• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

How is the LG G4?

Status
Not open for further replies.
F

Funyarinpa

Member
I've been using an Xperia Z3 Compact for the last two years, but due to some stuff like a problematic charging port and a busted rear camera, I am considering a replacement.

I was considering the LG G4. I quite like the design and no phone out there is a "one-handed flagship", like the Z3C was. I can't find the Z5 Compact for sale right now and I doubt that it'd be within my budget- I don't have an explicit limit but the G5 is currently going for $700 in my local currency, which is WAY too much. I also feel like trying a large screen, and I always really liked the G4's design. Only bummer for me right now is the lack of a fingerprint scanner, but I love how the buttons are on the back.

Any G4 users here? Long-time impressions?

P.S: I'm open to suggestions of other phones, but I don't want an iPhone.
 
I dont know how widespread the issue is, but they're prone to have boot loop issues. Mine randomly froze one day and wouldn't come back on.
 
Stay away. I'm on my second one due to the bootloop issue and I legit stick my phone in the refrigerator to avoid it getting hot while doing updates.
 
I believe this is one of the G-series that has the inevitable bootloop error?

I had been looking at the G4 for my next rooting/bricking toy, and I shied away when I read up on all of the bootloop errors that are hardware related. I ended up going with the Axon 7, probably one of the best phones I have ever owned... and that I have soft bricked multiple times while playing around with the bootloader.
 
As many have said bootloop. Good phone really likes the leather back but I cannot recommend it at this time many comparable options out there.

If you buy it from LG you should have a warranty. This issue persists in both the G4 and V10.
 
I'm in the market for a new (though not necessarily newly released) phone. I briefly considered the G4 because Amazon has one color for a little over $200 and the specs are still good for 2017, but the failure rate seems insanely bad. I decided it's not worth the potential hassle.
 
vsaintlo said:
As many have said bootloop. Good phone really likes the leather back but I cannot recommend it at this time many comparable options out there.

If you buy it from LG you should have a warranty. This issue persists in both the G4 and V10.
Click to expand...

Its even in the G5!

I have no idea what the hell they did but they did it so exceptionally badly that even their newer editions still have the same problem.
 
Budget Phone = Moto G5 Plus
Mid Tier = OP3T, Honor 8, Axon 7
Upper Middle = Mate 9
Top End = Pixel XL or S8 Plus
Wild Card = Last Years GS7 Edge
 
Not a bad phone but a little out of date.

LG gave me a few for free and I enjoyed my time with them but always inevitably sold them and went back to Samsung.
 
Vena said:
Its even in the G5!

I have no idea what the hell they did but they did it so exceptionally badly that even their newer editions still have the same problem.
Click to expand...

It happened in my G3 and I ended up just buying a new phone at that point. It was a real nice phone until that happened. Real bad QA and I'd personally avoid LG phone all together at this point.
 
Stay away, pretty much a defective product.

I really enjoyed mine for the year or so it worked, but then I got the boot loop. The one they sent had the same thing happen two days later. Currently on my third until I can upgrade.
 
daveo42 said:
It happened in my G3 and I ended up just buying a new phone at that point. It was a real nice phone until that happened. Real bad QA and I'd personally avoid LG phone all together at this point.
Click to expand...

Add the Nexus 5X to the list.

Thing is I have no clue what I'll get when it dies, I love this phone. Not a G6, that's fucking sure.
 
Stay away from it. I went thru 3 of them and all 3 died of the same bootloop issue. Not only that but my fiancee's LG G5 just started having bootloop issues so I would say get away from LG altogether. I'm still waiting for the class action to sign up.

Have u looked into the galaxy? I'm rocking a s7 edge and love it. Not even interested in the s8, this phone is still very solid.
Also the nexus phones are really really good. The latest one seems the be the favorite among YouTube tech guys.
 
Had mine since September '15 and haven't run into the bootloop problem. Gets a tad warm after prolonged use, but not too bad. Recently had to replace the battery as I was getting less than a day on full charge, even with minimal use.

I absolutely love the knock-to-wake feature and probably will stick w/ LG in the future if they include it on their phones.
 
I'm on my 2nd LG G4, first one was in a boot loop. Right now my 2nd one is not boot looping. But I still like it. I'm probably gonna stick with LG for my next phone if upgrading.
 
Get a S7. they should drop in price even more soon.

I paid 550$ shipped last fall when my third g4 fell in the toilet ( first 2 died from boot loop)
 
Bad. Battery life is horrible and I also got the boot loop issue. I liked the camera but I'm eyeing other brands next time.
 
My LG G3 is dying from hardware failure. All I've heard is LG phones have hardware problems. I'd stay away.

When my G3 finally gives out I'm planning to pick up a Moto G5. If you have the money tho, Samsung and OnePlus seem to be the best stuff out there.

