Database Users

Re-Assigning Power Button

Hey guys, I just got my 8525 a week ago, I'm still trying to get used to it. Overall i think i like it more then my TREO650 but i have one problem, i cant stand the small power button on the side. Most of the time i push it i push the slide keyboard out too, its so small i can never find it.
My old Treo650 had the power button and locking keys on the END button, when i push END it would lock and turn off the screen, to Unlock i would push END again and then the Center button. Is there any way to re-assign the Power button on the 8525 to be like my old Treo650?

Any suggestions guys. I am having the same problem with small power button

DAFTEK said:
its so small i can never find it.
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Click to collapse
sounds like a personal problem, maybe see a doctor?
On a serious note.. i dont think it can be reprogrammed via the software, i believe the power button is actually mapped via hardware since it is used for functions like putting the phone into bootloader mode, etc.. i could be wrong though.

Hey thanks for the reply although its my phone with the small problem I have tried two programs on the forum here called Devicelock.cab but that only locks the device but you still have to push power to power the phone back up.

I believe the power key can be reprogrammed in one or two highly invasive ways.
However, it doesn't sound like you want to re-assign the power key, but to assign the power off function to another key. Is that correct? That's easy/
If you want to assign the power on function, that is more complicated, but there are work arounds.
V

I agree with the original poster. The small power on/off button is poor design. When I want to place a call, I first need to turn the device on by hitting that very small button. Then I need to activate the phone app or invoke MS voice command. It's just plain poor design. I love my 8525, but it could be so much better if the product designers at HTC actually thought about the ergonomics of the tasks users do the most.
One more gripe. The phone app is atrocious. Getting to the recent dialed list or to toggle the speakerphone usually requires bringing up a menu. This is annoying for a phone and a better design could mitigate the poor usability. I/m not an iPhone fanboy but take a look at the thought Apple put in there *first* phone and it is quite illuminating on the state of PPC phones.

r111 said:
[...]Getting to the recent dialed list or to toggle the speakerphone usually requires bringing up a menu[...]
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Click to collapse
You could try scrollwheel up or D-pad up for recent call list .
(also down for speed-dials).
Maybe you could map a button for speakerphone, not sure though.

ovidiugm said:
Maybe you could map a button for speakerphone, not sure though.
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Click to collapse
The original poster could - while in a call - try pressing the green button for two or three seconds.
I think it's even mentioned in the manual...
Cheers
Daniel

Hello.
I agree with the previous posters. The badly placed powerOn button is "bad design". If anyone finds the sollution (to PowerON the device using another key) please share it!
Otherwise, this is a great device. A true pocket computer
Best regards, jZ

+1 for the poor design.
I always hit the power button as I am pulling it out of the case when a call comes in, that turns off the screen, then I have to hit it again to see who is calling, and with all that going on as well as the ringer, the phone has a minor anurism and delays in answering.....

So to summarise the poor design aspect of this thread:
1. The power button is too small/difficult to find and press.
2. The power button is too easy to press/find even by accident.
Conclusion, it's just about right then!!
You can't please all of the people all of the time.
Mike

1. The power button is too small/difficult to find and press.
2. The power button is too easy to press/find even by accident.
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Click to collapse
Sounds like the classic male/female dichotomy. I never can operate my wife's buttons, however obvious the functionality might seem....
V

vijay555 said:
Sounds like the classic male/female dichotomy. I never can operate my wife's buttons, however obvious the functionality might seem....
V
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
unfortunately i can operate my wife's buttons even when i dont want to.. talk about poor design )

Lol, Shogun, remind us again how many kids you have?
Ok, some Opus Dei style self flagellation for the errant moderators going off topic.
Is this issue now resolved?
V

I can also operate my wifes buttons just fine as well but all i want is to find out if i can move the power button to maybe the PPT button or END when holding it.

Daftek, again, do you want to emulate the power key functionality, (ie on/off) on another key, and/or entirely disable the original power key?
V

Thats what I would like to do......

