Ugh...sudden onset of problems

[Cory Streater]

Whenever there are problems, such as the ones described, it always helpful to start out the thread with a list of all 3rd party apps running on the phone.

 

[Hosehead]

Just to prove my point, I did a factory reset...and of course lost everything...

And the microphone still doesn't work...

Hopefully the new device arrives today so I don't have to reinstall all of this stuff again on this phone and then the new one...

 

[Cory Streater]

Sorry I missed that.

 

[Topweasel]

I was not rooted, and I was not doing a factory reset and starting out at scratch. If the microphone on the phone is not working, perhaps you can explain to me how that can be anything but hardware related? Looking forward to that reply.

You could probably be a little less bull headed about it. Android is for all intents an purposes the closest thing a Phone has to Windows. Unlike for example the Iphone, even the most basic functionality of the phone can be replaced with a separate application. All of these are allowed more direct access to the hardware then most other phones will allow. It allows this to be one of if not the most flexible mOS out there. In a case like that any application that has blown up and eating CPU/Memory, could also have locked up the mic or driven the response time from data collected from the mic so low that your not getting anything back.

Or it could just be that the OS is hosed an is using the wrong mic, well, because there are 3 of them. You might actually be getting canceled out with the one of the other mics that way. Or the noise canceling software could be acting screwy just canceling out everything.

In fact I would ask, if a phone had three mics. Why would you assume all of them died instead of there just being a software error?


Edit: Sorry didn't notice you had actually done a reset. But it furthers a point, there are hardware issues. But as someone who has worked in PC support for well over a decade. Way to many people interpret software issues as a hardware issue.

 

[Hosehead]

And as an IT professional for over 15 years, I know a hardware problem when I see one.

I left the world of BB because of lagginess and BS hardware and software issues. I should NEVER have to do a factory reset just to get my phone to work correctly. That is like calling Dell or HP for a problem with a laptop and the only answer they can ever give is "reboot" then "format your hard drive and start from scratch". \

I have also never seen a piece of software break a piece of hardware.

 

[Topweasel]

And as an IT professional for over 15 years, I know a hardware problem when I see one.

I left the world of BB because of lagginess and BS hardware and software issues. I should NEVER have to do a factory reset just to get my phone to work correctly. That is like calling Dell or HP for a problem with a laptop and the only answer they can ever give is "reboot" then "format your hard drive and start from scratch". \

I have also never seen a piece of software break a piece of hardware.

Your problem is you see a phone and a mic and you think most basic function it either works or it doesn't. But what you don't know is if the mic is no longer electronically capable of picking up sounds, or if the OS/Program is not communicating with it (like a bad driver), or unable to interpret the information correctly once it received it (Broken API or program).

Many times when calling Dell or HP the only way to not spend 480 hours on the phone diagnosing the issue is to tell them you went to a fresh install. Otherwise its "have you run hardware tests yet" "did you you install anything recently" "did you uninstall anything recently" "have you used the restore disc" and so on.

 

[matthewdlyons]

Just to prove my point, I did a factory reset...and of course lost everything...

And the microphone still doesn't work...

Hopefully the new device arrives today so I don't have to reinstall all of this stuff again on this phone and then the new one...

Sorry to hear about your problem, as I've been in a relatively similar boat. I did a factory reset and (knocking on wood) everything seems to be ok. I've been selectively reinstalling apps.

You mentioned losing everything. Do you mean apps or data? I would assume you could put the MicroSD in the adapter and pull things off of it, and AppBrain was crucial in terms of serving as a repository for my installed apps. (However, when I went into the Market and pressed downloads, everything I had ever installed was listed there.)

I hope the replacement provides the desired remedy to your problems.

 

[anon(40252)]

I have had two more random reboots. I had one just now ... the phone is just sitting in the multi-media station and it just rebooted. I am going to uninstall some of my recent updates.

 

[ylimehajile]

Topweasel - not trying to start anything here - no tone intended... he said he did a factory refresh. Isn't that suppose to bring it back to a virgin deployment (e.g. no API or OS issues)? If that doesn't fix it what else should one presume is the problem but hardware. If it use to work and now it doesn't and a factory refresh doesn't fix things it sounds like hardware to me (or doesn't a factory reset clean it out)?

I had a similar issue in that my external speaker came and went. I missed phone calls because I couldn't hear the speaker. I couldn't watch videos or listen to music via the external speaker because it was almost muted. A factory refresh didn't do anything for me. I called Verizon and the tech guy said it was definately a hardware issue and sent me a new phone. No problems since.

 

[Hosehead]

Sorry to hear about your problem, as I've been in a relatively similar boat. I did a factory reset and (knocking on wood) everything seems to be ok. I've been selectively reinstalling apps.

You mentioned losing everything. Do you mean apps or data? I would assume you could put the MicroSD in the adapter and pull things off of it, and AppBrain was crucial in terms of serving as a repository for my installed apps. (However, when I went into the Market and pressed downloads, everything I had ever installed was listed there.)

I hope the replacement provides the desired remedy to your problems.

AppBrain saved me some hassle. I am only going to install the necessary apps to get me to delivery of the new device (which of course, VZW f****d up, so it wasn't shipped yesterday as promised...).

 

[matthewdlyons]

I have had two more random reboots. I had one just now ... the phone is just sitting in the multi-media station and it just rebooted. I am going to uninstall some of my recent updates.

Interestingly enough, I did a 5th battery pull and reboot last night, and it was stuck on the Droid Eye for almost 40 minutes. I gave up waiting and tossed it in the dock and went to bed. When I got up this morning, it appeared to be still in the Droid Eye when I removed it from the dock, but within a few seconds it went to the lock screen.

I'm cautiously optimistic that my factory reset takes care of the problems I've been experiencing. Good luck.

 

[Topweasel]

Topweasel - not trying to start anything here - no tone intended... he said he did a factory refresh. Isn't that suppose to bring it back to a virgin deployment (e.g. no API or OS issues)? If that doesn't fix it what else should one presume is the problem but hardware. If it use to work and now it doesn't and a factory refresh doesn't fix things it sounds like hardware to me (or doesn't a factory reset clean it out)?

I had a similar issue in that my external speaker came and went. I missed phone calls because I couldn't hear the speaker. I couldn't watch videos or listen to music via the external speaker because it was almost muted. A factory refresh didn't do anything for me. I called Verizon and the tech guy said it was definately a hardware issue and sent me a new phone. No problems since.

If he did a reset it would be one thing. He only stated he had while I was writing that response. I agree that in all likelihood now it is a hardware issue. But with smart phones, there are so little done in hardware and so much handled by software my first reaction wouldn't be "It doesn't work and I interpreted it as a hardware issue so I am going to goad you into telling me how this "can only be hardware issue" could ever be software related". To me a device that is already showing software quirkiness (programs running slow and delayed) having an issue like that doesn't scream "order a replacement before trying something else". Having done a reset doesn't prove that his 33% or 50% guess was right it just means he has a defective phone.

When dealing with issues like that its best to actually troubleshooting it then replacing it every-time it does something odd or similar. If it was a software issue brought on by an installed app or setting he set up, its just as likely that every replacement will do the same thing. So how many $500 phones does a person go through before they look back and figure out it was something they were doing or something small that could be easily fixed without going through a wasteful swap?

 

[Hosehead]

A wasteful swap? So I am supposed to pay for a top of the line device and then play beta tester for weeks with a substandard product? Sure...and I guess where you work that you can spend hours without pay solving someone else's problem? Give me a break.

 

[darreno1]

If he did a reset it would be one thing. He only stated he had while I was writing that response. I agree that in all likelihood now it is a hardware issue. But with smart phones, there are so little done in hardware and so much handled by software my first reaction wouldn't be "It doesn't work and I interpreted it as a hardware issue so I am going to goad you into telling me how this "can only be hardware issue" could ever be software related". To me a device that is already showing software quirkiness (programs running slow and delayed) having an issue like that doesn't scream "order a replacement before trying something else". Having done a reset doesn't prove that his 33% or 50% guess was right it just means he has a defective phone.

When dealing with issues like that its best to actually troubleshooting it then replacing it every-time it does something odd or similar. If it was a software issue brought on by an installed app or setting he set up, its just as likely that every replacement will do the same thing. So how many $500 phones does a person go through before they look back and figure out it was something they were doing or something small that could be easily fixed without going through a wasteful swap?

+1

Totally agree here.


OP: you gave very little information from the very beginning so you can't get angry with the responses you got. Hopefully your replacement will work better. I'm in IT myself and worked as a tech for way too long, so I know how troubleshooting works - start with obvious and work down from there. Because I don't know you or your experience, I had no choice but to assume you were a newbie - take no offense.