Edit: and of course the Pixel.
 
Pretty shit. I lost one to the boot-loop problem, battery life is terrible, the GPS frequently glitches, the casing feels cheap...I'm probably going back to samsung when I replace it next year.
 
Nexus 5x and the G4 are pretty similar and both suffer from bootloop. My 5x just had this happen to it over the weekend. Reflowing the solder fixed mine for a few hours (enough to back it up) but it still reverted back to the problem.
I went ahead and ordered a one+ 3t, which I have been f5ing the ups tracking all day today. By 8:00 p.m. is so close, yet so far away.
 
Do not get the LG G4. My girlfriend and room mate both have one and they both hate it. Battery life is absolutely garbage, lags like a motherfucker. Do not buy.
 
Well, damn. There goes my top pick.

Just checked the S7 Edge and apparently I'd need to cough up somewhere around 900 USD to get one. Not happening.

I don't really like Samsung's interface or features all that much, so I'm not really interested in getting one. How's the Note 6? Could consider that one, perhaps.

I'd also like to try something other than Sony to see how it fares.

I also don't want to pick something very obscure though, since most such brands in Turkey are horrendous when it comes to maintenance/customer service.

...Don't think I'll be finding a phone that fits the bill exactly, so I'll still consider any suggestions you throw at me.
 
Funyarinpa said:
Well, damn. There goes my top pick.

Just checked the S7 Edge and apparently I'd need to cough up somewhere around 900 USD to get one. Not happening.

I don't really like Samsung's interface or features all that much, so I'm not really interested in getting one. How's the Note 6? Could consider that one, perhaps.

I'd also like to try something other than Sony to see how it fares.

I also don't want to pick something very obscure though, since most such brands in Turkey are horrendous when it comes to maintenance/customer service.

...Don't think I'll be finding a phone that fits the bill exactly, so I'll still consider any suggestions you throw at me.
Click to expand...

Well then, what do you want? What size screen? What will you do with it? Do you care if it has an sd card slot?
 
Get a OnePlus 3T. Half the price of other flagships with little to no bloat and equal (or better) performance and battery life. I'd say the only better phone on the market is the Pixel's, but they are stupid expensive
 
Funyarinpa said:
Well, damn. There goes my top pick.

Just checked the S7 Edge and apparently I'd need to cough up somewhere around 900 USD to get one. Not happening.

I don't really like Samsung's interface or features all that much, so I'm not really interested in getting one. How's the Note 6? Could consider that one, perhaps.

I'd also like to try something other than Sony to see how it fares.

I also don't want to pick something very obscure though, since most such brands in Turkey are horrendous when it comes to maintenance/customer service.

...Don't think I'll be finding a phone that fits the bill exactly, so I'll still consider any suggestions you throw at me.
Click to expand...

Just let go of your hate for Apple (and Nintendo) and get an iPhone SE. It's small, it's inexpensive, it's well supported, and it's fast.
 
Mine was totally fine until it just randomly bricked six months after I got it (boot loop). No warning whatsoever, and I eventually found out this apparently happens sometimes with LG phones and no one knows why.

It's a shame, because I really liked the form factor of LG's phones. Bought a pixel and haven't looked back since.
 
heyf00L said:
Well then, what do you want? What size screen? What will you do with it? Do you care if it has an sd card slot?
Click to expand...

Don't really know in terms of screen. I could give anything a try. Went with the Z3 Compact for the ease of use with one hand, no problems on that front, but I'd like to see how a large screen fares as well.

Won't be doing anything intense with it, I believe- perhaps some GBA emulation is about as far as I'll push it. The occasional photo (sending homeworks to classmates and such), a shitton of web browsing, a lot of WhatsApp, and it needs to have SD card support (or otherwise really large storage sizes at a good price). Not planning on getting a flagship phone due to just how obscene the prices are becoming (especially in Turkey), but I'll consider 2015 or 2016 models.

Also, I just really dislike iOS = iPhone is not really for me. I also love the app drawer, so there's that. (Edit: The SE is apparently only 4''. Nnnnnnnnnnope.)

Not considering OnePlus phones, because I really doubt there's customer service or warranty for it in Turkey.
 
Both my gf and I have one. We like it a lot. Nice screen, nice size, light, fast enough.

We are not advanced users, though.
 
I'll echo some of the other posters in this thread: the G4 was absolutely great until I got the bootloop failure. I loved the power button on the back, the double-tap to turn on, the screen size, the microSD slot and replaceable battery, and lots of other little things.

If LG has definitively sorted out their problems, definitely go for the G4. Otherwise, stay far away.
 
Funyarinpa said:
Don't really know in terms of screen. I could give anything a try. Went with the Z3 Compact for the ease of use with one hand, no problems on that front, but I'd like to see how a large screen fares as well.

