Display on without using top button? - Nexus One General

I have my Nexus One set to turn off the display and go into lock mode after 10 minutes. I would prefer 5 minutes, but that is not an option. I have owned the phone for about a month, and absolutely love it, but I have noticed that the top button (which I press to turn the display on) is no longer working as well as it use to. I have to press down on the top button fairly hard to get the display turned back on. I am guessing the wear and tear of pressing the top button dozens of times each day is slowly causing the top button to fail. Is there a way to set the Nexus One display to turn on by pressing something other than the top button on the phone? Perhaps press the volume button, or press the screen to get the display to turn on, instead of the top button?
-Greymarch
I write about technology, especially the Nexus One at my website.
greymarch.com

There's a fix for this.

hopefully there is nothing physically wrong with your phone.
If you have a custom rom and if it is slow it may make it seem like you have a physical problem with the button.

I've just started having this power button issue... Hard reset made no difference so I'm thinking it might be hardware related which is a shame.
HTC says return the phone for repair (had it for 3 weeks) and within the same breath without any prompting said, "And in case you're wondering you won't get a courtesy phone".
Bofslime, are you suggesting there's a specific fix or merely to ring HTC?

The top button still works, it just takes a little bit more effort to get it working. I gotta press down a little harder than I use to.
I am quite dependent on this phone, and have ABSOLUTELY no interest in shipping it back to HTC or google so they can spend weeks fixing a minor issue.
I am really looking for a way to turn on the display without having to press the top button.
-Greymarch
I write about technology, especially the Nexus One at my website.
greymarch.com

bofslime said:
There's a fix for this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I followed your link. I couldnt find the specific fix you are referring to. Could you be more specific?
Thanks,
- Greymarch
I write about technology, especially the Nexus One at my website.
greymarch.com

Sorry, in case it wasn't clear, I've had my Nexus One for three weeks (so over the 14 day replace period I'm guessing). HTC actually said it would take about 6 days to get it back to me. Which isn't bad really.

mjwatmough said:
Bofslime, are you suggesting there's a specific fix or merely to ring HTC?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the phone needs to be repaired/replaced.
I had my phone advanced replaced without question or hassle because of dust other the screen. Sold my G1 2 day's before receiving my N1, its not the end of the world to fall back to a backup phone. My sidekick was happy to serve me again for the interim.

Ah ha!
I have found a couple of applications which will allow you to wake-up your Nexus One display using a button other than the power-on button:
http://lock20.wordpress.com/
http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-blau-android-keyguard-qFj.aspx
- Greymarch
I write about technology, including the Nexus One at my website:
http://www.greymarch.com

Related

Digitizer gone - but not completely dead... Any advice? [VIDEO]