Hello.
I think we'd all like to assign a DIFFERENT KEY to POWER ON function. POWER OFF is no problem, because a button for this can be assigned through "Buttons". When the phone is in "sleep mode", only the POWER button can wake it.
Any solutions?
Regards, jZ

IMHO, it's possible but not easily.
Easiest work around is to disable button locking, so that pressing any button can wake the device, and then use a software lock to timeout/power off if you happen to poke a hardware button while it's in your pocket.
Alternatively you could rewrite the button driver, but it's possible (although I've not looked into it definitively) that the hardware power button is a hardware interrupt to the CPU. In which case a software based solution will not override a hardware based connection.
V

This is what I did...
I totally agree the power button is a pain, the size, placement...
I know this sounds a bit weird but I took a small piece of plastic (actually from a toothpick) and crazy glued it on the button. It works great! I never miss the button anymore! See picture...

press buttons and don't work

I'm getting annoyed of this. I'm having a hardware issue. When I press the green answer button, it doesn't work I tried remapping my softkey buttons so I can use my left softkey to activate phone. Just now, my left softkey doesn't work. I tried getting a edge of a notepad with a sticky side trying to grab the dirt if it is dirt. That didn't do anything. Anyone else sharing my pain and running out of button?

thomassster said:
I'm getting annoyed of this. I'm having a hardware issue. When I press the green answer button, it doesn't work I tried remapping my softkey buttons so I can use my left softkey to activate phone. Just now, my left softkey doesn't work. I tried getting a edge of a notepad with a sticky side trying to grab the dirt if it is dirt. That didn't do anything. Anyone else sharing my pain and running out of button?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haven't heard of this before! Do you actually see dirt around the buttons in question? How did dirt get there? When you press the green phone hardware button, the phone doesn't activate? Now the left softkey doesn't work? Are these the only buttons that don't work? What about the camera, voice record, comm mgr buttons? How long have you put up with your issue? Did this just start, or been going on for awile? It could be the result of corrupted 3rd party software installed that's giving you these problems. Have you installed any software pertaining to the phone ie: contacts, call history,etc. these kinds of software?
8125
2.25.11.1

i've been flashing 15 different roms. All my buttons work except that one. I figure that the button just failed on me. My 1 yr warranty is over and I'm not sure HTC will do anything about this.
hotdog53 said:
Haven't heard of this before! Do you actually see dirt around the buttons in question? How did dirt get there? When you press the green phone hardware button, the phone doesn't activate? Now the left softkey doesn't work? Are these the only buttons that don't work? What about the camera, voice record, comm mgr buttons? How long have you put up with your issue? Did this just start, or been going on for awile? It could be the result of corrupted 3rd party software installed that's giving you these problems. Have you installed any software pertaining to the phone ie: contacts, call history,etc. these kinds of software?
8125
2.25.11.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

8525 Camera button problem

My camera button suddenly stopped working. I can load the camera app from programs with no problem. But I can not take a picture.
Any ideas on a fix?
It wasnt dropped or anything.

Vasichko said:
My camera button suddenly stopped working. I can load the camera app from programs with no problem. But I can not take a picture.
Any ideas on a fix?
It wasnt dropped or anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can also take pictures with the central D-pad button - has that stopped working as well?
Mike

Any one have a fix for this issue short of replacing the main board?
My Hermes (Cingular 8525) is experiencing this problem as well.

Have you checked the Settings then Buttons menu and made sure that button #4 didnt get mapped to another program?

Yeah, its mapped to the camera. I tried remapping that button to other apps, but its a no go, won't launch other apps either.
Perhaps its bad hardware...
After soft reset any button seems to launch camera on first press (Windows Button, OK button, and Comm Manager) but after that they take on their normal operations. Camera Button does not seem to do anything though.

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I was recently having the same issue.
My Camera button (button 4) does not work, even if it is remapped to something else.
I can open the camera from the programs menu, and can take pictures using the center button.
However, I'd like to be able to fix this button so I can use it, possibly for something else. The button does not make a subtle click when it is pressed all the way down, like the Comm Manager button does. Is it possible to remove the button and clean the area underneath somehow?
I am using an AT&T WM6.0 ROM
Thanks,
Jawadali
EDIT: I have opened the back case before (partially), since I had to reconnect my speaker wire. I'm hoping this would be able to be fixed in a similar way. It seems like a alignment/cleaning issue instead of an actual broken switch, but if its not worth the trouble (i.e. it risks messing up the motherboard), then I won't pursue it.

