New to HTC One. Kind of getting deterred already?!

[gabriel ammar]

Hello!

so this is my first android and my first time using a forum for help so hopefully this will work well. i just bought my black att htc one on friday and have been playing with it all weekend but still have issues which are driving me crazy enough to contemplate returning it (Sadly). The phone is insanely good looking so thats been a huge plus in me keeping it haha

Issues im having (any help would be great!)

1. my home/back key sometime need to be tapped a couple of times before working. i read of an update a couple weeks ago which fixed this and my phone is up to date so figured it wouldnt be an issue.

2. having a way to automatically backup my photos/videos to my computer without having to drag and drop (that way it will automatically backup any new photos/videos when i plug my usb to my laptop to dedicated folders) i tried htc sync but right now its saying my device is locked and cant read it despite it being unlocked (i tried running as administrator and also stopped this specific process from task manager as told by another post). i have a "camera upload" folder on dropbox but it only saves the pictures i took today while on wifi. did not save any previous pictures on my phone.

3 i already gave up with my music syncing. i was able to sync the latest songs with windows media player. but its been a pain to get my itunes podcasts onto my phone. i was able to put one of them on it and i dont even know how!

4. Any way to take a picture other than clicking the small camera button? for example on the iphone where you can click the volume button and take numerous shots.

5.the focus seems to go crazy and doesnt auto focus well. i tend to have to unnecessarily tap on the screen in order to refocus it.

6. Im not sure what it means when everyone says they root their phones? but i also see a lot of posts of people bricking their phones so i feel like i shouldnt be touching this thing too much!

7.still figuring out a way to streamline my tasks/notes. using evernote for long notes and the htc tasks for now

8. i dont even want to use the zoe feature yet because i read that it backs up as a ton of pictures and this will just clutter my computer.

overall i think i just dont know what im doing but i have a week to figure it out before my return policy ends with ATT!

Thank you for letting me vent and i appreciate any help given (literally anything!) ive spent too much time aggravated over this phone over the weekend.

 

[uh60james]

Hello!

so this is my first android and my first time using a forum for help so hopefully this will work well. i just bought my black att htc one on friday and have been playing with it all weekend but still have issues which are driving me crazy enough to contemplate returning it (Sadly). The phone is insanely good looking so thats been a huge plus in me keeping it haha

Issues im having (any help would be great!)

1. my home/back key sometime need to be tapped a couple of times before working. i read of an update a couple weeks ago which fixed this and my phone is up to date so figured it wouldnt be an issue.

2. having a way to automatically backup my photos/videos to my computer without having to drag and drop (that way it will automatically backup any new photos/videos when i plug my usb to my laptop to dedicated folders) i tried htc sync but right now its saying my device is locked and cant read it despite it being unlocked (i tried running as administrator and also stopped this specific process from task manager as told by another post). i have a "camera upload" folder on dropbox but it only saves the pictures i took today while on wifi. did not save any previous pictures on my phone.

3 i already gave up with my music syncing. i was able to sync the latest songs with windows media player. but its been a pain to get my itunes podcasts onto my phone. i was able to put one of them on it and i dont even know how!

4. Any way to take a picture other than clicking the small camera button? for example on the iphone where you can click the volume button and take numerous shots.

5.the focus seems to go crazy and doesnt auto focus well. i tend to have to unnecessarily tap on the screen in order to refocus it.

6. Im not sure what it means when everyone says they root their phones? but i also see a lot of posts of people bricking their phones so i feel like i shouldnt be touching this thing too much!

7.still figuring out a way to streamline my tasks/notes. using evernote for long notes and the htc tasks for now

8. i dont even want to use the zoe feature yet because i read that it backs up as a ton of pictures and this will just clutter my computer.

overall i think i just dont know what im doing but i have a week to figure it out before my return policy ends with ATT!

Thank you for letting me vent and i appreciate any help given (literally anything!) ive spent too much time aggravated over this phone over the weekend.

1. Do you have a screen protector on? That seems to be the culprit with the buttons.

2. Somewhere there is a setting to change the upload option, you probably have it set to WiFi only. Just drag and drop all your pictures from your phone to your computer one time and make sure you change from something other than WiFi only or use Google+ even.

3. Some will disagree with me, but in my opinion iTunes doesn't play nice with anything but an i device. There is an app called Double Twist that gives you "iTunes for Android."

4. Not that I know of but I also haven't looked since it doesn't bother me

5. Don't have that problem.

6. It sounds like you are coming from an iPhone, rooting is similar to jailbreaking. If you can follow instructions the risk of bricking is minimal.

