Related
Hi,
When i first setup my Exec using personal mode, the answer and hangup buttons on the hinge woudl illuminate when a call came in (when the unit is closed like a laptop). Now i am using it in corporate mode, the LED's don't illuminate. They only illuminate when the screen is rotated into PDA mode.
I am assuming this is a reg hack. Does anybody know what it is? or has anybody else got this problem?
Cheers
Paul
They don't illuminate when the device is closed, only when you have the screen open or facing outwards.
hollinshead said:
They don't illuminate when the device is closed, only when you have the screen open or facing outwards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And very annoying it is too - especially when both buttons look so similar when not illuminated. This must be hackable?
This has got to be one of the most annoying features of the exec.
Also i have found that if the device is closed, MSVC does not recognise anything you say when activated via BT.
I have never really played with the device in personal mode as the GUI is bollox so cannot comment on if the buttons light up or not when the device is closed. But what i do know is that when it is closed the screen is switched off as if the device is in standby mode, maybe this has something to do with it.
I try to memorize the position of the green button in relation to how I always hold the phone and feel for it like a Braille board. So far I get it 75% of the time.
is anybody using the 'Personal' install on their exec? can they confirm if the LED's are illuminated or not when the phone rings when it is closed?
Cheers
Paul
Someone who's actually opened the Universal may be able to confirm this, but I suspect that the answer/hang up buttons on the hinge don't actually have LED's. I believe that they simply use the light from the screen's backlight to illuminate. As near as I can tell, they're only on when the screen backlight is on.
If that is the case, then there probably won't be a way to get them to illuminate when the case is closed, unless someone can figure out how to get the backlight to stay on when the case is closed (which would also be a big battery waster)
Brett
Yup, i can confirm this. I've just removed the cover on the top of the hinge. There is one wrapped cable coming out of the base at the right hand side. This then splits off, the main part goes up into the pivot hole, and a thinner wrapped wire brakes away from this and attaches to a small pcb which has the buttons and the LED's mounted on it.
Yes, the buttons are only illuminated when the backlight is on, but the brightness of the buttons remains constant even when the backlight brightness is turned down.
Cheers
Paul
As far as I see it, even if the backlight has to come on that wouldn't be a problem - after all, the phone is waking up in order to ring. I also often open up the screen slightly to see who's calling, then close it and press the answer button - therefore switching on the backlight initially would actually save time!
Maybe somebody knows of a "wake-on-ring" hack :lol:
I've just noticed it with my new Qtek 9000 and I was very worried, because I thought my device is broken.
But now I know this is "normal", but it's very annoying :?
I wish I had this problem! .. since yesterday my JJ seems to have those lights permanently on even when I switch the device off
Guys, I've made a program that will keep the hinge leds on all the time.
Actually this is an accidental discovery for a program I'm working on for this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=37201&highlight=
Those guys want to be able to use the keys and phone functions with the lid closed.
I'll post more in that thread, but basically closing the lid puts the hardware keys in a special state such that they are not responsive at all until the device is woken internally (eg by an incoming phone call). Actually, can someone confirm that the hinge keys work when a call comes in but the lid is closed. I presume they must, since they don't do anything else!
So, the hinge lights are on when the screen is on. But the screen is switched off when the lid reaches about 10 degrees to closing. But the hinge lights can be kept on nevertheless
Grem: are you using TCPMP or a similar program to play music etc in the background? Anything that tries to keep the phone "on" when the lid is closed will keep the hinge lights on.
V
Hi vijay555
I've actually just done a complete cold re-boot and reflashed to the original i-mate factory ROM to see if that would help, then came here in search of anyone having a similar issue.
It started yesterday, i suspect I've had an internal meltdown somewhere, plugged it into sync, noticed a few minutes later it had randomly done a warm reset and appeared stuck on the blue i-mate screen, picked it up and the sucker was hotter than an AMD without a heatsink! I suspect it's warranty time for this unit
Grem, that's worrying. What were you doing at the time? What brand/operator etc is the phone? It might be worth posting batch numbers or whatever for people that have this kind of problem so we can identify if some are worse then others.
