A small rant

[matthewdlyons]

I was #11 in line to get my Droid X last year. I happily handed the Droid Incredible off to my son. I even encouraged my wife to get a DX on launch day. (She was dealing with a BlackBerry on its last leg.) The honeymoon was sweet. I loved the large screen, the physical keys and the general responsiveness of the device.

Fast forward to the present, and I find myself cursing the DX. Intermittent and/or unexpected reboots, screen freezes, unexplained battery drainage, force closes, unable to open the gallery...you name it.

Before anyone gets defensive, or jumps in here to defend Android's honor, hear me out. I know...I know. I've tried rooting. I was sporting Liberty 1.5 for a while and did see a modest reduction in the glitches. But not enough to put the polish back on my DX. Add to that, rooting took away some minor, but rather important features of the DX. The alarm clock settings for example. Sure, there are alarm apps in the market, but how about leaving the existing one alone?

In anticipation (foolish me) of Gingerbread being released, I flashed back to the stock ROM, only to experience more of the same BS glitches and bugs. It's like a Robin Harris skit, "These DX bugs don't die...they multiply!"

Insult to injury is Launcher Pro Plus acting up. ADW EX hasn't been 100% stable either.

Is it too much to ask for a device to work 90+% of the time? I'm willing to accept some level of technical glitches here-and-ther, but DAMN! At any random time, my wife and I experience annoying things about the DX that are seriously starting to outweigh any benefits of having the device. The prospect of a DX2 doesn't excite me either. I don't know if Motorola is at fault here, but the Droid Incredible has never had any of the problems I've experiencing with the DX.

If you scan this forum at any given moment, the majority of the threads are please for help. Now, I'm willing to discount a percentage for newbies and people that don't take time to read manuals and the like. But, and this is a big BUT, there are way too many people asking for help that are technologically competent.

Personally, I like technology and gadgets, but I am getting a little tired of feeling like I need a degree in programming or coding to make things work on this phone. I don't really derive much pleasure out of hacking. I want some cool tricks, but, for the most part, I want a smartphone to be...well...smart. I want it to know how to do some **** without me having to tutor, mentor and nudge into operation.

Ok...I'm done (for now).:-X

 

[Ricky Babalu]

Sorry to hear you are having difficulties with your X. Curious to know if when you did the factory reset if you made sure to leave "back up data" and "restore data" unchecked. I know this caused some folks problems. Also, when you did the factory reset did you reformat the SD card prior to doing factory reset? Both of these ensure a "clean" state and gives you the best chances for success. As for Launcher Pro, I have read several complaints of it acting up on devices. I myself have not had issues with Froyo (has been very stable for me) or LP+, which is why I will stay on Froyo until I see how "Gingerbread" fx's.

*****Here is the post for reference:
http://forum.androidcentral.com/motorola-droid-x/36979-bingo-i-finally-figured-out-how-get-things-straight-my-droid-x-2-2-update.html

 

[mhans311]

A small rant? lol. I am not defensive. My wife has had a lot of the issues with her X that you are reporting with yours such as random reboots, screen freezes, non working navigation, etc. I have a few random reboots here and there, and while they are annoying, they are pretty infrequent.

One thing you have to consider about these forums is that people don't come here to tell everyone that their device is working fine. People usually only come here when they have a problem. That is why the majority of the threads are dealing with problems. If you go to the Dinc forum, there are a lot of threads with people asking for help there too. That's what the forums are for. It's like going to the auto repair shop at a Toyota dealer and saying Toyotas suck because all you see are cars with problems.

I do understand your frustration. My wife gets frustrated with her X too sometimes. I really like my DX, but I definitely won't upgrade to a DX2 and I am not sure if I will buy a Motorola next time either.

EDIT: Have you tried GoLauncher as a launcher replacement? I have been using it for several months with no issues at all. I really like it.

 

[matthewdlyons]

Thanks for the comments.

Ricky - I am pretty sure I didn't have the boxes checked. I definitely didn't reformat my SD card. Hmmm..maybe I'll give that a go.

