Database Users

OS X with XDA Exec

Yep, I'm sure you already think I'm an idiot trying to sort this one out.
Basically, I bought the XDA IIs about 3 weeks ago, but it simply would not stop crashing. It was so bad that it would crash almost every hour even if I did nothing to it. During that time I bought some software called Missing Sync that allowed me to sync the device with my PowerBook. However, O2 kindly upgraded me to the XDA Exec and now I can't seem to do anything. I can't even export them as vCards and bluetooth them to the device (like I could with the IIs) as it produces absolutely bizarre results.
As 5.0 isn't supported yet on Missing Sync, I'm just wondering what options I have to get my contacts from my laptop onto my phone.

Missing Sync is due to support WM05 in the future, but no beta available yet - or timescales
For installing software, you can usually download .cab files and beam them via bluetooth to the Exec or use a file manager that supports FTP to install them.
For diary/contacts you can beam vcal/vcard data from iCal/Address book, but only one at a time seems to work.
Macintosh support is very limited on PocketPC which is a great omission. However, I still wouldn't have a Windows box in the house. The Exec shows how far windows still has to come - it is simply the best of a bad lot - excellent hardware let down by a slow, inconsistent and buggy OS. Still love it though

pocketmac, which is a direct competitor to missing sync, claims to support the universal
http://www.pocketmac.net/

page3 said:
However, I still wouldn't have a Windows box in the house. The Exec shows how far windows still has to come - it is simply the best of a bad lot - excellent hardware let down by a slow, inconsistent and buggy OS. Still love it though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to agree. The first problems I've already had with it (and luckily the only compared to the IIs) is that sometimes the 'Phone' program simply doesn't work. People can still call me, but if I click on it nothing happens. Soft reset, 5 minutes of waiting for it to boot and ta-da. All working again.

Just thought I'd add to this thread and say that although PocketMac says it supports the Universal, it also says it doesn't yet support 5.0 and therefore I couldn't get it to work

Indeed, I asked the question and recieved this email from them:
Hi,
It’s our understanding this device uses WM 5.0. If that is correct you will probably want to wait till we have that support ready...and we are working overtime to accomplish that...
Mark

Thumbs down for WM5 - give me back 2003

Am I the only one to fnd that WM5 is a complete waste of time and not worth upgradong for let alone buying. It is in fact a huge step back from 2003.
First of all the flaky Activesync 4 which has had minimal testing on anything approaching a real world PC. How could any developer worth anything have not tested this on a machine with half-decent secruity measures, especially moving the sync protocol to use the TCP/IP stack. TCP/IP -> firewall -doh! (not the laughable toy Windows Firewall either).
Onto the operating system itself, where do I start?
1. The new "improved" memory management???? where is the improvement. How can you class something an improvement when it slows everything down, makes usability more difficult.
2. The communications manager. ....why???? a dumb interface hiding access to needed functions, especially when you are setting up a wireless access, why put on a pointless window just to be able to "switch on" a function???
3.GPRS why hide functionality again? Why remove the connect option from the icon on the top bar. Why do I have to start an internet explorer session just to connect to GPRS?
4.Messaging. Why remove the send/receive button? now we have to press menu then navigate to the send/receive function. So much easier to use...I think not... and why is Outlook email the default, we are not all corporate clones yet
5.Contacts. Where are all the customisation funtions, why can't i arrange the display to suit me. Why can't i select more than one contact at a time, which bright spark of an MS designer (whose only experience of the real world is the trip to the coffee machine) thought it was a good idea to only select one contact at a time....
6. Uninstall programmes, doesn't work properly, stupid error message about not being able to uninstall completley, then bits being left over even in soft reset, making a hard reset inevitable. double doh!!!
7.Installation failures, for example installing MS own voice command, warns not to install on anything but main memory but then when that is selected comes up with a classic null error message, and takes up over 50% of the program memory anyway.
For those of us who haven't got time to sit and devise brilliant technical workarounds, for us who have to deal with an irate user group having this approximation of an upgrade forced upon them. WM5 is a complete waste of space.
:evil: :twisted: :x

First, I totally agree with you about ActiveSync 4 - at best the testing and quality control was simply shoddy but not different from a lot of other sw these days.
@1 I like the new memory management even though it contributes to decreased performance. To have everything stored in a non-volatile storage and then execute out of ram is a much better architecture IMHO.
@2 I disagree. The advertised direction of WM5 was toward less use of the stylus which the buttons assigned to things like the Conn Mgr improve. My beef is that there is no GPRS control in Conn Mgr - can't turn it on, can't turn it off. I would like to never have to use the stylus - never!!!
@3 Totally agree!
@4 Before I had to use the stylus - now I don't - much better for me.
@5 Agree.
@6. I didn't find the uninstall to work much better in WM 2003. One almost has to do a soft reset before uninstalling and then I always check afterwards with Resco Explorer for stuff still left around.
@7. I have found that a lot of install errors are with legacy software not upgraded to WM5. In fact, almost all the errors and soft resets on my KJAM have been caused by old software not ready for WM5.
I do wish that before MS puts out a release of any software that they force the developer(s) to live it it for a week or two. Sometimes I think that they do indeed consider the real world as a short walk from their office to the coffee machine. Maybe WM 5.1, 2 or 3 will be better.
Frank

