Auto rotate on home screen stopped working

[MaryC]

I have a Motorola Droid 3 (Verizon) with slide out keyboard.
I've had it for about 2 months. My home screen auto rotated until I downloaded a popular cooking website app. That app did not auto rotate and following that installation, the home screen didn't either.
I have uninstalled the app & restarted the phone. No fix.
I have unchecked auto rotate & restarted the phone; then checked auto rotate and restarted the phone. No fix.
I have researched this and other forums for a fix. There are claims that using the car port causes a problem... I don't have a car, so never used this feature.
There are claims that Google updates have caused it.
Then in another forum Motorola states this is the design of the phone ... that confuses me. Is the design to have the home screen auto rotate for a little while and then just stop?
All other apps that I use regularly still auto rotate.
This is an issue that's been plaguing the phone for more than 2 years and I find it unusual that new versions (Droid 3 for example) come out and the problem persists.

If anyone has advice, a suggested fix, a reason why it happens... I would really love to know!

Thank you very much!

 

[diggy15]

let me see if I understand this. You want the home screen to rotate? Only time you can do this is with the key board out been that way since droid 1. I am not familiar with a way to force rotation other then a home screen launcher program.

 

[MaryC]

let me see if I understand this. You want the home screen to rotate? Only time you can do this is with the key board out been that way since droid 1. I am not familiar with a way to force rotation other then a home screen launcher program.

No, you're not understanding the problem. The home screen WAS rotating with the keyboard closed. The home screen not rotating is not how I received my droid out of the box.

 

[Deborah55]

I have a Motorola Droid 3 (Verizon) with slide out keyboard.
I've had it for about 2 months. My home screen auto rotated until I downloaded a popular cooking website app. That app did not auto rotate and following that installation, the home screen didn't either.
I have uninstalled the app & restarted the phone. No fix.
I have unchecked auto rotate & restarted the phone; then checked auto rotate and restarted the phone. No fix.
I have researched this and other forums for a fix. There are claims that using the car port causes a problem... I don't have a car, so never used this feature.
There are claims that Google updates have caused it.
Then in another forum Motorola states this is the design of the phone ... that confuses me. Is the design to have the home screen auto rotate for a little while and then just stop?
All other apps that I use regularly still auto rotate.
This is an issue that's been plaguing the phone for more than 2 years and I find it unusual that new versions (Droid 3 for example) come out and the problem persists.

If anyone has advice, a suggested fix, a reason why it happens... I would really love to know!

Thank you very much!

I hope you get a reply, I've had mine since Wednesday. It used to work but it doesn't now.

 

[akhi216]

No, you're not understanding the problem. The home screen WAS rotating with the keyboard closed. The home screen not rotating is not how I received my droid out of the box.

This...

When I got my D3 the home screen auto-rotated regardless of whether or not I had the keyboard in or out. When I installed a Gameloft game, the home screen auto-rotate without the keyboard slid out stopped working until I did a factory reset. After I got the new market update, the home screen auto-rotate without the keyboard stopped working; it wouldn't even work with a factory reset.

I'm guessing that an update from Google killed it.

I'm not too fond of options being removed forcefully. It's too close to how CrApple does things.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk

 

[JVigs]

Same issue as Mary C...
Except the Home screen stopped auto-rotating after enteing ICE contacts on 2nd day of use.

Any answers out there?

I tried the Settings->Display...

I'm about to reset this piece, and if there is no fix just Return.

I can't live without the landscape when the kybd is not extended!

 

[The Droid Shnoid]

You may want to try installing LauncherPro and see if that will give you the performance you desire. I installed it for other reasons and really like its functionality.

 

[enb123]

+1 on Launcher Pro and any of the others (ADW, Go Launcher, etc.). Having said that, the stock launcher auto-rotated with the keyboard shut? I don't recall mine ever doing that on my D3 - it doesn't now at any rate. Nor did the screen auto-rotate on my T-Mobile G1back in the stone ages, or my DX way more recently. So I thought Android home-screens didn't auto-rotate unless the phone was in a dock or the keyboard was open (well, the DX didn't have a keyboard, but it was dockable!).

 

[The Droid Shnoid]

the stock launcher auto-rotated with the keyboard shut? I don't recall mine ever doing that on my D3 - it doesn't now at any rate. Nor did the screen auto-rotate on my T-Mobile G1back in the stone ages, or my DX way more recently. So I thought Android home-screens didn't auto-rotate unless the phone was in a dock or the keyboard was open (well, the DX didn't have a keyboard, but it was dockable!).