Hey my lovely XDA-ers, I'm really hoping for some magic here...
Yesterday my HD2 digitizer just stopped working... the Touchscreen will not respond to any inputs. It was bitterly cold outside so I was half hoping that an overnight stay in a warm room would help, but no avail...
The thing is, on one in every 5 restarts, I get a small amount of life from it. One one in 15 restarts, I get full use. So there's still life in there.
I could understand if it broke because I dropped the phone/squashed it, but at the time I was just playing Robo Defence, completely normal use, when all of a sudden it stopped responding.
I've uploaded a video, which shows how, occasionally, the bottom fifth of the screen works. However, as shown, when I'm using the top half of the screen, the digitizer appears to be receiving input from the bottom of the screen, as though I'm trying to perform a multi-touch action. For this reason I'm hoping there still be some way to rescue the phone without an expensive repair job. I bought it in March from XDA Marketplace, and it's served me faithfully since, but because of that I do not think I have the manufacturer's guarentee, or insurance
I've hard-reset, I've reflashed my ROM, I've tried in both WM and Android (my usual OS at the moment), I've reflashed over WM ROMs, and the problem stays the same... (also read all related threads!)
Sorry for inverted nature of vid!
So does anyone have any suggestions to try? Otherwise I might go through a £130 repair service on htcrepairs.co.uk - they do not show up on a forum search so I was wondering if anyone had used their service before?
Thanks all, appreciate any ideas.
Edd
Very odd indeed. I don't have a solution for your problem, but a suggestion. It is a long shot, but might help.
Whenever i had similar problems with my Wizard (i know, kind of old but one of the best older devices every made by HTC), i opened it and cleaned it from the inside and checked all the connections of keyboard, touchscreen, etc. to the mainboard. Sometimes it helped...
In the end, if you buy the replacement kit, you anyway have to open the HD2, so why not try this in prior to buying the kit...
A lot of people seem to have this problem. There's a lot of information on it here. Do a search. But the short answer is its a hardware problem. If your phone is still under warranty send it back. I think HTC will fix it for free if It's less than a year old. But try your carrier first.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App
BAD NEWS...
i had EXACTLY this happen to me. eventually it totally stopped responding. Only option is to replace the digitizer.
GOOD NEWS..
After a month of searching, I found a really good guy to do it. www.iexpertstudio.com . The owner is VINCE. you can email him on his site. He charged $110 including mailing it back to me. He replaced the LCD and digitizer and sent it back. All works perfectly now.
I see you are in the UK so dont know if it makes sense to send it to the US. Alternative is to go on ebay and buy the screen/digitizer and replace it yourself.
(BTW normally i would have chucked the device, but even after 1 year I still dont think there is as versatile a device as the HD2. Had the DHD been 3G useable in the US I would have bought one.)
Thanks for the feedback guys, I've been doing some investigation my end (and you're right, there are similar threads on here, but none which had a "half-screen working" problem.)
I've narrowed the culprit down to my "Back" button. It's somehow exerting pressure on the screen, leading to either a non-responsive digitizer or an input at the bottom of the screen.
I might add this to an entry in the "ANDROID KILLS YOUR BUTTONS" thread
My choice is to live manually with it, or get the company mentioned in the first post to give it a good clean, but whether it's worth £80 just yet is a question for me.
Anyway, thanks for your input, guess this thread will close, but to any readers in future, if your screen seems to die, see if it's pressure on the screen caused by the buttons!
I can totally support your reasoning.
I haven't had any problems whatsoever with the touchscreen in almost a year of honoured career of this phone, while this morning I was trying to unlock it with no success (nothing special happened, I even used it 10 minutes this morning already). At first I thought it was the usual "sleepy" behaviour of the screen right after waking up, butafter sliding down the hdmini style unlocker at least 10 times with no effect I really started freaking out :O
I have longpress endkey set on instant reboot, and after that it seemed working... just not for too long.
To cut to the chase, what in my opinion supports your idea of hardware buttons interfering is:
sometimes, as I have LMT installed, with the tap&hold option enabled, swiping with just one finger triggered double swype instead (as if the screen detected a second, firm press on the screen elsewhere even if I sure as heck was swyping with one finger)
using mymobiler didn't work as well; if it was a hardware touchscreen problem, mymobiler should work, as it simulates touches, so it will just do its job even if the touchscreen is totally dead... while, IF the hardware touchscreen detected a firm press somewhere, mymobiler wasn't able to actively simulate another press
repeatedly pressing on the end key (which seems to be the culprit in my case) apparently solves the problem, as I can use the touchscreen again; also, a prolonged cycle of hibernating with end key, waking with end key, swyping down the hdmini lock (repeat at libitum) seemed to work, as if I dislodged something by activating the button so often
What I don't understand anyway is: HOW can a button pressing on the digitizer be exerting a touch action? If this was a resistive screen, I'd understand, but it's capacitive, and not even capacitive pens are so good as fingers in activating the touch. The buttons are just plastic with a metal contact underneath, and this metal contact shoudl by no means be anywhere near the digitizer.
Bah.
I know I have 2 years warranty on this device, but being far from my phone during the warranty processing gives me the creeps, so I'll just go on using it and pray this to be the defaillance of one sunday morning not to be seen again... after several soft resets (and fantasizing about a new rom flash, which I need anyway for other reasons) the problem seems to have settled by delicately bashing on the end key. The unlock slider is responsive after every wake up now... FOR now.
