The most annoying Android 5.0 Lollipop problems solved
Android 5.0 battery bug
As always, every new installation of Android firmware results in some battery drain for some users. This is almost always because the update was applied over the top of existing firmware rather than installed ''clean.'' As you can imagine, there's a few things that could go wrong when everything is set up one
way on your phone and then the world shifts beneath its feet. So now may be the time to bite the bullet, do a full backup and do a factory reset. You can do this via the Settings > Backup & Reset section or manually with the hardware buttons. Just search the site for your particular device and ''factory reset.''
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Android 5.0 video playback bug
Nexus 7 (2013) owners are reporting some bugs with video playback following the update to Lollipop. The issue doesn't seem to be restricted to any particular app, but YouTube is, of course, at the center of the furore. Any app using the default Android video player suffers though. If YouTube is the issue for you, hit Settings > Apps and find the entry for YouTube. Clear the cache and try again or do a reboot for a temporary fix. You can always try uninstalling and re-installing the app if problems persist. Some users are reporting that this has solved the problem, while others continue to suffer. If you have a better fix let us know in the comments below. Worst case scenario: backup all your data and do a factory reset and clear the cache partition.
Android 5.0 flashlight bug
If you leave the flashlight on for a while, like if you're struggling to find your keys in the dark and it automatically times out, then both the flashlight and camera will be busted until you do a reboot. Pretty weird stuff but something that occurred in the developer previews too. Funny Google didn't bother to iron this one out as it's a pretty well known issue on the Nexus 5 already.
No silent mode, status bar ticker or Power button menu
Sadly, these are ''improvements'' rather than problems. You can't simply volume down to silent mode (only to vibrate), there's no options other than Power Off when you long press the Power button, and the status bar ticker – that little scrolling preview of notifications – has been killed with fire in the latest version of Android. We expect the masses to rise up shortly and some changes to be made, or at least some workarounds figured out if you're willing to tweak your phone a little. In any case, we've detailed how to enable silent mode on Android 5.0.
Android 5.0 OTA broken on modified devices
This probably shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, but Google doesn't necessarily want your rooting or otherwise modifying your device or firmware. So if you've modded your Android a bit you may not be able to install the OTA update. Fortunately the reasons for this and the solution are pretty straightforward: simply flash a stock image again and OTA will be hunky dory once again. Check our article on broken OTA updates for Android 5.0 Lollipop for more info.
Android 5.0 Recent apps switcher
The recent apps card stack is a nifty new addition to multitasking in Lollipop. But not everyone is a fan. Some users are claiming the more apps they have stacked the slower their performance becomes, while others are noticing that even when a card has been removed from the stack it mysteriously returns. Even after a reboot your recent apps list will persist, so the only way to fix this one is to simply keep on swiping. Forever.
Chrome tabs
Chrome Browser on Lollipop is set by default to store new tabs in the recent apps list, but for many this represents one of the biggest Lollipop fails of all. Fortunately, all you need to do is head to your Chrome settings and disable ''merge tabs and apps'' to return to the more familiar ''number in a box in the URL bar'' that brings up your tab list as it always has.