I am with you on that. I didn't think it auto-rotated with the keyboard closed either... But then again I didn't have it very long before I jumped to LauncherPro to give me better scrolling through the app tray, so I don't really remember. I can't really understand Motorola's insistence that we swipe through each screen to get to the end of the list (horizontally, no less). I liked being able to one-flick-it all the way to the bottom if I wanted... Just like my OG Droid did. And then I found all the other little tweaks in it to get everything just the way I like it (like auto-rotating the home screen when if slider is closed), and I am hooked on LauncherPro. I have heard good things about the other launchers as well, I just havn't tried any of them.

 

[JVigs]

Nah....
OOB (out-of-the-box) the home screen was DEFINITELY auto-rotating with the keybd fully closed...
I had two.

However, a phone that is in the distribution chain when activated will pick up the recent Verizon update.
In both, after updating, the standard launcher in the update was either intentionally or unintentionally modified from the version in logistics to remove auto-rotate.

Alas, I tested Launcher Pro (Free) and although it ran a bit buggy, I got the unlocker and the bugginess wasnt apparent in the $3.49 version.

So far I'm liking Launcher Pro and I definitely like having my own sanity restored by having auto-rotate with the keybd fuully closed.

JV

 

[MaryC]

To my fellow Android Community - thank you so much! Both to those who recommended solutions, and also to those who shared their (same) experience with me... it's nice to know that I was not imagining things!

 

[akhi216]

I can't really understand Motorola's insistence that we swipe through each screen to get to the end of the list (horizontally, no less). I liked being able to one-flick-it all the way to the bottom if I wanted... Just like my OG Droid did.

Motorola wants us to swipe through each screen to get to the end of the list because that's how it is on Honeycomb and that likely how it's gonna be on Ice Cream Sandwich.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk

 

[The Droid Shnoid]

Motorola wants us to swipe through each screen to get to the end of the list because that's how it is on Honeycomb and that likely how it's gonna be on Ice Cream Sandwich

That does not address my question as to why. Just because "that's how it is" is not an answer.

My question/issue has to do with why the decision was made to require multiple swipe inputs to get to the end of a list, when it use to be accomplished in one swipe? This seems terribly inefficient to me, and counter intuitive to have the tray scroll horizontally instead of vertically. To get to the end of the list in the tray, I must touch the icon, and then swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe. Instead of how it use to be, touch the icon, big swipe, and I am at the bottom of the list. Just seems kinda odd to have a newer, more advanced phone and OS take many more steps to accomplish the same task than the old one..

The only reason I have been able to think of is that they were/are trying to stay consistent with the home screen action. But personally, I liked the continuity between the two in the old style... That's why I am happy to have 3 party launchers like LauncherPro so I can tweak it just how I want it.

 

[akhi216]

That does not address my question as to why. Just because "that's how it is" is not an answer.

My question/issue has to do with why the decision was made to require multiple swipe inputs to get to the end of a list, when it use to be accomplished in one swipe? This seems terribly inefficient to me, and counter intuitive to have the tray scroll horizontally instead of vertically. To get to the end of the list in the tray, I must touch the icon, and then swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe. Instead of how it use to be, touch the icon, big swipe, and I am at the bottom of the list. Just seems kinda odd to have a newer, more advanced phone and OS take many more steps to accomplish the same task than the old one..

The only reason I have been able to think of is that they were/are trying to stay consistent with the home screen action. But personally, I liked the continuity between the two in the old style... That's why I am happy to have 3 party launchers like LauncherPro so I can tweak it just how I want it.

Lol so what's your point?

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[akhi216]

What I'd like to know is why the ability to have the screen auto-rotate without the keyboard pulled out was removed. It makes no sense to ship the phone like that then remove the feature without warning and explanation.

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[The Droid Shnoid]

Lol so what's your point?

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My Point? I was trying to be diplomatic about it, but since you felt the need to toss in this last comment I'll just come out and say it...

What and how you chose to answer is backhandedly insulting. If you don't know the answer, don't answer. It wasn't helpful, had no insight, and makes you appear as though you no nothing at all.

 

[akhi216]

Some people are too sensitive...

I wonder which update from Google killed it...if a Google update was the culprit.

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[akhi216]

My Point? I was trying to be diplomatic about it, but since you felt the need to toss in this last comment I'll just come out and say it...

What and how you chose to answer is backhandedly insulting. If you don't know the answer, don't answer. It wasn't helpful, had no insight, and makes you appear as though you no nothing at all.

The "comment" was a rhetorical question.

Relax Sparky.



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