Praying...
My screen also died. So the only thing I have to do is press on the end key for a couple of times to make it work again?
lol, that's ONE possibility.
Just saying, in my case it worked, and still does since it happened once more this evening, so it's definitely got something to do with the hardware keys messing around (and hopefully dislodging themself for good, or I'll have to send it back for servicing), anyway in your case it could also be a dead digitizer, so no go
let's put all this about touch screen in 1 sticky thread pls.
I've been living for the problem for about three weeks now. It's never got worse, but never got better. It's a livable situation so for the moment I'll deal with it. I might check with HT about warranty, but it's not yet bothersom enough to make me want to flash back to stock, send it off etc. etc.
smeddy said:
I've been living for the problem for about three weeks now. It's never got worse, but never got better. It's a livable situation so for the moment I'll deal with it. I might check with HT about warranty, but it's not yet bothersom enough to make me want to flash back to stock, send it off etc. etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ditto.
Actually, I don't like having paid good money for a defective phone, but being without HD2 for up to a couple of weeks to one month (maybe? have no idea how fast HTC servicing is) is troublesome. I may buy for a deal a blue angel as a spare, yet, no GPS...
The most problematic event is if you get the "stuck" screen during a call.
In my case, it's the end key that messes it up; if the screen's dead, pressing twice the end key, firmly enough (once for screen off, then again for screen back on) wakes up the screen, and apparently, during a ringing incoming call, you can press the hardware end key without rejecting it, so it's a viable option (not taking into consideration the fact that trying to wake up the screen takes time, and the caller may give up after a while if you're not fast enough).
But if for any reason the screen gets stuck while the call is connected, I am stuck too, as to wake it up I should press the end key thus hanging on the other party.
Sad story.
EDIT: forget what I wrote, pressing end key while phone is ringing WILL reject the call. I tried it before during a real incoming call and apparently it didn't do it, but now it just did.
I also have a HD with a dead screen....
Only thing here is I have sent it back twice already to TelSuck here in Australia only to have it returned after the tech has wiped it over and reflashed it for me... What helpful little imps they are!
Code:
http://www.youtube.com/v/T6ssqmpRIB0
Its drivin me nuts sending it away for 3 weeks at a time to have someone with just enough grey matter to be able to wield a screwdriver tell me nothing is wrong.
Happy to try any suggestions!
@insinr8
this thread is just for half-dead screens where the screen sometimes actually works. Unless you can resurrect it by firmly pressing on the hardware keys, but if it's dead on a regular basis, then it's not our same problem I'm afraid :-(
@OP
while having an "attack", did you try plugging out the microsd to see if it magically solved the problem?
I mean, if it did, it would still be a hardware problem related to the microsd slot, since there is no point for a faulty microsd to mess up the touchscreen, and let it work from time to time
ephestione said:
@insinr8
this thread is just for half-dead screens where the screen sometimes actually works. Unless you can resurrect it by firmly pressing on the hardware keys, but if it's dead on a regular basis, then it's not our same problem I'm afraid :-(
@OP
while having an "attack", did you try plugging out the microsd to see if it magically solved the problem?
I mean, if it did, it would still be a hardware problem related to the microsd slot, since there is no point for a faulty microsd to mess up the touchscreen, and let it work from time to time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will try that - it seems to happen more frequently when plugged in and charging, and now more buttons seem to be the cause/fix (e.g. now the home-button, or when I am on home-screens the phone will swipe "left", whereas before it would swipe "right". I'll keep playing.
I may check out HTC as I reckon my warranty, if I have one, will run out soon... Will still wait til after Xmas as I need my toy for the boring bits of Xmas!
I'm having same trouble now whit my phone except problems started mouth ago. After some period I again power up my phone and suddenly everything worked perfectly. Unfortunately this last only for two days and then exactly same problems happened, partially function screen.
As far as I know only good solution is replacing digitizer... I already ordered one for me.
exactly the same problem for me.. I sent it back with warranty yesterday
smeddy said:
I may check out HTC as I reckon my warranty, if I have one, will run out soon... Will still wait til after Xmas as I need my toy for the boring bits of Xmas!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ditto.
Actually, my warranty lasts two years, which means until 2012, anyway I cannot stand risking to lose calls because the screen dies on me in the wrong moment, and the only way to wake it up is pressing the endkey (which by the way is the only "cure", and apparently never the cause).
I will be uploading a video on youtube regarding this, also to show it to the guys at the HTC support who will be asking me to hard reset and reflash until annoyed to death (as if that will solve anything)
Bump
This is the video that I just uploaded to youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3-PNYwpYeI
EDIT: One day after, the problem has become way more frequent, 1 out of three times I wake up the phone, diugitizer is dead and I need the " on the end key to make it work
Uploaded another video on youtube with problem showing on vanilla lockscreen so HTC support doesn't try and tell me it's CHT lockscreen's fault
Last bump.
Screen has ben promoted from "hardware key problem" to "permanent death".
Now I can use the phone with mymobiler, but I can't anymore with touch, I seem to not be able even to wake it up even by pressing on end key
Re-flashing last official rom upgrade now to see if anything changes... yeah,sure
Ouch - good luck, hope mine doesn't go that way...

