Database Users

[Q] Touchscreen screwy when connected to laptop USB; anyone else?

My Vibrant's touchscreen gets screwy when connected to any of my laptop's USB ports, when the lappy is either on battery or wall power.
By screwy I mean it misreads my presses, as if I pressed elsewhere on the screen. I'm in the 30 day swap period still, but I was lucky enough to get a very bright screened model and am reluctant to swap it unless this power/screen problem is to be worried about.
Have not been able to test on another computer's USB ports yet.
Thanks.
edit: Dell laptop.

Mine works fine OP when connected to both my laptop and my desktop.
Does your laptop happen to be a macbook? Because this phone has problems with apple computers.

No, a Dell. More specifically, this is not when mounting or using ADB. This occurs when merely connected and charging. Seems like it's a spurious signal coming down the USB line from the laptop is my guess.

I've had that unfortunate experience since day one of purchase. I went through three Vibrants.
I swapped the first one because of the touch screen bug with the USB connection. Also, the back button would periodically "stick" and continuously press back until I were to tap it again.
When I got the second one, I realized the issue with the USB remained the same and the "sticky" back button was more frequent than the first one.
The third one that I have now has a more responsive touch screen with the USB connected. It would act up 50% less than the first two. It has moments when it works just fine when I move the cable around and make sure I'm not touching the cable there on after.
My coworker doesn't experience that problem when he tries it on the work computers and my phone doesn't have that problem either. It only acts that way when I plug it into my x64 Sony VAIO, so I'm wondering if it's some sort of related issue.
Don't feel bad. I've been searching online for some sort of remedy since its release and have found nothing.

Are you using the USB cable that came with the phone?

s15274n said:
Are you using the USB cable that came with the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've always used the cable it came with. From reading your post, I just tried a USB with a micro USB converter tip, but it still produces the same symptoms.

I had the same problem. went to T-Mobile store (thinking I needed to get a new phone) and after a couple of tests, they gave me a new charger... that solved the issue 100%, so in my case, this was the cable/wall charger, not the phone

^ that's what I was getting at.

Just2Sour said:
I've always used the cable it came with. From reading your post, I just tried a USB with a micro USB converter tip, but it still produces the same symptoms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try changing the charger/USB at the store for an original one (not generic micro USB) that took care of me

dq13 said:
try changing the charger/USB at the store for an original one (not generic micro USB) that took care of me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I swapped al of the contents every time I made the exchange. When it's plugged into an outlet with the charger/USB it comes with, it works just fine. Works fine with any x86 computers at my job. It goes crazy on my x64 desktop and laptop. It's pretty annoying when I'm working on it with Eclipse and I get text messages. It becomes a task just to swype in one word, or disconnect it as an alternative and wait for about five seconds for it to function properly again.

well that sucks. I have x86 at work and 64 bit at home. after swaping the charger/cable, like I said, no more problems anywhere

Wow, I never expected so many responses with the same problems. Thanks guys.
I'm using x64 Win7, so that could be it. Also, am using the stock cable, I have no other micro cables at this time. More in the mail already. I'll check on my bro's 32 bit Win7 laptop and with the aftermarket cables.
Thanks for the responses.

ytj87 said:
Wow, I never expected so many responses with the same problems. Thanks guys.
I'm using x64 Win7, so that could be it. Also, am using the stock cable, I have no other micro cables at this time. More in the mail already. I'll check on my bro's 32 bit Win7 laptop and with the aftermarket cables.
Thanks for the responses.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any update?

laptop issues
I have a HP laptop and if my vibrant is connected via stock usb cord my laptop will not boot. It doesn't get past the first HP screen and it shuts off abruptly and tries to reboot. When unplugged everything is fine as long as it is up and running. I can connect my phone and do whatever needs to be done as long as my laptop has booted up. I thought it was kinda weird. I only plug my vibrant in my laptop while tethering to charge. Anyone experience this? btw running win7 64

bwhites1 said:
I have a HP laptop and if my vibrant is connected via stock usb cord my laptop will not boot. It doesn't get past the first HP screenand it shuts off abruptly and tries to reboot. When unplugged everything is fine as long as it is up and running. I can connect my phone and do whatever needs to be done as long as my laptop has booted up. I thought it was kinda weird. I only plug my vibrant in my laptop while tethering to charge. Anyone experience this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Happens on my HP aswell but with a Droid incredible connected, must be a HP issue
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

It is because the laptop is trying to boot from one of the removable devices that show up whenever the phone is connected.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Sounds like a CPU preemptive latency problem. The USB port may use big time slices of the CPU during the same time the touchscreen positions are being calculated. This should be fixed with the new update.

ytj87 said:
My Vibrant's touchscreen gets screwy when connected to any of my laptop's USB ports, when the lappy is either on battery or wall power.
By screwy I mean it misreads my presses, as if I pressed elsewhere on the screen. I'm in the 30 day swap period still, but I was lucky enough to get a very bright screened model and am reluctant to swap it unless this power/screen problem is to be worried about.
Have not been able to test on another computer's USB ports yet.
Thanks.
edit: Dell laptop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine did the same thing, except it did not matter what power source. When it was plugged into anything, my screen was screwy. Unplug it, and everything worked again. I exchanged mine, and have not had the problem since.

