Razr MAXX HD newbie - a few questions

[markymark]

Just received new RMHD via FedEx yesterday. Upgraded from a Droid Incredible. Overall very nice phone...screen is beautiful, processor is very fast, haven't noticed any lag at all. However a few minor annoyances:

Stock email app only seems to allow black background. Very hard to read. I couldn't find any setting to change the color. Downloaded K9 to use for my aol account so problem solved.

It seems that even when I am on wifi at home, the phone still keeps searching for a 4g/3g signal and sucking up battery. Even when on wifi, the 4g or 3g still appears in the notification bar as white. Is this normal or is there some setting to fix this? Why would I want the phone searching for a mobile signal when I'm on wifi and draining the battery? Makes no sense.

Also I notice that when I turn off wifi, there is a lag before the mobile kicks in. When I manually turn off wifi, the wifi indicator and 4g/3g indicator both disappear, and then like 30 seconds later the phone will connect to mobile and 4g/3g will reappear in the notification bar. On my Dinc the switchover was almost instantaneous. Is this normal for the RMHD or is there a setting to fix this?

Also, isn't something supposed to light up when the phone is charging? On the Dinc there was a little red light, and when the charge was done it would turn green. On my RMHD there is no light when the phone is charging...but if I turn on the screen, on the lock screen it says "charging 86%" or whatever. Shouldn't something light up when it's charging?

 

[JDubbs115]

Hi markymark,

Congrats on your new purchase. I also own a Razr Maxx HD, and it is by far the best phone I've ever owned. Saw that you asked some questions, so thought I'd take a stab:

- The stock email app does include a white background. When in the app go to settings (the gear) > General. Deselect 'Dark Theme'. You'll find that the email client now has a white background.

- Since these are still phones, they'll always be in touch with the mobile network unless you activate airplane mode and THEN proceed to turn on WiFi. The white coloration means that there is no active transmission of data over 3G/4G; blue means there is an active data connection (which is why the WiFi logo is blue when it's being used). This has been my experience with past phones (Bionic, Fascinate, older Windows Mobile Phones). If you were to track power consumption, I'm sure you'd find it to be negligible. Most behaviors are with this massive battery

- I have an 8 second delay between deactivation of WiFi and reactivation of the cellular radio. If yours is longer, I can't offer an explanation (sorry). Maybe that's one of HTC's programming strongsuits with your old DInc.

-Lastly, nothing will light up when the phone is charging. I believe that is somthing only HTC likes to do. The RMHD will chime when the battery is full, however. Perhaps there are apps in the play store that will let you create a setting for this.

Hope I've provided some insight with your phone. I've also heard that Motorola is seeking testers for the Jelly Bean update, so hopefully we'll see a bunch of new features in a few weeks. I need Google Now in my life in the worst way. Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[markymark]

Hi markymark,

Congrats on your new purchase. I also own a Razr Maxx HD, and it is by far the best phone I've ever owned. Saw that you asked some questions, so thought I'd take a stab:

- The stock email app does include a white background. When in the app go to settings (the gear) > General. Deselect 'Dark Theme'. You'll find that the email client now has a white background.

- Since these are still phones, they'll always be in touch with the mobile network unless you activate airplane mode and THEN proceed to turn on WiFi. The white coloration means that there is no active transmission of data over 3G/4G; blue means there is an active data connection (which is why the WiFi logo is blue when it's being used). This has been my experience with past phones (Bionic, Fascinate, older Windows Mobile Phones). If you were to track power consumption, I'm sure you'd find it to be negligible. Most behaviors are with this massive battery

- I have an 8 second delay between deactivation of WiFi and reactivation of the cellular radio. If yours is longer, I can't offer an explanation (sorry). Maybe that's one of HTC's programming strongsuits with your old DInc.

-Lastly, nothing will light up when the phone is charging. I believe that is somthing only HTC likes to do. The RMHD will chime when the battery is full, however. Perhaps there are apps in the play store that will let you create a setting for this.

Hope I've provided some insight with your phone. I've also heard that Motorola is seeking testers for the Jelly Bean update, so hopefully we'll see a bunch of new features in a few weeks. I need Google Now in my life in the worst way. Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanks JDubbs!

Duh...I didn't see that there were other settings under General, I was just selecting the email account.

Thanks for the other feedback as well. I'm really liking the phone so far. There is always an adjustment period...little quirks here and there. It seemed like it took more than 8 seconds for mobile to come on after I shut off wifi but I'll have to check it again when I have more time. As far as the charging light, I can live without it....just wanted to make sure I didn't get a defective phone or something.

 

[Who?]

Download Light Flow, and you can set a color for when the phone is charging. You can also set repeated sounds and vibrations for any notifications, the latter is especially important since the vibrate default is very weak.

When you're on wifi and idling you should barely be losing battery life. If you are, you may have a rogue app. Download GSam Battery and see if it finds one, or the Watchdog app.

Good luck!

 

[stridr69#AC]

Just to let you know markymark I also got the razr max hd as an upgrade from the OG Dinc a couple of weeks ago. What everyone has said so far in this thread is what I've done. Just relax, and enjoy the ride. This phone flat out rocks. And relax about getting Jelly Bean. I already tried it on my Dinc(rooted that puppy a week after I got it in Dec 2010) and it's not a major upgrade from ICS. And, if you use FoxFi, Jelly Bean breaks the app and makes it unusable. Which is why I'll hold off on the Jelly Bean upgrade for the foreseeable future. Enjoy your new phone! I know I'am!

 

[markymark]

Just to let you know markymark I also got the razr max hd as an upgrade from the OG Dinc a couple of weeks ago. What everyone has said so far in this thread is what I've done. Just relax, and enjoy the ride. This phone flat out rocks. And relax about getting Jelly Bean. I already tried it on my Dinc(rooted that puppy a week after I got it in Dec 2010) and it's not a major upgrade from ICS. And, if you use FoxFi, Jelly Bean breaks the app and makes it unusable. Which is why I'll hold off on the Jelly Bean upgrade for the foreseeable future. Enjoy your new phone! I know I'am!

LOL...couldn't agree more. I'm loving this phone. I thought there were things I would miss from the Dinc, but this phone does everything that phone could do better, and so much more. The size is perfect, the screen is beautiful, the build quality is exceptional and the nice thing is everything just WORKS. No complaints here.