Acer Iconia Tips and Tricks

[Fumetsu]

Hi all,

I thought I'd start a Tips & Tricks thread for the Iconia for new users of the device. This is a really solid device at a great cost.

1) Someone on XDA mentioned doing a device wipe immediately after purchase/unboxing - seemed to help with screen swiping lag issues and Market app stalls.

2) How To Root An Acer Iconia A500 - xda-developers How to Root the Iconia A500

3) NTFS Support - xda-developers NTFS External HDD support for ROOT users

Post anything else you've found helpful here.

 

[Fumetsu]

Heads up everyone, got another tip. I'm sure you've noticed Cell standby draining the battery on the wifi model even though it isnt being used ( obviously). Using root explorer to rename the telephony apk Will fix that, however, would break bring able to use a 3g/4G usb modem which I expect may be supported with 3.1. As a workaround, using WIFI in Airplane Mode will solve this problem and increase battery life.

Note, i've read that renaming the apks will brick the device if you do a factory reset without reverting them back, so you may not want to go this route.

I've found wifi plus airplane mode was most reliable and easy. Feel free to post or pm me if you have any questions.

Cheers!

EDIT: just found JuiceDefender does not allow the option to disable Cell Standby. Sorry for the confusion. Airplane mode seems to work though. Need to test more, but either way the battery savings are negligible.

 

[Fumetsu]

Setting stock browser to use desktop user agent instead of mobile view :
1-type "about:debug" in address bar, no quotations.
2-click on > menu button for browser in the Top right corner >settings >debug in the browser (not action bar)
3-change UAString to Desktop
4-exit settings and voila, full webpage view

Notes:
You may have to type the full url in order to load the desired page as non-mobile view
You'll need to repeat the process each time you load the stock browser.

Hopefully Google will fix this in a future release.

Hope this helps, this was/is a big thing for me.

Enjoy!

 

[Anubis]

Thanks for the tips. Will try the desktop view. I hate most moble views on a tablet

 

[Primetimeplaya]

Desktop view is great but for some reason some sites ignore the setting.

 

[Fumetsu]

Desktop view is great but for some reason some sites ignore the setting.

Make sure you type the full address string and not a shortcut: i.e. "http://www.whatever.com", not just "whatever.com". That normally fixes the issue with it still loading the mobile site.

 

[wmurch3]

Great tips! I was looking at my battery usage and saw the cellular drain. Glad to know it can be disabled. However, it's a bit strange that something that's non-existent can drain my battery.

 

[guaro81]

I would like to know how to close (not minimize) an application? Thanks a lot for your help.

 

[guaro81]

And also, I would like to know how to eliminate a Shortcut.

 

[Fumetsu]

Great tips! I was looking at my battery usage and saw the cellular drain. Glad to know it can be disabled. However, it's a bit strange that something that's non-existent can drain my battery.

For some reason, the telephony.apks were included in the Wi-FI only build. I'm not certain why, but I've been told they're necessary if we ever want to get a USB 3g modem running on it so they shouldn't be removed. I'm not too familiar with the technical aspects of it.

I do know that renaming them will stop the battery drain, but trying an update or a factory reset with them renamed will brick the device. I just use JuiceDefender - seems to do the same thing for me without the worry of bricking.

 

[Fumetsu]

I would like to know how to close (not minimize) an application? Thanks a lot for your help.

An exit app feature is normally built into the app itself rather than a function of the system, although it is possible. You would click on the Menu button on the action bar and see if there's an "Exit" or "Exit App" button. Outside of that you would have to go to Menu > Settings > Applications > Manage Applications > Choose the application and then select Force Stop. I have to do that when I want to restart Opera Mobile with new settings because for reasons unknown the devs did not include an exit/restart app function.

 

[Fumetsu]

And also, I would like to know how to eliminate a Shortcut.

From your home screen? You should be able to click and hold on it and drag it to the trash in the top right hand corner. Is that what you mean?

 

[damo]

As a workaround, using JuiceDefender to disable mobile data OR using WIFI in Airplane Mode will solve this problem and increase battery life.

I've found wifi plus airplane mode was most reliable and easy. Feel free to post or pm me if you have any questions.

Cheers!

Hi, can you tell me how to disable mobile data using juicedefender? I'm using the free version fyi

Thanks

 

[Fumetsu]

Hi, can you tell me how to disable mobile data using juicedefender? I'm using the free version fyi

Thanks

The balanced profile should disable mobile data while the screen is off but it will reactivate when the screen is on. I noticed that the System Update feature won't run if mobile data is disabled. Let me see if there's a way to turn it off with the screen on and leave wifi enabled. Normally I just enable Airplane Mode and turn on WiFi if I want to conserve battery. I'll let you know when I get back to my tab.

UPDATE: just went into JuiceDefender settings and the mobile data setting is greyed out so this does not seem to fix the issue. Sorry for the confusion. Airplane mode with wifi enabled seems to work though. I'll keep an eye on this issue and update with findings. Sorry gang!

 

[jsrwriter]

solid bluetooth keyboard

happily, the pairing of the bluetooth keyboard by motorola (for xoom and atrix) with the acer goes flawlessly, and the keyboard works great for extended word processing. it's comfy, the build quality is solid, and it's small enough so you can tote it around with your tab.

also, juice defender: a must-have, as someone noted above.

 

[Fumetsu]

Yes, still love JuiceDefender. Doesnt solve the "cell standby" issue but still a big battery saver when the screen's off.

 

[taylor.fowler]

Yes, still love JuiceDefender. Doesnt solve the "cell standby" issue but still a big battery saver when the screen's off.

Just poking about in here, BUT I have a rooted NookColor which also shows cell standby as consuming a decent chunk of battery in Juicedefender or otherwise. After extensive testing by multiple people it was determined that disabling/renaming/uninstalling/freezing cell standby has no affect on battery life whatsoever.

Try doing some real-time testing. run the battery down to zero with it enabled, then disabled and see if there's a difference...for us it was confirmed to have none over several users. (This was actually an ongoing debate for a couple months, just trying to save you guys the headache )

 

[tdelta1000]

Fumetsu, those were great tips dude.

 

[natkhatthit]

My A-500 tablet not install apps from andorid market.

 

[Fumetsu]

My A-500 tablet not install apps from andorid market.

Go in to Settings > Applications > Manage Applications > Market > Clear Data. This may help with the market stall issues.

You can also go to Market.Google.com and install from there. It will push the app install to the device.

Hope this helps!