There's DEFINITELY something wrong with what you're doing, I have applied on june 1st, and got the final decision on july 2nd. Unfortunately in my case it was a refusal, but everyone I know who applied got the final decision within a month. It does vary from country to country but in general it never exceeds 2 months at all. I personally know many many people and never have I read 4 months, even online.
You're doing something wrong for sure, also sending documents through papers or online doesnt make a difference in speed. Only if you're applying through a VAC which will take an extra week, and thats it.
My guess is, you've given a missing document and they require it to continue the application and so they have paused it, but in general if you dont reply within a certain amount of time they just refuse the application.