[LG G6 Guides, News, & Discussion] adorable:
== WARNING - PIE 9 is not compatible with a known Android OS 8.0 security vulnerability that can be used to achieve ROOT. DO NOT UPDATE to 9.0 if you use this method. See post below for links and info. ==

== Warning: Pie 9.0 screws with the audio through the headphones and speakers! The equalization is different and output volume is quieter than 7/8!! If you bought the G6 for the sound profile, you'll lose it in Pie. Even equalizing manually doesn't bring it in line with 7/8. Other users of other makes have also noticed this Pie problem on Samsungs, etc. ==

You could start with something like this equalization in the music player to try and restore the original profile of the G6.

https://ibb.co/r3YWgbZ

I bought a H873 cheap, $120, off eBay on the last 7.0.

For whatever reason, OTA and LG Bridge couldn't connect to the network to update to 8.0 even though there wasn't any issue with my Win10 laptop on latest updates. I did this to upgrade to 8.0 releases several times, and today, to 9.0.

Finally found a working, easy solution to update the firmware anytime to the latest available when ota and lg bridge don't work that works for 9.0/Pie as well.

Note!

9.0/PIE has the problem where if you turn on COMFORT DISPLAY AND ALWAYS ON DISPLAY, THEN REBOOT THE PHONE WITH BOTH ON, no Always on Display shows up.

To fix this, TURN OFF Comfort Display and Always on Display.

Next, sleep and wake the phone (press the power button).

Turn on AOD, then sleep the phone.

You should now see the aod.

Wake the phone. Turn on comfort display.

Sleep the phone to test aod. Should be ok now.

0. Try LG Bridge first.

This is the Official way where you connect phone to PC, then officially update the firmware using LG consumer software.

https://www.lg.com/us/support/product-help/CT10000025-1438110404543-lg-backup-lg-switch

This also ensures you can see your phone when connected to the PC.

You'll want to click the pop-up notification on the LG G6 to switch the usb mode to file transfer mode instead of just charging.

0. BACKUP YOUR PHONE!!!! BACKUP YOUR PHONE!!

While this should be an easy in-place upgrade from 7/8 to 9, don't expect anything to go 100% perfectly. Backup just in case.

1. Now, if that and OTA didn't work, you'll install Uppercut (a launcher for LG Up to enable compatibility with the G6 and other phones) + LG Up (their firmware flashing program not for consumers).

DOWNLOAD UPPERCUT And LGUP from this thread.

https://xdaforums.com/lg-g5/development/uppercut-lgup-loader-g5-variants-t3511295

If LG Bridge is already installed and it sees your phone when connected, you don't need the LG USB drivers download. Otherwise, download this, uppercut and lg up (3 total).

2. Install lg drivers (if needed), then lg up.

DISABLE YOUR ANTIVIRUS!

Microsoft AV thinks Uppercut is a trojan - you definitely do not want important upgrade programs and files to be quarantined during a flash upgrade!

Unzip uppercut anywhere, run it and it'll start lg up.

Connect phone (make sure usb mode is in file transfer mode) and it should show up in lg up.

Now disconnect the phone - you've confirmed it'll show up, but will switch to download mode later.

3. Download the kdz (firmware) file of your choice.

https://lg-firmwares.com

There's a ton of places online for this, and I used this one. Just type in your model number, eg "h873", to look for one.

Now, you know the model number of the firmware MUST match (in general) your phone, so check (settings, general, about phone, hardware version). (Yes, there are other ways to cross flash, etc. See other threads).

For the H873, doesn't matter which carrier - rogers, etc - all identical. Otherwise, you'll generally want the same as your current one (e.g. T-Mobile firmware for T-Mobile phone).

I used the Rogers KDZ file named H87330b_00_OPEN_CA_OP_0917.kdz for Pie (Android 9 Pie	3.03 GiB	2019-10-24).

DOWNLOAD THE MATCHING FIRMWARE FOR YOUR LG G6 MODEL!!! Eg. Look for the H873 firmware if you have a H873. Don't use the wrong one.

4. Switch phone to download mode

Plug a USB cable into your computer (not into the LG G6 yet)

Power down the LG G6.

Press and hold the Volume Up button.

Connect the USB cable to the LG G6.

Continue holding the Volume Up button until it boots into Download Mode.

This should only take less than 5 seconds after you have plugged the phone into the PC while the volume up button is held down.

You'll see a black screen, DOWNLOAD mode, box at the bottom for status.

5. Load the kdz in lg up by RUNNING UPPERCUT to start LG UP!

With phone connected, in file manager mode, and lg up running by starting Uppercut, you'll see the phone listed at top (it'll list the current firmware version on the phone - e.g. H87320h).

In the middle, select UPGRADE from the 4 Process options. This will upgrade your phone firmware like an ota, keeping everything.

SELECT THE UPGRADE option, SELECT THE UPGRADE option (not refurbish, no FOTA Upgrade).

In the bottom, click on the BIN FILE line once, then click the ... Icon that appears at the end of this line to open a file selection window.

Select the kdz file you downloaded in step 3. (The latest PIE firmware you downloaded from LG-Firmwares.com.)

6. Make sure your computer is connected to AC and won't go to sleep (keep moving your mouse every minute, or adjust power settings).

MAKE SURE YOUR PC WON'T GO TO SLEEP!!!!

The Phone should still be in download mode.

Click Start in LG Up and you'll see it sending files. The G6 will show progress as well.

3-4 minutes to load the KDZ file into the phone over a USB 3.0 port (USB 2.0 will be slower).

A few minutes and the new firmware will be loaded, then the phone will auto reboot to update.

Doesn't matter if you disconnect now, but you can keep in plugged in to charge.

When you see the LG G6 logo on the reboot, you can close Uppercut, and restart your Antivirus.

Reboot took 4 minutes on my LG G6 H873.

Finishing system update after getting to the home screen took another minute.

About 2-3 minutes more to feel not so sluggish as it finished up background updating.

...

The downloading and installing of uppercut etc takes a few minutes, kdz depends on server speed, and update just a few minutes, so not hard at all.

Really nothing major to worry about (BACKUP before any firmware update if needed to microsd card), and my H873 is running fine on the latest Pie firmware noted above.

---

(If needed, disconnect the phone from USB, press power button a few times quickly to get into Firmware Download mode - waiting. Then, volume down+power until the phone reboots into normal operation/mode.)

...

Because the main functionality of the phone is typically updated through downloaded apps like Twitter, updating the OS itself only really gets you compatibility with apps that have dropped support for 7 or 8, a few interface gui tweaks, and newer security updates.

Otherwise, like many will discover, 9 is just the usual gui / icon tweak with little else of benefit. No real reason to update unless you need the updated OS for app compatibility. I could run my LG G6 on 7, 8, or 9 and not notice any difference in day-to-day use.