Warning: Big Troubles with Samsung Galaxy S5, Lollipop, and Verizon

[WareIAm]

Verizon really screwed up Lollipop with something that they added.

In a nutshell - If you have a Verizon Samsung Galaxy S5, DO NOT upgrade to LOLLIPOP. It compromised my email (can’t send email, pinch zoom doesn’t work, terrible lags), rendered wifi unusable, made the phone run so hot that the battery drains down in 4-5 hours with minimal use, eliminated all notifications before the unlock screen, and lags so long that my phone often timed out before I had time to enter my unlock key, forcing me to get rid of my lock screen, so my phone currently has no security.

The proposed solution of a full factory reset did not work for many who tried. It simply erased all user data and customization. And who should have to do a factory reset to make an update work, anyway?

This is affecting many people on the Verizon network. Everyone has the same issues, and Verizon refuses to take ownership of the problem. They keep asking people if their phones have been exposed to water.

I worked with Samsung via twitter and got my phone to the point where it is usable, but without security, and it no longer seamlessly switches between wifi and network. In addition, my email continues to be compromised, and lags continue, so I often have to reboot my device.

There is a long post on Verizon's forum that addresses these issues, but I am unable to link it here because I am a new member. It is called: Samsung Galaxy S5 Lollipop Update Problems

Don't upgrade to Lollipop on Verizon. It's garbage and will render your phone virtually unusable.

 

[Bartdude]

Im on Verizon. Did the upgrade, had lag, battery felt warmer after use sometimes, had a weird problem where when phone screen was off I could change from vibrate to mute by pressing the volume down button. I finally did a factory reset and lag is gone, phone no longer changes volume states when screen off...and haven't noticed the battery warmth (just did reset yesterday).
So factory reset can help, though it sounds like not everyone.
Going to do my fiances phone this weekend.

Edit: I found my problem with the volume changing states. It only does it when Smart AudioBook player is running (paused) and has a book in it's queue. If it shows the app on the lockscreen with a book queued up and I close it then it doesn't do it.

 

[srkmagnus]

It's unfortunate that you are having issues with the Lollipop updated on your device. Have you taken a look at the solutions provided by Jerry on his blog post: Android 5.0 Lollipop bugs got you down? Here's how you (might be able to) fix them | Android Central

Take a look at the post for future reference and see if it helps. Oftentimes you can get away with clearing cache. However, a factory reset may be needed to fix major issues or bugs. Also, keep in mind that developers are still updating apps and services to work properly on Lollipop, so certain issues could be related to apps you have installed that may not be working properly with Lollipop.

 

[WareIAm]

Thanks, Bartdude. I am trying to avoid resorting to a factory reset. For now, I have my phone jury-rigged enough to be functional, although I am not thrilled with disabling security. I will try to enable it again in a few days, while giving apps time to catch up and my phone about a week and a half to settle down.

 

[WareIAm]

Thanks, srkmagnus. I will read the article that you reference and take appropriate actions. Fingers crossed that app developers catch up soon and Verizon gets its act together and releases a fix pronto. I would think that with all the issues, they are on their toes...hopefully.

 

[terryb99]

This is has been the most horrible update ever. Verizon supposedly is so slow and careful before they release updates. what happened this time?

I now hate my S5. battery pull, no change..gone thru deleting ever app I can get rid of..

I too, hate the thought of a factory reset.. I did that a few months ago, and it takes several days to get things back the way I like.
I should not have to do that for an update.

Tmobile keeps bugging me to come over and get a new phone..maybe I should

 

[Drunder40]

Verizon really screwed up Lollipop with something that they added.

In a nutshell - If you have a Verizon Samsung Galaxy S5, DO NOT upgrade to LOLLIPOP. It compromised my email (can’t send email, pinch zoom doesn’t work, terrible lags), rendered wifi unusable, made the phone run so hot that the battery drains down in 4-5 hours with minimal use, eliminated all notifications before the unlock screen, and lags so long that my phone often timed out before I had time to enter my unlock key, forcing me to get rid of my lock screen, so my phone currently has no security.

The proposed solution of a full factory reset did not work for many who tried. It simply erased all user data and customization. And who should have to do a factory reset to make an update work, anyway?

This is affecting many people on the Verizon network. Everyone has the same issues, and Verizon refuses to take ownership of the problem. They keep asking people if their phones have been exposed to water.

I worked with Samsung via twitter and got my phone to the point where it is usable, but without security, and it no longer seamlessly switches between wifi and network. In addition, my email continues to be compromised, and lags continue, so I often have to reboot my device.

There is a long post on Verizon's forum that addresses these issues, but I am unable to link it here because I am a new member. It is called: Samsung Galaxy S5 Lollipop Update Problems

Don't upgrade to Lollipop on Verizon. It's garbage and will render your phone virtually unusable.

My wife and I initially had the wifi issue and a little worse battery use (and I mean a little). We cleared the Cache Partition and did a Factory Reset and all is good. Been three days now and still running strong..

 

[randomdude]

This is has been the most horrible update ever. Verizon supposedly is so slow and careful before they release updates. what happened this time?

I now hate my S5. battery pull, no change..gone thru deleting ever app I can get rid of..

I too, hate the thought of a factory reset.. I did that a few months ago, and it takes several days to get things back the way I like.
I should not have to do that for an update.