Won't be doing anything intense with it, I believe- perhaps some GBA emulation is about as far as I'll push it. The occasional photo (sending homeworks to classmates and such), a shitton of web browsing, a lot of WhatsApp, and it needs to have SD card support (or otherwise really large storage sizes at a good price). Not planning on getting a flagship phone due to just how obscene the prices are becoming (especially in Turkey), but I'll consider 2015 or 2016 models.

Also, I just really dislike iOS = iPhone is not really for me. I also love the app drawer, so there's that. (Edit: The SE is apparently only 4''. Nnnnnnnnnnope.)

Not considering OnePlus phones, because I really doubt there's customer service or warranty for it in Turkey.
Click to expand...

Sounds similar to me except the Turkey thing. I'm set on getting a Moto G5 Plus 32gb when my LG dies.
 
Great phone plagued by boot loop issue that requires replacing the mainboard.

I work in a cellphone shop and the G4 was a disaster for us.
 
I never got a G4, but I did have an LG G3 and now have an LG G5. My girlfriend got one at the same time (we switched to Sprint - me from AT&T and her from US Cellular) and so far everything has been great.

I think the G5 was highly underrated at release time and got some undue criticism regarding its design.

In any case I do not recommend the G4 as it seems most impacted by the boot loop issue.
 
G4 is a nice little phone with too many potential problems for me to recommend. Get a moto. I think the worst thing about those phones is the possibility of a malfunctioning display.
 
Funyarinpa said:
Any G4 users here? Long-time impressions?
Click to expand...

Had it since launch. Initial model had the split screen issue, but the replacement has been rock solid ever since. Love the camera. Generally a solid phone, assuming you didn't end up with a problematic batch.

SocksAndShoes said:
I dont know how widespread the issue is, but they're prone to have boot loop issues. Mine randomly froze one day and wouldn't come back on.
Click to expand...

Vena said:
I believe this is one of the G-series that has the inevitable bootloop error?
Click to expand...

If you bought one of the first batch, or are buying used w/o knowing history, you should worry about the bootloop. If you're buying new now, I wouldn't worry about it.
 
The Nexus 6P was sounding like what I wanted to try, but as it turns out it's not sold in Turkey. Can't find any listing for the moto G5 either, but the design for that one didn't click in the first place.

Can't really find anything else that fits, either. Looked at Sony and Samsung too.

Sigh.

Transistor said:
What's your price range, OP?
Click to expand...

Currently looking for around 1500 Turkish Lira, which converts to about 375 USD. That's the Turkish price though, so I doubt taking pricing into account will have much meaning- electronics are often ripoffs here. Flagships are over my budget.
 
Transistor said:
If you don't care about brand new, you can get a used one off of Swappa for cheaper
Click to expand...

I'd really rather get it brand new from somewhere in Turkey so that I have warranty. :/ Tried to buy phones via resellers before (though not second hand) and it caused me a lot of pain later on.
 
Funyarinpa said:
I'd really rather get it brand new from somewhere in Turkey so that I have warranty. :/ Tried to buy phones via resellers before (though not second hand) and it caused me a lot of pain later on.
Click to expand...

Moto G5 Plus

Make sure you get the PLUS version.
 
Have had 1 for over 1 year, have installed custom android and everything, and haven't had any issues with it, my brother also has an LG G4 the dual SIM version, and also no issues there.

That being said the battery life isn't all that amazing, and since its an "old" phone there is probably better options out there.
 
ZOONAMI said:
You'd be better off with like a Moto G5 honestly.
Click to expand...

This 100%. I have had a G4 since launch and experienced two failures due to boot looping. The third that I'm typing on now is a ticking time bomb. It's sad because I really do like the phone. The form factor, performance, camera are all great. The removable battery has been a life saver and that's a extinct feature on current phones.
 
I've had an LG G4 since it was launched and after about 18 months I got the boot loop issue (apparently it only affects phones manufactured in the first few months).
I thought the phone was out of warranty but then I found out it came with 2 years warranty so I managed to send it off and get a free replacement.

A months or two later and I dropped it and broke the screen. But it still works perfectly just has some cracks. Still use it now but will be upgrading soon.

I really liked the G4 and would like to stick with LG for my next phone but the LG G6 styling just looks very dull IMO so I might go with something else.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

LG webOS TVs are now installing Microsoft Copilot automatically with no option to remove it
News  2
65
855
Hookshot replied
How does the real 2026 compare to 1927’s 2026?
20
371
sono replied
How to Live Through a Great Decline
16
245
Unknown Soldier replied
Ultra clear look for the iPhone is wild. Here's how to get it.
48
2K
ShirAhava replied
How do you get rid of an earworm?
16
211
rm082e replied
Top Bottom