Database Users

backlight, incoming call delay, and alarm bug

Cingular 8125
I have 3 issues...
1. The backlight seems to shut itself off every once in a while. I'll try to wake the phone from sleep mode only to notice there is no light, so I have to move the phone near a light source to see the dimmed screen and work my way to the backlight setting and increase it back to normal.
This happened once while I was driving
Is there a cure for this problem?
Also, I noticed spb pocket plus's backlight slider on my today screen does not work, nor do the shortcut commands it has for backlight up/down/loop etc.
2. When I was testing a new ringtone, I called my phone from another phone. I noticed it does not receive the call on the first ring. It receives it on the 2nd ring. I can hang up during or right after the first ring and not have it come up on my phone. Is this normal?
3. Alarm bug. This %$#@ lead me to hard-reset my phone 3 times already. When my phone is in sleep mode and an alarm triggers, sometimes the phone won't wake, but keeps playing the alarm. I wake the phone manually only to notice there is no alarm notification, but a flashing orange light and constant alarm sound and vibration. A soft-reset seemed to make the problem worse. Finally, I found a program called memMaid which lets me delete notifications and duplicate notifications etc. Is this the best method to cure this problem?
Thanks in advance.

With the backlight, do you have it on charge at the time of it messing up?
i've had this issue but only when the phone was on charge.
if i unplugged the phone, backlight came back and then i simply plugged it back in
other than that, no cure that i've found. what software version are you using?
for the alarm, not seen that, i have noticed that recently i've had the alarm apparently going off (but it hasnt!) and then almost 2 hours later, i have a msg saying "alarm" with the dismiss button and the time of when it was supposed to go off. very odd. luckily i have a nokia 6230i that i use as my alarm clock.
and for the calls... i have the same problem but only when i copy over my SMS back onto the device. after hard reset its fine, but as soon as my msgs go back, i think the phone mem gets slower. (i have 1600 sms now on the phone with about 300 contacts with pictures)
I have the same issue with sms where the phone will light up, 5 seconds after it recieves the sms... so i'm guessing thats the same as the phone side, it lights up on my end, 3-5 secs later it rings (which is eqiv to one ring on their side so it hangs up after 2 more rings).
very strange issues though, i hope softwre updates fix it because it is annoying me now!
also have an issue with my camera where if you dont X out of it, then dont expect it to load again unless you reset the phone. it just shows the "egg timer" and thats it. useless camera software but great pda/phone. again luckily i have a camera always with me anyway.

Only thing i have experience with this is for 1).
I still get that backlight problem.
It started happening when i installed PocketZenPhone beta.
After every soft reset, if i let the phone go into standby or the let the backlight time out, the backlight setting will go all the way to the lowest.
I don't know how to fix this bug, only thing i've done to sort with it is have a Today Screen launcher set up so that i have an icon that leads directly to the backlight setting, so whenever it dims on me, i'm 2 thumb pushes away.

Actually, this is the first time i saw this, when i installed zen on mine too!
It was then i realised that if you unplugged the power supply then replug it in, it fixed it
in the end, i got fed up of zen's stability or the lack off so i removed it, hard reset etc
it still happens but very rarely, and when it does, its just because i've turned it off and on while it was on the power supply

i have the same freaking problem with backlight. not sure what the deal is but very very annoying. is there a fix to this problem??

i have the same freaking problem with backlight. not sure what the deal is but very very annoying. is there a fix to this problem??

Mine had the occasional "backlight set to off" (i.e. pushing the 5-way would NOT turn it back on - had to use Control Panel applet) problem too. I never used Pocket Zen Phone on this phone (have on others in the past) but did use both SPB pocket plus and Phone Alarm.
I think the problem is somehow related to apps that try to control the backlight. As you've noted, SPB's backlight applets don't do anything, I think that PZP and Phone Alarm, as part of their attempts to control the backlight in their profiles mess it up somehow.
What i did was limit my profiles in PA to only two, and make sure both of them were set exactly the same way as far as controlling the backlight:
o Both profiles have backlight set to 50% all the time
o Both profiles set to power off the backlight at 3 minutes on both AC and battery
o Both profiles set to suspend the device at 2 mins on battery (so never getting to the "backlight only power-off" setting above).
o Having the backlight go dark on AC is new for me, but it keeps it consistent with the battery setting, but it's no biggie and if it ain't broke...plus if I touch any button it comes back on
I also removed SPB pocket plus and found some freebie utilities that do what I wanted from SPB.
So I'm not positive it's related, but doing these three things and i haven't had the light go dark since. Every once in a while after a reboot the light does go dark, but hitting any button or the 5-way brings it back so it's not the same "setting has been set to no backlight at all" problem I was having, and only seems to occur soon after a reboot, and then not again.
-JMS

i fixed my problem by flashing rom over with 2.17 US version.

