleague of mine had a G4 that was bootlooping about a month after the warranty expired. Bought his G4 just over a year ago. A friend of mine at the dog park earlier this spring had their G4 bootloop too.

I also know lots of people with S6s, S7s, Notes, iPhones, etc. Yes, once in a while someone complains about issues, but there is no other popular device from my various circles of friends and co-workers who has had devices brick as often as the G4. Not one person I know has escaped it (I work in a school, 120 staff and dozens of students each semester in a school of 1200 who talk to me about tech, and come to me for tech support). I am not writing off LG because my one specific device had an issue, but I can say that with the numerous people I have talked to with this device had a a bootloop issue that needed an RMA. That is not a myth. No other device I have encountered even comes close. A chat I had earlier this year at my carrier store about this, and the rep agreed that the G4 has a lot of issues and unhappy customers, and they don't like to promote the G4 either. Never talked about any other LG device in that chat, admittedly.

Actually, my device had an unresponsive touchscreen that took LG/my carrier 8 months to get a software fix for, and early batches of the G4 had weird marks on the screen out of the box, and the first few my carrier's salesperson opened up for me at the store when I activated the device was really irritated that so many early units had defective screens out of the box. I gave LG a break as I was clearly an early adopter in that case.

This forum will have a lot of LG fans, so its always tough to come in and give the device a hard time. Truth is, I'm just watching various forums (here and Xda typically) to see what the G6 looks like. I won't be upgrading until this winter so the V30 should be around for a while as well, and if the reliability reports are ok by then I'll most likely go with the V30.

 

[lazysuperstar]

I don't care about LG's profits or how many use the same phone as me. But the problem with low sales is - there'll be very few accessories for the phone, less developer support and this being my first LG, I've realized it is worse than Samsung when it comes to updates. But I see no sense in discouraging people from getting a G6. G5, V20 and G6 so far have had almost zero bootloop issues..

 

[MSFTisMIA]

This is a nice starting point commercial.

https://youtu.be/841dtKrpz5U

The problem? I never saw it before today. And the ONLY reason I saw it was I updated my LG Smartworld app (which is criminally slow, BTW) and was scrolling for themes for the V20 and saw it at the bottom of the page.

It's the second commercial I've seen, and both I've had to dig to find them. Cannot sell a product that people don't know about, really.

 

[Morty2264]

That's the difference. You all work in technology and have an interest in it.

I can go to almost every one of my friends right now and ask them for specs on phones theyve had for at least a year. Not a single one can tell me anything except the maker of the phone. No clue about processors, storage, ram, screen type etc. My wife doesn't even know what storage option she has in her iPhone.

I worked at Best buy for a few years and people wanted "the phone from the commercial" or "the new iPhone". Then I helped with some training at an At&t store and was dumbfounded to find out how many sales people don't have a clue what they're selling. The customers were another problem all on their own. In the time I was there, the only questions a customer asked were "how much is this one" and "is this the newest one out".

People buy blindly on alot of things. Technology, cars, etc. They tend to look at cost and brand recognition as primary deciding factors. Drives me crazy.

That must have been maddening for you! Sales reps don't always know what they're talking about. I remember asking a few simple questions that sales reps from different carriers couldn't answer. I once asked about a specific phone (I forget which one at the moment) and the rep hadn't even heard of it.

It's too bad that people spend their hard-earned dollars almost blindly as you say. Of course, it's their money to spend, but instead of picking up "the new iPhone" or whatever else they saw in commercials, they could totally spend a lot less and get a phone of similar or equal performance and quality.

 

[delrey1900]

That must have been maddening for you! Sales reps don't always know what they're talking about. I remember asking a few simple questions that sales reps from different carriers couldn't answer. I once asked about a specific phone (I forget which one at the moment) and the rep hadn't even heard of it.

It's too bad that people spend their hard-earned dollars almost blindly as you say. Of course, it's their money to spend, but instead of picking up "the new iPhone" or whatever else they saw in commercials, they could totally spend a lot less and get a phone of similar or equal performance and quality.

I agree with you. But also look at it like this. Most consumers just want the phone to work without issues. And is it easy to use. Then you have the consumers that want the latest and greatest blindly. Then you have us, who look into a phone a lot deeper. Unfortunately, the last group is a small one and really good phones don't sell well cause of it.

 

[Morty2264]

I agree with you. But also look at it like this. Most consumers just want the phone to work without issues. And is it easy to use. Then you have the consumers that want the latest and greatest blindly. Then you have us, who look into a phone a lot deeper. Unfortunately, the last group is a small one and really good phones don't sell well cause of it.