V
It's an i-mate straight from the wholesaler no particular operator. Had it a couple of months, have seen other reports on the forum here which sound perhaps similar in that they've overheated.
Basically, the phone screen is unresponsive when your not holding it or any time it's not grounded. If I put it in the car holder and then touch the screen, its very sporadic. I have compared it with the droid eris and the Moto Droid under the same conditions at the same time, and it performs flawlessly. I have tried the incredible with the screen protector and without. If I take it out of the dock and hold the phone in my hand, it works great again. It's not just the car dock either. If I set it on certain surfaces and just touch it with one finger it does the same thing.
The car dock itself has nothing to do with it. I've narrowed it down to a grounding issue. I've also tested 3 Incredibles and ALL of them do it. I am going to post another video showing it on top of a piece of styrofoam which also creates the problem. It's definitely more widespread then just a few phones. Basically, If the phone has very little ground it is unresponsive. If you ground it, either by holding it or placing it on a surface that is grounded then it solves the problem. If you plug anything into it that is grounded it solves the problem.
Here is a new video on different surfaces. It's not a car dock issue. If it is some static issue as some are saying, it works great on a eris, or a moto droid so it's not capacitive screen in general.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL6sLW7Ll0E
The Car Dock one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsKc1_wG0zg
My goal for this thread, (now that I see it is happening to a lot of phones) is too get enough info out there so that other people can effectively recreate this problem on their phones. With enough people, I am hoping HTC or Verizon can offer a fix not just a work around.
UPDATE 5-17-10
I received 2 replacement Incredibles from Verizon. Both phones respond in the same way as the original. I called verizon, and they said "they are compiling a list of problems to send to HTC and they will add this one to the list". Hopefully the rep that I spoke with wasn't just trying to shut me up. I don't know... Anyway, Here is the last video I am going to do on the topic. In this I wanted to clearly show the following:
- It is not a "Capacitive" screen issue in general (MOTO Droid, and Eris are fine)
- It is a MASS DEFECT of this phone. (I am not saying ALL phones)
I am going to forward this message and the video to HTC. I will post the response. Here is the link to the new video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQRgT3gtmsI
not the same as yours but i have a similar issue. i ordered a few usb wall plugs from monoprice. whenever i use one of the usb wall plugs to charge, the touch screen is unresponsive. The volume rocker and power buttons, but the screen and bottom row of buttons dont work. Using the factory usb wall plugs everything works fine.
igl007 said:
I have searched for someone having this problem and haven't found anything yet. So I apologize if I missed it somewhere. It's one of those problems that is difficult to recreate ALL the time so that's not making it any easier.
Basically, the phone screen is unresponsive when your not holding it. If I put it in the car holder and then touch the screen, its very sporadic. I have compared it with the droid eris under the same conditions at the same time, and it performs flawlessly. I have tried the incredible with the screen protector and without. If I take it out of the dock and hold the phone in my hand, it works great again. It's not just the car dock either. If I set it on the table and just touch it with one finger it does the same thing, However when it's on the table it's much less consistent to create the problem. Has anyone heard of this? My wife has the incredible also, and it's doing the same thing in her car. Did we just get a bad batch of phones? Is this screen just crappy under those conditions? It would make this a totally useless phone if i can't use it in the car.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never had a capacitive touchscreen phone, so I don't know for sure; but maybe it has something to do with the relative capacitance. When you have one hand on the back and then touch the screen, maybe it senses a greater variance in the capacitance. If it's on the table or in your car cradle, maybe the variance in capacitance isn't great enough to register a touch. I'm not familiar with Android either, but maybe you can adjust the sensitivity? Just like those touch lamps, capacitive sensors are triggered by a relative change in capacitance and if it's not greater than the preset threshold, it doesn't register that you touched it.
Just an idea... again, I'm not really sure. I'm only lurking around in these forums because I have an Incredible on order. I'm just throwing some odd ideas out there. Good luck!
It is the type of charger/how you are using it! I had this issue. I could plug in via the provided charger and it would work. But I went on a trip and hadn't purchased a car charger yet so I grabbed my laptop ac/dc converter and plugged in the provided charger through it and my phone became unresponsive. If I plug it in the wall presto it works. The new car charger works as well!