All programs close when screen goes black

Hi all.
I have this annoying problem with my Blackstone.
When the screen turns off everything closes down. It's really annoying if i'm using messenger or something and not look on it for 2 min it closes messenger down.
I know i can choose in battery setting not to turn off the unit if it's not used for a while, but i still like that the screen is turned off, but still working.
Can this be done??

Dipper60 said:
Hi all.
I have this annoying problem with my Blackstone.
When the screen turns off everything closes down. It's really annoying if i'm using messenger or something and not look on it for 2 min it closes messenger down.
I know i can choose in battery setting not to turn off the unit if it's not used for a while, but i still like that the screen is turned off, but still working.
Can this be done??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it can.
Go to Start/Settings/System/Power/Advanced and you can select the screen or backlight to turn off if device is not used for x mins on either battery or external power

Fallen Spartan said:
Yes it can.
Go to Start/Settings/System/Power/Advanced and you can select the screen or backlight to turn off if device is not used for x mins on either battery or external power
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah i know, but it only turn the lights down, not turn the screen off. It's only if i choose to turn off the device the screen turns off.

I use gyrator to set up an event that turns the screen off without turning the device off when the stylus is inserted (you can modify the default gyrator behaviour which is to lock the screen when the stylus is inserted). If you want to be fancy you could set it up to turn the screen off if the phone is turned face down, you don't really need the screen on then anyway unless you're in the habit of looking at your phone above your face while lying on your back, or trying to use it while doing acrobatics in an stunt plane.

shuflie said:
I use gyrator to set up an event that turns the screen off without turning the device off when the stylus is inserted (you can modify the default gyrator behaviour which is to lock the screen when the stylus is inserted). If you want to be fancy you could set it up to turn the screen off if the phone is turned face down, you don't really need the screen on then anyway unless you're in the habit of looking at your phone above your face while lying on your back, or trying to use it while doing acrobatics in an stunt plane.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well i can't get it to work :-/
What i'm looking for is also a thing so the device isn't turned off when i push the turn on/turn off button on the top. I want to use this button to turn off the screen and not close down the programs.
This is what i'm looking for and i hope someone can help me

Dipper60 said:
Well i can't get it to work :-/
What i'm looking for is also a thing so the device isn't turned off when i push the turn on/turn off button on the top. I want to use this button to turn off the screen and not close down the programs.
This is what i'm looking for and i hope someone can help me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just tried the screen off when phone is face down and it doesn't seem to be working for me either for some reason. But the stylus in event is working fine, just pop the stylus out and put it back in again and the screen goes completely off without killing the processes in the background (can still explore phone with active sync). I wouldn't want to mess with the power button as that is really useful to provide a proper device suspend when I want it.

I have a similar problem but with the GPS.
I have raised the question here, on some other forums and directly to HTC.
From HTC I got the answer that it is done by design to minimize battery drain and that they would have many angry costumers complaining about low battery life.
The only solution I know of so far is to use a 3rd party app.
I use "screenoff" and everytime I use the GPS I go to advanced-power and uncheck all the boxes.
When I'm done using the GPS I check the boxes again, otherwise I'll have to remember to turn the screen off manually everytime in "normal" usage of the phone.
I think it's sad though on such an expensive device not to have the option to run programs and hardware in sleep mode.
I'd rather find a solution where I can push the power button as usual and where I can have the boxes in advanced-power checked all the time.

I managed to get gyrator to turn the screen off by flipping face down, just needed to put the screen off command before all the rotation disable commands. Now if I want to disable the screen I just have to flip it face down for a second or so.

Thx for all your help.
But i found out that it's not only when the screen turns off everything closes. If i just leave it on home screen for like 2 min. everything also closes down.
I've heard from another forum that it's something HTC has decided to do to keep on the battery....
I don't know if there is anything to do here then??