@mhans311 - LOL. Iove to write, so, unfortunately, this was short for me. Valid points about the common thread, no pun intended, of topics on the board, and the reality that all devices will have issues. I just bought a MacBook Pro and an iMac, and the idea that "it just works" is definitely hyperbole. Although, I must admit that my fondness for Motorola has waned since picking up the Droid X. I haven't tried GoLauncher. I'll give it a look. ADW EX has been pretty good to me. It works better when the DX is rooted.

 

[19mitch79]

I realize that its not for everybody, but from what you wrote it sounds like your not afraid to play around with rooting and other modifications. I have tried various things with my Droid X, and have had a fair share of bugs as well. I was to the point that I almost took an early upgrade when one was offered to me. I am glad I did not. With the help of the great minds on this forum as well as a few others, I installed Deodexed Gingerbread .595 and have been amazed at the smoothness and stability of my phone. Its like the "honeymoon" feeling that you described all over again. Honestly, this is the best my phone has ever run and I got mine at launch. I am running launcher pro plus because I prefer it over blur, and I am willing to deal with the occasional bug that comes with it, but so far with this upgrade it has been completely stable. Federico is great about the updates and the one that came today hopefully addresses some of the bugs people were having. I recommend giving this a shot. An added bonus is Netflix works with this as well. Good luck to you whatever you decide. Don't give up on your X!! Its still a great and more than capable device!!!

 

[xoomer1]

there is a way to fix the gallery issue, resetting phone should have done it, but most problems are user induced - either by rootign it and installing stuff or by the app's you install.

I am running the OTA leak of gingerbread, its awsome, does not require you to have root either. If you want it yell and I will shoot it over to you - jeff@vcomm.net - but I am not having any of your problems, nor is my wifes phone.

also, with GB I find I do not need launcher pro any more, I like it as is. get rid of some of your app's and it may make your phone more stable.

 

[0pusX]

IMO...... if they continue to update our DX's which would in turn make our phones work almost if not completely flawlessly.......they wouldn't sell the new phones they release. But if they let our current phones become outdated and not function properly MANY will just give in and buy a new phone.

 

[sarantis118]

I too had a lot of those issues on my X, I know I had more random reboots than I took note of.

When the .588 leak of GB came out for the X is when I decided to get rid of Froyo, cause I too was becoming frustrated with my X. I will say that it was well worth it. I have no idea what the other versions of the leak are like in comparison, but I will say I won't go back to Froyo, period. The enhancements, even in the not fully done, GB made me happy with my X again. Granted it didn't fix all of them. I still had the occasional reboot on the .588 version, but it seemed like far less. The launcher in GB is far better than the standard one, I actually *like* the GB launcher dock.

Then I recently finally took the plunge and put the Liberty. V.5 GB rom on my phone and I have noticed things are going better. I haven't noticed any random reboots, yet, and it still has a lot of stock blur or aosp options for you to chose from, such as the alarm. Although it doesn't have the GB dock that I love so much. I'll admit, I liked the look of it most.

As far as your gallery issue is concerned, did you try going into your app management and clearing the data from the gallery app? I had the same issue with my gallery being buggy, and that did it for me. It'll have to re-scan all your media to find it again, but after a bit, it'll be smooth again. It took mine time, but it worked. Something to try.

 

[TechWhore]

I too have been having issues and have had my X since launch. I haven't had probs with the gallery but constant reboots and a LOT of probs making calls. When I make a call it takes a good twenty to twenty-five seconds to actually dial. Sometimes I call and it isn't ringing on my end but on the other end and the caller thinks they are getting pranked. I was thinking of using the upgrade from another line but I don't even know where to begin. I LOVE my X but I need a phone that works. it is my only line so I haven't tried messing around with rooting and custom roms other than z4 root. Maybe GB will help?

 

[TipTheScales]

Came from a Storm 1 to the DX. The amount of bugs that the DX has pales in comparison. This phone is the best I've had and love everything i can do with it. Rooting and ROMs helped with various issues, but GB has made this an awesome phone.