[Q] Touchscreen Bugs?

So I've had my Nexus One since release at the beginning of 2010, and I'm finally coming out to ask: does anyone else have occasional trouble with their touchscreen detecting touches at completely the wrong places? At random points while using the Browser (maybe once or twice a week) I'll be trying to scroll and I'll get a quick zoom instead. Also, if I touch about 1 inch above the Back/Menu/Home/Search keys, they will be recognized as those keys instead of touching the screen! This bug happens outside of Browser too (though it always seems to start there) and has been consistent across CM6, MM's Gingerbread Builds, and several other ROMs. It always goes away with a reboot, but I just wanted to see if anyone else has had similar problems
I'd bet 99% of Nexus owners have this problem. You don't have to reboot, just turn your screen off and on again to reset it.
It's a hardware problem, the touchscreen panel isn't very good in the Nexus One..
But, It's fine in the newer phones like G2 and Nexus S
yup I have the same issue not a major issue I think battery draining & memory has been my main issue at the moment.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=878477
Since getting mine back from repair the problem occurs less often but is still there.
QuacoreZX said:
So I've had my Nexus One since release at the beginning of 2010, and I'm finally coming out to ask: does anyone else have occasional trouble with their touchscreen detecting touches at completely the wrong places? At random points while using the Browser (maybe once or twice a week) I'll be trying to scroll and I'll get a quick zoom instead. Also, if I touch about 1 inch above the Back/Menu/Home/Search keys, they will be recognized as those keys instead of touching the screen! This bug happens outside of Browser too (though it always seems to start there) and has been consistent across CM6, MM's Gingerbread Builds, and several other ROMs. It always goes away with a reboot, but I just wanted to see if anyone else has had similar problems
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same to you, I have this problem either.
I have swapped my n1 3 times and finally got one without this problem. I mean completely gone, not occur even once. So I suggest you swap it.
Same here. Yesterday, the half upper screen doesn't recoginze any input
helloworld1 said:
I have swapped my n1 3 times and finally got one without this problem. I mean completely gone, not occur even once. So I suggest you swap it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here. My first one had the issue a couple times a day, the next phone was particularly bad with my screen screwing up every few minutes. This current phone hasn't had the issue in the month I've owned it.
Part numbers and the touchscreen panel part numbers are the exact same in the last two.phones.
This bug is a year old.
Amazingly I've never had that issue so I don't think its universal though my screen sometimes fails to respond at all but that'll go away after a minute or so.
RogerPodacter said:
This bug is a year old.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not a bug, it's a hardware defect. There is no way to prevent this in the software.
I only seem to get it when on charge, and there is a thread about the same thing in the NS forum, so it's not just us.
GldRush98 said:
It's not a bug, it's a hardware defect. There is no way to prevent this in the software.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Granted. However I can envisage a piece of software that cycles the screen off/on momentarily every few minutes that may in practical terms fix it.
My first N1 was only slightly effected by the screen fault, even after going back to HTC for a new power button. When the power button failed a second time I elected to go for a refurb on the second warranty return. Unfortunately the refurb is quite badly effected by the screen alignment fault.
Most annoying thing is when the alignment goes out, I have no choice but to use the power button to cycle it off. I am trying at all cost to avoid using the power button on my N1 to defer its inevitable next failure.
There's a fix for it
I can confirm that replacing Radio to "Korean Radio" solves this problem!
Verified in 4-5 different devices.
You can find the radio here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=816917
Tomer
tomerbn said:
I can confirm that replacing Radio to "Korean Radio" solves this problem!
Verified in 4-5 different devices.
You can find the radio here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=816917
Tomer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not entirely true... I'm on that radio and I have this issue from time to time.
As above, radio isn't a fix, can't think why it would be.
logger said:
Granted. However I can envisage a piece of software that cycles the screen off/on momentarily every few minutes that may in practical terms fix it.
My first N1 was only slightly effected by the screen fault, even after going back to HTC for a new power button. When the power button failed a second time I elected to go for a refurb on the second warranty return. Unfortunately the refurb is quite badly effected by the screen alignment fault.
Most annoying thing is when the alignment goes out, I have no choice but to use the power button to cycle it off. I am trying at all cost to avoid using the power button on my N1 to defer its inevitable next failure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i avoid the power button too when i need to cycle the screen. i use cyanogen ROM which has the Zzz button in the drop down shade, which blacks out the screen. then just hit trackball to wake it back up. power button avoided!
RogerPodacter said:
i avoid the power button too when i need to cycle the screen. i use cyanogen ROM which has the Zzz button in the drop down shade, which blacks out the screen. then just hit trackball to wake it back up. power button avoided!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is an app in the market for a buck, it's called screen off. It comes with a widget or app and one of the choices is an invisible widget so if you don't want to see it you don't, (just remember where you put it)...........
I use it for shutting my screen down all the time for saving battery life.
vinnyjr said:
There is an app in the market for a buck, it's called screen off. It comes with a widget or app and one of the choices is an invisible widget so if you don't want to see it you don't, (just remember where you put it)...........
I use it for shutting my screen down all the time for saving battery life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using the Lock widget to power down...it's free on the market! There's a transparent version in the Android theme section.

