I have several android devices, with problems that have been developing overtime. I am unsure what, exactly, the problems are, and am hesitant to declare it a hardware issue unless i can prove it. Some examples in particular are:
Phone 1: Charges slowly. Potential sources are: Battery is old and dying (default assumption) Wall outlet has electrical issues Charger has electrical issues Charging port has electrical issues Micro-USB charging cable has electrical issues Phone manufacturer is intentionally throttling performance to convince me to buy a new phone
Phone 2: Wi-Fi signal weak or barely functioning, youtube videos buffer and load for much too long on 720p when they shouldn’t need to. potential causes: wireless receiver aging router hardware issues digital connection issues intentional throttling of device functionality by manufacturer to convince me to purchase a new phone.
As you can see, there are many potential causes of these issues, some much easier to investigate than others. Is there any software that could help me in identifying the cause, especially the phone hardware and software related ones? I wouldn’t even really know where to start when it comes to this, it would take easily days for me to track this all down on google for both devices and frankly I’d really rather avoid that if at all possible.
Can you root? If so then why not try Lineage OS. The phones seem old and a lighter OS wouldn’t hurt. For battery you can try ACCA (requires root) or Accubatery Also depends on region but 3G gets taken down. WiFi and internet are dependent by tower distance and by how many WiFi clients and networks are around. Try WIFI widget handy tool. Cpu-z to check clock and thermals, ram usage and clocks. I do recommend installing Lineage OS and there are magisk modules if you’re willing to try, they might work they might not.
You don’t need root to flash.
Rooting is a function within an OS, flashing is the process of replacing the OS.
Root is the equivalent giving Admin permissions in Windows, flashing is equivalent to installing Windows.
Also, rooting requires a factory reset.
No you dont need root to flash, but if you install magisk you need to flash the patched boot image therefore have bootloader unblocked which is needed. What I meant is that if OP decides to root with Magisk it’ll just be easier to install Lineages OS(if his phones are supported) than to search for the firmware file to extract boot image since Lineage offers it already extracted
Phone 2: Wi-Fi signal weak or barely functioning, youtube videos buffer and load for much too long on 720p when they shouldn’t need to.
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Are you blocking ads ?
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Does that phone have apps which may be eating your resources ? https://f-droid.org/en/packages/eu.faircode.netguard/ With NetGuard you can block access for mobile and / or WiFi per app, or block all including system apps and then allow the ones you need.
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Battery/charging:
Verify what’s happening (charge voltage/current) using an app like GSAM Battery Monitor or Accubattery. Accubattery can also perform a battery health assessment by monitoring the min/max voltage of the battery after 2 or 3 full charge cycles (it tells you how to do this).
It may be that you have a low power charger, or a cable that limits charge current, a faulty charger, or an app that’s eating power.
If it charges slowly, but you have good voltage/current, there may be something running that’s consuming battery. Both GSAM and Accubattery will show app battery consumption.
For the network performance issue, resetting is the most definitive approach. Then you’d eliminate software causing issues. Alternatively using a firewall app like NoRoot Firewall, you can bIock network access for most apps and see if performance improves.
But network is a complex question - is it your connection, is it something between you and the servers, etc.