Tmobile keeps bugging me to come over and get a new phone..maybe I should

why do you think you'll avoid these types of problems with T-mobile?

 

[WareIAm]

terryb99, Samsung helped me via Twitter, and I got rid of the hot battery and drain by disabling the Smart Network Switch in wifi. I also enabled Power Saving Mode, and I don't miss anything from that. Those 2 things brought my device back to a useful tool. I am still, however, frustrated by email issues and lack of security. I hope to be able to reactivate that successfully soon though.

Good luck.

 

[dbregman]

I did the factory reset - helped battery somewhat. But phone is often laggy and often I can not answer a call, if I can there is a 3-4 second delay before I can talk to someone. Twice the only way to hang up a call was to reboot the phone. BT is also an issue now. I recommend waiting.
I forgot to mention the ANNOYING battery fully charged message is not user selectable.

 

[terryb99]

why do you think you'll avoid these types of problems with T-mobile?

LOL..get a different phone., not an S5, .which I cannot do with Verizon for 18 more months. T-Mobile wants to buy me out.

 

[terryb99]

terryb99, Samsung helped me via Twitter, and I got rid of the hot battery and drain by disabling the Smart Network Switch in wifi. I also enabled Power Saving Mode, and I don't miss anything from that. Those 2 things brought my device back to a useful tool. I am still, however, frustrated by email issues and lack of security. I hope to be able to reactivate that successfully soon though.

Good luck.

Thanks for the fast reply.
My Smart Network switch was not activated.
I just enabled power saving mode and will keep an eye out

Thanks again,

Terry

 

[jerrymahone]

I read your comments in another forum, I believe; it might have been your twitter feed in the VZW forum. Sure wish I had read them before I voluntarily upgraded to Lollipop.

Having said that, I too have an aversion to full factory resets because it just feels like such a sledgehammer approach. I did clear the partition cache, and it helped dramatically. No more inferno with the battery, and the drain was reasonable, though still not wonderful. Clearing the cache did seem to make the phone pretty much usable. I also cleared the app cache. I did this two days ago.

So, what is the current result? Well, the phone is rebooting on me quite a bit. Not cool. But when it is running, it seems to run mostly fine. When I first used the phone the morning after the partition cache clearing, the phone was frozen. Not exactly sure why, but it could have been triggered by one or more alarms that went unattended. That did not happen this morning. I feel like, if nothing else, I bought time to get everything backed up in case I do need to factory reset it. Other than the reboots and the diminished battery life (nothing like right after the upgrade by a long shot), the phone seems stable. However, because of the reboots and the possibly shorter battery life, I will either do the full reset or upgrade with a patch release (not holding my breath) once I fully backup the phone, which is something I should have done earlier, anyway.

But seriously, Verizon? What a disaster of a rollout. The G5 is the flagship of the non-phablet phones. Why did VZW not see this coming through testing of a KitKat to Lollipop upgrade?

 

[WareIAm]

jerrymahne - I updated to Lollipop 9 days ago, and knock on wood - my S5 seems to have stabilized. I still have the smart network switch disabled, and I'm still running in Power Saving mode, but I was finally able to reactivate my screen lock, the device stays cool, and the battery life is less than before Lollipop, but not nearly as bad as when I first installed it.

I have rebooted the phone at least once/day to clear out any junk, I close all my apps before letting the phone sleep, I run Battery Doctor and regularly shut down apps that are hogging power (even though I haven't started them), and I have updated every app possible. I have not cleaned out the cache (because I don't know how) and I have not done a factory reset.

Email remains a pet peeve. I still can't pinch zoom, and sending email is hit or miss. If I attach a photo, forget it.

I continue to hope that Verizon is emabrrased enough by all of this to push thir engineers to fix Lollipop pronto.

 

[Ripken Streudel]

Plants vs. Zombies and a couple other games will not run. I guess I will have to uninstall / re-install? I cleared cache and that didn't work.

 

[terryb99]

There is light at the end of the tunnel. I am on a Delta flight, sitting next to a guy the works for Google. His S5 has 5.01 on it.
He said that Google knows there are issues, and that 5.01 will fix most.
I just hope Verizon releases the update fast.

So quick before we land in Detroit, anything I should ask him? Lol

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Drunder40]

terryb99, Samsung helped me via Twitter, and I got rid of the hot battery and drain by disabling the Smart Network Switch in wifi. I also enabled Power Saving Mode, and I don't miss anything from that. Those 2 things brought my device back to a useful tool. I am still, however, frustrated by email issues and lack of security. I hope to be able to reactivate that successfully soon though.

Good luck.

I would be frustrated also.. mainly due the fact that you had to disable functions in order to fix a firmware update problem. I know that what you disabled doesn't really affect you and thats good, but I hope they have a plan in place to fix the root cause like a firmware fix or something..

 

[bigorange]

There is a fix that was posted today! Tested and works!

Samsung Galaxy S5 Battery Drain Fix Lollipop Sprint Verizon

 

[lgdlman]

Rip the band-aid off, do a factory reset, it will fix the issues.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[cydewaze]

While I won't be affected by this problem (I rooted and stuck with 4.4.2), my wife's phone will probably get the lollipop update when she gets home from abroad, so thanks for posting the potential fixes. The last thing I need is a wife with phone problems, because her phone problems quickly become my phone problems.