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Hi all,
After spending 2 days with my vario my dreams of a half-decent smartphone are shattered.
I've got a C500 which hasnt really caused me any problems in over a year, now 2 days after having a vario i'm almost pulling my hair out.. can this phone possibly have been released in such a bad state or is it just mine?
For starters it crashes, not now and then, but like it's a hobby of the vario's, i dont think i can leave it for an hour, come back and find it hasn't hung in some form.
Sometimes i have to do a soft reset, sometimes, i can press the power button, get the screen to light up but can't do anything. Sometimes I get icons but when I click them i'm told the shortcut doesnt exist.
Ooh another thing it seems to like doing is randomly going into flight mode, and one really good crash was when i called it and the source phone could hear the ringing but the vario was just sitting there doing nothing.
So is it just mine or is this the most unstable phone the UK has ever seen? Is it worth me asking for a replacement, or just flashing the k-jam/qtek rom over the t-mobile one? Is there a way to backup my t-mobile rom and flash it back should i find the qtek/kjam rom does the same?
I've tried hard-resetting then cancelling all the t-mobile gubbins that loads from extended rom, but that didnt make any diference.
Any advice gratefully appreciated
Thanks
Personally, I'd say get T-Mobile to replace it! Unless you've installed a buggy piece of 3rd party software (but if you did, you wouldn't on here complaining about the phone you'd be complaining about the software, right?).
I also have an MDA Vario. I haven't touched the Extended_ROM (was going to, had a look and decided it was running fine so don't mess with it).
It's solid as a rock. As per a thread on howardforums asking how many times per day have I soft-resetted the phone and my answer was an average of zero.
I hard reset it on the day I bought it (after installing GPRS Monitor which knackers the backlight turning back on after sleep) and took the battery out after T-Mobile decided to disconnect me from their network (at their support line's request).
Anyway, it's on 24/7, never needs a reset of any kind, gets mobile emails via ActiveSync and is generally a wonderful piece of kit!
List what apps you've installed (even if they're T-Mobile supplied ones from CD) since buying the phone as there may be something buggy there. If not, definitely get T-mobile to replace it as it's certainly not a crap model (mine is absolutely fantastic).
Thanks Andy,
I've literally not installed anything, i'm just about to install pocketcommander but that will be the first thing i've actually installed. I've hard reset the phone this morning and it's already hung once on me (
I'll give tmob a call and see if they can send me another out today or something
Yeah, then you've definitely got a knackered phone. They should replace it (how long have you had it) without problems.
Hope you enjoy the replacement, they really are a great bit of kit
Well just had my first ever dealings with tmobile supoprt and it's as bad as the phone
They say because my contract/phone is only 3 days old i need to go back to the people i bought the phone off to get a replacement, problem is they'l want me to send the whole boxed thing uip and all the box etc is at home since i work away during the week
That's got to be faulty, like others have said.
WHen I bought mine, (T-Mobile shop in Leeds), I was told that if it was faulty within the first 28 days, there'd be a straight replacement issued immediately.
Don't accept anything less.
For what it's worth, I always try to be exceptionally pleasant when returning things rather than going in "all guns blazing"; it gets results a lot more often than the "I know my rights" approach. Of course, when it all comes down to it, the "i know my rights" approach might be necessary, but hopefully it shouldn't be.
The phone is superb, so stick with it even tho it is a bit of hassle for you.
good luck!
hi there no problems with my vario either. seems to work fine. no soft/ hard resets needed so far. have had it for 10 days. only thing is after the xteended rom instals there is a file called canned text in words which opens up in a crazy language. does not go on hard resets. but does not cause a problem either. any ideas on what this file is. have othar vario users noticed this file. please help.
_Belial said:
Thanks Andy,
I've literally not installed anything, i'm just about to install pocketcommander but that will be the first thing i've actually installed. I've hard reset the phone this morning and it's already hung once on me (
I'll give tmob a call and see if they can send me another out today or something
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
may not be relevant to your problem, but if skype is installed on yours from the hard reset install, it may be worth removing, on the k-jam as soon as i removed skype, reseting stopped happening
During synchronisation, I found that the screen in my HD had gone blank. It could still receive calls. A soft reset didn't solve it. I rang HTC support, and all they could say was to send it in for repairs.
I then used mDesktop to look at the screen from my PC. It seemed there were some programs still to be installed. After installing these, I did a Sprite backup. This must have fixed the registry as the machine came to life during the reset.
I'm just leaving this in case someone else has this problem.
There's a way out.
I wrote too soon. Blank again. I suspect an intermittent hardware problem.
Try turning off device and removing battery overnight. Then re-insert battery and turn on device.
