Database Users

Backlight switches off when using TomTom ?

My MDA Compact works beautifully with a BT GPS and TomTom 3....... except I have to keep touching the screen to keep it lit
Is there a way to stop this happening - actually is this normal or is mine broke !!??

You need to ensure the back light is not set to switch off after a certain amount of inactivity (yes, although tomtom is 'on' your pocket pc will not agree and will turn the back light off to save battery).
The solution really is to ensure your pocket pc is getting power.......

It's normal. I use Mbipocket (ebook reader), and even having the text scrolling up the screen won't stop the backlight turning off.

Dang !
How do you read your ebooks - by pressing the screen every few minutes ?
Something this obvious and they haven't fixed it !!
A simple tick box in the options menu isn't asking too much ??
So I guess the only way around it is to go into the backlight options and set it too stay on for 1 hour before turning off ...... wait, the maximum is only 5 minutes ..... I love Microsoft

????
very simple, watch under backlight, there you can adjust your settings...
the best is to buy a chargecable..and plug it in..
you mda will now charge , and navigate at the same time...
8)
have fun

Aitch said:
Dang !
How do you read your ebooks - by pressing the screen every few minutes ?
Something this obvious and they haven't fixed it !!
A simple tick box in the options menu isn't asking too much ??
So I guess the only way around it is to go into the backlight options and set it too stay on for 1 hour before turning off ...... wait, the maximum is only 5 minutes ..... I love Microsoft
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By tapping the screen every few minutes. Which as most of my ebook reading in dduring a 30 minute train journey to and from work, isn't much of a problem. And I've just realised that unticking the "turn off backlight" box means that it doesn't get turned off.

use TomTom4, the screen doesn't go off with that version
also BT is automaticly activated when starting TT4 when it was disabled in the systemtray.
TT4 r0x0r

Sweet !
TomTom 5 will be released in May - hopefully it will have those features included

tCC said:
use TomTom4, the screen doesn't go off with that version
also BT is automaticly activated when starting TT4 when it was disabled in the systemtray.
TT4 r0x0r
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strange, TomTom upgrades from TT3 to TT5 (in may) and skipped 4...
You are really sure you have a TT4 ???
Did i miss something?
Thomas

Hell Yeah !!
TT 5 is coming for sure !
Checkout it out - http://www.pocketgps.co.uk/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=17753

Screen Timeout

here is my issue.
unless i manually change my screen timeout my screen turns of no matter what im doing unless i touch it. watching something on hulu or playing need for speed it doesn't recognize that im doing something and black. is there a fix for this or do i have to change it every time.

dro3432 said:
here is my issue.
unless i manually change my screen timeout my screen turns of no matter what im doing unless i touch it. watching something on hulu or playing need for speed it doesn't recognize that im doing something and black. is there a fix for this or do i have to change it every time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i did notice thie issue with need for speed as well

IN MY CASE, THE SCREEN NEVER TURNS OFF! ONE TIME, I left out alone without my phone and three hours later I come back and the battery is 20 percent and the screen still on.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

For games, the publisher needs to fix it and add permissions to keep the screen on.

nxt said:
For games, the publisher needs to fix it and add permissions to keep the screen on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this.
it may be annoying playing NFS:S but just tap the break when you see the screen dim a bit

A500 First day of ownership thoughts...