7. Not a question

8. Not a question.

 

[pistos]

1. This is often an issue of just ?aiming poorly.? Make sure you press on the stenciled button.

2. No offense, but one of the big stumbling blocks for some people coming from iPhone is that they think they need to connect their phone to their computer to accomplish this stuff. Apple was slow to the party at eliminating the need for wires between your phone and computer, so a lot of iPhone people have learned habits that need to be broken as soon as possible for their lives to be much better.

(The other problem is Apple works double-time to trap you into using only their hardware and only their software for everything. You are now experiencing, firsthand, the big downside to being trapped inside Apple?s ?walled garden.? I encourage you to get out of their garden and stay out.)

Here is one way to get your new One phone set up and go forward with it:

First, I recommend you not use the HTC Sync Manager software for anything. I, personally, think the HTC Sync Manager software needs to be swiftly drop kicked and not put on your computer at all. It just takes you back to the dark days of wires, like Apple. Don?t use it.

Here is what you do, just ONCE... connect your One to your computer with the USB cable. Your One should show up on your desktop like a USB drive. Navigate to the folder ?DCIM?. (This is the folder where all your photos are put by your camera.) Make a folder in that folder called something like ?MyOldPics?. Copy whatever photos you want to have on your phone that are now on your computer.

Disconnect your phone from your computer. That CAN BE the last time you ever connect your phone to your computer, unless you want to mess with rooting your phone and such, which are completely OPTIONAL activities. Android phones do NOT need to be rooted like iPhones need to be jail broken in order to customize your phone and such. Android does not wall you into their little prison the way Apple does.

Next, assuming you have Dropbox installed and set up on the phone and on your computer, the next time your phone is on a Wifi network, all of those photos you copied to your phone with the USB cable will be synced to the cloud and also back down to your computer in your ?Camera Upload? folder. And, from now on, all photos and Zoes will automatically be copied up to the cloud and down onto your computer into that folder. There will be no wires you ever have to connect to the computer to accomplish this. Also, if you delete a photo from your phone it will NOT be deleted from your Dropbox Camera Upload folder, which makes it really easy for you to manage storage space on your phone if you want to.

(Regarding organizing your photos on your computer, there are lots of solutions. Just point your computer photo organizing software to your Dropbox/Camera Upload folder.)

I want to make sure you get this... after you do this one time, you will not have to do it again, and from now on all of your photos and videos will automatically be backed up to your computer without you having to do anything. No drag and drop. No wires. No thinking on your part. It will just happen in the background without you doing anything.

(If you will stop using HTC Sync Manager, you will not get that message about the device being locked anymore. That message comes from HTC Sync Manager.)

Answers to other questions on the way.

 

[pistos]

3. Make your life simpler and move all of your music over to Google?s Music Manager and it Play Music app. Google Music Manager can read your iTunes playlists and make those available to you too.

The beauty of this system is again no wires anymore and automatic syncing and you can pick and choose how much of your music is on the phone or in the cloud. It is a really great system. And Google makes it super easy to migrate your music over from iTunes. And, don?t miss this point... you can continue to use iTunes on your computer for music management if you really want to.

The Google Music Manager software will run in the background on your computer, ?watching? your iTunes music folder for any new stuff and automatically upload it to the cloud, making it available to your phone, including your podcasts.

4. You can have the One?s camera app take a photo by pressing anywhere on the screen, rather than pressing the little camera button. Launch the camera. Press the settings button in the lower left corner (looks like three vertical dots). Scroll down to ?Shutter Options? and check the option ?Touch to Capture.? Now, by simply touching the screen anywhere, the camera will focus and take the pic in one move.

5. I think this is probably a side effect of you being fumbly with the camera, trying to focus it and press the button, etc. Do the item 4 thing above and see if this issue goes away for you.

The One?s camera is very fast at focusing and taking photos.

6. You don?t need to root your phone. As I said above, this is not an iPhone. Android lets you use the phone you bought with YOUR money. Its your phone. You get to set it up the way you want, rather than the way Apple dictates.

You are not going to hurt your phone. Don?t be afraid to make mistakes with your phone as it is now. Unrooted, your phone is virtually indestructible on the software side of things.

Only after rooting the phone, which you are not going to ?accidentally? do, would you ever run the risk of bricking your phone. And, the truth is, with Android, a bricked phone is usually user repairable too. I have done a few myself. Never lost a patient yet. ;-)

7. Evernote is great and very versatile. In fact, you can probably use Evernotes for all of what you are trying to do.

The Tasks app is best for simple To Do Lists. But, Evernote functions well for this too. It has active check boxes for item lists for example.

And, again, with Evernote, you don?t ever need to do any wire stuff for syncing. It is all automatic in the cloud.