Got a future N1 problem I would like some input on...

All of us N1 owners know that the power button can be prone to failure over time.
Right now I use the "NoLock" app as well as the Lock Widget to make sure I don't have to push the power button that much (I instead use the volume keys to wake up the phone and the Lock Widget to put it to sleep)
I was wondering though... If in the future (like a year from now) when/if my power button fails... How do I turn on my phone once it powers off? Is there a way to do this if the power button doesn't work anymore?
Also is there a way to do this WITHOUT rooting? Really don't like rooting my phone
You could always get a replacement flex cable including a new power button.
ap3604 said:
All of us N1 owners know that the power button can be prone to failure over time.
Right now I use the "NoLock" app as well as the Lock Widget to make sure I don't have to push the power button that much (I instead use the volume keys to wake up the phone and the Lock Widget to put it to sleep)
I was wondering though... If in the future (like a year from now) when/if my power button fails... How do I turn on my phone once it powers off? Is there a way to do this if the power button doesn't work anymore?
Also is there a way to do this WITHOUT rooting? Really don't like rooting my phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its been almost a year and my power button is fine. Don't worry about things that might or might not happen
Remove the battery, plug in the USB/power cable and put the battery back in. Something like that anyway, I've already forgotten how I did it 2 months ago (lots happening here in Japan, many things aren't that important anymore in my memory! haha), and got my power button repaired anyway, but it worked.
siddharthsai said:
Its been almost a year and my power button is fine. Don't worry about things that might or might not happen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. I believe only a very limited number of phones have this failure. Don't worry about it, if you've made it a year without issue, it is very unlikely you're going to ever see it.
I'm pretty sure this problem only affected the initial batch of N1's. So only those who bought in January would have this problem.
If you have the flat volume rockers you don't have an initial N1. Apparently the first lot have volume buttons that stuck out more and some other visible changes that I can't remember. They should be on these forums somewhere.
But correct me if I'm wrong...
My power button is almost dead, but the combination of trackball wake (with cyanogenmod) and screen off and lock (market app) assigned to long-press search is quite painless.
The only remaining problem is iPhone users making fun of you when you explain the issue to them ...
Yeah,
With roms like CM7 (vol- equals wake from sleep) and Quick Boot, the pwr button and TB almost become unneeded
I never turn my phone off--charger at work, home, and in car
I've had 2 power button cables die on me.
one, I sent back, and when I got a replacement, it died on me within a month. I still have a second n1 which is ok.
basically, if your button starts to get to the point where you have to do multiple pushes, then cable failure is imminent.
you can get the phone to turn on, by plugging in the charging cable, and removing/ inserting the battery. after that, you need to have no lock or some other way of unlocking your screen without the power button.
I just ordered a new flex cable today, I was going to sell off parts for my other n1, but figure that I might as well fix it.
I plugged my N1 in to charge while it was off and it booted into recovery. Not sure if this is related to Amon_Ra or not, but I figured it wasn't a bad thing. The DZ does this too, so I'm getting used to it
seydhe said:
The only remaining problem is iPhone users making fun of you when you explain the issue to them ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At which point you remind them of the SMS bug that allowed hackers to take over their precious iphones. Also, antennagate.
crachel said:
I plugged my N1 in to charge while it was off and it booted into recovery. Not sure if this is related to Amon_Ra or not, but I figured it wasn't a bad thing. The DZ does this too, so I'm getting used to it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess some SW has to control the charge. It's a function that is done in the stock recovery (phone charging when it's off), on many Android phones.
I ordered three of the AT&T N1's - one for myself when they were first released, then two more (for my wife and a friend) just before they stopped selling them. None of us have had a problem with the power button, and none of us use trackball wake.

