Android Marshmallow is Google's beauty queen with brains. It looks good, and there's real substance beneath the surface. With new features and options galore, the Android 6.0 Marshmallow update unfortunately brought a few bugs along for the ride. With that in mind, we rounded up the most common. Android Marshmallow problems and the solutions for fixing them. Just because Wi-Fi looks like your biggest battery drain, it doesn't mean it really is.
Marshmallow Wi-Fi battery drain
This is an interesting problem, mostly because it is a case of the boy who called wolf. A lot of Marshmallow users have been posting screenshots of their battery usage page, which show Wi-Fi to be the biggest battery drain on Marshmallow. In many cases, that's just false reporting, and the device's battery life is actually unaffected by Wi-Fi, but some other users are seeing the same data and it is affecting their battery.
Several solutions have been suggested for this Marshmallow problem. The first is to go to Settings > Backup and reset > Network settings reset to clear all your connection data. This includes Bluetooth and cellular data, so you'll need to reconfigure everything afterwards.
Marshmallow's new Network Settings Reset option is a great tool.
You can also try disabling Wi-Fi scanning in Settings > Location > Scanning (via overflow menu). This function can be scanning in the background even if you have turned Wi-Fi itself off. Other people have had success simply by going to Settings > Location > Mode > Battery saving Some extremists have suggested a full factory reset, followed by flashing the factory image, followed by another reset through recovery.
Others are factory resetting and starting a fresh install (ie not using Tap & Go to set up your old device) and then reconnecting to Wi-Fi. Personally, I recommend figuring out whether what you're experiencing is bad reporting or a real problem before you attempt any of these fixes.
Even without Wi-Fi, Marshmallow has a battery drain issue.
General Marshmallow battery drain
Besides mysterious battery drain there's also legitimate battery drain, a staple of Android updates since time immemorial. Well, since 2009 anyway. The quickest solution to fix battery drain following an Android update is to update your apps (so that they are compatible with the new Android version) and then wipe the app and system caches to clear out old data.
You can clear app caches individually or as a whole by taking the following routes: to clear them individually, go to Settings > Apps > select app > Storage > Clear cache; to clear all app caches simultaneously, go to Settings > Storage and USB > Cached data > OK.
The first cache you should clear is the app cache. To clear the system cache, turn your phone or tablet off and then press Power and Volume Down until you see theFastboot menu. Use the volume buttons to highlight Recovery and press the Power button to select it. If you see the robot on its back, hold Power and press Volume Up once to access the recovery menu. Use the volume buttons to select Wipe cache partition and press Power to confirm. Once you've wiped the system cache, you can reboot and your battery drain problem should be solved. .[post_ad]
If your battery drain still persists after clearing the caches, the only step remaining is to factory reset your phone. First,back up everything on your Android and make sure all of your important files are safe. Then, go to Settings > Backup and reset > Factory data reset > Reset phone > Erase everything. If the problem continues even after rebooting and restoring your data, try to re-flash the Marshmallow firmware.
The next stop is your Android system cache. Marshmallow installation problems
If your phone hangs up during the installation of Marshmallow, the best option is to wait. Sometimes the first boot after an update takes a long time. If it's still hung up a long time later, you can wipe the system cache through Recovery mode, using the steps outlined above. Restart and attempt installation again. If the same things happens, you'll have to back up your data and factory reset before trying to update again.
Marshmallow Wi-Fi connectivity issues
If you're getting spotty Wi-Fi connectivity on Android Marshmallow, there are a few things you can do. First, try toggling Airplane Mode on and off. If that doesn't work, turn off Wi-Fi, reboot your phone and turn it back on. Next, forget the connection and reconnect to it. Finally, go to Settings > Backup and reset > Network settings reset.
You might be surprised how much toggling Airplane Mode on and off can solve. Marshmallow stability and performance issues
Not all updates are perfectly stable in the early days. That's why Nexus folk get them first, so they can find the bugs and report back to HQ before everyone else gets them. That's not really true, but hopefully it makes early adopters feel like they're performing a public service when dealing with new update problems on Android.
If you find that your version of Marshmallow is unstable – random reboots, app crashes, glitches and stutters, strange behavior and so on – then you have a couple of options. Simply turning your phone off for a minute before restarting it might fix the issue. The next step is to try to identify the issue, to see whether it's app-related or caused by the system itself.
Safe mode will help you diagnose whether apps or Android are the source of a problem. To identify a problematic app, boot into safe mode, by holding down the Power button and then long-pressing Power off. Safe mode disables all apps you've installed so you can assess whether the core system apps are functioning normally. If they are, then one of your installed apps is the problem and you should try systematically uninstalling them one at a time to find the culprit.
If Marshmallow is unstable even in safe mode, then it's an OS problem, not an app problem. You can try clearing the system cache by following the steps outlined in the Battery Drain section above and, if that still hasn't fixed your problem, your last resort is to back up your data and factory reset your phone (also covered above).
A factory reset is the one solution to rule them all. Just back up your data first. Marshmallow charging problems
Despite Marshmallow's new USB charging standards, Android 6.0 charging problems seem pretty common, from devices that drain faster than they charge to phones that simply won't charge at all. Marshmallow is making users earn the battery benefits of its Doze mode and app standby. Google's official solution to a phone that won't charge on Marshmallow is a factory reset, the instructions for this can be found above. Charging problems seem to be plaguing Marshmallow too.
Marshmallow mobile data problems
If your connection to mobile data behaves strangely after the update, try toggling airplane mode on and off, and then doing the same with mobile data in the quick settings. If this still doesn't work, turn your phone off for a minute and then restart it, at which point you'll be asked to re-enter your SIM pin code.
If that still doesn't work you can try removing the SIM card entirely and then reinserting it. If all else fails, contact your carrier to see if there are any known Android Marshmallow problems on your network.