Thanks, I'll give that a try.
Tried this, but didn't seem to make a difference. I'll try a hard reset.
Strangely, after one last kiss of life with nDesktop (a soft reset controlled from the desktop), the HTC seems to be working fine. It's lasted more than 12 hours now. I hope for more.
What does disconnecting the battery overnight do?
Kevin Murray said:
Strangely, after one last kiss of life with nDesktop (a soft reset controlled from the desktop), the HTC seems to be working fine. It's lasted more than 12 hours now. I hope for more.
What does disconnecting the battery overnight do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Other users have experienced similar situations as yourself with screen going blank but functions still working. One fix for this was to remove battery and leave device off overnight. I'm not sure why this worked, possibly letting device cool off, but it has worked for others. This is why I suggested it
Going blind slowly
Well, there seems a pattern. With time, the screen eventually fails to turn on. I then sync with the desktop and use mdesktop to re-boot the device. It works for up to an hour, sometimes more. Then it lapses back into blindness.
It can't be a software fault, as it happens even after a hard reset.
I don't think it's a faulty component, as it wouldn't fix after a sync.
It must be some strange electrical thing going on that responds to the reset process, but then eventually fades.
Perhaps I need some sorcery.
Kevin Murray said:
Well, there seems a pattern. With time, the screen eventually fails to turn on. I then sync with the desktop and use mdesktop to re-boot the device. It works for up to an hour, sometimes more. Then it lapses back into blindness.
It can't be a software fault, as it happens even after a hard reset.
I don't think it's a faulty component, as it wouldn't fix after a sync.
It must be some strange electrical thing going on that responds to the reset process, but then eventually fades.
Perhaps I need some sorcery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it is indeed hardware why not return it under warranty? Just make sure you have a stock SPL and rom on device before you return it
It's just out of warranty. That's why I was so keen to find a solution first.
Is the warranty 2 years?
Warranty is generally 12 months. Found this similar thread which may help
I assumed it was 12 months, but when I looked at the warranty pdf file from HTC's website it says 2 years.
http://www.htc.com/www/support/warranty.html
Western Europe, Windows Mobile
2. This Limited Warranty shall last for twenty-four (24) months from the
date of original purchase for mobile devices, and twelve (12) months
for accessories (whether included in the mobile device sales package
or sold separately) other than the media on which any software is
provided, CD-ROM, memory card (“Warranty Period”).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My phone, which I've had since waiting in line on March 24th quit on me today. I'm not sure if it was the culprit but, I installed a program called Lookout mobile security last night 5/6. When I started the phone this morning put it on the table, got some java and when I got back nothing..no buttons working...ok..no problem tried a soft reset...nothing..ok now starting to get worried. pluged into power source..boot up screen. whew..low battery. then blank, a few seconds..boot up screen AGAIN!..by now I'm in full freakout...Attempted to calm down.. didn't work..thought ok..most everything is backed up..lets do a hard reset..didn't WANT to but anyway! Did the hard reset .. Still had the same problem...Had to pinch myself HARD to make sure this wasn't a nightmare. Went to the TMobile store and the associate put me in touch with technical support (they were Super) Going to give me a new phone but, have to wait until next Friday to get it...and then tweaking and rebuilding it to what I want...I should have been ready for this coming from an iphone...All it takes is one $%@# program again, not saying it was the one mentioned above but, one with a malicious code or something that destroyed over five weeks of building a phone from scratch. Sorry about the rant... I still LOVE this phone. .
so you couldn't even boot it in to the bootloader? wow! Maybe you should flash HardSPL before trying to install that program again as there is far less chance of bricking it if you have HardSPL installed. Even if the rom gets completely stuffed, you can still boot it and reflash from SD.
All I can recommend is install a ROM via Micro SD card and maybe doing a Task 29 before you reinstall a ROM
for US Tmobile: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=653614
For Leo: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=609477
Or maybe try this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=668347
If those don't work then I don't know what else to recommend
They want my old phone back once I get the new one so, I'm going
to let them have it just as I turned it on yesterday. Let them
find out what the problem was created by.
I was about to install that "lookout" software...but after reading this I might as well hold on.
did you leave it on the charger overnight or did you just turn on your phone in the morning.
if you didnt have it charge all night, maybe all you needed to do was leave it on the charger a little longer before starting it back on.
i noticed that some phones with a dead battery and on the charger will sometimes not stay on until it has gotten a minimum charge on the battery.
Damitu said:
..most everything is backed up..<SNIP>...and then tweaking and rebuilding it to what I want...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Setting up the new phone shouldn't be a big deal if you did actually backup; just stick the old microSD in the new phone and run whatever backup app you had on the card.