I am sure it has something to do with the voltage being released through the charger.
Here are a couple of video's I did on the topic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsKc1_wG0zg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXB1MjYM5Ks
Me too
I'm also having the same issue and I am using the Verizon OEM Holster Mount Combo (Perfect fit for Incredible, no power).
I'll post over at PPCGeeks, and AndroidForums to see if we can find a fix.
jakewill
You have to use original charger ... it has voltage regulator and earth pin on the other end ... static should not travel on the screen otherwise it will do the same ..
Workarounds
I did find out that it is pretty easy to do the following:
1. Plug in either the charger or headphone jack. Either of those seems to ground it out enough... I also tried just clipping the headphone jack (metal part) into the clip part of the belt clip, and that worked, so there just needs to be SOMETHING else attached to the phone or mount that gives it more of a ground.
2. Just hold the sides (or just one side) with your thumb and ring finger while navigating with your index finger. That seems to do the trick.
Hope it helps.
jakewill
I'm not seeing this issue, but this can't be the real dock for the incr... which one are you using?
Capacitive screens become less responsive in the cold.... if it's in front of an A/C vent with it blaring, that could be the root cause.
syntrix said:
I'm not seeing this issue, but this can't be the real dock for the incr... which one are you using?
Capacitive screens become less responsive in the cold.... if it's in front of an A/C vent with it blaring, that could be the root cause.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The car dock has nothing to do with it actually. I've narrowed it down to a grounding issue. I've also tested 3 Incredibles and ALL of them do it. I am going to post another video showing it on top of a piece of styrofoam which also creates the problem. It's definitely more widespread then just a few phones. Basically, If the phone has very little ground it is unresponsive. If you ground it, either by holding it or placing it on a surface that is grounded then it solves the problem. If you plug anything into it that is grounded it solves the problem.
Updated the 1st post with a new video.
Same issues plus some new ones
I seem to have the same issues that were reported in the youtube videos because I have a similar car dock. I am also having the same issues as hoop762 as I also purchased the wall charger from monoprice. When I have it plugged in the touch screen does not work, the OEM charger works perfect. I also purchased the car charger from monoprice but that does not cause the same issues.
I have had another similar issue when I have it plugged into my car stereo via the audio jack and a male to male 3.5 cable. When it is plugged in and I try to listen to music withe the stock audio player it starts fast forwarding and skipping songs. If I pause the music then start it again it sometimes plays for a while but will then act a fool again. I had the same issue using pandora when it skipped songs until it I ran out of skips but i have not seen the issue in other programs. I have had this issue in and out of the car dock. I will add a video later if I can.
I replied to one of your videos (as tjowatonna)
"I have never noticed this issue on my Incredible and I just tested on a variety of surfaces using the Etherial Dialpad app (it's neat, check it out if you're a music nerd) to test and had no issues regardless of if it was placed on glass, plastic, cardboard, pillows. I didn't have any styrofoam to test."
Have you had anyone else try these tests on your phone? I'm just wondering if it's not something about your body that it doesn't like as much or that it likes more for people like me that can't reproduce this.
Again, there is no car dock specifically for the DI yet.
It looks like the edges of that generic dock have a big foamy area that might be very close to the screen.
It also looks like the phone/dock is touching the dash in the video.
I put mine on an anti-static bag on my workstation and tried to only use a finger. Everything worked just fine. I know you said you tried other areas with the same result. Do you have a screen protector on?
I'm just scratching my head here.
I can confirm this issue on my Incredible as well. For what it's worth, I have a Zagg shield on the screen, and I did *not* peel it off for testing.
In *any* situation where the phone is completely isolated from ground it seems to happen. I can reproduce the symptoms by setting the phone on a huge variety of surfaces or by placing it in my (plastic) car mount, and then trying to use it with just a single finger.
As has already been posted, touching the phone body even lightly with an additional finger while it is in this state (even one from same hand) will allow full responsiveness, as will any other sort of ground such as many cable connections. Also, the silicone case from Verizon can be installed or removed, and there is no difference either way.
