Motorola Lapdock 500 works with Sprint Photon

**KSmithInNY** · 12-27-2011, 04:25 PM

I spent hours unsuccessfully scouring the web looking for the answer to this question before finally taking the plunge to find out for myself. Despite Motorola only listing the RAZR as supported, the Photon works just fine with the Lapdock 500 pro.

I ordered it from the Verizon website, cost was $300 plus tax and included free 2 day shipping. Link below.

P.S. This message was posted from the FF browser in webtop, on the Lapdock, 500 connected to Sprint 4G.

**Kbrn** · 12-27-2011, 07:14 PM

So it works just fine out of the box? or does it have to be modified?

also pictures would be great

**KSmithInNY** · 12-28-2011, 05:51 AM

Originally Posted by Kbrn

So it works just fine out of the box? or does it have to be modified?

also pictures would be great

Works just fine as is. Nothing special, plug and play.

**dorelse** · 12-28-2011, 11:38 AM

I'm copying this from a post by twospirits (I think you're on here as well ts) on the Moto Lapdock support forums...

KSmithInNY, can you confirm if the features listed as 'Only for RAZR' work or do not work on the Photon?

From twospirits:

"According to the FAQ (whicle search for anything related to lapdock 500) it states the following...

Q: What phones can be connected to Lapdock 500 Pro?

A:

DROID Bionic
Photon 4G
Atrix 2
DROID RAZR
Motorola RAZR
So far so good.

now it states the following after that...

Please note that at the time the Lapdock 500 launched, the following experiences will only work with the RAZR:

Ethernet connector
Webcam
VGA connector

If this is true, then am I correct to assume its not even worth getting the lapdock 500 for the Photon (or any other phone other than the Razr?"

**dorelse** · 12-28-2011, 11:41 AM

Answering my own questions:

Looks like Moto posted back that its correct...the other phones are being tested for Lapdock 500 support of those 'RAZR only' features. They'll let us know when they're supported.

I really do like that Moto is pretty active in their forums.

**bonanzabucks** · 12-29-2011, 10:42 PM

You paid $300 for the dock?? I got it at the Verizon store for $200 and it wasn't on sale or anything. Is it usually more expensive ordering through their website?

**dorelse** · 12-29-2011, 11:08 PM

Originally Posted by corinthians

You paid $300 for the dock?? I got it at the Verizon store for $200 and it wasn't on sale or anything. Is it usually more expensive ordering through their website?

Are you sure you're talking about paying $200 for the Lapdock 500 model? The Lapdock 100 has always been $200.

The Lapdock 500 is the much bigger, more powerful one.

**KSmithInNY** · 12-30-2011, 07:50 AM

Originally Posted by corinthians

You paid $300 for the dock?? I got it at the Verizon store for $200 and it wasn't on sale or anything. Is it usually more expensive ordering through their website?

I think you're talking about lapdock 100. My post is about the lapdock 500 pro.

**VMdoug** · 12-30-2011, 10:55 AM

I picked up a Lapdock 500 for my Photon today. I'm looking forward to having the long weekend to "play" with it

**KSmithInNY** · 12-30-2011, 11:58 AM

Originally Posted by VMdoug

I picked up a Lapdock 500 for my Photon today. I'm looking forward to having the long weekend to "play" with it

Congrats on the new toy! Its pretty damn neat. In its current form webtop is more of a parlor trick IMHO (albeit a really cool one) but I could see the combo of ubuntop + web2sd + 32gb class 10 sd, being functional enough to let me use this as a complete laptop replacement.

When I get some free time I want to explore things like, if I put an sd card into the lapdock, can I partition swap space on that SD to act as virtual RAM or is that dock port only functional as a storage drive? Will our phone even recognize the port considering our webtop base is older than the RAZR? On and on and on .... the future for this is amazing.

I'd love to see moto get serious about webtop and start developing it more like a fully functional linux OS rather than the chrome OS-ish thing it currently resembles. I have multiple Google chrome laptops and the one that rarely gets used is the only one I didn't install Ubuntu on lol

**VMdoug** · 12-30-2011, 02:41 PM

Yes, Moto can do a lot with Wetop and the Lapdock if they want to. So far my experience has been positive, the one thing that doesn't seem to work (and wasn't referenced above) is the sound...I can't get the lapdock speakers to play sounds from the Photon...I'll keep digging

**ronald600** · 12-30-2011, 07:51 PM

Make sure you dont have the phone on vibrate before you put it in the dock. Also check to make sure to double check the F10 key. that disables the sound.
My beef with Motorola and the laptop docks is the lack of documentation.
When running full Linux the dock becomes something special.