I put it on the power supply and it is in the constant loop of
the first screen that appears. I am going to seriously look into
HardSPL. Thanks to all the good input from everybody.
Well now even customer service is at a loss. They cannot phantom why why two separate phones have the same problem. While I had CS on the phone we went thru various senario's to try to get the phone to operate properly. I even had them give me a new SIM card and that did not work...I suggested the problem might be the battery as it could have gone bad. You guys think the phone is playing hard to get--try to find a replacement battery! No stores within a 20 mile radius had one in stock....! Needless to say they are going to ship me yet another phone. plus a new battery and hopefully it will take care of the problem. The sales associate did a hard reset on both my old and the new phone without results so that unfortnately is not a viable solution. Now I am in the game I hate the most........The waiting one! ..
c_legaspi said:
did you leave it on the charger overnight or did you just turn on your phone in the morning.
if you didnt have it charge all night, maybe all you needed to do was leave it on the charger a little longer before starting it back on.
i noticed that some phones with a dead battery and on the charger will sometimes not stay on until it has gotten a minimum charge on the battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^^ what the op says above. This happened to me (and my gf as well) on our HD2s. The first time (mines) this happened, i hooked it up onto my car charger and immediately tried to turn it on.. it would go onto the TMO screen, but quickly shut down and loop. After realizing I may be trying to jump the step, I unhooked it from the charger, took the battery off, put it back on, hooked it back onto the charger and let it sit for about 10-20 minutes charging. Turned it back on and viola! It wasn't a brick.. I can almost guarantee this is your problem.
But I may be wrong lol...
So, now after 2 replacement phone sent to me, I find out that
it was the battery all along. Problem is that after the second phone
arrived and I had the same problem I called customer service and
explained it to them....They said a battery would be sent next day
air...Ok...called the next day and was told that the rep never sent
in the order...Long story short....I've almost been without my phone
for two weeks now and, all I need is a frelling battery.
Problem is there are NONE around me..I've tried every tm store in
the area, All radio shacks batteries plus...you name it....
I am being sent a battery UPS ground...could take 7 more days.
Just took the battery from my fiance's phone and it works
so, right now I would pay a ransom for a battery just to have my
phone back!
I had to do a hard reset after downloading that lookout trial.
at this point I don't know what caused it..Has anyone ever heard
of an application causing the battery to go bad?...I worked really
hard to keep the battery I had in good condition.. I hope UPS
delivers soon!
This is odd I have used Lookout Mobile on my phone since I had it. Mind you not had it for long, since April but still its never bricked or did anything that hindered the phone. I maybe another program.
I turned on my phone last night, pressed the camera icon in the list of programs and it disappeared and hasn't come back since?????
Then went to the picture and movie tab and pressed the camera tab (both for taking picture and movie) and nothing happens, no camera launches.
I've had the phone sitting in the cupboard for days and it's cold where I live so I wonder if it's possible that the camera hardware has frozen and the icon disappears because the system cannot detect working hardware?
I don't know but my phone is out of warranty and I am worried.
Would flashing a new ROM help do you think?
normally your phone should not be out of warranty yet, since htc offers a 24 months warranty.
and if the camera worked with your rom before, changing the rom should not be necessary, but maybe a radio/rilphone upgrade would help or a hard reset.
Thanks for the reply
I've emailed the local distributor of my phone (bad reputation for replies) who paralell import it from singapore so I might be out of luck.
Done several hard resets and also warmed the phone up to see if the camera hardware was maybe stuck from the cold but no luck.
Tried to burn a new rom (The EnergyRom looked good) and the software keeps complaining that it lost communication with the phone so I can't even do that. Tried 10 times already.
So, I guess I have to wait for the supplier but they said the warranty is only one year.
afaik htc generally offers a 2 year warranty, so they are probably the ones, you'd want to contact about that issue, but before actually sending it to them, make sure to flash back the stock rom, radio and spl.
As I said above, I tried burning a new rom but the software keeps complaining that it loses communication with the phone so I've given up.
Thanks for the suggestions though.
I absolutely agree with Chef_Tony.
You've tried enough to exclude everything. It must be a hardware issue.
I think you can check the production date via the sn below the batt. I would just go ahead with HTC and call them, and NOT your local dealer.
You can also open a ticket online but from my experience that is a waste of time since they will start asking stuff to do and email them again.
HTC provides 24 months of warranty in most areas and the sn will be enough for them to decide if it is warranty or not.
Also do not mention the custom roms as that will void your warranty, even if the issue was there on the stock rom!
So go back to everything stock, everything that you need is in the sticky on the rom page, and give HTC a call.