Nexus S power button conspiracy theory/oddity

My power button has been malfunctioning for about 2 months now. That isn't to say it is 100% dead, but at times it'll work if I smack the button about a few times, and sometimes it will be completely unresponsive. I have read up on the subject and found a thread with a response from a guy claiming to be an engineer who said the micro switches they use in these phones are somewhat weak and only work for a limited number of presses. Recently, I changed roms, and to my surprise the power button worked great for a short period of time. Since then, I've found that when my power button starts acting up, wiping the dalvik cache put it back to normal. This lead me to thinking, and I've come to believe it could very well be a hardware problem that is meant to happen. I am by no means a coder/programmer but I have studied it enough to know that certain code can be written for a device that sets a "timer" for a piece of hardware to die out or malfunction. If that's the case with this, then it makes sense somewhat that wiping the dalvik cache resets this timer for a short time. Anyone have any thoughts? Am I crazy tinfoil hat wearer or does this make some sense?
knarfrabot said:
My power button has been malfunctioning for about 2 months now. That isn't to say it is 100% dead, but at times it'll work if I smack the button about a few times, and sometimes it will be completely unresponsive. I have read up on the subject and found a thread with a response from a guy claiming to be an engineer who said the micro switches they use in these phones are somewhat weak and only work for a limited number of presses. Recently, I changed roms, and to my surprise the power button worked great for a short period of time. Since then, I've found that when my power button starts acting up, wiping the dalvik cache put it back to normal. This lead me to thinking, and I've come to believe it could very well be a hardware problem that is meant to happen. I am by no means a coder/programmer but I have studied it enough to know that certain code can be written for a device that sets a "timer" for a piece of hardware to die out or malfunction. If that's the case with this, then it makes sense somewhat that wiping the dalvik cache resets this timer for a short time. Anyone have any thoughts? Am I crazy tinfoil hat wearer or does this make some sense?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I AGREE! I thought it broke a while ago but I did a complete wipe and put a brand new rom on it. Heck I almost sent it to Sammy but for some reason it stared working. I dont think its the dalvik cache though. I have a feeling its ClockworkMod Recovery because sometimes it says a key was disabled and I had problems after that. I couldnt lock my phone.
knarfrabot said:
My power button has been malfunctioning for about 2 monthsnow. That isn't to say it is 100% dead, but at times it'll work if I smack the button about a few times, and sometimes it will be completely unresponsive. I have read up on the subject and found a thread with a response from a guy claiming to be an engineer who said the micro switches they use in these phones are somewhat weak and only work for a limited number of presses. Recently, I changed roms, and to my surprise the power button worked great for a short period of time. Since then, I've found that when my power button starts acting up, wiping the dalvik cache put it back to normal. This lead me to thinking, and I've come to believe it could very well be a hardware problem that is meant to happen. I am by no means a coder/programmer but I have studied it enough to know that certain code can be written for a device that sets a "timer" for a piece of hardware to die out or malfunction. If that's the case with this, then it makes sense somewhat that wiping the dalvik cache resets this timer for a short time. Anyone have any thoughts? Am I crazy tinfoil hat wearer or does this make some sense?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, you solved your own theory in your statement. since when does smacking your phone equate to a software issue? my power button went in august, mostly. it started showing the behavior that you described about 4-6 weeks beforehand. i say mostly, because the physical button doesnt work anymore(rarely a response from it). but ive figured out how to work it to my advantage/needs. i can wake my phone by shaking it now, and put the screen to sleep. also can be done with a light smack in the right place on the back of the phone. but to be practicle, i remapped my search button to use as a power button and wake my phone with the volume button. really, the only hard part is navigating in the bootloader menu since the volume buttons wont work there with the power button broken. so ive learned to work it by lightly, very lightly, tapping on a certain place on the back of the phone near the power button. this "loosens" the volume buttons and lets me navigate the menu. then i tap the phone again to make a selection. this in no way indicates a software issue/conspiracy to me. when it just started displaying this behavior, i thought it might be a software issue too. but it turned out to be all physical damage.
You know, the funny thing about when it stops working is that it's never all at once.
It's a degrading process of malfunction until it takes repeated button pressing, not so much force, to work. After that it works so seldom that I'm forced to do something about it. It's for those reasons I think it's something more than a hardware problem.
From your experiences, even after a full wipe/new rom installation, your power button still doesn't work, if only for a brief time?
P.S. The new touch based recovery from team win works really well for those of us who can't use our power buttons
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda premium
@simms22
Hmm my guess is that there are multiple issues that result in a malfunctioning power button. Props to remapping your search button to lock your phone. It would be a great work around if my phone ever had this problem again. Have search to lock the phone and volume keys to wake it. I'm unsure how you remapped your search button though. Maybe you can tell me how?
knarfrabot said:
P.S. The new touch based recovery from team win works really well for those of us who can't use our power buttons
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed! If you have no access to a computer with adb/fastboot control the touch ClockWorkMod recovery would be very useful.
knarfrabot said:
You know, the funny thing about when it stops working is that it's never all at once.
It's a degrading process of malfunction until it takes repeated button pressing, not so much force, to work. After that it works so seldom that I'm forced to do something about it. It's for those reasons I think it's something more than a hardware problem.
From your experiences, even after a full wipe/new rom installation, your power button still doesn't work, if only for a brief time?
P.S. The new touch based recovery from team win works really well for those of us who can't use our power buttons
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ive been using twrp recovery for a while. even the non touch version has a no power button option. but i dont believe that theres anything else but hardware issues here. it is a degradation. at first it comes and goes, later it mostly just comes( ) and doesnt go. i can even hear a slight rattle in the power button area now if i shake the phone.
about after flashing.. at first, 50% of the time it would work after flashing, but it was just coincidence. but now no. btw, i flash many times a day, even then when it first started acting funny. flashing, wiping, it just doesnt make a difference, its coincidence.
---------- Post added at 09:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:16 PM ----------
Tw1tchy said:
@simms22