I also just booted my old Hero (also has Zagg shield) to check its behavior and was unable to reproduce this, even with it sitting on a double folded rubber mat on top of a big pillow. It is 100% reproducible on my Incredible though.
So be it.
EDIT: In addition to the role that grounding clearly plays, static might be a factor too (as others have mentioned).
I tried my hardest to reproduce this affect and i was unable to. I have a new zagg screen protector i have not yet put on. I will add it and re-test again and post my results
** Update
I added on the Zagg Screen Protector and tested it again. I lost some responsiveness in general nothing still like has been demonstrated.
askwhy said:
I can confirm this issue on my Incredible as well. For what it's worth, I have a Zagg shield on the screen, and I did *not* peel it off for testing.
In *any* situation where the phone is completely isolated from ground it seems to happen. I can reproduce the symptoms by setting the phone on a huge variety of surfaces or by placing it in my (plastic) car mount, and then trying to use it with just a single finger.
As has already been posted, touching the phone body even lightly with an additional finger while it is in this state (even one from same hand) will allow full responsiveness, as will any other sort of ground such as many cable connections. Also, the silicone case from Verizon can be installed or removed, and there is no difference either way.
I also just booted my old Hero (also has Zagg shield) to check its behavior and was unable to reproduce this, even with it sitting on a double folded rubber mat on top of a big pillow. It is 100% reproducible on my Incredible though.
So be it.
EDIT: In addition to the role that grounding clearly plays, static might be a factor too (as others have mentioned).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for testing your phone and also trying it against another capacitive screen phone.
I talked to Verizon and they are sending 2 new Incredibles as both my phone and my wife's phone have the problem. I will report my results on tuesday...
aol8mydog said:
I've never had a capacitive touchscreen phone, so I don't know for sure; but maybe it has something to do with the relative capacitance. When you have one hand on the back and then touch the screen, maybe it senses a greater variance in the capacitance. If it's on the table or in your car cradle, maybe the variance in capacitance isn't great enough to register a touch. I'm not familiar with Android either, but maybe you can adjust the sensitivity? Just like those touch lamps, capacitive sensors are triggered by a relative change in capacitance and if it's not greater than the preset threshold, it doesn't register that you touched it.
Just an idea... again, I'm not really sure. I'm only lurking around in these forums because I have an Incredible on order. I'm just throwing some odd ideas out there. Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now that I have my Incredible, I have the same issues. Fortunately, I don't use it in a car-dock very often but I do plan on occasionally using it that way. If Verizon or HTC doesn't come out with a fix, I may just see if I could find a soft rubber-like material that also conducts electricity to make a grounding pad with a wire connected to the vehicle's ground on the cradle/dock so the phone's back can make contact when docked.
Update in first post...
I ordered my device on launch day, and this thing has had none of the issues you have shown, I even put it on styrofoam just to try it all out, works flawlessly.
sorry for your bad luck.
Is anyone else having problems with their touch screen?
It will occasionally become unresponsive, and other times will just start 'clicking' repeatedly in random spots.
I find myself having to turn the power off and on (via the button, not a hard power cycle) to fix the issue. Its starting to get annoying.
Anyone else?
Yes, I am getting the same thing but I've found that if I just turn the screen off and then back on it fixes the problem. I don't need to reboot.
You think this would warrant an exchange? or is it just how its going to be?
I've put several hours on mine, but haven't experienced this issue. I don't know, if this happened to me more than once, I probably would exchange it.
It was happening to me all the time. I had to get a screen protector and haven't happened since.
ryoojin83 said:
Is anyone else having problems with their touch screen?
It will occasionally become unresponsive, and other times will just start 'clicking' repeatedly in random spots.
I find myself having to turn the power off and on (via the button, not a hard power cycle) to fix the issue. Its starting to get annoying.
Anyone else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
gigadigit said:
It was happening to me all the time. I had to get a screen protector and haven't happened since.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very good "solution" to what should be an obvious problem. The Nook Color has a *capacitive* touch-screen. If you get "junk/gunk" on the screen, it's gonna cause you issues. I find this to be the case while holding my NC and playing Flight Director for a while. The issue: My hands become sweaty and as a result of the slight film of sweat/oil on the screen, the NC's ability to measure the capacitive changes on the screen (and react appropriately to them) is compromised.
Keep your screen clean and you won't have this issue.
Note: after you wipe the screen down (damp cloth, etc), you will need to click the power button and go the lock screen and then back into the NC before it works right directly after cleaning the screen. The dampness of the cleaning cloth throws up the calibration enough to cause very strange things. My experience with "correcting" this issue tells me that in some way, the NC is recalibrating itself when you go to the lock screen.
johnopsec, this has been my experience as well. After cleaning the screen from finger-jam i don't get the phantom clicks. I also noticed that because I live in a very humid climate (Florida panhandle) there will be a thin moisture layer buildup sometimes and it really helps to wipe this off. I also have an incredible that does not have this problem but it has a screen protector which, I am guessing (and as gigadigit expressed), fixes the problem. Just make sure the screen is clean and dry before applying!
screen response
Also,
If you are holding the side of the case by the screen this throws off the touchscreen, I was having the issue where it would be clicking and multiple letter inputs when typing.
Also when it is laying flat and you have the power cord plugged in you may get multi letter inputs.
The trick, hold it by the back not the sides.
and if you have it plugged in and need to type don't leave it laying flat.
I have experienced this problem and loosely seen it correlated with moist fingers.
no moist fingers here and on my 2nd nc. this ones starting to have the ghost touches too.
My Nook Color started acting up after paying levels 3-4 to 3-6 of Angry Birds. I'm not sure if Angry Birds caused the issue or not as I haven't gotten it to do it in another app. I'm running 1.4.2. Doing a lock and unlock fixes the problem until it returns.
I managed to get Phone Tester to run after it got into this state. I made a video of it using a crappy webcam. There's a stuck finger in the corner.
youtube.com/watch?v=OdcVG-Q8LS4
Touch Screen issues while unit is plugged in..
It seems I have read on some forums that some people have screen issues.
Personally I didn't experience this until I tried to use my NC while plugged into it's wall charger.. It seems to act as if it has a grounding issue, which is not the case when the unit is unplugged.
So when you are running your multitouch or touch tests, do it without the unit plugged in..
-CC
I have had the same problem with my touch screen. I have the nexus live wallpaper and whenever you touch the screen it sends off the animation. Well sometimes it just goes non stop and sometimes opens up the window where you can apply a widget. I guess the most practical solution would be a screen protector but if not ill restore it and send it off to B&N
There's a small little app in the market named "Nook Screen Recalibrate" this app is super simple and easy to use. I hope this helps
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.assid.android.nookrecalibrate&feature=search_result
Here is the issue I have...
Right is the N button side. Just a reference point for this.
Reboot the Nook (I use CM7).
Bring up the keyboard
Touch Q in the center - you get W.
Touch Q on the right - you get W
Touch Q on the left - might get Q but you usually get W.
Recalibrate using the Nook Screen Calibration (above).
Q now gives Q unless you press on the right side of the key. I also notice I still have to hit the back arrow more to the left or I bring up the keyboard.
I've learned to live with it, but the left side of the touchscreen is slightly off and you have to touch to the left side of any object on the last 1".
Awats said:
Here is the issue I have...
Reboot the Nook (I use CM7).
Bring up the keyboard
Touch Q in the center - you get W.
Touch Q on the right - you get W
Touch Q on the left - might get Q but you usually get W.
Recalibrate using the Nook Screen Calibration (above).
Q now gives Q unless you press on the right side of the key. I also notice I still have to hit the back arrow more to the left or I bring up the keyboard.
I've learned to live with it, but the left side of the touchscreen is slightly off and you have to touch to the left side of any object on the last 1".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, for me it's the edge of the screen along the right side. it's less sensitive then the rest of the screen. I found that calibrating 2-3 times really works best.
There's also a fix in the nookwiki, but i can't get my adb to work on my laptop, I think its the drivers.
http://nookdevs.com/Recalibrate_the_NookColor_touch_screen
What is the left and right side?
I should have said that left is the side opposite the N button.
I downloaded Multi-Touch Screen from the market and I can see part of the problem is the angle of my finger. Straight on it's better.