The ROM is a stock one. I mentioned in my above post that when I tried to burn a new one that the phone lost comms so I never could get a new rom on to test if the camera would come back so I am still stock.
HTC mentioned all the same things you guys did.
Spoke to my supplier, looks like I have to send this back. Damnation!!!!!
Okay, made a few mistakes about trying a new rom but under severe pressure since my father died so I can't comprehend much at the moment.
Will try all the steps later when I am less distressed.
Sellers have gone, phone is worse.
Just to update people, this post can be locked now.
Blue Fly Mobile are gone, nobody can find them. They told me to send the phone back for repairs and when I was just about to, they turned up missing.
Web site is gone, no contact anywhere and I read in many forums about their bad rep.
Camera still gone. Battery may last a day if that. Phone randomly cuts of calls when I make them or when people make them to me.
Looks like I will be waiting for the new Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 when it hits OZ as it's better for my eyes.
Now, how to convince my wife that I absolutely need it???
OK, posted a few days ago about this foolishly thinking it was solved. However, here's the problem. My touchscreen is completely unresponsive. This isn't the lag problem, which I've had before, but the phone acts as if it hasn't been touched at all. In other words, the only input accepted comes from the buttons.
This happens when I'm running android. Waiting overnight doesn't help. Pulling the battery doesn't help. I cannot even use the touchscreen in WM when this happens! Moreoever, if I do a hard reset, I still cant use the touchscreen when the setup pages show in WM. The touchscreen is completely gone.
The ONLY thing that has worked (once) to restore function is to pull the battery overnight.
The only pattern to this seems to be that it happens when I have a message waiting while running android (no, not every time). The screen will be locked, and I can't get the lockscreen to clear. Eventually I pull the battery and reboot in windows, same problem. Hard reset, same problem. Last night, had the problem so I landlined in and cleared the voicemails. Then did a hard reset, but the phone during the setup still indicated I had a message (!) and the touchscreen was locked. It is as if the notification was 1) stored in a different memory than the phone (does the radio keep this information) and 2) that until the phone is reconnected properly it can't clear the notification and won't let me access the touchscreen. Perhaps the overnight battery pull allowed the notification to clear from the phone somehow?
I'm looking for any help on this. Is there an aggressive way to clear notifications? Would a task 29 solve this? Button combo I"m unaware of?
Thanks in advance
yoiur unit may need to be send in for repair. sounds more like a hardware fault. You may be able to get a digitizer from ebay and replace it, though they are a bit tricky to replace. Ive only ever done it on an mda varia and that was a paid
This is actually not uncommon... i have a friend who purchased an HD2 and used it for a week or 2 and the touchscreen stopped. You can try and do the task 29 however it didn't help hers... has your phone ever come in contact with static electricity? This seems to be the #1 killer of the touch screen functions with the HD2's... (so far i've seen 4 of them die like this)... i would try task 29... then if that doesn't work call HTC and ask if you can send it in for a repair, most of the time if its repairable, they'll fix it and charge you a fee of usually $100.00... if its not repairable due to faulty hardware, they will send you a new one (usually re manufactured) another option is, if you have tmous take it back to a store and show them... they should be able to swap it out for free if you have insurance on it
I was concerned about hardware, and it may still be the issue, but it seems intermittent, in that sometimes I can get the phone working again for a couple of days. However, this symptom has only come in the last week or so, so it does seem as if something has changed. I'm constantly tweaking my Android setup, but I can't imagine this could have an effect that would go over to WM, especially after a HARD reset...
Possible solution
OK, if you've read the thread above, you know that hard resets didn't seem to solve the problem. However, I just did a hard reset without a sim card installed, hoping to clear whatever notification was stored on the phone. While the touchscreen was still locked without a sim, I re-inserted the sim and did another hard reset and it worked! Time will tell if this is a real solution. Luckily, my android system is just on the sd card and easily booted up or I would spend all my time rebuilding my phone!
Again, does anyone know if this might be related to the radio rom? I've tried a couple radios since this started 2.14 and 2.15.
OK, one more update. I notice now that when I long-press the hangup key, to get the context menu for such items as shut down or turn radio off, the touchscreen becomes inactive. Several minutes later it seems to come back, but my conclusion is that the connection to the touchscreen must be near or under that button and I'm affecting an intermittent connection.
This is the last post I have on the issue because I got a refurbished phone sporting ROM 3.14 and Radio 2.15 less than 24 hours after asking TMOUS to replace my phone. Now I have to clean the custom rom off the old phone and send it back, so I'll never know for sure if it was software or hardware, unless the problem recurs on the new (refurbed) phone. However, the symptom above with the long press hangup does NOT happen so it seems that was the issue.