You're right. A lot of people just want the phone to "work" and do not care about specs, hardware, software, or anything like that.It's just sad that good phones tend to get the boot.

 

[MA2GA28]

Not sure when they 'fixed' the issue on the G4. Originally, there was a code on the back of the device and folks were saying that it was a mobo issue from date such and such based on the manuf code, but that turned out not to be the case. So yes, I agree that the majority of bootlooping issues with the G4 were hardware related. Multiple repairs never solved it either, and this was reported by a few sites, such as this one: LG admits G4 bootloop problem is a hardware fault, will repair affected devices - Android Authority

I know people who had multiple repairs done for bootlooping. These people do not do any modding or flashing, etc.

Earlier this summer, a colleague of mine had a G4 that was bootlooping about a month after the warranty expired. Bought his G4 just over a year ago. A friend of mine at the dog park earlier this spring had their G4 bootloop too.

I also know lots of people with S6s, S7s, Notes, iPhones, etc. Yes, once in a while someone complains about issues, but there is no other popular device from my various circles of friends and co-workers who has had devices brick as often as the G4. Not one person I know has escaped it (I work in a school, 120 staff and dozens of students each semester in a school of 1200 who talk to me about tech, and come to me for tech support). I am not writing off LG because my one specific device had an issue, but I can say that with the numerous people I have talked to with this device had a a bootloop issue that needed an RMA. That is not a myth. No other device I have encountered even comes close. A chat I had earlier this year at my carrier store about this, and the rep agreed that the G4 has a lot of issues and unhappy customers, and they don't like to promote the G4 either. Never talked about any other LG device in that chat, admittedly.

Actually, my device had an unresponsive touchscreen that took LG/my carrier 8 months to get a software fix for, and early batches of the G4 had weird marks on the screen out of the box, and the first few my carrier's salesperson opened up for me at the store when I activated the device was really irritated that so many early units had defective screens out of the box. I gave LG a break as I was clearly an early adopter in that case.

This forum will have a lot of LG fans, so its always tough to come in and give the device a hard time. Truth is, I'm just watching various forums (here and Xda typically) to see what the G6 looks like. I won't be upgrading until this winter so the V30 should be around for a while as well, and if the reliability reports are ok by then I'll most likely go with the V30.

I should have been more specific. I meant they fixed it going forward, as in future models didn't have the issue. The G4 was a mess, I agree. But you said you talked people out of the G6 because of the G4 issues. That seems a bit harsh to me.

Also, phones are mass bricked all the time. I recall the reboot of the Droid Razr had an update rolled out that was bricking phones left and right. And not bricking, but I remember a certain phablet spontaneously combusting and causing a bit of a PR melee. Based on that, would you talk people out of buying an S8?

Point being, LG owned up to the issue (even if their attempts to literally fix it failed), and obviously won't make that mistake again. So is it responsible to tell people that have no other information to avoid LG phones?

 

[chriskwarren]

I should have been more specific. I meant they fixed it going forward, as in future models didn't have the issue. The G4 was a mess, I agree. But you said you talked people out of the G6 because of the G4 issues. That seems a bit harsh to me.

Also, phones are mass bricked all the time. I recall the reboot of the Droid Razr had an update rolled out that was bricking phones left and right. And not bricking, but I remember a certain phablet spontaneously combusting and causing a bit of a PR melee. Based on that, would you talk people out of buying an S8?

Point being, LG owned up to the issue (even if their attempts to literally fix it failed), and obviously won't make that mistake again. So is it responsible to tell people that have no other information to avoid LG phones?

The G4 was a continuation of bootlooping issues though; the Nexus 5X and v10 also were prone to bootlooping issues (although the G4 was the worst of the bunch). This is something that the folks at Xda have concluded as well:
https://www.xda-developers.com/nexus-5x-bootloop-fix-boot-phone/

A quick google search will result in reports of widespread bootlooping of various LG devices.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...ets-lg-over-legendary-g4-v10-bootloop-issues/

The LG V10 might have the same bootloop problem as the G4 - Android Authority


The opinion I share is not just mine, but something that is known throughout the mobile phone news sites. While I agree that every manufacturer can put out a dud once in a while, and a bootloop can happen with any device that gets a bad software update (another friend and his wife both had Galaxy S6 edges bootloop within a week apart, an update suspected), it is not an overreaction to suggest that LG has (or had) a quality control issue that is worth keeping in mind before buying their devices.

 

[Qc_Anubis]

Days behind here, but you're right about general consumer knowledge. You also hit the nail on the head about salespeople too. I had a friend who worked at an AT&T store for years as his full time adult job. He would try to pass bogus information about cell phones all the time (Apple phones are higher quality than Androids was one of his go to fabrications). And when I engaged in the convo and started busting out real facts, he'd back off and not want to talk anymore, saying, "I just care about selling the accessories."

And this is why i'm glad to be a tech loving guy lolz, seing the face of clerk when i confront them about the clear bs they're spreading = priceless they never know what to answer lolz sometimes they even just leave xD

 

[MA2GA28]

And this is why i'm glad to be a tech loving guy lolz, seing the face of clerk when i confront them about the clear bs they're spreading = priceless they never know what to answer lolz sometimes they even just leave xD

Haha. When we bought my wife's G6, the clerk at the phone store told me that I should work there, since I knew more about the phones than she did.

 

[MA2GA28]

The G4 was a continuation of bootlooping issues though; the Nexus 5X and v10 also were prone to bootlooping issues (although the G4 was the worst of the bunch). This is something that the folks at Xda have concluded as well:
https://www.xda-developers.com/nexus-5x-bootloop-fix-boot-phone/

A quick google search will result in reports of widespread bootlooping of various LG devices.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...ets-lg-over-legendary-g4-v10-bootloop-issues/

The LG V10 might have the same bootloop problem as the G4 - Android Authority


The opinion I share is not just mine, but something that is known throughout the mobile phone news sites. While I agree that every manufacturer can put out a dud once in a while, and a bootloop can happen with any device that gets a bad software update (another friend and his wife both had Galaxy S6 edges bootloop within a week apart, an update suspected), it is not an overreaction to suggest that LG has (or had) a quality control issue that is worth keeping in mind before buying their devices.

And all of those models came out around the same time, so it's understandable considering it was a hardware defect.

My point is that those issues were two years ago. LG hasn't had any issues since then, but you're telling people to avoid LG anyway. That's like telling someone not to eat at a restaurant because two years ago their service sucked.

 

[Mike Dee]

The G4 was a continuation of bootlooping issues though; the Nexus 5X and v10 also were prone to bootlooping issues (although the G4 was the worst of the bunch). This is something that the folks at Xda have concluded as well:
https://www.xda-developers.com/nexus-5x-bootloop-fix-boot-phone/

A quick google search will result in reports of widespread bootlooping of various LG devices.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...ets-lg-over-legendary-g4-v10-bootloop-issues/

The LG V10 might have the same bootloop problem as the G4 - Android Authority


The opinion I share is not just mine, but something that is known throughout the mobile phone news sites. While I agree that every manufacturer can put out a dud once in a while, and a bootloop can happen with any device that gets a bad software update (another friend and his wife both had Galaxy S6 edges bootloop within a week apart, an update suspected), it is not an overreaction to suggest that LG has (or had) a quality control issue that is worth keeping in mind before buying their devices.

The 5X was due to an update which also crippled the 6P which is not an LG

 

[Goosinurwife]

With the new mainstream design and features, we would think sales would be great. Though according to sources, they're not doing so well. What could LG do to improve, especially if they already tried to be mainstream?

make the screen bigger next time led screen and sell the unlocked localy at bestbuy from the start here at the local tmobile stores they were removed cuz no 1 bought em they all want s8 phones

 

[eshropshire]

I bought a G4 - the desired international mode! - had no bootloops. It happened to a smaller percentage of people but that had enough mindshare effect where some folks see LG = bootloops. Unfortunate, really.

While I understood where you are coming from, I'd never discourage someone from buying a product unless it's got a very common defect. There's no guarantee that everyone who buys a phone will get a perfect or defective unit. For me, if people like a phone and for my feedback, I'd lay out both sides and let then choose.

YMMV, but I personally know several people who had bootloop issues. One co-worker had two G4s that had the issue. Considering how few of the people I know have LG phones, this is a high percentage to me.

That said I have not heard of any bootloop issues with the G6 or V20.

 

[Coraya]

Whether or not it was a flop in sales doesn't reflect how great of a device it is. I've had some hiccups that have probably been my own fault but this has easily been the 2nd best phone I've ever had behind my Note 4.

 

[recDNA]

Features won me over. I may have seen 1 V20 commercial. Really. I'm an enthusiast so not the consumer they want but I'm the consumer they got. No other phone had the V20 features when it came out. For the same reason I'll likely never buy another LG. They've dumped the features that won me over from Samsung.