Problem: Phone stuck in a boot loop
To say that a few people have had their LG V10 get stuck in a boot loop would be an understatement. You can find forum threads galore that are full of people complaining about what may be the phone’s biggest issue. If you weren’t already aware, a boot loop is when a device shuts down (sometimes on its own), restarts, gets as far as the LG logo, and restarts again. It has become such a widespread problem that a class-action lawsuit has been filed against LG.
Potential solutions:
- Wait. A few people have left their phones alone for about 20 mins, only to return and see that the device managed to start up correctly.
- A hard reset has helped some people, provided they’re able to trigger it before the phone restarts again. Keep in mind, however, that you may lose some important data if you were not fortunate enough to have a recently made backup.
- Start by turning your phone completely off, then hold down the Volume Down and Power keys. When the LG logo appears, release the Power key and immediately hold it down again.
- When “Factory data reset” appears, use the Volume keys to highlight the option, and use the Power key to confirm your selection.
- When you see the option to “Erase all user data and restore default settings,” use the Volume keys to highlight it and Power to confirm your decision.
- Reaching out to LG may also net you a repair or replacement device. That said, the boot loop problem could pop up again in the future with a new phone.
Problem: Poor battery life
Quite a few LG V10 owners have expressed some disappointment in the battery life of their device. It has a 3,000mAh battery, but with a high resolution 5.7-inch display — and that secondary display to power — it may not last as long as you’d hope. Thankfully, the V10 does charge up quickly, but there are also some ways to extend the battery life when you don’t have access to an outlet.
Workarounds:
- The battery is removable, so you could always buy a spare. You can for $60.
- The screen always has the biggest impact on battery, so set it to auto-brightness or turn the brightness down as far as you comfortably can.
- You might also consider heading into Settings > Location and switching the Mode to Battery saving.
- Some people found that battery life was further improved after turning off VoLTE in Settings > Call.
- Check out our general tips for saving smartphone battery life for more ideas, as well as this Verizon support page detailing ways to extend battery life.
- You could try disabling apps that you aren’t using. Carrier bloatware, in particular, can cause battery drain, but it’s also important to research the individual apps before you disable them. Go to Settings > General > Apps and scroll to the All tab to see everything that’s installed. Tap on apps you don’t want and uninstall or disable them.
- Some apps can only be removed if you root your LG V10. Rooting will also give you the option to tweak performance in other ways and try different ROMs, but it may also void your warranty.
Potential fixes:
- There’s a good chance that an app or apps are responsible for any unusual battery drain, particularly if you find that your LG V10 is overheating. You can take a look in Settings > Device > Battery to get an idea of what is guzzling the power. You can also test this idea by booting into safe mode. Hold down the Power button, then tap and hold Power off and tap Restart in Safe mode > OK. If your battery woes are gone in safe mode, then you need to go through your third-party apps and uninstall them one-by-one to find the culprit, or go straight for a factory reset and install selectively afterward.
- Before you factory reset, try wiping the cache partition. Go to Settings > Storage > Cached data and tap Yes to delete it.
- A few people report that a factory reset vastly improved their battery life. Make sure you back up everything important first, then go to Settings > General > Backup & reset > Reset phone > Erase everything > OK.
- There’s a chance that you have a faulty battery. If nothing else seems to help, go to your carrier, retailer, or LG and ask about a replacement handset.
Glitch: Fingerprint sensor not working
A lot of people on the Android Central forums have been complaining about the fingerprint sensor on the LG V10 not working properly. It should be fast and smooth, so if you find that it fails frequently, then there’s obviously something wrong. The best method seems to be to press the button and then leave your finger on the sensor to be scanned, and make sure that you’re touching the metal sides of the LG V10 as you do it. You should also make sure that your finger is clean and dry.
Workarounds:
- Cases are causing issues for some people. Try removing your case and see how well it works.
- You can increase the chances of it working by rerecording your fingerprints and using the same finger for more than one recording. Go to Settings > Fingerprints & security > Fingerprints > Add fingerprint and record it from multiple angles. Now do the same process again for the same finger. Just make sure to keep changing the angle to increase the chances it will recognize it.
Potential fixes:
- Turn off the phone, then remove and re-insert the battery. Turn the phone back on.
- If you determine that the case you’re using is the problem, then you have a few different options:
- Try deleting the stored fingerprint and set it up fresh with the case on the LG V10.