Go to the start button, select settings, select system , scroll down and select power then the advanced tab and UNTICK Turn off device if not used for 2mins for both external and battery power.

shuflie said:
Go to the start button, select settings, select system , scroll down and select power then the advanced tab and UNTICK Turn off device if not used for 2mins for both external and battery power.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Done that... Still closes everything after around 2. min....

Strange, doesn't do that on mine.

shuflie said:
Strange, doesn't do that on mine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a similar problem and only thing which resolved it was a hard reset!

I'm just testing it again to make sure. Have a track playing in the HTC music app and I'm signed in to messenger. Screen is off and I'm waiting for 3 mins to make sure.

Fallen Spartan said:
I had a similar problem and only thing which resolved it was a hard reset!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was going to be my next suggestion, really doesn't sound like normal operation to me. So hardreset and install one app at a time until you find out what is messing things up for you. 3 mins are up and track is still playing and I'm still signed in to messenger.

Thanks to a guy called Dawsonas I just found a program called Pocketshield.
It has an application permission feature:
"When this app is running override power off: just do screen off" (use this option for music players, GPS apps, loggers, IM, or any app that needs the device to stay awake). This setting will take effect either when "Power off on lock" or "Power off after 20 seconds" options are enabled.
Check it out
http://pocketshield.netserver01.com/

Magster said:
Thanks to a guy called Dawsonas I just found a program called Pocketshield.
It has an application permission feature:
"When this app is running override power off: just do screen off" (use this option for music players, GPS apps, loggers, IM, or any app that needs the device to stay awake). This setting will take effect either when "Power off on lock" or "Power off after 20 seconds" options are enabled.
Check it out
http://pocketshield.netserver01.com/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will try that
But do you guys think it could be some settings in the ROM? Should i try another one or what do i do when you say it isn't normal for the phone?

SMS notifications while in standby (findings)

So I've got the problem where when my phone is off/standby I don't get a notification or alert until I turn the phone on at which point it plays the standard alert and vibrate (this is of course useless).
Playing around and I noticed that this problem goes away when I uncheck the setting 'Turn device off after X mins'.
Now, at first I assume that there were 3 modes on the HD (and presumably on all htc phones) and they are: Power off, standby, on. Those states seem self explanitory. Give that assumption, I always thought that there was just a problem with the sms program doing a notification.
With this new solution, ie, disabling auto turn off, all my text messages come through with a notification within 6 seconds of sending it on the other end. But I played around with it some more. Some of you may know of a program called psshutxp. This program can do three things: display off, turn off, and reset. Now I never used this turn off feature before because I assumed it just turned the phone off. I activated this function with the auto turn off setting disabled (the phone doesn't auto turn off) and end up not receiving messages (exactly like the original problem).
What I've concluded then is that the device actually has 4 states: Power off, standby, display off, on. Now if you read the whole thing you may have noticed that I'm implying the solution is to disable auto off and thus leave the device in what would appear to be 'display off' mode. It works, certainly, but I'm starting to think that battery life is going to suffer immensely. (I'm going to test this tonight)
It seems we're back to square one, but wth a little, and albiet minor conclusion: SMS messages should wake the device but leave the screen off. There have been some intermediate solutions that say to change the 'disable device wake on sms' registry from 1 to 0 or use HD tweak to achieve a similar effect then combine this change with a good screen locker.
My question then is, is it possible to wake the device but leave the screen off via registry or via resident program?
Investigating the resident program option some more, is it possible to run compact framework programs while the device is in standby?
Finally, I know that the Touch Diamond 2 had a recent hotfix for this exact issue. Considering the similarities between the two devices, is it possible to port a solution? I'm going to see if I can try it out myself (but I'm not as experienced at platform modifications as I am in software development). I also noticed that a lot of Diamond 2 users still report the problem wasn't solved with that hotfix.

check out the HD Tweak app, i think it has a "wake on SMS" tweak you can apply to the phone. would also help if you mention if you're using a Stock or custom ROM. in my case, i'm using a custom ROM with SMS Chat and i'm gettting SMS notifications with my device in stand-by mode. fyi, i'm not using the HD Tweak app...

Yeah, the Wake on SMS on HD tweak as mentioned in my post basically modifies the registry for device wake on SMS.
However, this is not, and should not be normal behaviour as waking the device turns the screen on as well. (unless your device is different in that it doesn't turn on the screen at the same time as waking up from a SMS, if this is the case, then... that's a pretty significant finding.)

just tested my device... screen is off (e.g., hit the power button to turn it off) sent myself a txt via my email account, heard the SMS notification and screen is still off. i'm using a custom ROM miri v26.2.

I can achieve the same effect by disabling auto turn off. As in: my device remains off and the SMS notification is properly sounded. (everything works as it should)
However, I worry that the device isn't actually in standby and rather just has the display off (which means that background apps are still running). A possible concequence could be that it would drain my batt pretty fast ( this is my cheif concern).

Notifications volume problem

I am having a problem with the volume levels for notifications. The volume for notifications (Gmail, text messages, etc...) will randomly become very low. This makes it almost impossible to hear the notifications. The volume settings are still set to the max volume in settings but the alerts are barely audible. When this happens the volume in better keyboard sounds on keypress is also reduced when this happens.
If I soft reset the phone by powering off and turning it back on everything returns to normal.
Apps that I have installed on the phone are
Better Keyboard
Brightness Level widget
GPS toggle widget
Retro clock widget
TasKiller
Tmobile Visual Voicemail
Weather Widgets
Anyone have any clues ???
Thank you

I thought I was crazy... I have the exact same problem. For the record, I have a good amount of the same apps installed too. I have a cover on my phone and I was thinking for some reason that was it, but the only way to make it return to normal volume is powering off and back on.
I've got the myTouch 3G.

possible app issue?
I ended up removing the GPS toggle widget and have not had the problem in the last couple of days so it may have been related to that app. Ill keep an eye out and see if it happens again.

Hm, I don't have that widget or the brightness level widget installed. I've noticed that it will happen and then go back to normal sometimes without restarting the phone... just by opening/closing random apps (at least I've yet to see a pattern).
Very weird.

Data issue.
If you have recently flashed any ROM that doesn't have the correct kernel to support media sounds that come standard with your device...it can corrupt the files within that specific folder.
More-or-less, it's like making an "unauthorized" change, but your phone recognizes that, so the volume settings do NOT function properly due to some form or interruption from elsewhere.
I would suggest downloading a third-party application such as Volume Control to keep the settings RUNNING as an application and not just a system setting.

In my case, I haven't touched anything like that. As far as rom, it's exactly as-is from the T-Mobile box.
It's driving me crazy because my ringtone is also effected. Sometimes I can't hear my calls even if I'm in the same room with the volume at 100% and other times it's inappropriately loud because of this issue of it going back and forth.

Factory reset / data wipe.
If you have uninstalled or NEVER added any third-party applications to your device to utilize those toggle features or settings for volume adjustments...then I would suggest a FACTORY RESET or "hard reset." This will simply wipe your phone back to the obviously stated "packaged" form.
This will remove any potential issues that could have been caused by an application conflicting with the system.
Good luck.

Turn Screen off but keep programs and GPS running?

Hi,
When i had my prophet before i could run GPS Tuner (or other GPS Softwares) and turn off the screen (button on top i mean) without having any difficulties. Now with the Iolite i have the problem, that when i turn off the screen the GPS gets turned off as well (as if the thing goes into standby)..
Is there any way just to make it run the software and the GPS no matter if the screen is on or off?

Just go to task manager and add it as exclusive. However it trade off with high battery consumption rate

Or you can use attached registry change. However, I am not sure if it is working as I didn't checked it yet. Maybe you can try it and inform us, if it is working.

Nachtwind said:
Hi,
When i had my prophet before i could run GPS Tuner (or other GPS Softwares) and turn off the screen (button on top i mean) without having any difficulties. Now with the Iolite i have the problem, that when i turn off the screen the GPS gets turned off as well (as if the thing goes into standby)..
Is there any way just to make it run the software and the GPS no matter if the screen is on or off?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there are 2 ways which might be helpful to your problem, but i am not quite sure.
1. some nav software will provide such options that will keep screen on or turn on screen whenever instruction is comeing.
2. before you start to use nav software, go /start menu/setup/system/background light/, uncheck device off and check screen off after xx minutes.
just try, good luck!

torrentonly said:
Or you can use attached registry change. However, I am not sure if it is working as I didn't checked it yet. Maybe you can try it and inform us, if it is working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What exactly does this file do? Does it keep the GPS running even if your phone is on StandBy (screen and buttons turned off)?
I'm in search of the same solution. I want to keep my GPS program running, but I want to turn the screen and buttons of, when I put it in my pocket.
Or is there a separate program which can simulate a standby?