so after a couple of months of reading reviews and post by owners, i decided to pull the trigger last night.
after a 3-4 hour charge, i jumped right into it.
+very fast boot up.
i played with Honeycomb 3.0 before updating it to 3.1. i noticed that 3.1 had bootup & keyboard sounds, while 3.0 had none.
+the chassis is really nice. i loved the look. reminds me of my HTC HD2. rock solid.
+YouTube plays nice. i can already tell that i'm gonna be using this for mainly YouTube. but it really sucks that some videos won't play because it considers the A500 a "mobile device".
+web browsing is good so far. it even ran southparkstudios.com
uhm...that's all i can think of right now for pluses...
...and here's my cons with the tablet:
-it loses wireless connection when the screen goes to "sleep". but this apparently is a VERY common bug and issue with A500 owners. very annoying that i have to restart the wireless to get connection back. this is the main issue i have with it so far. my phone doesn't lose connection to the internet with the screen goes to "sleep".
-there's a dead pixel, but that's easily fixed by exchanging it for a new unit.
-lots of my games that i would normally use on my phone are completely useless because it still maintains a phone sized image. OR it just force closes.
-No Netflix app. although i read somewhere on the internet that there's supposed to be an official Netflix app coming out. but there's no way to confirm the validity of that statement.
-No Hulu
-No dedicated Facebook App
i still have lots to try out still like the HDMI out, the functionality of the USB ports, Divx/MPG/Avi compatibility, and MP3 sound quality. plus i want to see if i can install an NES/SNES emulator and play it via a bluetooth gamepad.
i noticed there's LOTS of ports...which means more possibly entry points for dust. which can be bad. ACER (or someone else) should make plastic/rubber port bootcovers to remedy that.
i haven't tried to install a custom ROM. nor have i tried to root it.
i'm looking forward to the 3.2 update. i'm hoping that'll fix all (or at least some) of the cons.

As for the internet connection, mine with stock rooted US rom (.13) doesn't do that. I have always internet after sleeping.
For the phone apps no scaling you can use Spare Parts and uncheck the compatibility box.
Facebook you can side load it, it works nice on my tablet.
Hulu is a common problem with all the tablets, you need a fixed flashplayer apk.
Hope it helps you

Root the device, for now try virtuous Xoom with 3.2 honeycomb. Once rooted netflix is fairly easily installed. Also, you can set the browser as "desktop". Mine has never lost wifi for any reason other than range.

My a500 have never lost WiFi during sleep.
There is a Tablet app "Friend Me" for Facebook and it is very good!
"Spare Parts" with "compatibility mode" disabled will make all apps full screen!
Never had a problem with a game (except those made or specific hardware)
Hulu and Netflics I can't comment! Living in Europe!

nick2k said:
-it loses wireless connection when the screen goes to "sleep".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to settings and turn that option off then...

WereCatf said:
Go to settings and turn that option off then...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 to that - this is not a bug, this is a setting you can change, and is documented in your user manual.
Click apps. Settings. Choose the "wireless and network" menu. Click wifi settings. Click "Wifi disconnect policy" and modify it.
"Bug" fixed.

yikes i almost forgot about netflix
Netflix works great on the a500 - you need to root via Iconiaroot (assuming you are using 3.1) and then simply follow the instructions located here - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1076150
Just follow the instructions - either use root explorer with system mounted r/w or snag Acer recovery installer from market, install cwm, apply the patch.zip and you are done. Netflix looks great on a 10.1

hmm... seems like the consensus is that everyone doesn't have that issue. maybe my situation was a one time only thing.
but let me explain to you what i was doing when it happened:
i got tired of the Market app on the A500. but i'm also tired of the Market app on my HD2 as well. the new updated Market doesn't show you everything, it just shows you like the top ten for every category. anyways... so i put the tablet down (i didn't turn it off or put it in stand-by) and sat in front of my desktop and used the web browser version of Market. i probably spent about 15 minutes or so sending apps to install onto my device. when i went back to check on the tablet, the screen was off. i pressed the power button to bring the screen back on and the Wi-Fi was showing that it was 'OFF'. the only way to bring it back was to restart the Wi-Fi.
so yeah... it was strange. but like i said, maybe it was a one time event.
maybe i'll just set the timeout for higher like 60 mins.

nick2k said:
hmm... seems like the consensus is that everyone doesn't have that issue. maybe my situation was a one time only thing.
but let me explain to you what i was doing when it happened:
i got tired of the Market app on the A500. but i'm also tired of the Market app on my HD2 as well. the new updated Market doesn't show you everything, it just shows you like the top ten for every category. anyways... so i put the tablet down (i didn't turn it off or put it in stand-by) and sat in front of my desktop and used the web browser version of Market. i probably spent about 15 minutes or so sending apps to install onto my device. when i went back to check on the tablet, the screen was off. i pressed the power button to bring the screen back on and the Wi-Fi was showing that it was 'OFF'. the only way to bring it back was to restart the Wi-Fi.
so yeah... it was strange. but like i said, maybe it was a one time event.
maybe i'll just set the timeout for higher like 60 mins.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope.
You issue is a result of your settings. If you want your a500 to keep a active wifi connection while the screen is sleeping, you will need to go into your settings menu and tell your a500 to not drop the connection while the screen is off.

ahhh... cool. i'll definitely be playing with the settings tonight then. thanks.