- Some people think that the problem is a lack of contact with the metal sides of the V10. Try squeezing the sides of the case when you use the fingerprint sensor, or touch an exposed part of the sides if there is an opening.
- Put some aluminum tape on the inside of the case, touching the sides where you naturally hold it when using the fingerprint sensor.
- Some people report that a software update greatly improved their success rate with the fingerprint sensor. Check in Settings > About phone > Software version to make sure you’re up to date.
Issue: Second screen light bleed
If you notice that there’s light bleeding from the second screen on your LG V10, then you are not alone. Quite a few people have complained about this. If you want to check, then go into a dark room and take a look at the edges of your second screen when the main screen is off.
Workaround:
- There really isn’t much you can do about this. A lot of people have suggested that there are differences between models based on manufacturing, but others claim that every LG V10 has this issue because of the separate backlight for the second screen (which should only come on when the main screen is off). Sometimes the light bleed is really noticeable, sometimes it isn’t, and it might be in the top left corner or in the right. For that reason, you might get an LG V10 handset with less bleed if you exchange it, but there’s obviously no guarantee. You may also find that your carrier or retailer might not want to acknowledge this as a fault, which could be a problem if you’ve gone past your no questions asked exchange period.
Problem: Wi-Fi slow or keeps dropping
Quite a few LG V10 owners have had problems with Wi-Fi networks. The phone may refuse to connect, the connection may be slow, or it might drop altogether from time to time. Some owners have also had their Wi-Fi hotspots turn off automatically, even when it’s been set not to. This is always a common issue with smartphones and there are lots of different things you can try.
Potential fixes:
- Turn your LG V10 and your router off, and then turn them on again. This often works, but it’s rarely a permanent fix.
- Go to Settings > Wi-Fi, long press on your troublesome router, then tap Forget network and try setting it up from scratch.
- Take a look in Settings > General > Battery and check that Battery saver isn’t interfering with your Wi-Fi.
- Check in Settings > General > Smart Settings and make sure nothing in here is interfering with your Wi-Fi.
- If you’re connecting to 5GHz and there’s a 2.4GHz option, or vice versa, try switching to see if it makes a difference.
- Use a free app like Wifi Analyzer to make sure that your channels aren’t too crowded. If you find that you’re using a busy channel, then try switching to a different one.
- Check that the MAC filter on your router is off, or add your LG V10 MAC address. You should find it listed in Settings > Wi-Fi > More > Advanced.
- Make sure that Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep is set to Always. You’ll find it in Settings > Wi-Fi > More > Advanced.
- Make sure that your router firmware is up to date. Check with your ISP or manufacturer about updates.
Problem: Screen burn
Many people are reporting that a phenomenon similar to screen burn is blemishing their smartphone display. Complaints about this problem began early last year, and have continued into 2017.
Potential solutions:
- Many have said that the screen burn, or ghost image, will disappear on its own after some time.
- Some users have recommended apps such as CF Lumen and sFilter. Both are meant to adjust the colors and brightness on your LG V10’s display.
- XDA forums user dacha1984 recommends doing the following if you’re using sFilter: Set Filter Opacity to 15 percent, Screen Dimmer to 50 percent, select black color, and set all to ON.
- Since some owners aren’t experiencing problems related to screen burn, there’s a chance that a replacement handset will not suffer from the same issue. Try contacting your carrier, retailer, or LG. Even if you decide to stick with your faulty headset, you should report the problem so that LG is more likely to roll out a fix at some point.
Problem: No audio when using Bluetooth
A couple of problems the V10 has faced have stuck around since the phone’s launch, namely those pertaining to Bluetooth. Specifically, users on the Android Central forums have been unable to get audio to work when connecting their phone to their Bluetooth headphones, Bluetooth speakers, or their car.
Potential solutions:
- Restart your phone and whatever Bluetooth accessory you’re trying to connect to.
- Check for an update for your V10. Check in Settings > About phone > Software version and make sure your phone is up to date. If your car needs an update, be sure to update its software capabilities as well.
- Unpair or forget your Bluetooth devices, then pair them to your phone again.
- If you’re specifically having issues connecting your phone to your car via Bluetooth, unpair both your car and phone from one another, and restart your phone. Then, remove and reinsert the battery. Try pairing again.
- Back up your phone and perform a factory reset by going to Settings > General > Backup & reset > Reset phone > Erase everything > OK.
This article was originally posted on January 16, 2016, and updated on March 21 by Kyree Leary to include problems related to boot loop, poor connectivity, and screen burn.
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