Nook Color Touch Screen Problem
Having similar problem as described, after two years. Extended warranty expired ... two weeks ago (of course).
Tried cleaning screen, no help. Have not tried screen saver yet, but will.
In the meantime, I notice the comments about touching the sides, and I noted that as well.
Is it possible that this could be helped by opening it up and re-seating the case? Has anybody tried this?
hey guys,
i want to collect all (hardweare) issues u have with your desire z. i bought mine on monday, got it on wednesday.
since i have the device, i see these issues:
Touchscreen does not respond while the device is plugged in to the power adapter and is fully loaded (when its still loading the touchscreen works perfectly)
nothing happens when i press the trackpad button (is it a button? when i press on it i can feel the pressure point like a standard button)
display does not stay in position when you hold the device tilted
what issues do you have? can you confirm the issues i have?
espacially the touchscreen issue is strange and annoying
the-virus said:
Touchscreen does not respond while the device is plugged in to the power adapter and is fully loaded (when its still loading the touchscreen works perfectly)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My touchscreen works fine so far and doesn't have this problem. Maybe you use a non-standard charger? I once experienced the same issue on my old Motorola Milestone with a Blackberry charger (the touchscreen became erratic), changed it to my original charger and didn't receive any problem since.
the-virus said:
nothing happens when i press the trackpad button (is it a button? when i press on it i can feel the pressure point like a standard button)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it is a button. If you use it on a list pressing the trackpad is equivalent to a tap. If you mean to use it to wake the screen then it will not work as the standard Sense UI doesn't support this.
the-virus said:
display does not stay in position when you hold the device tilted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I grew accustomed to hold the upper part of the phone (the display) with both of my index finger when using it at bed. I once perceived the hinge mechanism as a "weakness" for this phone, but I learned to get pass this.
The trackpad button basically works as an "Enter" button. It has no function on the homescreen. But you can use it to select an item on a list, such as the apps page, or the links on a web page.
What angle do you mean, when you say the screen moves? In the "normal" angle (right side up, with the phone tilted towards me), mine is very solid. If held upside-down (such as typing while in bed), the keyboard has a tendency to close, as its pretty much meant to do. Just the slightest pressure from my index fingers will hold the screen in place (I find my index fingers to rest on the sides of the screen naturally, and hardly even have to think about it).
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
sometimes my phones touchscreen becomes unresponsive when its flat on its back on a table for example. I unlock the screen with the trackpad or power button so that the screen comes on. Then when i try to slide the lockscreen it doesnt do anything. When i begin sliding the bar from the total edge of the screen it sometimes works.
Usually i just have to pick up the phone to get the touchscreen working again. actually, when i even lift up the phone the slightest bit, it works again.
Weird right?
anyone else experiences this issue ?
I assumed it was designed to work like this. Makes me move my phone rather than just slide to snooze the alarm then go back to sleep.
Same here. I think it has to do with the capacative toucscreen.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
wileykat said:
I assumed it was designed to work like this. Makes me move my phone rather than just slide to snooze the alarm then go back to sleep.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you're saying you move your phone to snooze the alarm? didnt know it could do that, gonna try that out tomorrow morning
forgot to mention the issue is not ROM specific. I have witnessed it on virtuous, CM, MIUI, stock
Ive had this problem as well. Slightly annoying!
I don't think its a design issue..
you don't have to lift your phone to get the screen to respond.
notice that it is enough just to touch the body of the phone to make the screen responsive again..
for me its very annoying, especially not being able to snooze the alarm in the morning
Let me point out that this happens with my G1 also so its not just the G2.
Yeah, there are a few discussions about this on the forums already. It's most likely a capacitance issue. When your phone is just sitting on a table and you touch the display, you may not create enough capacitance with the touchscreen for it to register as a touch (as opposed to resistive touchscreens which needed only physical contact but were less accurate as a result). Touching the body of the phone basically creates a common ground or voltage reference point for the phone, allowing your finger to create the needed amount of capacitance (in technical terms, no longer a floating ground). Whenever I touch the screen while the phone is lying on a table, I just always make sure to rest either my thumb or ring finger on one of the edges.