Wifi is my only complaint so far and I am experiencing the same thing. Mine is set to never disconnect wifi, and it doesn't. It shows wifi connected the whole day under battery usage. However, when the screen goes off it seems to drop the wifi and I must disconnect/reconnect to get it working again when I turn it on. Not every time but it is frequent.
To be clear:
When I turn the screen on, wifi is unusable until I go into settings and toggle it off and back on.

mikel81 said:
Wifi is my only complaint so far and I am experiencing the same thing. Mine is set to never sleep, and it doesn't sleep. It shows wifi connected the whole day under battery usage. However, when the screen goes off it seems to drop the wifi and I must disconnect/reconnect to get it working again when I turn it on. Not every time but it is frequent.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are your wifi settings -> wifi disconnect settings set to not drop the connection when screen is off? Screen set to never sleep will not keep a inactive wifi connection alive - you need to go into wifi and networks catagory of settings and modify the disconnect policy.

Yes I know, sorry I meant never disconnect wifi not sleep.

mikel81 said:
Yes I know, sorry I meant never disconnect wifi not sleep.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am confused.
Are you saying you have wifi disconnect policy set to "Never disconnect", but are having issues holding a wifi connection after turning the screen off?
Please provide more information, very hard to troubleshoot something this vague.

There is a difference between WiFi turning off and WiFi disconnecting.
Here is what I'm seeing on mine:
1) With my tab on, WiFi connected, browser working, I can ping my tab from my desktop.
2) Shut down browser, put tab to sleep, wait an unknown timeframe (lets say 15 minutes).
3) Wake tab, see WiFi is still connected, do nothing else. Start pings from desktop in a continuious loop, pings all fail, despite WiFi connected on tab.
4) Start browser on tab, browser connects to test website, and suddenly pings respond on desktop.
So, it appears that while the WiFi on the tab stays connected, it does not actually go 'active' and start handling data until an app needs it, such as the browser.

arffer said:
There is a difference between WiFi turning off and WiFi disconnecting.
Here is what I'm seeing on mine:
1) With my tab on, WiFi connected, browser working, I can ping my tab from my desktop.
2) Shut down browser, put tab to sleep, wait an unknown timeframe (lets say 15 minutes).
3) Wake tab, see WiFi is still connected, do nothing else. Start pings from desktop in a continuious loop, pings all fail, despite WiFi connected on tab.
4) Start browser on tab, browser connects to test website, and suddenly pings respond on desktop.
So, it appears that while the WiFi on the tab stays connected, it does not actually go 'active' and start handling data until an app needs it, such as the browser.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No shortage of apps that can work around this - I don't understand why you want a network connection when nothing is using it, but to each their own
https://market.android.com/search?q=wifi+keep+alive&so=1&c=apps

The wifi issue you describe is not a bug. It is an android feature to reduce battery drain. If an app or connection is not in use, it is cached until a process is called.then the wifi connection becomes active. You can disable wifi sleep policy but you will see a battery drain if you set it that way.
Remember the two most important parts of a tablet are the screen and the battery. A poor screen or poor battery life will kill sales for that tab faster than apple can draw up a lawsuit.
Sent from my NookColor using Tapatalk

Moshe5368 said:
The wifi issue you describe is not a bug. It is an android feature to reduce battery drain. If an app or connection is not in use, it is cached until a process is called.then the wifi connection becomes active. You can disable wifi sleep policy but you will see a battery drain if you set it that way.
Remember the two most important parts of a tablet are the screen and the battery. A poor screen or poor battery life will kill sales for that tab faster than apple can draw up a lawsuit.
Sent from my NookColor using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well described.
Not sure why a user would want to bypass this - the moment an app requests data, as long as wifi disco policy is set - network connection is set to active.

entropy.of.avarice said:
Well described.
Not sure why a user would want to bypass this - the moment an app requests data, as long as wifi disco policy is set - network connection is set to active.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Untrue. I have used a number of applications that when launched, do not 'activate' the connected WiFi. Two for example, 'QuickSSHd', which is a SFTP and SSH server, and 'IP Webcam' a webcam server.
Wake up the Tablet, and see that the WiFi shows a connection. Fire up either of these server applications, and try to connect to them. No go...
Now go fire up the browser, which of course makes an 'outbound' connection, the WiFi 'activates' at that time, and suddenly both of the aforementioned server applications can be connected to.
In other words, when the 'conected' WiFi is asleep, it takes an 'outbound' app to wake up the wifi. An app that is waiting for an incoming connection never sees one until an outbound app wakes up the wifi.
NOTE: This behavior is NOT seen on my Android Gingerbread phone, running the same apps with the same sleep settings.

nick2k said:
+YouTube plays nice. i can already tell that i'm gonna be using this for mainly YouTube. but it really sucks that some videos won't play because it considers the A500 a "mobile device".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is not the video seeing the tablet as a mobile device.
It is your settings.
You can fix it very easily.
2 things to do.
open your browser
in the URL window (address bar) type about:debug and hit enter
it seems nothing happens but it adds a debug in settings
Next
On the very top right click the 4 lines with an arrow.
Click settings and on the left side click "advanced"
click "Viewing Mode" and set it to "desktop.
Now on the left click debug
click UAString and click desktop.
That's it.
Make sure you haven't saved any bookmarks from the mobile sites or they will still open from the bookmark as mobile sites.

How to prevent locking atrix during watching movie

Hi there,
While I watch a movie on TV via multimedia dock, my atrix keeps locking up (at least three times per movie). When it happens, I unlock the screen and resume the movie which is very annoying.
Although I set up "Screen timeout" to "Never timeout", it keeps happening. Am I missing something here???
Thanks very much for your help in advance!

Try the "screenon" widget in the market just to make sure on the timeout issue.
As for the lock screen itself, the ever popular "no lock" widget is free and gets rid of the annoying lock screen...
Sent from my MB860 using xda premium

I tried that app and it never worked. What I found is that if I change the screen lock setting to "never timeout", the screen does not get locked as long as the phone is not on multimedia dock. Does anyone have this issue?

That's a strange one. Mine never used to lock when it was on the dock.
Is your dock plugged in so your atrix is charging? If not, maybe it's some power saving mode making it shut off?
Otherwise, maybe something in the ROM you're running.

Yeah, I know. It looks like nobody has this problem. Yes, the dock is plugged in and is being charged. I found "Stay awake (Screen will never sleep while charging)" option under Developement the other day. I will check that option and see if it resolves the problem. Right now, I have to get up every 30 minutes and move the mouse around on Webtop Mode window on my TV during a movie. This is very annoying.
I have Bell's stock rom: 45.2.17.MB860.BellMobility.en.CA (2.3.4). My phone is unlcocked (on Rogers) and rooted.

in settings, you need to turn off the auto lock

darenkan said:
in settings, you need to turn off the auto lock
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! Where do I find "auto lock" option in Settings?

janggu said:
Yeah, I know. It looks like nobody has this problem. Yes, the dock is plugged in and is being charged. I found "Stay awake (Screen will never sleep while charging)" option under Developement the other day. I will check that option and see if it resolves the problem. Right now, I have to get up every 30 minutes and move the mouse around on Webtop Mode window on my TV during a movie. This is very annoying.
I have Bell's stock rom: 45.2.17.MB860.BellMobility.en.CA (2.3.4). My phone is unlcocked (on Rogers) and rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried "Stay awake" option last night and my atrix still got locked out during a movie. Very frustrating...

oops I see now lol.... bell stock.
I am ATT on CM7 sorry

janggu said:
I tried "Stay awake" option last night and my atrix still got locked out during a movie. Very frustrating...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm taking a wild guess and saying it's probably an app or something causing you grief. I've never heard of anyone else having this issue that anyone was able to replicate.
Maybe you want to look at your apps and see if you have any that might cause that kind of behaviour. Try removing them and see if it fixes your issue, if not, move on to the next app.
Or if you're really fed up, you can always try a factory reset and start from scratch.

I have the same problem on mine.

I think I found the problem. It has to do with the Security Lock and the Fingerprint scanner. Once fingerprints are entered the "Security Lock Timer" becomes disabled. Mine was set to 20 minutes. I reset it to "When display is off"
Settings->Location & Security
If "Security Lock Timer" is greyed out, you'll have to clear out your fingerprints and do the setup again.
->Change Screen Lock
Select None.
Select "Clear Stored Fingerprints"
Go back into "Change Screen Lock"
Select PIN and enter a pin.
It'll dump you back out to "Location & security"
Security lock timer should now be enabled.
Select "When display is off"
Go back into "Change screen lock" and set up your fingerprint scanner again.
See if that fixes the problem.
***EDIT*** Didn't work. Mine still engages a lock after about 20 minutes.

Setting screen lock to "None" didn't help either. Still times out in about 20 minutes (like a screensaver).

I found the solution!!!
The problem was the screen saver settings in WebTop mode. The other day, I saw a setting icon on WebTop mode and found that the screen saver was set to 30 minutes. I chaged it to 3 hours and now I can watch a movie without getting up every 30 minutes. Yeah!!!

Oh that's cool. I didn't know that.
Thanks

[Solved] Screen won´t turn off - only dim down

Anyone else having a bug where the screen does'nt turn off after the designated time out is reached? I have set mine to 15 seconds but it only dims down after 7 seconds and remains dimmed forever and ever.
Only way to get phone to work normally is to restart it. But the bug keeps coming back every day, sometimes serveral times a day.
Now I have to turn off screen manually by pressing the powerbutton.
Update Solution:
I actually had locked(in recents) Edge browser into the memory so it always would be available lightning fast. I just unlocked and closed it from recents app, and now the screen shuts off normally. Apparantly there was probably a hidden ads-page active somewhere keeping the screen from shutting off properly.

corb06 said:
Anyone else having a bug where the screen does'nt turn off after the designated time out is reached? I have set mine to 15 seconds but it only dims down after 7 seconds and remains dimmed forever and ever.
Only way to get phone to work normally is to restart it. But the bug keeps coming back every day, sometimes serveral times a day.
Now I have to turn off screen manually by pressing the powerbutton.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any developer options turned on?

dottat said:
Any developer options turned on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not much, only the Force all apps to be resize:able.
The screen awake while charging is off. USB-debbuging also.

corb06 said:
Not much, only the Force all apps to be resize:able.
The screen awake while charging is off. USB-debbuging also.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have encountered this bug occasionally, a few times this happened some web page was open (No video was playing) not sure if this was the case with you sometimes some ads or something on the web page can keep the browser active. I did not think much of it nor explored it much but will keep an eye out if it reoccurs.

Turn off Developer options for now.
Does it happen in Safe Mode?
Make sure a 3rd party app isn't the cause.
Clear system cache on the boot menu.
.

warriorvibhu said:
I have encountered this bug occasionally, a few times this happened some web page was open (No video was playing) not sure if this was the case with you sometimes some ads or something on the web page can keep the browser active. I did not think much of it nor explored it much but will keep an eye out if it reoccurs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Big Thanks! I actually had locked Edge browser, Telegram and File Manager+ into the memory so they would never be killed off. I just unlocked and removed them all, and now the screen shuts off normally. What a relief [emoji846]!
Using Adguard adblock and Edge content blocker so it might have been a hidden ad of sorts keeping phone screen active.
Sent from my SM-N986B using Tapatalk

corb06 said:
Big Thanks! I actually had locked Edge browser, Telegram and File Manager+ into the memory so they would never be killed off. I just unlocked and removed them all, and now the screen shuts off normally. What a relief [emoji846]!
Using Adguard adblock and Edge content blocker so it might have been a hidden ad of sorts keeping phone screen active.
Sent from my SM-N986B using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad it worked, I suggest copy paste above text, what you observed the reason was for this to happen and what you did to fix it and add that information to the first post. Trust me it will help many.
Also change the title to: [Solved] - Screen won´t turn off - only dim down