**coyoteclone** · 12-30-2011, 09:01 PM

I bought the Lapdock 500 from Verizon for my Photon 3 days ago.

It does not work.

It seemed to "work" but it was a bit glitchy.

Then it really went buggy, with no mouse control.

I am assuming I need to wait for a software update.

EDIT 12/31/11

VMdoug suggested rebooting phone before every session and it is currently working

**ronald600** · 12-31-2011, 06:24 AM

Originally Posted by coyoteclone

I bought the Lapdock 500 from Verizon for my Photon 3 days ago.

It does not work.

It seemed to "work" but it was a bit glitchy.

Then it really went buggy, with no mouse control.

I am assuming I need to wait for a software update.

You need to update the software on your phone.
You should be running
WebTop version 1.2.0-160
and Sprint Build
4.5.1A-1_SUN-198_6

The dirty little secret is your phone will only do the large updates if you are on wi-fi or have a 4G connection.
Depending on the actual wi-fi speed and the version you are upgrading from , it could actually take an hour for the phone to get the update and install it.
Make sure you have a fully charged battery or the phone on a charger

**VMdoug** · 12-31-2011, 07:12 AM

I have found it's best to reboot the Photon before putting into the Lapdock 500. It's a pain but until we get an updated Webtop version from Sprint there's not much choice.

Anyone know how to check the battery level on the Lapdock 500?

**coyoteclone** · 12-31-2011, 10:35 AM

That worked!

I have the latest version of sprints software, but by rebooting the phone before plugin

It works!

Thanks!

**twospirits** · 01-01-2012, 11:23 PM

I'm actually looking forward to the updated ICS port that is coming. It should have the updated webtop.
TS

**ElectrifiedBiker** · 01-03-2012, 07:39 AM

Does anybody know if either of the lapdocks work with the Electrify?

**ronald600** · 01-03-2012, 06:49 PM

Originally Posted by ElectrifiedBiker

Does anybody know if either of the lapdocks work with the Electrify?

I know the lapdock 100 works with the Electrify

**geauxlsutigers** · 01-27-2012, 05:01 PM

I just picked up the lapdock 500 for my Photon and everything is working fine except no audio. I checked F10 and it is not muted, phone is not on vibrate and volume is all the way up.

Any thoughts?

**Joewarfield** · 01-31-2012, 11:24 PM

Hi Everybody.
I am glad to be a part of this community of android tech enthusiasts. I am a CIT Infrastructure student with a PHOTON 4G on sprint.
Today i bought the Lapdock 500 from Verizon and am so far very impressed with this gadget. I think it will be perfect for school, IF i can get the sound to work.
Here is everything i have tried so far to get the sound to work (unsuccessfully):
Phone not on vibrate.
Made sure that the sound was up on phone and lapdock and that it was unmuted.
Undocked phone and docked it again.
Shut off phone and took out battery
I checked to make sure that the Webtop and sprint build software were up to date.
I Live chatted with Moto to solve the problem but found no solution. They suggested sending it to them to look at but that is a no go because i could just return it to Verizon and get a new one.
I really want to keep this accessory but i absolutely NEED sound. I am going to return it Tomorrow and test out a new one to see if it works, if anyone finds a solution please let me know. i will let you know if i am successful. Thanks

**geauxlsutigers** · 02-01-2012, 07:34 PM

Originally Posted by Joewarfield

Hi Everybody.
I am glad to be a part of this community of android tech enthusiasts. I am a CIT Infrastructure student with a PHOTON 4G on sprint.
Today i bought the Lapdock 500 from Verizon and am so far very impressed with this gadget. I think it will be perfect for school, IF i can get the sound to work.
Here is everything i have tried so far to get the sound to work (unsuccessfully):
Phone not on vibrate.
Made sure that the sound was up on phone and lapdock and that it was unmuted.
Undocked phone and docked it again.
Shut off phone and took out battery
I checked to make sure that the Webtop and sprint build software were up to date.
I Live chatted with Moto to solve the problem but found no solution. They suggested sending it to them to look at but that is a no go because i could just return it to Verizon and get a new one.
I really want to keep this accessory but i absolutely NEED sound. I am going to return it Tomorrow and test out a new one to see if it works, if anyone finds a solution please let me know. i will let you know if i am successful. Thanks

I have the exact same problem as you. See my post on page 2 right before yours.