Google "PTT Fix" and remap the ptt button with the camera button.
Great alternative !

DhaMajoR said:
Google "PTT Fix" and remap the ptt button with the camera button.
Great alternative !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the suggestion. I'm on T-mobile USA Prepaid, so I'm pretty sure that they don't I don't even have push to talk.
Still, it'd be good to have one extra button to map.

Jawadali said:
Thanks for the suggestion. I'm on T-mobile USA Prepaid, so I'm pretty sure that they don't I don't even have push to talk.
Still, it'd be good to have one extra button to map.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just go to START>SETTINGS>BUTTONS> and see what you can cook up...
Im sure you have at least 1 Button that you dont use...

DhaMajoR said:
Just go to START>SETTINGS>BUTTONS> and see what you can cook up...
Im sure you have at least 1 Button that you don't use...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, once I get a good ROM on here, I will probably have them all mapped to commonly used apps. The more buttons the better.

Tweak / mod the Power button

Hi!
Is it just me or is the power button real tough to press?
Has anyone thought of adding a small mod to raise this button to make it easier to press?
Any luck?
Thanks!

The left hand side of mine (as you look at the screen) is slightly raised.
Isn't yours ?

Yup, it's raised but just a little; i don't think I'm "fat thumbed" but it's really difficult to press while using just one hand.

I agree but it's not as bad as I found the Tytn II.
I've now got used to aiming at the left hand side of the HD button which is raised higher.
Of course, I often just use the stylus pull to switch on as well.
On the Tytn II I superglued a slice of cable insulation to the button. This worked fine. I used a small black cable and cut the insulation longways to the right size. It needed steady hands but was a good solution.

one good thing in other pda's is that in the settings menu was that keylock applet, in which you could have all the keys unlocked, so you can power on the device only by pressing the front keys, and not bother with the power button.
But i can not see this applet in the rom i have 1.14
Does anyone know how we can have this keylock applet again?

While it can sometimes be a bit of a pain to press I'm glad that it doesn't accidentally get pressed whilst in my pocket, I often don't bother locking it so I'd be pressing stuff all over the place.

Cheesy Dave said:
I agree but it's not as bad as I found the Tytn II.
I've now got used to aiming at the left hand side of the HD button which is raised higher.
Of course, I often just use the stylus pull to switch on as well.
On the Tytn II I superglued a slice of cable insulation to the button. This worked fine. I used a small black cable and cut the insulation longways to the right size. It needed steady hands but was a good solution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, i'm also seriously contemplating that solution
I'm just afraid that the button might get damaged because of the super glue... things might get messy

ubik said:
Yes, i'm also seriously contemplating that solution
I'm just afraid that the button might get damaged because of the super glue... things might get messy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well it worked so well on the Tytn II that I never took it off so I can't judge !!

pntzamaras said:
one good thing in other pda's is that in the settings menu was that keylock applet, in which you could have all the keys unlocked, so you can power on the device only by pressing the front keys, and not bother with the power button.
But i can not see this applet in the rom i have 1.14
Does anyone know how we can have this keylock applet again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Funny, I'm trying to achieve the exact opposite
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=455215
I want my buttons to work only if power is pressed

sebbes said:
Funny, I'm trying to achieve the exact opposite
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=455215
I want my buttons to work only if power is pressed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=3003051&postcount=2

some buttons not working

simple question for you folks I decided to replace the usb-jack in the wiz i had sitting around and there are a couple buttons not working the comms button, the internet button on the front the left menu key, the hangup button, and the left menu button on the keyboard.
any thoughts would be great.
Thanks,
yonu

I take it no thoughts

ok i got the com button working kinda if i lightly push a flat tip screwdriver thru the housing and move the board slightly it works the other buttons i guess are a problem in the button boards
so any ideas on the comms buttoin issue would be great?

not trying to sound like a jerk but thank for all the help guys I got it figured out