The saying goes "never buy the first iteration of a major release", and it's true. There's teething troubles that should have been caught in testing, but for me the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, specifically stylus-free use, and persistent storage.
We all have different requirements, hence the device won't be right for anyone. I'd imagine that an inevitable service pack will fix some of your complaints, but others really won't be addressed.
As for dealing with an irate user group, well, I wouldn't roll out a device like this to a user group unless I was confident in it. If you work for a network, I guess you've got no choice.
It used to be that early adopters of this sort of thing were geeks/technophiles at heart, but now a phone is a fashion accessory they're getting into everyone's hands quickly... The good news is that pressure should force manufacturers to get fixes quickly.
As for the wish that MS wanting developers to eat their own dog food, well, they do... However, the demographic of an MS developer or even business manager is a bit different to the audience for the device. I would still imagine that a hell of a lot of "focus groups" etc have been involved in designing the OS etc.
I guess sales advisors in the phone retailers should be aware of the potential pitfalls and be advising people as to whether the device really is for them or not. I've had huge problems with AS4.0/1 and my firewall, but I know that I'm on my own and that phoning t-mobile would be as much fun and use as kicking myself hard in the crotch.

I think the AS4 issue is going to be the single largest issue posing a challenge in the uptake of newer devices in the enterprise area. Large companies will not compromise on their existing security profiles just because MS can't get its newest product to coexist with even their own firewall... What a joke!

Activesync 4.1 is much better than AS4.0. I have been using build 4807 shortly after getting my K-JAM, and its much improved over the original 4.0. I updated to the beta build 4807 about a day after getting my KJAM (and installing 4.0) and its heaps better.

fmcgirt said:
My beef is that there is no GPRS control in Conn Mgr - can't turn it on, can't turn it off. I would like to never have to use the stylus - never!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The red phone button will kill a GPRS session if you just hold it down for a few seconds..
Dox

Dox said:
fmcgirt said:
My beef is that there is no GPRS control in Conn Mgr - can't turn it on, can't turn it off. I would like to never have to use the stylus - never!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The red phone button will kill a GPRS session if you just hold it down for a few seconds..
Dox
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I know about turning it off - but you need to run something like Messaging or PIE to turn it on - and some of my internet apps will no longer cause a GPRS startup so I have to run something else first - insane!!!
Frank

I feel your frustrations. I don't get it either. Microsoft seems to market their stuff to guys with a lot of time on their hands to troubleshoot problems. I always feel like a beta tester...within about 10 minutes of using something, I usually find some kind of glitch, bug, or problem like the Activesync bugs.
Wouldn't this be obvious to a big company who spends a lot of effort on R&D?

inbox7 said:
I feel your frustrations. I don't get it either. Microsoft seems to market their stuff to guys with a lot of time on their hands to troubleshoot problems. I always feel like a beta tester...within about 10 minutes of using something, I usually find some kind of glitch, bug, or problem like the Activesync bugs.
Wouldn't this be obvious to a big company who spends a lot of effort on R&D?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe they have so much effort in R&D and so little in Testing and QC because they have learned there are many of us that will buy new, shoddy stuff and spend the time to help get the bugs out that they don't have to bother - just get it out there and all of us dummies will gobble it up..
I am with you in feeling like the beta (or even alpha) tester - it doesn't take that much effort to discover bugs, glitches, inadequate user interface features, sync problems, etc., usually an hour or two with a new device is more than enough for me.
Maybe our expectations about converged devices are way too high. I know I compare the phone part to my old cell phones and without exception think: "Why did they leave out that feature?" or "Why doesn't this work?", "Why is the RF so lousy?", etc. And do exactly the same thing with the PDA part. I really don't think we will ever see a converged device that is as good as two very good separate devices - at least with the present set of OS developers and hardware manufacturers. Their mindset simply won't allow it.
But for me, I like my KJAM very much and even though I hate some of its problems and dumb implmentations, I would never go back to seperate devices. I think my frustrations are more with my feeling that with a little more effort things could be a lot better. And with the prices we pay I think we deserve that effort.
Frank