Can anyone chime in?

Sprint Legacy - Nokia 6120 / Qualcomm QCP-860 / Motorola StarTac / Motorola TimePort / Samsung SPH-i500 / Samsung N400 / Sony Ericsson T608 / Sanyo RL-7300 / Sanyo MM-7500 / Samsung A900 / Sprint PPC-6700 / Palm Treo 700wx / HTC Mogul / HTC Touch PRO / Nextel BlackBerry 8350i / Motorola V950 Renegade (QChat Direct Connect) / Samsung Moment / HTC EVO 4G / HTC EVO 3D / Apple iPhone 4S / MOTOROLA PHOTON 4G

Mobile Broadband - Sierra Wireless 598U USB Air Card / Sierra Wireless Overdrive Pro

**Joewarfield** · 02-03-2012, 10:49 PM

I took the Lapdock 500 back to verizon to get a new one but they were of stock, so they waived the 14 return limit and let me keep it until they get more units in. While i was there, i tested out the Lapdock 100 to see if the sound works and it does. If the next Lapdock 500s sound doesn't work I'll get the 100.Which would be a bummer because i LOVE this device. I'll update soon.

**geauxlsutigers** · 02-04-2012, 05:07 PM

Originally Posted by Joewarfield

I took the Lapdock 500 back to verizon to get a new one but they were of stock, so they waived the 14 return limit and let me keep it until they get more units in. While i was there, i tested out the Lapdock 100 to see if the sound works and it does. If the next Lapdock 500s sound doesn't work I'll get the 100.Which would be a bummer because i LOVE this device. I'll update soon.

Please keep this post updated with your experiences with lapdock 500 (getting sound to work ) or if you pickup the lapdock 100 - how it compares to the 500.

Thanks

Sprint Legacy - Nokia 6120 / Qualcomm QCP-860 / Motorola StarTac /Motorola TimePort / Samsung SPH-i500 / Samsung N400 / Sony Ericsson T608 / Sanyo RL-7300 / Sanyo MM-7500 / Samsung A900 / Sprint PPC-6700 / Palm Treo 700wx / HTC Mogul / HTC Touch PRO / Nextel BlackBerry 8350i / Motorola V950 Renegade (QChat Direct Connect) /Samsung Moment / HTC EVO 4G / HTC EVO 3D / Apple iPhone 4S /MOTOROLA PHOTON 4G

Mobile Broadband - Sierra Wireless 598U USB Air Card / Sierra Wireless Overdrive Pro

**Joewarfield** · 02-07-2012, 11:29 PM

UPDATE:
So today Verizon called about a replacement Lapdock 500. I went to the store an tested the new one out and the sound still does not work. I decided to keep my 500 because i really think this is a cool gadget and I found a work-around.
I found that while the speakers and headphone jack don't work, the phone speakers will work when I switch to them using the drop down menu by clicking on the speaker icon next to the clock at the top-right of the screen. However, when I plugged some speakers into the phone headphone jack, nothing happened. I know that the PHOTON has Bluetooth, so I went to Best Buy and bought a Rocketfish Mobile Wireless Stereo Headset for $60. After pairing and connecting to my PHOTON, I docked the phone, Switched the speaker selection from phone to Lapdock and opened youtube and...it works! Perfect wireless sound. I can listen to videos, music, and even answer calls. LOVE IT.
While this is a moderately expensive fix, I think it is worth it in order to have a completely mobile, low cost, laptop with unlimited Data without paying for tethering. In short, DO IT.

WHAT TO DO.
_Bluetooth headphones or headset
_Pair and connect to phone
_Dock
_Make sure speaker setting is on Lapdock.
_Activate Headphones and enjoy.

*sometimes things get weird or don't work. Undock, restart phone, or unpair headphones/headset until it works again. Remember what you did so you can do it again later quickly if need be.

THIS MIGHT WORK WITH THE LAPDOCK 100. That would be sweet.