Hmm my guess is that there are multiple issues that result in a malfunctioning power button. Props to remapping your search button to lock your phone. It would be a great work around if my phone ever had this problem again. Have search to lock the phone and volume keys to wake it. I'm unsure how you remapped your search button though. Maybe you can tell me how?
Agreed! If you have no access to a computer with adb/fastboot control the touch ClockWorkMod recovery would be very useful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ButtonRemapper app, available here on xda for free http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=9399440&postcount=1
you want v0241. i have all the power button functionality with my search key except waking the device(volume rocker wakes my device). short press screen off, long press power menu, long press plus volume down for screenshots.
@tw1tchy, I totally agree it is multiple factors, which is why I can only speak for myself based on my experiences, although your overall experience seems to be similar to mine.
@simms22, I have never noticed a rattle in my phone, its likely that you and I have different causes attributed to the power button failure.
Not trying to beat a dead horse but just for the sake of being thorough, have you tried ODIN? I noticed a substantial difference when I ODIN'ed back to stock.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda premium
Me everytime I drop my phone on concrete my battery door opens and the battery falls of my phone...And you know what's the most odd part ...I get scratches on my phone when I pick it up .....Does anyone else gets this ??
Envoyé depuis mon Nexus S avec Tapatalk
I really like my Nexus S, but I kinda hope this power button self destruct kicks in soon. I see it as a feature - to make buying a Galaxy Nexus easier to justify. Good looking out Sammy.
I've had a similar problem for the last 4 months or so. It started when I dropped my nexus without the cover onto concrete floor. Not good I know.
But anyway...ever since then the power button been funny. Sometimes it didn't work at all and I couldn't turn the screen off and on. It was really bad. It took a while but now I kind of know how to handle it. Still annoying mind u.
Basically with mine the trick is to press the button really really hard towards the top end and it works fine. I've also noticed what some others are saying about changing rooms and doing resets etc. It seems to help as well.
But yeah...I still love my nexus. Lol. I think by me dropping it is the reason for my problems. It probably landed badly and loosened some part of the connection in that section or something. But as I said...all Is good now that I know the trick to it.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
I've had my NS since Christmas Eve 2009 and the power button completely stopped working 2 days ago. I did notice over the past few weeks that it wasn't responding properly. TBH, my NS has been through a LOT in the past 14-months (multiple impacts, spillages, kids etc), I'm surprised it's lasted this long
I'm now using the ButtonRemapper app to use 'search' as the power button. Works great! Plus my volume keys wake the phone up so all is ok.
I love my NS and wish I bought another one when CPW had them for £150 sim free!
It might be time for me to let go of the NS , just have to decide which phone is next (but thats for another thread lol)
ugh mine is under a year old. im very angry that this happened so quickly. im gonna try giving samsung a call. hopefully the will replace it. i shouldn't have to hack my phone in order to make it usable.
@rener78 You seem to have a vast misunderstanding of how sarcasm works. Just as future reference, posting dry, tasteless irony up on the internet as a smart-mouthed statement of ill will is about as practical as a chocolate teapot.
@staplebox Lol! Well played, sir or madam. I can't say posting a thread containing the words conspiracy theory doesn't grant me at least a well placed snarky comment. Although to be fair, I was kinda bored when I wrote it.
@ALL Yes, I get it, we've all dropped our phones before. I guess I expected a bit more from Sammy since my little old HTC hero that I beat halfway to hell is still going strong, while I pampered this nexus and its already giving me problems >1 year in but that's a whole different discussion I suppose.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda premium
great mine just went out yesterday... had mine for a ltl over a year now.
No tapping certain areas or anything works.
I did notice it slowly degrade over the past few weeks.
I used the fix my power button app so my volume keys wake up my phone, but sometimes after using that 5 or 6 times it will stop working too so i have to plug my phone in the charger to turn it on. Is there another way of getting the volume keys to act as a wake button??
edit: i'm gonna try out that button remapper i saw in an earlier post.
tankmaster90 said:
great mine just went out yesterday... had mine for a ltl over a year now.
No tapping certain areas or anything works.
I did notice it slowly degrade over the past few weeks.
I used the fix my power button app so my volume keys wake up my phone, but sometimes after using that 5 or 6 times it will stop working too so i have to plug my phone in the charger to turn it on. Is there another way of getting the volume keys to act as a wake button??
edit: i'm gonna try out that button remapper i saw in an earlier post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you are using an ics rom go to the main settings, security, lockscreen.. now disable the lockscreen. you can now wake your device with the volume button. its a feature built into ics.
interesting did not know this. Thanks, I think I'm still gonna use the button remapper to change the function of the search key to the power so I can reboot and stuff and go into recovery and such easier since i'm running cm9.
tankmaster90 said:
interesting did not know this. Thanks, I think I'm still gonna use the button remapper to change the function of the search key to the power so I can reboot and stuff and go into recovery and such easier since i'm running cm9.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats what i do. my search button has all the features of the power button but being able to wake the device.
Here's another question what if i need to pull the battery?? I'm rooted and running CM9 what if i go into a boot loop and i need to pull the battery with no charger around (i know how to do it with a charger) would the button remap solve this?
tankmaster90 said:
Here's another question what if i need to pull the battery?? I'm rooted and running CM9 what if i go into a boot loop and i need to pull the battery with no charger around (i know how to do it with a charger) would the button remap solve this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no. the button remapper app doesnt do anything when off or the screens off. honestly, i no boot many times a week(because i test the trinity kernel as its being developed before release), ive figured out a system of light taps near the power button to let the volume buttons let me scroll, and to select in the bootloader.so for me its a non issue. to power up from being powered up, i dont do anything. a, pluging in powers it. b, tapping the back powers it when no usb is available. c, it powers up by itself usually, seconds to a few minutes after powering off.
Being a heavy user of my nexus s since July 2011, the power button died last Sunday.
One of the most important problems i had after that was that i was unable to lock bootloader before giving the mobile to samsung service, because the stuck power button caused problems to fastboot commands and the bootloater usage(menu) in general.
Finally i decided to go to the service and give the phone. The result was that in about an hour they replaced the button and gave me back the mobile. The repair was covered by the 2 years warranty and the unlocked bootloader did not cause any problem to that.
Up to now i have a "brand new" nexus s and i hope that the new button will last much longer.