k_kirk said:
I think the AS4 issue is going to be the single largest issue posing a challenge in the uptake of newer devices in the enterprise area. Large companies will not compromise on their existing security profiles just because MS can't get its newest product to coexist with even their own firewall... What a joke!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This could not be more wrong. From direct experience of corporate network protection, WM 5's dependence on AS 4 is a Good Thing (which is why MS state it is a concession to Enterprise pressure). The move to use the standard IP stack means the network manager can regain control of who has access to his network and who doesn't. It puts an end to people connecting their PPC to their work PC and syncing over all the crap they have stored in their home PC, deliberately or otherwise. That includes virus infected files in My Documents, porn, and pirated software/music/video. Or just personal information that in hindsight they rather we didn't see. Millions is invested in protecting corporate networks and this has been long been comprimised by PDA users (on all platforms) "innocently" syncing their personal devices. It's not just one sided - it protects the user against accidentally loading something onto the corporate network that could instantly lead to dismissal under most corporate network usage/abuse policies.
There's no unforeseen "bug", or technical reason why AS4 doesn't work with a firewalled PC. It just needs the appropriate policies setting by the firewall administrator (be that personal or corporate). That's how it should be.

I got tired of the random misbehavior of ActiveSync 4.1 (Official Version) via USB and decided to try a Bluetooth connection using the instructions under the Help Menu. No problems setting it up, connecting or syncing so I think BT is the way to go for me from now on.
Frank
EDIT - Still having problems!!! Faster connecting but still slow "Looking for Changes", hanging, etc. Soft reset sometimes required.

Ineedtoys said:
k_kirk said:
I think the AS4 issue is going to be the single largest issue posing a challenge in the uptake of newer devices in the enterprise area. Large companies will not compromise on their existing security profiles just because MS can't get its newest product to coexist with even their own firewall... What a joke!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This could not be more wrong. From direct experience of corporate network protection, WM 5's dependence on AS 4 is a Good Thing (which is why MS state it is a concession to Enterprise pressure). The move to use the standard IP stack means the network manager can regain control of who has access to his network and who doesn't. It puts an end to people connecting their PPC to their work PC and syncing over all the crap they have stored in their home PC, deliberately or otherwise. That includes virus infected files in My Documents, porn, and pirated software/music/video. Or just personal information that in hindsight they rather we didn't see. Millions is invested in protecting corporate networks and this has been long been comprimised by PDA users (on all platforms) "innocently" syncing their personal devices. It's not just one sided - it protects the user against accidentally loading something onto the corporate network that could instantly lead to dismissal under most corporate network usage/abuse policies.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Although it's annoying, as I can't affect the firewall policy on my work PC, I have to concede it does offer a way to close a big hole in corporate security...
Ineedtoys said:
There's no unforeseen "bug", or technical reason why AS4 doesn't work with a firewalled PC. It just needs the appropriate policies setting by the firewall administrator (be that personal or corporate). That's how it should be.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't agree with that though. It should be the case, but in my case (on my own PC), with all the correct policies in place, AS4.1 still refuses to connect until I actually unload the firewall completely. If I set the f/w to "Allow All", it still won't sync. The logs show no packets being rejected, so it should work. The comments on the MS ActiveSync help pages suggesting users may have problems with VPN clients and other applications that slot themselves into the protocol stack suggests that one or both parties are using coding techniques/functions that aren't as robust as they could be and have left, in my case at least, something that looks like a "bug". When it does work smoothly, and I can petition our IT people to amend the corporate policies and maybe open up AS over SSL for my GPRS connection, it'll save them having to shell out for as many Blackberries for people who've already paid for their own devices...
Dox.

There's no unforeseen "bug", or technical reason why AS4 doesn't work with a firewalled PC. It just needs the appropriate policies setting by the firewall administrator (be that personal or corporate). That's how it should be
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd love that to be right, but it's really appearing that it isn't. Sygate Security Agent just doesn't seem to be compatible. When set to "pass all traffic", it doesn't work, and when I manually configure around every blocked piece of traffic, it still doesn't work.
Weird...
If you have any suggestions for what else I can do to get this working then I'd really be grateful for them.

I got my MDA Vario on 5th November. It's my first PPC/WM device ever, after owning a Palm T3 for two years and Psion 3c and Revo before that.
For me, ActiveSync 4.0 (supplied with the Vario) has worked smoothly and flawlessly right out of the box over USB and BT connections. I've now upgraded to the new official 4.1 release and that is just as reliable. I'm syncing with my personal laptop running Win XP Pro SP2 and all MS Windows updates.
I have the standard Windows firewall enabled, NOD32 AV and MS Antispyware Beta for my system protection. As I use a NAT router with SPI I think I have enough protection to not need any further/alternative firewalls running.
I haven't added much software to the Vario, just....
SPB GPRS Monitor supplied with the Vario;
Mapopolis mapping and route planning;
Ghisler Total Commander;
Eidos Tomb Raider.
It is all working just fine

I think it's generally well accepted that AS works fine as long as you're not running anything strange (and by strange, I mean "non-Microsoft" ) on the firewall front. Unfortunately some of us are

Chiark, fair enough, I understand that. But I question why people feel the need to run alternative firewalls. I understand they stop "phone home" type contacts, which a NAT router won't, nor Windows firewall, but I feel it is enough to be protected from external attacks and to let my AV and anti-spyware take care of the trojans and worms.
But each to his own, I suppose.