8. Don?t be afraid to use the Zoe feature. Remember what I told you up in item 2 about Dropbox Camera Upload? Even though you delete photos and Zoes off your phone, they will not be deleted from your Camera Upload folder in the cloud or on your computer. So, you have back ups of all the amazing stuff you do with your Zoes. Have fun! Use that beautiful phone! Fill it up with your amazing photos and zoes and videos and then delete them off and do it all again. ;-)

 

[Hush Martin]

There was an Android guide for iPhone switchers somewhere or another... if someone knows what I'm talking about, maybe post a link? Also, someone knowledgable might want to update it. It was outdated when I had a peek at it-- still fairly useful, but outdated. I haven't the slightest idea where to find it and I'm an ex-iphoner too, or I'd try to be more helpful. LOL

 

[amroa]

If you still have iDevices, then iSyncr is the way to go.Works perfectly for me. This is my post on that: http://forums.androidcentral.com/htc-one/277053-syncing-my-itunes-music-one.html

I found iSyncr works really great wirelessly. You do have to pay a few bucks for their app, but well worth it.

I know you've got a timeline with AT&T, but stick to it. It's like breaking an addiction. You certainly lose a few nice items which I didn't appreciate until I switched out, but I think, overall, you gain more than you lose.

 

[mayconvert]

These guys on here are great help. I literally just sold my iPhone 5 today and bought the LG Optimus G Pro. I am lost and confused at the moment. having a hard time finding this or that. trying to figure out the way android does things since they are nothing like the way apple does things.
Example: getting rid of the keyboard in text messaging. took me 10 min that I had to hit the back key while I had someone pulled up. Dunno why it took me 10 min, but I kept thinking, if I hit back, its going to take me back to the home screen.
There are a LOT of little things like that, that to iPhone users, makes no sense. Why can't we just pull down the keyboard and it goes away...

I don't have another upgrade until july, so I am keeping this phone until then. with no iphone to go back to. it FORCES me to find ways to do things I USED to do on my iPhone.
It's there. you just have to look and find it.
I "tried"android once for like a half a minute. bought galaxy s3 and hated it by then end of the first day and took it back the next. ICS did suck a little, but JB is much better.
Hope you find stuff that works.

I too am looking for Note app that works with the phone and my Mac.
I use Microsoft Skydrive for pic sync since there is a mac download for that.
Google Play took all my iTunes and stored it in the google cloud. works for me.
Lucky for me, having the LG Pro, I have a button I can assign to do anything, including taking pictures.
So far. I love my new phone. Are there things like iCloud and Photo Stream that I will miss. Most likely. But, I will just keep looking, there is always more than one way to skin a cat.

Good luck. Either way, if you decide android or iPhone, you aren't making a bad choice. I switched because the tiny screen was driving me crazy. I will get an iPad mini sooner or later and use that for iOS.

 

[robsawalker]

I think everything has been answered here. I also strongly suggest Google play music as it uploads all your podcasts as well as music.brilliant.

Regarding notes, as a writer I use notes all the time. I use Google keep for quick notes and evernote for longer notes.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[LegalAmerican]

I know this isn't a specific answer to your questions, but I do think my advice will help you as you go through this experience.....

I tell this to all of my family members who switch to Android. I know it sounds ridiculous, but remember that this is NOT iOS. If you want it to be iOS, you might as well stick with an iPhone. You switched for some reason (whatever that might be) so obviously there was something deep down inside that wanted a change to occur. Embrace that change. You might ultimately decide that you still prefer iOS and will go back to the iPhone, OR you might fall in love with what Android has to offer. Either way, tell yourself right now that it will be different and you will have to put in a little time to figure this new OS out. It doesn't mean Android is complicated, it's just not what you're used to. If I switched to iOS I would be confused for a while because i'm not used to it. That doesn't mean iOS is complicated either, it's just that as creatures of habit we have to go through an adjustment phase. Android is very simple and user friendly when you get used to certain things.

Have fun with the new device, and as someone said above......you will never accidentally root an Android device. It requires a few technological steps that require downloads, uploads, flashing, and such. So don't worry about playing with the settings and messing around with whatever you want. You wont brick a device that isn't rooted, and you always have this website to turn to if you have questions or think you messed something up. Don't be scared of the One because it is open for a reason. Developers, Google and HTC hope that you will play around with the device and make it your own. That's the best thing about Android. Have fun!!

 

[karmamule]

Excellent advice, LegalAmerican! When switching OS it's important to give yourself time to discover the best work flow using your new device and environment. Trying to shoehorn in old ways of doing things is, even if they work, going to mean you'll be missing out on potentially better ways to do things. You'll never truly get the full benefit of Android if you just try do transfer former methods over intact.

(On a side note I've seen some Android owners try out Windows Phone 8 and behave in similar ways, criticizing the OS for not letting them follow their old habits, so this advice is not just relevant to iOS people trying out Android!)