Asus ROG Phone 5/5S Problems and How to Fix Them

The Asus ROG Phone 5 and 5S are among the best phones for gamers. Not only do they look good, but they are also packed with features that make them fantastic portable gaming devices. If you don’t play games, the two are excellent Android smartphones. However, nothing is perfect and Asus flagships have a host of issues. We take a look at some common problems with the Asus ROG Phone 5 and 5S and how to fix them.

Our verdict: Asus ROG Phone 5 review

As gaming phones, the Asus ROG Phone 5 and 5S can handle almost anything. However, an unfortunate hardware failure has caused many problems for owners. ROG Phone 5 owners have encountered several issues due to a faulty motherboard. The only solution is to have the phone repaired or replaced. But the list below will give you an idea that if the standard troubleshooting steps (Safe mode, clear cache, etc.) don’t work then it could be a hardware issue.

• The phone will not turn on (motherboard problem): You know it’s a motherboard failure when the phone is completely dead and won’t turn on. For most users, the phone won’t turn on which means they have to replace the motherboard. You can try connecting the phone to a charger and doing a soft reset (press and hold the power button and volume down key until the phone reboots).
• The phone does not turn on (external device problem): For some users, the AeroActive fan mount causes the phone to turn off and on. In this case, remove the accessory, plug in the phone to charge and do a soft reset after 30 minutes to reboot the phone.
• Bottom speaker makes noise or does not work: Rog Phone 5 owners say the issues they’ve had with the bottom speaker of the phone not working or making strange noises have to do with the motherboard being faulty. For some users, the heat caused by excessive gaming also seems to be the cause of the speakers breaking.
• Air triggers not working: The phone’s air triggers are another piece of hardware that seems to stop working when the motherboard fails.
• SIM card not recognized: Some users suddenly lose the mobile network connection and the phone no longer recognizes the SIM card. For some users, this happens when they switch from the Chinese ROM to the Global ROM. For others, this happened because of a loose connection in the internal hardware.
• Fingerprint scanner gone: If you no longer see the fingerprint scanner as an unlocking option, it is due to a loose connection under the hood.

It’s common for ROG Phone 5 owners to have problems with touch sensitivity, given the critical response times in many games. Here are a few ways you can make changes to the phone’s touch sensitivity settings.

Possible solutions:

• If you’ve applied a screen protector or want to increase your phone’s touch sensitivity in general, go to Settings > Advanced and enable glove mode†
• The Armory Crate app also allows you to make game-specific touch sensitivity changes. For general device settings, go to the To console panel. You can choose from several preset game modes, such as X Mode, Dynamic and Ultra Durable, which offer different levels of touch sensitivity. You can also select: Advancedtap on editand set the sensitivity levels exactly to what you need. You can also make these changes game specific. Tap a game in the library, go to the Touch tab and adjust the sensitivity settings.

Some ROG 5S owners say they don’t receive push notifications on their phones and can’t see them until they open the app. The biggest complaints are with the Gmail app but users have this problem with other apps as well.

Possible solutions:

• Go to Settings > Advanced > Mobile Management† go to the automatic start settings and make sure the problematic app is enabled. You can also disable the app on the super clean list if you have activated Super Clean mode. Depending on your phone’s software version, you can also find the phone’s auto-start settings by going to Settings > Battery > Start management automatically.
• Go to Settings > Battery > Battery Optimizationtap the problem app and select Do not optimize†

A few users say that their PC doesn’t recognize the phone when it’s plugged in and they can’t transfer files between devices.

Possible solutions:

• You need to enable USB debugging mode in developer options. If you have not enabled the hidden menu, go to Settings > System > About phone > Software version and tap the build number seven times or until you see a message that says, “You are now a developer.” Go to Settings > System > Developer Options and enable USB debugging†
• Some cheap third-party cables can only be used to charge the phone and do not support data transfer. The best option is to use the cable that comes with the phone. You should also consider these excellent third-party cables.
• Your phone should detect when you connect it to PC to transfer files. If the switch is not made automatically, open the notification shade, tap the USB connection settings and select the option to data transfer†

A few users say they can’t charge the phone using the charging port on the side even with the official charger and cable.

Possible solutions:

• Users say that enabling USB debugging mode solves the problem. You need to enable developer mode first. Go to Settings > System > About phone > Software version and tap the build number seven times or until you see a message that says, “You are now a developer.” Go to Settings > System > Developer Options and enable USB debugging†

Quite a few users have problems with their Asus ROG Phone 5 and 5S rebooting automatically and randomly even with regular use.

Possible solutions:

• A rogue app could be the culprit. Check if the problem still persists in safe mode (see instructions below). If not, uninstall any recently installed or updated apps and see if the problem goes away. You can also go to Settings > Advanced > Mobile Management and clear the app cache.
• The phone allows you to download and install dynamic themes from the built-in theme store. A few users found that the theme stopped working as expected after a recent software update and caused random reboots. Uninstalling and reinstalling the theme seems to work.

A few users say that the phone does not vibrate when it receives notifications and alerts.

Possible solutions:

• This malfunction is easy to solve. Restart the phone. Go to Settings > Sound and vibration and adjust the volume control until it goes into vibrate mode. Disable and enable Touch vibration. In this menu you can also adjust the vibration intensity.

The Asus ROG Phone 5 and 5S have a few issues for which there are currently no workarounds, and the only option is to wait for a software update.

• Android 12 has many bugs: Some users are experiencing a very buggy experience with the Android 12 update that was rolled out in March 2022. Asus has since sent out multiple updates to make things better. Visit the Asus update page and find the March 16, 2022 update, which says Version Android 12 to Android 11. Depending on your software version, you can go back to Android 11 if you want. Please note that you may not be able to roll back the software after a specific update.
• Slow charging: Even when using the 65W charger, users say it takes a very long time to charge the phone despite saying “hypercharging65”.
• Wifi slower than expected: Users say that Wi-Fi connection speeds are incredibly slow after the Android 12 update. For some, going back to Android 11 seems to resolve the issue. Until a permanent fix is ​​available, switching the router to the 20MHz bandwidth will also work.

If you did not configure the phone’s air triggers during the configuration phase or if you want to make changes, go to Settings > Advanced > Air Triggers and change the squeeze levels.

Boot in safe mode

When the phone is off

• Press and hold the power button until the Asus logo appears.
• When the logo appears, release the power button and immediately press and hold the volume down key until the home screen appears.
• To search safe mode in the lower left corner of the screen.

When the phone is on

• Press and hold the power button until you see the power options.
• Tap and hold the turn of option until you see Safe mode.
  

Factory settings

• Press and hold the volume up key and the power button at the same time.
• When the device vibrates, release only the power button (press and hold the volume up key) until you see Fastboot mode.
• Use the volume down key to go to . to go Recovery Mode†
• Then use the volume keys to navigate to: Clear data/factory reset and use the power button to confirm.
• Select And it is to confirm your choice.
• Once the reset is complete, press the power button to select: Reboot system now†

Have you encountered any other issues with the Asus ROG Phone 5 and 5S? Let us know in the comments below, and we’ll do our best to help.