LG G4: How to Disable OTA Updates

If you’re looking to disable OTA updates on the LG G4 then you’ll want to follow the step by step instructions detailed in this tutorial.

It can be very frustrating to go through all the work to root the LG G4 and then find out that your carrier has applied an OTA update by itself and disabled root access. Even worse, applying an OTA update while your LG G4 is rooted can sometimes make it go into a bootloop.

This will force you to either restore from a Nandroid backup or perform a factory reset and making you lose all of your data.

A lot of times these OTA updates will patch the hole that you exploited in order to gain root access to the device. This can add onto the frustration because then you’ll have to downgrade or revert to stock before you can attempt to gain root access again. There have even been cases where users have been unable to downgrade and that means the person will no longer be able to gain root access until a new exploit has been released for their device.

Alternatively, disabling OTA updates can also be beneficial to those who don’t even plan on rooting their LG G4. There are a lot of people who dislike OTA updates because they have had terrible experiences with them. Sometimes an OTA update just goes poorly and this can cause all sorts of things like decreased performance, apps force closing, hardware like WiFi and Bluetooth no longer connecting to anything.

No matter your reason, you should know that there are a few ways that you can go about disabling OTA updates on your LG G4

Standard Method

1. Launch the Settings Application
2. Under General, Tap on the ‘About Phone’ Option
3. Tap on the ‘Update Center’ Option
4. In the ‘Software Update’ Section, Uncheck the ‘Check Automatically’ and ‘Auto-Install Updates’ Boxes
5. Reboot the LG G4

Hidden Menu Method

1. Launch the Dialer Application
2. Enter the Following Code to Access the Hidden Menu. . .
3. 277634#*#
4. . . .Then Scroll Down and Tap on ‘WiFi Test’
5. Tap on the ‘OTA Setting’ Option
6. Then Tap on the Big ‘Disable’ Button
7. Reboot the LG G4

Debloater Method

1. Download Debloater from XDA to the PC
2. Enable USB Debugging Mode on the LG G4
3. Root Access Shouldn’t be Required Here
4. Install and Launch Debloater
5. Block/Debloat the Following Files
6. LGDMSClient.apk, LGUpdateCenter.apk, LGFOTA.apk, LGLDB.apk
7. Sprint Users Block Sprint_Installer.apk
8. Verizon Users Block VerizonIgnite.apk
9. AT&T Users Block WildTangent.apk
10. T-Mobile Users Block AdaptClient.apk

Explanation

The first two methods are pretty straight forward, but they are not possible on some variants of the LG G4. I would try the first method, and if that failed or was not possible, then try the second method. If that one fails or is not possible then you’ll have to do the third one mentioned here. The Debloater method is more complicated than the first two, but it is still a fairly easy process. The important parts is to know which files to block for which variant of the LG G4. Since this is a critical modification, you’ll want to create a Nandroid backup of the LG G4 before you try any of these methods.

Not every version of the LG G4 will have the files mentioned in the Debloater Method above. However, if you see one of these files then you should disable/debloat it if you want to disable OTA updates. I do want to note that some users with the Sprint LG G4 have said that WiFi calling breaks when they disable the LGDMSClient.apk app. Some users have reported that disabling the LGFOTA.apk application will make all calls go straight to voice mail. This doesn’t seem to happen to everyone, so you’re going to need to experiment with what works and what doesn’t work on your particular variant.

I wish there was an easier way to do this but carriers make this modification as difficult as possible because it is in their best interest to keep your LG G4 as up to date as possible. Be sure to hit that Thanks button in gatesjunior’s Debloater thread and to donate to him if you found this method helpful in any way. Every little bit helps and it gives these developers more motivation to keep following their passion.