Windows Firewall is not popular with a lot of corporations... My company has decided on Sygate Secure Agent and has deployed it to over 30,000 employees. They're not going to change as a result of an incompatability with AS4!
The point is that MS needs to be working hard to correct this fault, and address the issues in the above posts.

[Rant] The HTC TyTN is a toy, not a tool.

In fact, it's a 400 bucks piece of utterly unreliable, useless crap.
Since I got my device back from "repair", it's been a mixed experience. Most things work, some make me cringe in despair.
Today is a bad-TyTN day and I'm really, really <expletive/>.
After the repair, I thought my "No GSM" problems were gone. But today, the first time I really couldn't do without it, it crashed a couple of minutes after I unplugged it from the USB-ActiveSync 4.5 link and told me again "No GSM".
And of course, the result being:
- All POP3 accounts lost, and now I lost all emails and have to use different account names to set them up again
- Network connections credentials lost, even built-in. No I can, again, connected by other means, go figure out how to set these up or,
- finally, hard-reset the device, which is a pain in the neck because I have no out-of-the-box backup.
I'm not even running any third-party software on the device for fear of introducing non-linearities. I did not even install the brand-new TomTom 6, also since nobody seems to be able to sell a sufficiently large MicroSD card at this time.
Who's to blame for my bad experience?
Did I do something wrong? Setting the lock-timeout to 2 hours instead of 12, so it locked during the ActiveSync session?
Did HTC screw up so it would reset some "protected storage" when the GSM card is not detected for some magical reason?
Does Windows Mobile 5.0 AKU2 just have too much bugs to be reliable?
Does my provider E-Plus Germany suck for confusing the device with poor, unreliable UMTS coverage and internet connection problems?
It's a mixture of all these things, I guess. There are too many moving parts, most of which aren't sufficiently documented by Microsoft, or kept up-to-date software-wise by HTC and the service providers.
Examples:
- Messaging that unrecoverably screws up my POP3 accounts and there is no documentation in the SDK about the setup to fix it myself.
- The worthless MediaPlayer, that abandons it's meta-data when the storage card is released.
- The HTC phone software that at times wouldn't let me hang up on occasions, or doesn't start, or keeps using a bad UMTS connection even if GPRS is available and good.
I thought the TyTN would make a great every-day device for a phone and a software development platform for new-class applications.
So far, it's been one of the greatest time-wasters I've ever acquired.
Just like any other toy.
Useless crap.

Not had anything quite as bad as that. Never had to hard reset due to irreversible problem. But, yes quite a few soft resets and in a way although I want to disagree with you I think the device is cutting edge and could easily have been held back a year to iron out some problems. However as you say some of these problems are down to WM and telecoms providers. For business I would not get one of these but probably something with fewer features but high reliability.
For trying out the new or new combinations of features I would still buy a TyTn in preference to anything similar and yes a large part of this is about experimentation and an acceptance that if this were not cutting edge in some ways then reliability would not be acceptable. As it is though my business use is low on TyTn having "Fun" and experimenting is high. My rant is about releasing the device with obvious hardware irritations, the software.. well that can always be upgraded.
Mike

HB_TyTN said:
Does Windows Mobile 5.0 AKU2 just have too much bugs to be reliable?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Surely not - the problems you've listed (particularly the stale e-mail accounts) are not MS-related problems but because of stale WinCE database entries.
Next time DO run SKTools 3 to clean up the mail databases instead of hard resetting your device.

Furthermore, it's a very bad a idea to send a device in for service that still has data on it. You should have wiped it before sending anyway...

If you view a PPC Phone as a primary data storage/communications center, then you're in for a disappointment. On the other hand, if you use it as an extension of your personal computer, then not only will you have a very productive device but you'll keep your sanity.
I've always used this strategy since my first sync experience on a Nokia 6210 six-years ago. Appointments and contacts all easily synced to my phone. Replaced that with grey t68. Then came the PocketLOOX 600 (touted as first convergence device - nice idea, poor execution). I tolerated the buggy loox for 18-months before trading UP to an h4150 running wm2003se. Great device. Kept a t610 for phone, ppc as outlook back-up.
Arrived in Taiwan for an extended business trip end of July -- immediately picked up the local version CHT9000 (aka Dopod 838pro). Through this forum, someone graciously made available the first English language ROM -- a tad buggy, but later upgraded to my current ROM (dopod 1.23) and in everyway it has exceeded my expectations. I take it to the US and it my t-mobile account with gprs keeps me connected. Recently spent two weeks in Korea and all over China -- again, UMTS available most places, GPRS/EDGE filled in the blanks. Mobile carriers everywhere will love HTC for bringing this device to the masses.
Don't have to, but it's prudent to sync the device at least once a day. In the event you lose the device, it's stolen, or you're forced to hard reset, because it's just a 'copy' of your outlook system, it's no big loss.
All that said -- I'd recommend this device to anyone with at least some technical savvy. Without this, they could never appreciate truly the first quad-band gsm/tri-band UMTS, BT2.0, WiFi G, PPC Phone with both a useable keyboard AND a real scroll wheel and would be better off owning a Chocolate or some other Nokia/SonyEricsson 'fashion accessory'.
Cheers

Menneisyys said:
Surely not - the problems you've listed (particularly the stale e-mail accounts) are not MS-related problems but because of stale WinCE database entries.
Next time DO run SKTools 3 to clean up the mail databases instead of hard resetting your device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why do I have to use 3rd-party tools to fix such a problem? Where is the KB article about it, either on Microsoft's or HTC's or on my provider's website?

goestoeleven said:
Furthermore, it's a very bad a idea to send a device in for service that still has data on it. You should have wiped it before sending anyway...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Before repair, my device had the "Does not reliably detect SIM card" problem, that clearly discouraged me to put any data on it.
As requested by my service provider, I sent in the device hard-reset, without SIMcard, SDcard, battery, or stylus. I even removed the screen protector.
So all that's lost now (EMail accounts, passwords, WiFi, and what not), has been set completely new AFTER repair.

aquanaut88 said:
If you view a PPC Phone as a primary data storage/communications center, then you're in for a disappointment. On the other hand, if you use it as an extension of your personal computer, then not only will you have a very productive device but you'll keep your sanity.
[...]
Don't have to, but it's prudent to sync the device at least once a day. In the event you lose the device, it's stolen, or you're forced to hard reset, because it's just a 'copy' of your outlook system, it's no big loss.
All that said -- I'd recommend this device to anyone with at least some technical savvy. Without this, they could never appreciate truly the first quad-band gsm/tri-band UMTS, BT2.0, WiFi G, PPC Phone with both a useable keyboard AND a real scroll wheel and would be better off owning a Chocolate or some other Nokia/SonyEricsson 'fashion accessory'.
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I appreciated the great feature list of the TyTN by putting more than 400 bucks on the table and commited to an additional data plan as well as another 24 months of mediocre network coverage and service.
As I said, I planned to use it for developing pocket pc applications and little helpers to make my life easier.
I use it as an extension to my laptop, it is connected to it via USB most of the time, to charge and sync.
But feel like I could demand that it reliably keeps my data until I sync again.
If I have to always carry my laptop around to get that reliability, then it would have been way cheaper to go with a UMTS modem card instead.
If something is only useful to technologically savvy geeks, without reliability for the Joe Public every-day user, then I consider it a toy. Maybe a great, feature-overbearing, remarkably innovative toy, but nevertheless, something to play with, not to rely on.
Unfortunately, beside the technical problems that could be overcome by updates and repairs, it's a systematic issue that support is split across Microsoft, HTC and my provider.
As I said, it's terrible hard to figure out if a problem is caused by my fault, inappropriate settings, too little or too much tweaking, mediocre network coverage, hardware faults or software problems.
I wouldn't mind hard-resetting the device every day, if there was something resembling a simple backup _out-of-the-box_.
By backup I mean settings, including personalization, network connections, email accounts, sms/mms, custom ringtones, etc.
And that's exactly what I'm into finding to buy or writing myself.

Finally, again
Hang, bang, gone. "No GSM" again.
This time not recovering.
The new thing this time: My service provider E-Plus doesn't accept it for repair.
I should quit my day job so I can fully concentrate on the struggle with this heap of crap.

HB_TyTN said:
In fact, it's a 400 bucks piece of utterly unreliable, useless crap.
Since I got my device back from "repair", it's been a mixed experience. Most things work, some make me cringe in despair.
Today is a bad-TyTN day and I'm really, really <expletive/>.
After the repair, I thought my "No GSM" problems were gone. But today, the first time I really couldn't do without it, it crashed a couple of minutes after I unplugged it from the USB-ActiveSync 4.5 link and told me again "No GSM".
And of course, the result being:
- All POP3 accounts lost, and now I lost all emails and have to use different account names to set them up again
- Network connections credentials lost, even built-in. No I can, again, connected by other means, go figure out how to set these up or,
- finally, hard-reset the device, which is a pain in the neck because I have no out-of-the-box backup.
I'm not even running any third-party software on the device for fear of introducing non-linearities. I did not even install the brand-new TomTom 6, also since nobody seems to be able to sell a sufficiently large MicroSD card at this time.
Who's to blame for my bad experience?
Did I do something wrong? Setting the lock-timeout to 2 hours instead of 12, so it locked during the ActiveSync session?
Did HTC screw up so it would reset some "protected storage" when the GSM card is not detected for some magical reason?
Does Windows Mobile 5.0 AKU2 just have too much bugs to be reliable?
Does my provider E-Plus Germany suck for confusing the device with poor, unreliable UMTS coverage and internet connection problems?
It's a mixture of all these things, I guess. There are too many moving parts, most of which aren't sufficiently documented by Microsoft, or kept up-to-date software-wise by HTC and the service providers.
Examples:
- Messaging that unrecoverably screws up my POP3 accounts and there is no documentation in the SDK about the setup to fix it myself.
- The worthless MediaPlayer, that abandons it's meta-data when the storage card is released.
- The HTC phone software that at times wouldn't let me hang up on occasions, or doesn't start, or keeps using a bad UMTS connection even if GPRS is available and good.
I thought the TyTN would make a great every-day device for a phone and a software development platform for new-class applications.
So far, it's been one of the greatest time-wasters I've ever acquired.
Just like any other toy.
Useless crap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the first BIG complaint i have heard about the product.. Second, wow, what did you do to it that it had to end-up in repairs? (fiddler??) Third, if it does give this much problems, then there was something wrong with it from the start, but you didnt take it back an did not insist on a swop?
Look at this app, install it and see if your gsm still is disabled?
Also check your settings again to make sure all is set to the right ones! Else you got a big problem or just dono how the thing works(just saying this coz 80% of all problems are caused by the user him/herself!! See it everyday then they blame me!).. RTFM
Or it could be a virus!! hahah That would be funny!!
OH, your rom version!! Wow dude!! Update the thing!! ROM Version: 1.18.257.2; ROM Date: 05/30/06
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=Hermes_Upgrades

HB_TyTN said:
Hang, bang, gone. "No GSM" again.
This time not recovering.
The new thing this time: My service provider E-Plus doesn't accept it for repair.
I should quit my day job so I can fully concentrate on the struggle with this heap of crap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just as testing purpose: superCID it and try to flash with HTC South African 1.35 Rom

The ROM update worked for me. It took a lot of work to get mine running how it should after that, 3rd party software, reg settings, and I must admit it runs beautifully now. But when it came out of the box it was bloody awful, wouldn't turn on, take 5 seconds to hang up, freeze etc.
One word ... iPhone, hmm.

Hallo HB_TyTN
Like you I am on the E-Plus network (at Hannover), and use a O2-branded Tytn, same firmware. However, I never experienced problems like you, and like us others got used to occasional soft reset requirements, mainly related to the 3rd party Today items I use.
Now that HTC is in the retail market by itself it is certainly not wise to buy their wares over service providers (unless like you one buys on contract), since HTC for machines bought with them will go to greater efforts to repair or exchange machines. Eplus will not repair your Tytn, but usually just send you another "refurbished" one from the same batch they got from HTC.
For the moment you seem stuck with E-Plus, and you can attempt to pressure them into proper service according to German law. Another possibility is in fact to try the South African ROM, and see if it improves your machine. Third option is to beg HTC for direct repair, maybe with confirmation from E-Plus that they cannot help you, and send the machine directly to a HTC repair centre. If you send in your machine, please mail a copy of your attached letter to Fred Liu, HTC COO office, 23 Hsin Hua Rd., Taoyuan 330, Taiwan, R. O. C.
He is the COO of HTC and the top boss of HTC Europe. Coming to Germany soon, he will not want to make enemies here ))

Now after 10 hours it booted just fine and I'm just rapiconfigging back my email accounts and networks.
Reestablishing Bluetooth pairings and TomTom actvation is still manual.
I'm not fiddling. First time it failed right out-of-the-box. After repair #1 I only installed SKTools and TomTom Navigator 6.
ROM upgrade is no option, E-Plus/Brightpoint have not published an update. So there would be no way back.
Last repair the device wasn't switched (same S/N, IMEI, ROM version), so I guess they couldn't repro the problem (that would also explain their refusal to repair it again).
Next time I'll rush to an E-Plus shop as soon as it happens.

lol < well this sucks. cant use less than 10chars.. > lol

My first experiences with the TyTn also were disappointing. It took me weeks to get it more or less useable, and even now some things are not as convenient as they were on my Symbian phone. Here are the things that bother me (some are solved by 3rd party applications, others are not):
General:
- onscreen keyboard pops up even when one is using the hardware keyboard
- no way to backup all the settings
- often hard to navigate when not wanting to use the stylus
- only one language for text entry (word completion and transcriber)
- no data counter (gprs traffic)
- wordcompletion intervenes too much (when I type a Dutch word "wel", after typing the space after the word it changes it to we'll, no way to prevent this)
- wordcompletion only shows one possible next word (no way to scroll between different candidates)
- any setting that is slightly more advanced or deviates from tradition is either hard to set or impossible
Messaging:
- no way to specify the imap-root folder
- not possible to switch SMTP servers (even the from field cannot be chosen when sending a mail, nor can mails be moved from one outbox to another) (other mail clients I tried have problems with my VPN)
- cumbersome downloading (headers only: one has to open a mail and then choose to download it, then click send/receive; why not download it when this is chosen? or even when it is openend?)
- many notifications for sms (sent notification in messaging client, sent notification from network, receipt notification) when sending messages (and one cannot mark them as "read" from the todayscreen)
- applications are not very well integrated (e.g. file explorer cannot send a file via bluetooth)
Calendar:
- always opens on day view, would like to change this to month view (but is not possible)
- day view should be scrolled down to show the start of the day (e.g. 8.00 at the top of the screen), now I have to scroll from 00.00 down before I can see stuff)
- cumbersome entry of time (esp. when entering times that deviate from the time slots)
Phone:
- no support for different call profiles (where a profile is essentially a call filter)
- when one contact has multiple numbers, the phone application only shows the last used one
Network:
- when you add a VPN server, then delete it, you can't add one with the same name (even though it has been deleted)
- wifi starts detecting all networks, and does not necessarily start with the networks one has been connected to in the past
Bluetooth:
- limited profiles
- sometimes counterintuitive
ActiveSync:
- sees the device as new every now and then (causing it to say it conflicts); I have to delete the device on my PC and let it find it all over again
Programs folder:
- is alphabetically, would be nice if one could order this to his own liking
Alarm:
- no snooze function
- unnatural way of entering time and repeat options
File explorer
- no way to view extensions of files
I've learned to live with some of these problems, but I would have expected Windows mobile to be a more mature system. I had to choose a WM5 device (so I new I had to compromise), due to the fact that I wanted to run some specific application (PocketFMS), but didn't anticipate I had to compensate this much. (of course, no of my issues is purely HTC related, but will be present on all WM5 devices)
In total, I personally consider Symbian (Series 60) to be more efficient, better customisable (one is less forced to do things one way) and (never thought I'd say this) more stable.
Jörg

hmmm.... the fact that I'm listening to mannheim steamroller over A2DP at Las Vegas airport while typing this reply on my TyTN is evidence of my disagreement with the OP. This device has done incredibly well at CES. unbelievable functionality in tough tradeshow conditions. i'm really happy with this little gizmo!

Nevermind, I really love it, too. Otherwise I wouldn't spend so much time with it.
But posting in a stable network environment (I'm on home WLAN right now) is not really a proof.
Try this when moving in a crowded area with weak 3G coverage, say on the subway. Add sensitive hardware and a mediocre provider and things go south.

It's unfortunate your having so many of these problems - my Hermes has been excellent! I haven't had any of the issues you listed. In fact, mine has only locked up once, and that was today (and I use it religiously). I've had it hard reset on it's own, but that was caused by Hackmaster. You should definitely try a ROM upgrade, if you haven't already.

At CES, I was using my TyTN on Cingular's network with 110,000 other geeks (kudos to Cingular btw... coverage was great!). Even so, my device was handing off between GSM and UMTS constantly and Cingular experienced at least one major data network meltdown that I could detect. Perhaps it was the combination of 1.35 & the 1.20 radio that made mine work so well.
The worst problem I had was A2DP, but after the first day I found out it was because so many other people had bluetooth going that there were simply not enough available frequencies to support A2DP's high bandwidth demands. All the vendors were bemoaning the fact that their A2DP stuff "just wasn't working right"....

bricked another, but found a XP sp3 solution

yesterday, I bricked my AT&T X10a again trying to update to the generic Br/GEL. I had it replaced, they are starting to know me at the service center.
However, I found one solution in the process.
There have been postings regarding XP SP3 freezing when the X10 is connected in SEMC flash mode. The Plug'n'Play message comes up and explorer goes to all to hell, the mouse may still work, but the computer won't respond, etc. (XP is not a problem in SP2 according to my browsing.)
After extensively searching on the web different forums, et al, I found a message that said it won't happen in SAFE MODE. Since every computer here is xp sp3 and they all freeze, I thought this was worth a try. And yes, you can get through the driver install/recognition of the SEMC Flash without hanging. Programs can find the device.
Now, if I only knew why they only partially update.....
I may just wait for my kid to come home from college and use her laptop, it's Win7. But she also has a X10a and wants an upgrade, is the win7 device ID different for each phone or do identical models have the same ID?

I don't think it's even possible to brick an X10i/a at the moment since the bootloader isn't cracked...

when it's not a phone, it's a brick (or at least a tile)
Hypercore said:
I don't think it's even possible to brick an X10i/a at the moment since the bootloader isn't cracked...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anytime it doesn't work as a phone anymore to me, it's bricked.
The last time (about a month ago), It went so far as to get the flashing symbol and afterwards wouldn't go into anything but flash mode, and wouldn't reflash. This time, it seems, just some of the firmware was overwritten, and it wouldn't recognize the sim card and just had the opening screen without the unlock and kept rebooting and retrying to 'activate' the card. So, it's useless to me, and I just had them swap me another phone. To me, it's bricked cause that's all it's good for.
I'm chalking it up to something peculiar in my XP SP3 setup at the moment. Though in safe mode, only a handful of services, et al are running and the AV/AS isn't even active, as well as most of the software on the PC. I don't know that I want to go so far as to remove SP3 just to update the phone everytime software comes out.
And the same system lockup occurs with the SE software when it's in flash mode which is why I could not do the 'repair' trick early on. I understand that SE is telling people to upgrade to Win7 or Vista or borrow a machine.

Thread moved to General.

[Q] Luck involved in unlucking? ^^

My question:
Would it be fair to say that the succsess of unlocking WP7 is depending on a serious amount of skill and equaly as much luck?
Seems the activation key i have is kind of usless for activating WP7. I used to think i had at least, some computer skills, but my head is confussed and lost in this mess.
Im begining to think that Vodoo might be the answer And if you think thats how it is, could we clear some posts here, because its growing pretty fast and it still seems to be luck ("You know, i was leaning in sofa, tilted my keyboard") Well, thats my question, the red text is no need to read.
Lets be serious, this instructions isnt super science it self:
1. Install WP7 sdk Windows Phone Developer Tools; On it brother..
2. Install zune; Oh i feel you..
3. Make partneship with zune and phone; named it HD7 oh yeah, oh yeah
4. Attach the ChevronWP7.cer(you found in the toolkit) to your email and send the email to your email itself (On PC); Some google lov!! Oh im a big boy, i can handle it...
5. Login to your email account (On Phone), Open the email, Select attachment and install the cert;
6. Connect your phone to pc and make sure zune is running in background;
7. Run the unlocker (ChevronWP7.exe) and click unlock button(Make sure your phone date is set correctly)
(you need to close skype and disable network adapter.. hamachi.. wireless.. Dropbox.. coffie mashine, fridge, make sure doors are locked too. Wouldt it be easy to boot in to Safemode on PC, since nobody tried i havent =)
Like everybody else, Connect your phone or start zune, or if i forgett somthing and Ops, the instant crash. So once again, is it luck? (Cant belive me self asking this, but i have to)

There is only one way, look for the threads that are talking about unlocking WP7, there are many under the WP7 and HD2 fora, and just try everything. if everything fails try again and use different combinations. I also had the same problem, I tried everything and nothing worked.
One day while I was going to give up and go back to WM6.5 I tried to unlock the phone while I was connected to the internet. Guess what, it worked! Everyone is saying to disconnect from the internet, but for me it works only when I am connected! So, yeah, maybe it is a bit of luck, due to the device, maybe it is something else.
Just keep trying

I could never get past the ChevronWP7.exe bit. It would just not work for me.
I ended up giving up on that list of instructions completely and rang Microsoft. They gave me an activation code and everything worked after that.
I thought it was a requirement to follow those instructions, but it turns out I was wrong.

It hasn't do anything with luck or skills, just some logical sense.
Lets start at a freshly installed copy of windows. I use W7 Ultimate x64. Whereas x64 always gave compatibilty problems, seems like it's eating chevron unlocker for breakfast. If an x64 can do it, then an x86 (32bit) can surely do the same thing.
What I did. Clean system. Just w7, the drivers for graphics, motherboard, sound etc... basic things. No AV installed and windows firewall turned off.
Next, I installed thw WP7 SDK, then zune and even .net framework 4.
I have not edited any hosts file or closed any ports, because like I said, clean system, no skype and all.
Hooked the HD2 to the PC and let zune recognize it and doing some basic stuff like syncing.
Then disconnect the HD2 and put it in airplane mode and reconnected to pc.
Ofcourse, I had the unlock.certificate allready installed on my HD2. So, when Zune found my device, I used the unlocker. First attempt might fail, but the second attempt was mine. There you go, it couldn't be easier. No firmware.ipsw needed and unthethered. I even have set my date back to 2010 and it could still unlock.
Goodluck.

Nakazul said:
Lets be serious, this instructions isnt super science it self:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your instructions are not correct so no matter how mant times you do that it won't work. If you follow the correct instructions it will work first time. It's not rocket science.