The Samsung Galaxy S9 and Samsung Galaxy S9+ (shortened to S9 and S9+, respectively) are Android smartphones manufactured and released by Samsung as part of the Samsung Galaxy S series. The devices were revealed on 25 February 2018 and were released on March 16th the following year, as the successors to the Samsung Galaxy S8.
Software[]
The S9 and S9+ ran off of Android 8 (Oreo) in it's release, and ended with Android 10 One UI 2.5 during the release of the Galaxy S20 series.
Battery Performance[]
The Galaxy S9 was equipped with a standard 3000mAh battery, while the S9+ had a battery capacity of 3500mAh. Although the battery wasn't actually too bad back in it's release in 2018, but now it is not as good compared to today's phones. The Galaxy S9's battery life only managed to last a maximum of around 16 hours on standby, and just over 4 hours of screen time. Shockingly, the Galaxy S9+ lasted around the same amount of time in both standby and screen time.
Reported Issues[]
Display Problems[]
Quite a few users have reported a problem where the display has difficulty revealing details in darker areas of videos, showing blocks of black or pixelated images instead. This issue is mostly seen with the larger Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus and at low brightness levels. Reports have also claimed of images and layouts of apps being burned into the LCD display, usually being permanant.
Overheating Problems[]
There have been other reports of the phones overheating, due to either the battery or the Exynos 9810 processor. Some say that the phone overheats to the point where the user can't hold it while caseless. The problems with the battery usually occur during extensive use over a long period of time, while overheating from the processor occur when running apps that require a lot of power, or running a lot of background apps. Usually the problems occur when using social media apps and video games to an extent.
Some reports claim that along with the phone overheating, the glue holding the back glass in place will become too hot, resulting in the back glass separating from the phone. Once the back glass separates from the phone (in any reason, battery inflammation or overheating issues) the glue will never properly solidify, and will fail to keep the back glass in place.
Tons of reports say that when the processor of the devices overheat, it results in saturation of the back camera(s), but it is usually only temporary.
Other Battery Issues[]
Many have complained about the battery drainage. This is usually caused when the phone is running many background apps over an extended period of time. Keep in mind that the original battery of the S9 and S9+ is only meant to last up to 3-4 years before it should be replaced, and it has now been over 5 years, so you might want to consider adding a battery replacement to your shopping list.
Connectivity Issues[]
Users have claimed that the S9 and S9+ can have trouble connecting to an internet source. Although it will connect, sometimes it will not be stable, resulting in the phone randomly disconnecting from the internet source, and will have a little bit of trouble connecting back for around 30 seconds, before connecting back and repeating the cycle. Some have said that the problem has been fixed overtime by the phone itself, but that's still not the case for many others.
Charging Issues[]
One of the most frustrating Samsung Galaxy S9 problems is slow charging. Some users have reported that their battery takes an age to charge. This is frustrating for all concerned. This often comes down to the phone's fast charging feature not being turned on, but some have reported that even when it is turned on, it makes to little to no difference.