A lot of factors will also come into play---whether or not your phone is in a case, type of material the phone is resting on, the level of humidity in the air, even potentially the type of shoes you are wearing. This is why sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
ianmcquinn said:
(...) Touching the body of the phone basically creates a common ground or voltage reference point for the phone, allowing your finger to create the needed amount of capacitance (in technical terms, no longer a floating ground). (...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes! I just figured this out myself. merely touching the body of the phone makes the screen respond to my fingers.
well in that case its not really a big problem. from now on i just touch teh body with my middle finger while sliding with my index finger =D
liory said:
notice that it is enough just to touch the body of the phone to make the screen responsive again..
for me its very annoying, especially not being able to snooze the alarm in the morning
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will give this a go tomorrow, I hope it doesn't work!!!.... I'm gonna be forever snoozing with 2 fingers now!!!
This seems to be temperature related (and it doesn't happen on a mytouch 3g)
I live in Minnesota and I deliver pizza. When I would need to call a customer to get into an apartment building, I would set the phone on top of the pizza bag and dial with one hand.
When I first got my G2 (early november) I had no problems doing this, then one day it wouldn't respond at all to touch. I still had my old mytouch 3g with me because the old number wasn't ported yet, and I was able to use that to make the call. It wasn't until later that I realized that the problem was caused by the cold and that I needed to touch the metal part to make it work, so I thought that the touchscreen on my 2 week old G2 had just died.
At room temperature the touch screen always works (I can silence the alarm while it's sitting on the table), but temperatures below 50F cause problems
I started noticing this as well. Sometimes I'll hit the power button to turn my phone on from idle-state and then I'll drag the unlock button with to no avail! But then again, I do use my thumb to do it so maybe the capacitance by using the thumb isn't good enough to unlock it.
I use my phone at work a lot so in order to text while being discreet, I usually have the phone in my right hand and text / unlock the phone using my thumb. I doubt it is a defect but it had me worried too. Guess I'm not the only one experiencing this. (Although I must say, dragging my thumb to swype and using the side of my thumb probably is the reason why it sometimes doesn't work)
Back when I had my g1 it did the same thing and experience this on my g2....if its laying down its like it thinks its just on in your pocket so the touch seems limited
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
Elegy said:
sometimes my phones touchscreen becomes unresponsive when its flat on its back on a table for example. I unlock the screen with the trackpad or power button so that the screen comes on. Then when i try to slide the lockscreen it doesnt do anything. When i begin sliding the bar from the total edge of the screen it sometimes works.
Usually i just have to pick up the phone to get the touchscreen working again. actually, when i even lift up the phone the slightest bit, it works again.
Weird right?
anyone else experiences this issue ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not weird. TOTALLY normal and expected.
It is because it has a CAPACITIVE TOUCHSCREEN.
This means that when you touch the screen, your finger is actually COMPLETING AN ELECTRIC CIRCUIT.
When the phone is lying on a table and you touch it, you are NOT completing the circuit since you are NOT touching the phone's body.
When the sensor is on, there is an electrical difference between the surface of the screen and the body of the phone. When you touch BOTH, you alter the electric field in that localized area of the screen. The sensor detects the change in voltage and determines the location of the contact.
dhkr123 said:
Not weird. TOTALLY normal and expected.
It is because it has a CAPACITIVE TOUCHSCREEN.
This means that when you touch the screen, your finger is actually COMPLETING AN ELECTRIC CIRCUIT.
When the phone is lying on a table and you touch it, you are NOT completing the circuit since you are NOT touching the phone's body.
When the sensor is on, there is an electrical difference between the surface of the screen and the body of the phone. When you touch BOTH, you alter the electric field in that localized area of the screen. The sensor detects the change in voltage and determines the location of the contact.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So how do I adjust the sensitivity? As I understand it I could increase the voltage to the screen making it easier to complete the circuit...such as through thin gloves.....
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
dhkr123 said:
Not weird. TOTALLY normal and expected.
It is because it has a CAPACITIVE TOUCHSCREEN.
This means that when you touch the screen, your finger is actually COMPLETING AN ELECTRIC CIRCUIT.