Mine is that way as well, but not with the computer, its that way with one charger that I previously had with my aria. After I unplug, its fine. I read somewhere that the length of the cord might have something to do with it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I used to have this problem with just one miniusb charger for my G1. The problem is there's too much current. You probably have a USB port that puts out more power on AC and it's simply too much for your phone. If it's getting REALLY hot, that's a sure sign.

Should I return my tablet for a replacement? (USB port tough to use)

The full sized USB port on my Iconia Tab has an issue. I plugged in a device for the first time yesterday, plugging it in was hard, but not to bad. Unplugging the device from the tablet proved to be impossible without the use of tools. I finally managed to get the cable unplugged, but it still is rather hard to use the USB port. It also makes a bit of a clicking sound when removing a USB device/cable.
Anyone else have the issue?

If its a fresh device it may just be this way for a bit. But to be on the safe side just return it you could damage it and thy may not replace it then.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App

Yes, the USB port was super tight on my A500 the first time I used it. I thought I was going to break something when I pulled out the USB drive that first time. Same thing the next time I plugged in the USB drive, but easier than the first time. Plugged it in and out a few more times and now it goes in smooth.

My USB ports were really tight at first as well after some use the metal clips loosen a bit and they function normally, they speced them tight due to it being a mobile device they are planning it the things being plugged in getting bumped and pulled

While we're on the subject of USB port and pulling out peripheral devices ...etc
I own the Asus Transformer briefly ( returned due to screen bled ) and it has the option to "unmount" ( MicroSD through tablet & full USB through dock )
for us Iconia owners... without the option and by just yanking things out.... doesn't that increased the chances of damaging the usb drives and corrupting files ??

Markon101 said:
The full sized USB port on my Iconia Tab has an issue. I plugged in a device for the first time yesterday, plugging it in was hard, but not to bad. Unplugging the device from the tablet proved to be impossible without the use of tools. I finally managed to get the cable unplugged, but it still is rather hard to use the USB port. It also makes a bit of a clicking sound when removing a USB device/cable.
Anyone else have the issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep mine is to hard to unplug too

Broken USB port
i noticed mine was like this at first but after a while it got easier to put in. until one day, my flash drive refused to go in all the way. I looked inside using a flash light and one of the gold pins had been bent back all the way. I live outside of the US so no warranty. I panicked and tried to straighten it back with a safety pin. It broke and fell out. I am now left without a usb port at all. any ideas on what to do?

I returned my first Tab because I thought the snug USB port was a defect, but the second Tab was just as bad. Over time the port has loosened a bit but I still have problems after all these months. Recently I inserted a mini wireless mouse USB dongle and I could not, for the life of me, remove it. I finally had to yank it out in pieces with a pair of pliers *shudder*. I still use a wired USB mouse and keyboard from time to time - but they have been tested several times and will unplug with minimal effort. I am very careful with flash drives though. I have one or two that work fine and they are the only ones I trust to use.
Sent from my A500 using xda premium

I have had two Iconias and both have had this issue. I don't think the newer one will help out with it. I use a 32gb USB device and it always hangs up in the port. But I don't use USB that often so my opinion is bias.

Yeah my USB port is super tight as well. The first time I stuck in a flash drive, I ended up pulling off the cover to the drive tying to get it out. After using it for a bit, it did loosen up some, but its still really tight. I just always use an extension cable now, at least that way I have something to grab onto to yank.

seems like a common issue. I also noticed the port was fairly tight at first, but after plugging in and out a few times, it seems to be broken in now - snug, but not overly tight. I use it for an external hard drive which is constantly being added and removed when moving from point a to point b.

Bizarre charging issue and how I fixed it.