Power button behaving funny on Focus ...

My samsung Focus is about 1.5 years old.. I plan to switch carriers at the end my of contract since AT&T is giving me lots of dropped call at the new place we moved to.. The phone is obviously out of warranty, so I am looking to see if I can fix it myself.
The power button on my Samsung focus is behaving very funny lately. When I hit the power button with the phone awake, it thinks I did a "long press" of the power button and shows me the shutdown pull-down image! If I pull-up the image, the phone still reboots...
If I press the power button when the phone screen is OFF, instead of turning on the phone, it again shows the pull-down image, and the same behavior ensues - regardless of what direction I pull the image in, it shuts down the phone.
Some things I have already tried:
I have tried a hard-reset (camera+volume+power, and format the device), but the behavior continues.
I have removed my SD Card (I am using the AT&T approved one), performed hard reset, and problem continues
I have tried a different battery (from my wife's focus), and problem continues
At this point, I am guessing that most likely, the power button connector is loose.. but I am not 100% sure.. Any suggestions on things to try?
Seems like the spring in the power button is gone. I suggest when you want to press it, lean the phone to the right (with the power button towards the ground) so when you press it, gravity helps popping it back.
Or replace the power button.
EnderPsp said:
Seems like the spring in the power button is gone. I suggest when you want to press it, lean the phone to the right (with the power button towards the ground) so when you press it, gravity helps popping it back.
Or replace the power button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried the first trick... didn't seem to help..
Any tips on where I can find a replacement power button and how I can replace it?
See my response here (and the thread referenced in my second reply). Seems to be one of the issues that appear in time... And in another case it was the battery...
EnderPsp said:
See my response here (and the thread referenced in my second reply). Seems to be one of the issues that appear in time... And in another case it was the battery...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks EnderPsp!
I have ordered a new battery for now to see if it helps.. its a non-OEM battery off eBay.. Don't want to spend too much without knowing if that is indeed the problem..
I can't find a power button replacement part anywhere... I went over the video and the instructions to reach the power button housing does not seem very bad.. definitely do-able if I can find a replacement part..
walletless said:
Thanks EnderPsp!
I have ordered a new battery for now to see if it helps.. its a non-OEM battery off eBay.. Don't want to spend too much without knowing if that is indeed the problem..
I can't find a power button replacement part anywhere... I went over the video and the instructions to reach the power button housing does not seem very bad.. definitely do-able if I can find a replacement part..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The button itself is plastic (you can find some on ebay), and I don't know how it works, actually (If it's a spring or otherwise).
I suggest you watch a take apart guide and maybe, just maybe it's just dirt, which you can clean.
You'll know more and afterwards please share the result with us.
EnderPsp said:
The button itself is plastic (you can find some on ebay), and I don't know how it works, actually (If it's a spring or otherwise).
I suggest you watch a take apart guide and maybe, just maybe it's just dirt, which you can clean.
You'll know more and afterwards please share the result with us.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And now its completely gone... the power button won't respond at all.. the phone has been shut all day. If I take the battery out and put it back in, the SAMSUNG logo shows up for a few seconds and then the phone turns off again.. No way to turn it back ON using the power key..
I sat down to open the circuit yesterday only to realize that I don't have a #000 screwdriver... the smallest one I have is #00 which is too big for the 7 screws that hold the back panel
Off to Grainger today to see if I can find a 000 driver.. It can't get any worse now, so might as well open the phone!
Sure thing - I will update the post later with what I find...
walletless said:
And now its completely gone... the power button won't respond at all.. the phone has been shut all day. If I take the battery out and put it back in, the SAMSUNG logo shows up for a few seconds and then the phone turns off again.. No way to turn it back ON using the power key..
I sat down to open the circuit yesterday only to realize that I don't have a #000 screwdriver... the smallest one I have is #00 which is too big for the 7 screws that hold the back panel
Off to Grainger today to see if I can find a 000 driver.. It can't get any worse now, so might as well open the phone!
Sure thing - I will update the post later with what I find...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You didn't say if the same happens with the wall charger connected.
Now, If you're going out, try and drop near a phone shop. Ask them if they can help you test with one of their batteries, either for a Focus i917 or from a Galaxy S i9000
Good luck mate.
Dang i thought i was the only one with this issue...
Mine started acting up about 3 weeks ago and it was seriously annoying especially when driving. I would press the lock button to change songs, but it thinks i did a long-press and does the "slide down to power off" thing. Even if i swipe up, the phone would switch off.
Then today, i take my phone out my pocket to send a text and find it's powered off. Won't even switch on now
Ender:
Plugging the phone in does NOTHING. The screen remains black.
Reinserting the battery causes the SAMSUNG logo to appear on-screen but again, goes black after 4-5 seconds.
Holding down the power/lock button has no effect, it's unresponsive.
I'm so pissed off this is happening 6 months before my contract is up. -_-
Don't know what else to say... I hope you still have warranty?
EnderPsp said:
Don't know what else to say... I hope you still have warranty?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not extended no... :/
I've managed to get it into "download mode" now though, and my laptop recognises it as "SAMSUNG CDMA Technologies"... Huh?
---------- Post added at 05:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:45 PM ----------
If i have it plugged into my laptop,
hold vol down, power, and camera while inserting the battery i get to the hard reset screen. But then that disappears in the same 4-5 second window.
Ok, it's working again... I left the battery out for a few hours (literaly about 3), then pressed hard on the power button, and placed it (the battery) back in the phone.
Let it turn on and then back off by itself, then pressed hard on the power button.
pressed the button normally, and it booted up no issues. So far works fine.
I expect this issue is partly the power button, and something else unknown
EnderPsp said:
You didn't say if the same happens with the wall charger connected.
Now, If you're going out, try and drop near a phone shop. Ask them if they can help you test with one of their batteries, either for a Focus i917 or from a Galaxy S i9000
Good luck mate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes' same thing with wall power. New battery arrived and did not help. Went to a local cellphone repair and the guy said main board needs replacement.. he suggested to buy another phone since repair will be more expensive.. he said that he needs to remove soldering on the board reinforce an auxillary power button battery and resolder it in.. no guarantees and will cost atleast $150
Jfran71 said:
Ok, it's working again... I left the battery out for a few hours (literaly about 3), then pressed hard on the power button, and placed it (the battery) back in the phone.
Let it turn on and then back off by itself, then pressed hard on the power button.
pressed the button normally, and it booted up no issues. So far works fine.
I expect this issue is partly the power button, and something else unknown
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lucky you!! This seems like a common problem with several Samsung phones based on a quick google search
Also bummed that this happened with 6 months remaining ...Now I am somewhat stuck since I want to switch from AT&T due to call issues with several months remaining.. and dont want to buy one till wp8 is out...
Just for fun... I am going to find a 000 screwdriver and try to re-jig the power button.. nothing to loose with the phone refusing to start anyway!
For what it's worth, my power button had been getting increasingly creaky over the course of the last few months, and although not sticking, was requiring ever more pressure to operate. Also, the sound of rusty bedsprings every time I went to use my phone was getting somewhat embarrassing.
I found the sturdiest piece of paper that I could wedge in between the button and the rest of the phone, put a bit of PB Blaster on the paper, and wedged the paper in. The button has since been as good as the day I took the phone out of the box for a couple of months now.
*Edit: Should probably mention that the paper isn't supposed to stay in there - it was just used to apply the lube without soaking the phone.
Jfran71 said:
Ok, it's working again... I left the battery out for a few hours (literaly about 3), then pressed hard on the power button, and placed it (the battery) back in the phone.
Let it turn on and then back off by itself, then pressed hard on the power button.
pressed the button normally, and it booted up no issues. So far works fine.
I expect this issue is partly the power button, and something else unknown
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So its working completely fine now? No issues? I'll try that but im not hopeful.
I've been having the same issue, started yesterday. There appears to be no issues with the actual button itself, it doesnt appear to get stuck or anything to cause this, even without the external shell and just compressing the sensor itself.
walletless, you said that you tried reformatting it and everything? Damn. I was expecting it to be a software issue. I'll mess with the button mechanism a bit and see if theres anything weird with it
Phone is dead
re-jigging and cleaning around power button did not help.. I ended up ordering a chinese knock-off of HTC Note instead
Does any have this problem, but on a normal stock rom?
I was thinking it might be just custom roms, I don't think that would have anything to do with it
Its worth a shot though
titanhydro said:
Does any have this problem, but on a normal stock rom?
I was thinking it might be just custom roms, I don't think that would have anything to do with it
Its worth a shot though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My phone died last month. I only installed updates that came through Zune up to 7.5. I went into AT&T and they told me too bad because it was out of warranty. I called Samsung, and they wanted me to 'volume down, camera, power' reset my phone, which didn't work. Samsung told me to send it to them for $70 because I was out of warranty.
Instead I entered a developer competition for a Lumia 800 and won. Now I just have a dead focus, and a new 800. I'd still be interested if anyone finds out a way to fix the focus problem.

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