When the phone is lying on a table and you touch it, you are NOT completing the circuit since you are NOT touching the phone's body.
When the sensor is on, there is an electrical difference between the surface of the screen and the body of the phone. When you touch BOTH, you alter the electric field in that localized area of the screen. The sensor detects the change in voltage and determines the location of the contact.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is mostly true.
Put the phone on the table and dont touch it and try to swipe to unlock.
No touch a finger on the phone body and do it again, itll work.
Doesn't seem to always fit that behavior, but more often than not.
TheNewGuy said:
So how do I adjust the sensitivity? As I understand it I could increase the voltage to the screen making it easier to complete the circuit...such as through thin gloves.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't. You should NOT even if you could. It would not work as you expect since it is NOT a matter of sensitivity, but of CONDUCTIVITY.
klmsu19 said:
This is mostly true.
Put the phone on the table and dont touch it and try to swipe to unlock.
No touch a finger on the phone body and do it again, itll work.
Doesn't seem to always fit that behavior, but more often than not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is not "mostly" true, it is PRECISELY true.
dhkr123 said:
It is not "mostly" true, it is PRECISELY true.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No reason for the condescending tone in every post (or if it's not your intention to be condescending, you may want to restrain your constant use of caps). You had stated:
dhkr123 said:
This means that when you touch the screen, your finger is actually COMPLETING AN ELECTRIC CIRCUIT.
When the phone is lying on a table and you touch it, you are NOT completing the circuit since you are NOT touching the phone's body.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Someone was just pointing out that if this was "precisely" true as you put it, then the screen should never be responsive if you aren't touching the phone's body (since the circuit is, based on your reasoning, still broken). This isn't the case though since it does work sometimes. How could your statement be precisely true if it's known to be false sometimes (hence the "mostly true" comment)?
And it's actually not true. You are not completing an electric circuit. No current flows from your finger into the screen and no components within the phone are electrically coupled because of your touch. As you stated, you are altering the electric field when you touch the screen. This results in a change in capacitance in that area. Note, this change occurs even when you are not touching the phone's body, just to a different degree. Touching the phone will typically increase the amount of capacitance as opposed to when you are not though (since you are basically "grounding" yourself to the phone). The more capacitance there is, the easier it is to measure. If there is too little capacitance, the touchscreen's microcontroller will not register the change at all. Even if it does register the change, there will be additional filtering that occurs to that raw data either in the microcontroller itself or in software (or both).
This is why the screen works sometimes when you touch it without touching the rest of the phone. You are still causing a change in capacitance. The amount of change depends on numerous factors (this is what I stated in an earlier post). These factors effect how grounded both you and the phone are relative to earth ground (in the electrical sense, not geographical). Typically speaking though, if you are relatively close to earth ground, then you will be able to use the screen without touching the body of the phone. For example, someone stated earlier that the screen doesn't work when it's cold. Cold weather results in lower humidity/drier air and you being less grounded (basically why people see an increase in static electricity as well). Chances are that the touchscreen would work again without the touching the phone's body if you had physically been touching a large piece of metal with your other hand (to help ground you).
So in response to the other question posed, yes, technically by raising the voltage level to the touchscreen, it may result in a more sensitive screen since there will be a larger increase in capacitance when you touch it. It may also reduce the life of the touchscreen though, if not damage it completely, so not a good idea. It would be better to figure out the filtering mechanism if possible and adjust that in software. Not sure if any devs have looked into it (though my guess is that if it was simple, it would have been done already).
I am so happy I found this thread..
Lately I thought my touchscreen was broken because I was unable to snooze my alarm in the morning (just as some of you seem to have been trying to do).
I think it's temperature related as suggested by the person who mentioned pizza delivery.. and I think this because it only happens on mornings where I've left the bedroom window open and it's very cool. My phone is often on a cold wooden surface. however even picking up the phone doesn't seem to help (I'll have to pay more attention next time) but after a few moments of struggling it eventually works (probably warms up in my hand and gets a better circuit).
I can also vouch that the screen works great with just a single finger on a flat surface, provided it's room temperature. I don't need to touch the body at all, and I do this a lot without issues (aside from cold mornings waking up to my alarm).