I had a bizarre issue with my Transformer not charging today.
I just got an AC power inverter for my car to charge the TF during trips. Tried it out this morning on my way to work and it didn’t show it was charging. Also strangely the screen would not respond to touch input until I unplugged the charger cable. This happened every time I tried to charge it off the inverter. So…. I get to work and WTF the TF would not charge on any AC outlet! Tried reseating the country specific prongs with no luck. Rebooted the TF with no luck. Cable worked to connect to PC so I figure it is ok. Called Asus thinking the inverter fried the charger and got an RMA. In the meantime I ordered a new Asus charger from Office Depot online and drove to pick it up over lunch. Got it back to the office and tried to charge the TF. WTF it still won’t charge! Tried all the combos of charger to cable, different outlets, etc. with no luck. Then I start to get worried the TF is hosed. As a last ditch effort I try a nandroid restore. Bam…boot loop. Finally after trying a few other things I do a dirty flash of the rom on the TF. It fixes boot loop and miraculously it starts charging again. I’m wondering if some of the charging issues have nothing to do with the charger but are software related. I was running Roach’s CWR, Prime 1.7 and his OC kernel when the problem started. Now still on his CRW and Prime 1.7 with stock kernel. Going to try the inverter again on the way home with this setup and see if it happens again and then reflash kernel and test to see if I can recreate it.
Update:
Well it charges now but will not accept any touch input on screen when charging cable is connected.

Johnny_Sokko said:
I had a bizarre issue with my Transformer not charging today.
I just got an AC power inverter for my car to charge the TF during trips. Tried it out this morning on my way to work and it didn’t show it was charging. Also strangely the screen would not respond to touch input until I unplugged the charger cable. This happened every time I tried to charge it off the inverter. So…. I get to work and WTF the TF would not charge on any AC outlet! Tried reseating the country specific prongs with no luck. Rebooted the TF with no luck. Cable worked to connect to PC so I figure it is ok. Called Asus thinking the inverter fried the charger and got an RMA. In the meantime I ordered a new Asus charger from Office Depot online and drove to pick it up over lunch. Got it back to the office and tried to charge the TF. WTF it still won’t charge! Tried all the combos of charger to cable, different outlets, etc. with no luck. Then I start to get worried the TF is hosed. As a last ditch effort I try a nandroid restore. Bam…boot loop. Finally after trying a few other things I do a dirty flash of the rom on the TF. It fixes boot loop and miraculously it starts charging again. I’m wondering if some of the charging issues have nothing to do with the charger but are software related. I was running Roach’s CWR, Prime 1.7 and his OC kernel when the problem started. Now still on his CRW and Prime 1.7 with stock kernel. Going to try the inverter again on the way home with this setup and see if it happens again and then reflash kernel and test to see if I can recreate it.
Update:
Well it charges now but will not accept any touch input on screen when charging cable is connected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like there could be some EMI going on. Someone else made their touchscreen stop responding by putting a plasma ball too close to their TF. Try running the USB cable out the car window as far as it will go before connecting the TF, but keep the inverter inside the car's Faraday effect(inside the car, away from the window). This is just to test the theory, obviously not a fix.

Many of the inexpensive inverters are poorly filtered and almost always produce a modified sine wave ( not a pure sine wave) This is not friendly to most electronic devices. Add that to the fact that the TF AC adapter is a minimal design to start and you have all the elements for disaster. If you are looking for an auto adapter, search for Devcake's thread on the subject. There is a lot of good technical info there as well as several suggestions for Auto adapters. Your best bet is to get a DC/DC converter that will get you 11-14V DC out to a USB style connector.

Thanks for the suggestions. Looks like the inverter is going bye bye.

Rumbleweed said:
Many of the inexpensive inverters are poorly filtered and almost always produce a modified sine wave ( not a pure sine wave) This is not friendly to most electronic devices. Add that to the fact that the TF AC adapter is a minimal design to start and you have all the elements for disaster. If you are looking for an auto adapter, search for Devcake's thread on the subject. There is a lot of good technical info there as well as several suggestions for Auto adapters. Your best bet is to get a DC/DC converter that will get you 11-14V DC out to a USB style connector.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I still don't see why everyone is insisting on using a regulator. Cars already put out 11-14VDC. You do not need conversion or regulation. If you are seriously paranoid, add a 4.5Ω 30W resistor and a 220µF cap to limit and decouple.

Johnny_Sokko said:
Thanks for the suggestions. Looks like the inverter is going bye bye.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hit thanks button!

msticninja said:
I still don't see why everyone is insisting on using a regulator. Cars already put out 11-14VDC. You do not need conversion or regulation. If you are seriously paranoid, add a 4.5Ω 30W resistor and a 220µF cap to limit and decouple.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
stick a scope on the 12v assy connector then start the car. nasty spikes

Rumbleweed said:
stick a scope on the 12v assy connector then start the car. nasty spikes
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've done it multiple times. I haven't seen a spike on any car made after 1980. Even with a spike, it couldn't last long enough to fry the TF's charging circuit, or it would fry 90% of the cigarette outlet adapters on the market. If you have the one car in the world that does spike, you could always unplug the TF while starting the car.

Strange touchscreen issues when plugged into a computer

I don't know if anyone else is experiencing this, but I've discovered when my Nexus 4 is plugged into my laptop (a Macbook Pro), the touchscreen kind of acts a little wonky. Occasionally it won't completely pickup my drag (like when I'm unlocking the phone) or swiping between homescreens. Has anyone else had this problem? When the phone isn't plugged into a computer it runs just fine.

just tried it. My phone is running smooth, even when i plug it in to my computer. are you running custom Rom?

Its stock ROM and kernel. I'm running 4.2.2 but I believe it was also an issue in 4.1.2. I'm just trying to figure out if this is something I should RMA over.

Have you tried to use a different cable? I have experience the same problem and was able to fox it using a different cable or a different USB port.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

That's good advice, thanks! The cable I'm using is not the one that came with the phone, and could be suspect. I'll give it a shot.

TrevSo said:
That's good advice, thanks! The cable I'm using is not the one that came with the phone, and could be suspect. I'll give it a shot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's probably what it is. My old Motorola droid cable used to do this to touchscreens.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

Note: As per my observations, the touch threshold changes when charger is detected. This affects the touch sensitivity.
Sent from my GT-I9003 using xda app-developers app

My girlfriend bought a cheap charger from eBay and it caused her screen to go haywire. It started pressing random things. I plugged it in my Samsung Galaxy i9000 and the touchscreen simply froze, you couldn't actually press anything.
You'd be surprised how dirty current can damage/affect the running of an electronic device. New cable and/or different port me thinks

Same problem here
Hey, TrevSo, I have just noticed exactly the same issue with my Nexus 4. I connect it to one of my laptops and the screen goes all wonky ... poor sensitivity, phantom taps ... very strange.
I have tried several different cables and tried it on two different computers and three different chargers.
any cable with any one of my chargers (included one, some Kodak charge and an HTC charger) - OK
any cable with ThinkPad W520 - OK
any cable with Thinkpad T60 (any of the three USB ports) - BAD
Maybe a grounding or insufficient power issue?
EDIT: definitely a power and/or grounding issue: my T60 came with a cheapo aftermarket power adapter. When the power adapter is plugged in, the phone's screen freaks out. Unplug the laptop to run it on battery power and, voila, phone screen is fine. I looked it up and the official Lenovo adapter is grounded.

I have experienced the same thing using the stock cable from my Galaxy Nexus connected to my ThinkPad X60 laptop. Swipe gesture typing will cut off my swipes mid-word and the double finger swipe gesture to bring down the quick settings menu will lead to unintentional taps of things on the screen.
Same thing happens when phone is connected to an Asus netbook using the stock Nexus 7 cable.
4.2.2 didn't fix the problem.

Hey everyone, thanks for all of the feedback/ideas. As others have surmised, it appears to be a charger/cord problem. I ran a couple tests and it really seems like when it's hooked to my laptop (while plugged in) using a non-OEM wire the touchscreen acts really strangely. When hooked to my desktop, things seem to work just fine. I'm no expert in these things so I can't really make a conclusion based on those facts, but I hope this information helps other people.

Yeah, like I said, definitely a power source issue. I guess some laptops don't deliver quite the correct voltage to the USB ports or something.

Controller not charging

Ever since I got my Shield TV, my controller has refused to charge at all. I've had it plugged in overnight and it's still nearly dead in the morning. It keeps turning off while I'm using it, and the battery indicator shows up on the screen. I've plugged it directly into the Shield, and into a separate USB charger. Neither seem to be working. How do I fix this?

No one?

I just discovered that the controller DOES charge.... if I have it plugged into my PC. Is that normal, for it to only charge that way?

That's an odd situation for sure...but doesn't make sense...I know there is a usb setting on the shield..but idk what it does...not home or I'd look....but not charging at the wall is odd too.

I tried several different USB cables, until one finally worked, both with a wall charger and with a PC USB port. The Shield itself, does not charge it, unless I plug it into the port closest to the power supply. The other one, does not work, supposedly due to debugging being on. Haven't tested it with debugging off, though, but I'm sure it still won't work then.

GuyInDogSuit said:
Ever since I got my Shield TV, my controller has refused to charge at all. I've had it plugged in overnight and it's still nearly dead in the morning. It keeps turning off while I'm using it, and the battery indicator shows up on the screen. I've plugged it directly into the Shield, and into a separate USB charger. Neither seem to be working. How do I fix this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just got my shield with the new update was working fine tge first few weeks of gaming then the next day nothing, i saw my shield acting weird like someone else was messing with it so a turned it off went to bed, the next day no controller dead no light nothing plugged it in shield see tge controller but its not responding only causing the shield to act like someone moving stuff around so i unplugged been like that for a few days now don't know what to do no hard reset working been reading the forums for a fix, nothing yet. I'm looking to contact NVIDIA soon an see tge response it's like less than a month old, and i can play anymore games.
Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk