My TF201 Experience (so far) - Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime

Apologies ahead of time for the wall of text...
I got my wife the Prime for Christmas. It took her a couple of days to finally open it, as I gave her the choice of going with it or the iPad2. After a couple of days, she seems to like it and is slowly getting the hang of the OS.
I've played with it some. For the most part, it seems smooth. I've managed to make it glitch (lag) a time or two by going in and out of apps and even had the launcher itself FC on me forcing me to reboot.
That was while checking out Alice in Wonderland in MyBooks, which by the way, is not exactly usable. The page animations worked at first, then stopped, then the pages stopped turning altogether and the app FC'd. Not that I care or am surprised. I'm used to included software being half-baked.
Browser experience has been fine using stock and Opera. Dolphin doesn't seem to work as well on the TF201 as it does on my Atrix. Perfect experience? No. I have a $4,500 i7 2920-XM workstation with an SSD and 16gigs of RAM at work and even with it, the browsing experience (or OS experience in general) can lag/glitch from time to time. Nature of the beast.
I can't really comment on battery life. She took it off the charger Monday night at 100%. It hasn't been used steadily for more than 1-2 hours at a time. It's down to about 15% this morning. I can't really say how many hours of use she's gotten out of it but it doesn't seem to drain much overnight, even with Facebook, email and other notifactions. It felt like it was draining pretty quick when in use but I'll have to pay closer attention.
There's minor light bleed around the edges but I had to turn the lights off during boot up to notice. I haven't attempted to watch an entire movie in the dark with it to tell if it's something that will be bothersome. I'll tell you, I went through THREE Sony XBR2 LCDs a few years ago. They suffered from horrible "clouding" (blotchy white areas all over the panel) and light bleed in the corners. That was noticeable under normal use and since I primarily watched movies in pure darkness, it was bothersome. I don't think it's going to be an issue w/ the TF201 unless I'm being nitpicky.
WiFi seems OK. I have yet to compare it to the laptop, but compared to my Atrix (CM7) it's getting the same signal. It fluctuates some, even staying in the same spot, but it's never caused a problem.
I haven't tested GPS. Something tells me it's not going to operate properly though It's low on my list of concerns and I'll use it as an excuse to return the thing to Gamestop in the next 15 days (for exchange only, which is irksome), but otherwise, I'm not too concerned. If it turns out to be hardware, I imagine an RMA will correct it. It would be cool to use the thing for GPS but I own an actual GPS and rarely use it. I would still prefer the device have its features work, of course.
Aside from the launcher FC and subsequent reboot and the occasional glitchiness/lag using the stock launcher and jumping through apps, the only other issue I've noticed happened this AM. I woke up to the room filled with light. The TF201 was on. I didn't wait long to see if it would go back to sleep so maybe it would have. However, when I got up to see what it was doing, I noticed it had rebooted. Hopefully that doesn't happen often and hopefully not while in use!
I'm confident that a lot of these issues can be fixed with firmware updates and hopefully those are pretty quick to release. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the device. Hopefully ICS will only make the experience better. And hopefully it will come soon so all of the speculation, etc can end! I know my Atrix went from all right to pretty frickin' awesome when I put CM7 on it.

Related

How is your prime working?

I was wondering how many people are having problems with their prime? I personally have not have any problems with mine, not even with wifi or gps.
no problems at all and i received it 3 weeks ago,no lights bleeding or anything
i haven't tested the gps wtih ics yet(i don't care much for it)
wifi shows less bars sometimes but i have the same speed everywhere in my house so its ok with me.
For the most part everything works, only problem i have is about 2mm worth of light bleeding, very unnoticeable doesnt bother me. my dock is supposed to arrive tomarrow so hopefully that is working perfect
Mine has been working perfectly. No lag, no reboots, the only issues I have are light bleed, which bother me, and what appears to be two dead pixels that you can only see when the screen is light and is oriented in portrait mode. It bothers me, honestly, but after reading all of the horror stories I may hold off on my RMA for the light bleed and dead pixels.
Just got mine yesterday @ 2:30pm and upgraded to ICS.
Like anyone with a new toy (after installing all my apps) I used it until 2am this morning.
The only moment I saw slight lag is when I had it in eco mode and was downloading 2GB of photos and 4GB of music (I figure putting music and pics as offline on a non-3g tab makes sense).
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
Picked up mine on Sunday in UK and been working great ever since (both the dock and the tablet itself), gone through ICS update just making it feel even better!
Now, just need a case for protection.
Been working great since I got it 12/22. ICS update is the best. This was what Prime was made to work with.
a lot of cry babies on these forums so don't believe all the negative stuff, people B*tch about anything
but mine works perfect, no problems what so ever
Mine has a couple of issues. No GPS (at all), some fairly minor light bleeding and haptic feedback doesn't work (just makes a noise but doesn't vibrate at all).
The ICS updates also reduces performance of javascript in the browser too, though scrolling and loading performance are a minor improvement. Typing in the browser is a million times better than on HC, however.
Mine is generally fine. Gps seems not to work but i dont care. I dont need it on tablet.
The only thing that concernes me is that my unit creaks a little...
Orion66 said:
Mine is generally fine. Gps seems not to work but i dont care. I dont need it on tablet.
The only thing that concernes me is that my unit creaks a little...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does this happen when you press down on the glass to the right of the charger slot and above the volue adjuster?
Over 75% of people's work fine. Sounds like the 25% are very loud and vocal.
ModestMuse23 said:
Over 75% of people's work fine. Sounds like the 25% are very loud and vocal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which will happen on a new release. There aren't any experts or guides yet to guide people through issues with this unit. And if people have a problem they have all received their units in the past few weeks so they are all trying to figure them out right now.
I know I just received my unit a few days ago and after reading all the threads I was terrified that I had been waiting months for a dud product. But everything appears fine.
So far, so good. I did see some banding in the display while using a game, but after rebooting the device, I haven't seen it since. WiFi's fine, I haven't tested the GPS (and I really don't have a need for it on a large tablet).
I'm waiting for an ordered keyboard dock to come into my local BB.
good
My Prime has been perfect since day one. Office Depot shipped the device to me in a padded envelope, so I was expecting physical damage, but there has been none. GPS Test never shows a sat. lock but every time I open G Maps, or a weather app, it knows exactly where I am. WiFi is great, not as good as a laptop obviously.
Paris6906 said:
I was wondering how many people are having problems with their prime? I personally have not have any problems with mine, not even with wifi or gps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not gonna lie, I am on my second TP. The first one got screwed up from ICS and couldn't do anything without it rebooting.
Got a new one yesterday from Gamestop and I couldn't be happier. Everything works perfect with ICS. I even get the free games that Gamestop includes with the TP.
Mine is working just fine since day one. I hope I can find a dock soon though.
can't say more than a true beast, its fast reliable and im happy i bought it, no problems at all
The issues are Real that some users are experiencing out there. But this poll clearly shows MAJORITY, almost 80% of Prime owners love their devices. Now new people should read stuff like this instead of all those other threads. Like some said here, they were terrified at first seeing some of the stuff posted but once they got it, it was a completely different story. Just glad my device been working great since 12/22. Plus with ICS now, my boot up times are really fast n everything in general is alot smoother n faster. Can't complain at all. Looking forward to more updates and developers updating their apps for ICS. Remember, we are the first tablet out with ICS now
I just havetoo add to this.... Typing from my newly arrived transformer running on ICS! The screen is breathtaking really WOW!! Tegra 3 really puts a new meaning in the word tablet its smooth really smooth. No issues for me so far... wifi is working and gps pinged me on maps inside in under 10 seconds so Im happy.........

Couple questions for you touchpad owners

So I'm very seriously considering getting one, hopefully I can get it for around 150 on CL, but I have some questions. I do plan on installing CM9, and will probably never go to web os.
First question, what is your battery life like? I currently have a nook color on cm7, and that thing can go forever without charging. Clearly, it is unrealistic for me to expect to get better or as good life, but I don't want to have to charge it every 4 hours either. So briefly, what is your battery life during use and idle?
Second, I tried reading through the development forums, and as far as I can tell, the only way to boot cm9 is to use moboot (or cyboot?). Am I incorrect in this assumption, or can webOS be removed completely?
Lastly, knowing what you guys know, is there another tablet that you would prefer for the 150-200 price range? I actually would kind of prefer something around 7", and was considering the acer iconia a100, but the locked bootloader, lack of development, and reported crap battery life is turning me off.
Thanks, everyone!
I actually came from a nook color as well with cm7 on it. I'm so happy with my touch pad. Its the best hardware out there for the money. When I got mine I immediately put cm9 on it and it runs so smooth. Battery life is pretty good but I can't say for sure how well because I'm always on my touch pad but it last me all day at work using it non stop for internet, games, and video.
I only know of motoboot and I'm not sure if you can remove webos completely. But like I said, the specs this thing has is way worth it and just as good as some of the higher priced tablets out there IMO.
Sent from my cm_tenderloin using XDA
When I was playing a lot of Jelly Defense the TP wouldn't last a day. For just surfing the web and such you'll get plenty of battery life - just don't expect nook battery life (I also came from the Nook which I gave to my wife).
I don't think there is any reason to remove WebOS. Not sure if you can, but not sure why you would want to. If you keep your docs/music in the cloud then even a 16GB TP should have plenty of storage space for you - even with two OSs on it.
I don't know what other tablets are in the $150-$200 range other than refurbs and Coby-style junk. I have been seeing some name brand tablet refurbs coming toward this price range but nothing I would think that is better than the TP right now. The only thing I'd be concerned about is the supposed Google tablet that is going to be in your price range. Not sure if there are any credible specs out there yet.
The best battery life will come from webOS. While running webOS I was able to get over a week of standby, it went from like 90% to like 2% in that time. In android I could easily get a few days of idle, with seeing about on par for my phone battery loss, I want to say in the ~1%/hour range. I can watch probably 5-8 hours of Netflix on a charge, so pulling data over wifi, and processing hardware decoded video with screen on. I don't play games other than casual like draw something.
You cannot remove webOS. This has been discussed since CM7, and I believe the first response was something along the lines of webOS is nice, the devs like it, and there may or may not be parts of it required to run android. Tri-boot was discussed to run CM7, CM9 and webOS, but that never went anywhere. Moboot is the boot menu. You are presented the boot menu at every start up. After a pre-set delay a default will boot. Cyboot is a preware app in webOS to change the default OS and delay. Moboot is the only way to enter CWM. Reboot recovery only works sometimes if at all. And there is no key combos to load into CWM. I set the moboot delay to 1 sec, and don't worry about it. I probably power cycle my TouchPad less than once every two weeks now the ROMs have settled, so that 1second isn't much in the big picture.
For me the 7" size is too small, I use my TP for web browsing 90%+ of my use, so the 3" bigger screen is used a lot, and makes a world of difference to me. Because of my use I also stayed on webOS until CM9. I have a 2.3 phone, and a 10" phone that doesn't make calls didn't appeal to me. webOS has a solid browser, and an intuitive elegant user interface. So I ranked it higher than CM7. CM9 has been great. The browser is good, but tablet optimized apps selection is still poor. Google doesn't seem motivated to change that anytime soon, and you will have the same issue on any android tablet. My TP is a stop gap until W8 tablets are out. Given the price, and other choices in the same price range, I see no reason to get anything other than the TouchPad.
If you do get the TouchPad I recommend getting a TouchStone. That is the Inductive charger. You just place the TP on this easel, and it charges, no wires. It works through cases too. I use the HP official case, I was concerned other cases might not sit on the TouchStone as securely as the official case. It has a microfiber lining in the front that cleans the screen fairly well automatically, and protects the back from fingerprints. And the TP is a fingerprint magnet without a case.
Sent from my Galaxy S II (i777)
Awesome summary Quarlow.
I love my touchpad, and with cm9 i couldnt ask for more, i do leave webos on it because there are certain things like skype video calling that i will boot into webos for, but for the most part i never leave android. You will NOT find a better tablet for that price, battery life will depend on how you tweak it. I run mine overclcocked at around1.7ghz all the time and its super fast and battery life is great, if i want to tighten down the specs i can run this badboy 9+ hours without a break.
dung8604 said:
So I'm very seriously considering getting one, hopefully I can get it for around 150 on CL, but I have some questions. I do plan on installing CM9, and will probably never go to web os.
First question, what is your battery life like? I currently have a nook color on cm7, and that thing can go forever without charging. Clearly, it is unrealistic for me to expect to get better or as good life, but I don't want to have to charge it every 4 hours either. So briefly, what is your battery life during use and idle?
Second, I tried reading through the development forums, and as far as I can tell, the only way to boot cm9 is to use moboot (or cyboot?). Am I incorrect in this assumption, or can webOS be removed completely?
Lastly, knowing what you guys know, is there another tablet that you would prefer for the 150-200 price range? I actually would kind of prefer something around 7", and was considering the acer iconia a100, but the locked bootloader, lack of development, and reported crap battery life is turning me off.
Thanks, everyone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These Q's have all been asked and answered here before, multiple times. The first 2 Q's have been answered, I'm sure of it, in one thread together even.
With the search function, I found this.
Read here.
Or here.
Or here.
Or here.
Or here.
There are more, but I'm getting tired of doing homework for other people. I haven't even had my coffee this morning yet. You can easily find them though too, use the button marked 'Search'.
To your questions, though...
1. Not anywhere NEAR what you can get from your Nook. CM's an Alpha on the TP. WebOS battery life is sensational, though...even on heavy use with wifi on, in webOS, I can go a week. In webOS overnight, when I forgot to turn wifi off, it sometimes doesn't even drop 1%. In Android, it could drop 5-8% if I'm lucky.
2. Correct. No, you're not incorrect. Why would you want to throw away your free insurance and risk bricking your device? Moboot prevents you (or noobs in general) from toasting their TPs. I can't understand why people ask this question before they get their TPs. It's as if you've assumed that webOS is terrible, but it's not. Like I said, battery life is awesome. I've got CM9 on my TP, too, but webOS isn't useless...if anything, it's much[ /B] more stable than Android on this device, better battery, and everything works. Bear in mind, that on CM there is still stuff that just doesn't work! Camera, H/W acceleration (sometimes, it works in some apps).
This question is like asking a car salesman, before you buy a car, if you can take parts out of the motor without knowing about it. Sorry if I sound like a ****, but this question gets old.
/rant
3. No. But I bet google might...but no seriously, the Kindle Fire maybe. :confused
Thank you for the answer, guys. You've convinced me to get the touchpad. I do apologize for repeating questions you guys are sick of. The search function on mobile really really sucks.
One last question, do you guys think that 200 for a used 32gb is a good deal via craiglist? I read the other thread where several users said a fair price was 160 to 170 for a used 16gb.
Yes, $200 for a 32g is a really good price. I had a second TP which I put cm9 on and sold it for $250 on CL....within 15min of posting of it....
I'd try to haggle down from $200, but to be honest it's not bad at all.
I was lucky enough to get one thru the XDA MP for $130 (a 16 gig) and I am VERY pleasantly surprised with this device. I used to have a gTab, let me tell you, this device is a lot better, and it runs Android SO well, just fix the camera and you're good to go!
Battery life for me is awesome, with my CM9 setup I get a full day with moderate use, and I mean where am I going for a week that I can't charge it? I mean seriously who doesn't charge it at night? Like if I was going to be in a cave for a week maybe I'd get a kindle or something...
orangekid said:
I'd try to haggle down from $200, but to be honest it's not bad at all.
I was lucky enough to get one thru the XDA MP for $130 (a 16 gig) and I am VERY pleasantly surprised with this device. I used to have a gTab, let me tell you, this device is a lot better, and it runs Android SO well, just fix the camera and you're good to go!
Battery life for me is awesome, with my CM9 setup I get a full day with moderate use, and I mean where am I going for a week that I can't charge it? I mean seriously who doesn't charge it at night? Like if I was going to be in a cave for a week maybe I'd get a kindle or something...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a really good deal! I ended up with a 16 gig for 160. Kind of unfortunate, because right after I bought it, another guy offered a 32 gig for 180. Oh well, I'm still very happy with my purchase.

My Nexus 10 is a load of crap

I bought two Nexus 10 when they were first released and I've scrapped one because the battery failed and a huge screen area went yellow and I was getting multiple annoying random reboots every day.
Now my second Nexus 10 is going the same way.
What a load of crap this tablet is, I'm not surprised Google is not updating it for no-one would buy it.
That's interesting....I have a few mates who have the Nexus 10 and none of them have had those problems. They have had theirs since they were released...Maybe you dropped them once?
You just might be an isolated incident. Another mate if mine has the N7 but the only issue is the charger port issue that many other people have.
I have a N4 and the only issue I have is that the camera stops working at times and to fix that I just restart the phone.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Free mobile app
Project:Frankenphone said:
That's interesting....I have a few mates who have the Nexus 10 and none of them have had those problems. They have had theirs since they were released...Maybe you dropped them once?
You just might be an isolated incident. Another mate if mine has the N7 but the only issue is the charger port issue that many other people have.
I have a N4 and the only issue I have is that the camera stops working at times and to fix that I just restart the phone.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No misuse at all and another annoying bug is the way it deletes part of the pin number after a reboot so you have to re-do the pin number.
Gaugerer said:
Now my second Nexus 10 is going the same way.
What a load of crap this tablet is, I'm not surprised Google is not updating it for no-one would buy it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am sorry to hear you are having troubles with both N10s. I would surely have the same frustrations were I you.
We have two N10s, his and hers, for about a year and half. They are used for several hours every day, because we are retired and have lots of time to be online or reading books. My wife's N10 runs Purity ROM and is rock solid for her word games and eBay, facebook, shopping, email and all the other stuff. Mine is rock solid for banking, bill pay, surfing and videos. It usually runs CM11, but could be temporarily running something else while playing around with ROMs. We charge our tablets every day, and try never to get below 50% before plugging in.
I do plan to buy at least one N9 when released, not out of need, but, instead, out of curiosity for an Android 3x4 screen format. Fun times ahead for us Nexus fans.
everybody screaming at me that i m trolling when i was saying about problems with this device few months ago
yellow screen
too many lemon batterys
hdmi problems
buzzing speakers
reboots
no original accesories
you name it ...
I m still in waranty ... i m lazy to go in service with it but after i will repair it ( i hope ) or change it i will sell it and buy a sony . I m not buying a google device again .
nexus fun boys ... what can I say
Sent from my Nexus 10 using XDA Free mobile app
Don't forget nexus 10 is a two years old tablet but it was a gem in its own time. After 2 years we still don't have any tablets with a higher screen resolution than nexus 10. Which makes it perfect for media consumption. I think only galaxy tab s has a better screen nowadays.
It has had its own shortcommings but most of them are by rectified by software updates, like memory leaks or random reboots.
I have purity ROM on my nexus 10 and I have zero reboots or problems. Everything works like a charm after 2 years of heavy usage. The only thing that I envy now is a super amoled screen on my tablet.
fifthelement said:
Don't forget nexus 10 is a two years old tablet but it was a gem in its own time. After 2 years we still don't have any tablets with a higher screen resolution than nexus 10. Which makes it perfect for media consumption. I think only galaxy tab s has a better screen nowadays.
It has had its own shortcommings but most of them are by rectified by software updates, like memory leaks or random reboots.
I have purity ROM on my nexus 10 and I have zero reboots or problems. Everything works like a charm after 2 years of heavy usage. The only thing that I envy now is a super amoled screen on my tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Software updates have not stopped random reboots on my two Nexus 10 and I still suffer from system freezes and sometimes with a loud horrible noise from the speaker and I need to do a hard reset to stop it. So bad.
Gaugerer said:
Software updates have not stopped random reboots on my two Nexus 10 and I still suffer from system freezes and sometimes with a loud horrible noise from the speaker and I need to do a hard reset to stop it. So bad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try to install Purity ROM on them :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2336101
Gaugerer said:
I bought two Nexus 10 when they were first released and I've scrapped one because the battery failed and a huge screen area went yellow and I was getting multiple annoying random reboots every day.
Now my second Nexus 10 is going the same way.
What a load of crap this tablet is, I'm not surprised Google is not updating it for no-one would buy it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, the Nexus Tablet line was literally one of the biggest POS. I owned a Nexus 7 tablet for about six months and never dropped it or anything. The problem started out with ghosting/ghost input touches then later on progressed to half the touch screen not working at all... Although I initially loved it literally became one the biggest let downs ever...
On top of this, I had also read many articles on XDA and elsewhere of people with the same problem trying to send their tablet's in to ASUS for the warranty and they basically just sent the tablets back to them as is with a software upgrade, which didn't help at all since it was a hardware problem.
Gaugerer said:
I bought two Nexus 10 when they were first released and I've scrapped one because the battery failed and a huge screen area went yellow and I was getting multiple annoying random reboots every day.
Now my second Nexus 10 is going the same way.
What a load of crap this tablet is, I'm not surprised Google is not updating it for no-one would buy it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine had worked flawlessly since the week it was released.
I got mine when they released the tablet and I've never had one problem with it.
I got mine first month of release and it was great for about a year. It's still good now but my siblings abused it so now the battery drains quick (used to last all day and some of the next now I'm lucky if it reaches the end of the day) and speakers are chipping paint.
Other than that there no issues though and those are pretty much our fault. The battery problem could be from not using official charger or just charging all night
Sent from my LG-VS980
I bought my shortly after release and have not experienced any problems with it. I have almost exclusively been using the Franco kernel with AOKP. I use it every day in place of my laptop. I can watch movies, youtube, internet, social media, etc. all day on a single charge.
I bought mine around feb/mar 2013.
It's a piece of crap.
Yellow/brownish tint on the screen that is getting bigger as we speak, battery shutdown at 30% (workarounds exist!), overheating, slow response, slow R/W speeds, etc. I have to do a factory reset pretty much every month.
On top of that: Gergle being a b*tch about it because they've deactivated my account (inactivity). Really funny guys.
I don't know what to do.
I guess I'll throw it away, as soon as I have something new. I'll never buy anything touched by Samsung again. No phone, tablet, TV, you name it. The only thing they're good as is NAND.
IRKONIK said:
I bought mine around feb/mar 2013.
It's a piece of crap.
Yellow/brownish tint on the screen that is getting bigger as we speak, battery shutdown at 30% (workarounds exist!), overheating, slow response, slow R/W speeds, etc. I have to do a factory reset pretty much every month.
On top of that: Gergle being a b*tch about it because they've deactivated my account (inactivity). Really funny guys.
I don't know what to do.
I guess I'll throw it away, as soon as I have something new. I'll never buy anything touched by Samsung again. No phone, tablet, TV, you name it. The only thing they're good as is NAND.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you please tell me a workaround for 30% battery shutdown ? i have the same problem .. step by step battery die more faster ... first at 4%, 8% 10% and now 30%...
Sent from my Nexus 10 using XDA Free mobile app
samwheat said:
Can you please tell me a workaround for 30% battery shutdown ? i have the same problem .. step by step battery die more faster ... first at 4%, 8% 10% and now 30%...
Sent from my Nexus 10 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem is: I force the system NOT to shutdown. The battery stays at 0%, but the device keeps running.
This is dangerous. When the CPU ramps up and the voltage is too low it'll cause instability, which you can see by the backlight flickering, the speakers making weird noises, all that bad stuff.
I am not sure how this affects the battery (or the device) physically, since Li-Ion is not very happy when it's "too" discharged. But it'll wear out the battery even faster, I fear. (This is unfunded. I have not enough knowledge about electronics that advanced. But I've read it somewhere. :silly
But, that out of the way: There's an xposed module. I DO NOT recommend using it. It's called DisableCriticalBatteryShutdown, by the user zst123.
You WILL run into fc's of the systemui when plugging the device back in. But the process should restart by itself.
There's a thread on XDA. AGAIN, I DO NOT RECOMMEND USING THIS MODULE.
I got my Nexus 10 shortly after they were released, and though I love it because it's screen is gorgeous and it has front-facing speakers, it is really buggy, and has been since day one.
It freezes and restarts on me probably daily, and always has since it was brand new. In the early days it always happened while using Chrome, and at the time I remember reading that it was a Chrome-specific issue, so I just switched to Firefox in hopes of a better experience.
It was better, for the most part, but eventually it started freezing at other times as well. I still like the tablet, but it definitely has never been a great performer.
I got my Nexus 10 at release, after 1.5 months of Google not shipping it, losing it, telling me that it was coming, etc... Worst customer experience I ever had. I was on the phone with them daily.
When I finally got it it worked fine for a little while but as I put more and more on it and actually tried to use it to stream video, I would get random reboots, freezing, etc...
I've tried relentlessly to talk my wife into letting me unlock it and put a custom ROM on it hoping it would fix things but she would never let me. Now that it's almost two years old, and I barely use it do to all the reboots, etc..., she might finally let me unlock it.
I was really looking forward to getting this tablet when they announced it but with all the problems, for me it pretty much became a $500 paperweight. I use my GS4 so much more than I every used this tablet, even when I'm home.
IRKONIK said:
The problem is: I force the system NOT to shutdown. The battery stays at 0%, but the device keeps running.
This is dangerous. When the CPU ramps up and the voltage is too low it'll cause instability, which you can see by the backlight flickering, the speakers making weird noises, all that bad stuff.
I am not sure how this affects the battery (or the device) physically, since Li-Ion is not very happy when it's "too" discharged. But it'll wear out the battery even faster, I fear. (This is unfunded. I have not enough knowledge about electronics that advanced. But I've read it somewhere. :silly
But, that out of the way: There's an xposed module. I DO NOT recommend using it. It's called DisableCriticalBatteryShutdown, by the user zst123.
You WILL run into fc's of the systemui when plugging the device back in. But the process should restart by itself.
There's a thread on XDA. AGAIN, I DO NOT RECOMMEND USING THIS MODULE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So there s no solution ...
Sent from my XT1033 using XDA Free mobile app
I have 2 Nex10's. Both bought at launch. One is stable as a rock (thank god it's the wife's or else) but mine is a bit of a dud. Instabilities and crashes since day one.
Not a day goes by that I don't have to do the 3 finger salute to restart because it has frozen solid.
Tried factory resetting, flashed factory images whenever a new one was around and tried different kernels. No change whatsoever.
I believe Samsung's soc is the culprit here, which was also the issue with the chrome chrashes in the early days (GPU drivers that fixed the issue where delayed by Samsung, which was silly as it's a stock Mali GPU).
Never mind the USB connectivity issues that only Samsung devices do. I had no problem connecting any of my other tablets and phones (Nexus 7, 4, 5, Xperia Z, various HTCs, even Nokia Lumias) to my PC. The Nex10? No dice. I had to manually remove any and all USB drivers, do 3 rain dances and pray to the lord of shadows before I got it to work.

Strange Crash in Specific App

I purchased a refurbished Nexus 9 a year and a half ago. I've used ROMs to get it to 7.x and get all the regular updates OTA, currently on the May 5th security update. I've been playing CSR Racing 2 on it for about 9 months. The game has many known issues on Android of all versions and all devices, including crashing to "desktop". This problem is more unique. At almost any given moment in-game I can get a whited out or nearly opaque white, blocky screen overlaying the game image. At the same time, usually, an ear-piercing squeal kicks off. I have the volume at zero at all times, btw.
I've done everything except wipe the thing and re-install. Interestingly, I've had the problem outside the game once, although I can't recall what I was doing at the time. I'm inclined to believe it's the hardware. I actually ordered a Shield, and should be receiving it tomorrow, believing that it's the hardware. Once that is received and the game is up and running - unless I have the same problem on the Shield (meaning the problem's in the game or my profile itself) - I will be wiping the Nexus 9 and finding out once and for all if the thing's toast. In that vein, I have two questions.
One, is there some type of diagnostic I could run to check the limits of this tablet? CSR2 is very taxing on hardware, especially Android, and pushes it very hard. I'm wondering if there's a diagnostic that is a stress tester of sorts that I could use to see if there is any specific problem with the hardware.
Secondly, is there a ROM folks think may have better hardware interfacing for the memory, CPU/GPU, than stock Android? Obviously, I'd like the diagnostic to test the hardware while the new tablet will test whether it's the game/profile. What I won't have tested is the Android OS itself. Any recommendations?
Thanks for your time and any help that you may be able to offer!
Kazz5 said:
I purchased a refurbished Nexus 9 a year and a half ago. I've used ROMs to get it to 7.x and get all the regular updates OTA, currently on the May 5th security update. I've been playing CSR Racing 2 on it for about 9 months. The game has many known issues on Android of all versions and all devices, including crashing to "desktop". This problem is more unique. At almost any given moment in-game I can get a whited out or nearly opaque white, blocky screen overlaying the game image. At the same time, usually, an ear-piercing squeal kicks off. I have the volume at zero at all times, btw.
I've done everything except wipe the thing and re-install. Interestingly, I've had the problem outside the game once, although I can't recall what I was doing at the time. I'm inclined to believe it's the hardware. I actually ordered a Shield, and should be receiving it tomorrow, believing that it's the hardware. Once that is received and the game is up and running - unless I have the same problem on the Shield (meaning the problem's in the game or my profile itself) - I will be wiping the Nexus 9 and finding out once and for all if the thing's toast. In that vein, I have two questions.
One, is there some type of diagnostic I could run to check the limits of this tablet? CSR2 is very taxing on hardware, especially Android, and pushes it very hard. I'm wondering if there's a diagnostic that is a stress tester of sorts that I could use to see if there is any specific problem with the hardware.
Secondly, is there a ROM folks think may have better hardware interfacing for the memory, CPU/GPU, than stock Android? Obviously, I'd like the diagnostic to test the hardware while the new tablet will test whether it's the game/profile. What I won't have tested is the Android OS itself. Any recommendations?
Thanks for your time and any help that you may be able to offer!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, Kazz5...
I can't comment on CSR Racing 2, having never played it myself, however the crash symptoms you describe - a largely white, blocky, garbled pixelated screen accompanied with a loud, high pitched banshee like squealing or shrieking noise (it scared the crap out of me the first time it happened ) is certainly something I've experienced myself several times on my Nexus 9.
I've had this spectacular and very noisy crash happen whilst playing Minecraft and whilst playing old (1990s) pinball games via video game emulator apps. But it's also happened when doing something no more taxing on the hardware than checking my emails with Inbox or browsing the web using Chrome.
There doesn't seem to be any logically consistent reason why it happens or under what circumstances are required in order for it to happen. It just happens, suddenly and unexpectedly, and then I find myself hurriedly scrambling around for the power button and long pressing it in order to make the ear piercing howl go away!
I've noticed when it happens my battery is on the low side, usually less than 25%, although I'm uncertain whether this is the actual cause.
----------------------------------
A Possible Solution...
Recently I flashed the Fire-Ice kernel , primarily for the purpose of improving the thin, weedy audio that Andoid Nougat 7.1.1 suffers from on the Nexus 9. (See my post here.)
Now it could just be a complete coincidence or maybe the unique circumstances required to trigger this crash haven't yet arisen on my Nexus 9 since I flashed it - in other words, perhaps I haven't been running it long enough yet, but since flashing Fire-Ice eight days ago, I've had no recurrence of this hard and spectacular crash as you and I have described.
Flashing this kernal though, will cause complications (but not insurmountable ones) when the June OTA security patch is due from Google in around three weeks or so.
----------------------------------
Sorry I couldn't provide a more definitive solution to this problem... or suggest any diagnostics of the type you allude to or suggest solutions regarding CSR Racing 2. If this game is as cutting edge as you suggest, it may be asking more than the now two and half year old Nexus 9 can deliver.
Minecraft, old pinball games and Solitaire card games are about as high octane as it gets for me these days .
Good luck with your Shield and I hope you have a better experience playing CSR Racing 2 on it than on the Nexus 9, and which I suspect you probably will. The Nexus 9 has been riven with a variety of problems ever since it was released back in November 2014, and this seemingly random, complete crashing of the device is unfortunately one of 'em .
Rgrds,
Ged.
I read this reply via email before taking the time to come here and I just want to say thanks for such a thorough sharing of your experience and perspective! You made it clear to me that ordering a Shield was the right thing to do in my case. Interestingly, my Nexus 9 did the squeal/crash in another app soon after I posted this.
My Shield came in, upgraded painlessly, OTA, to 7.0.0 and seems to run much smoother than the Nexus 9 in every way. Yes, the screen is a bit smaller. But, frankly, I'm seeing less pixelation - I have to assume - due to the smaller screen size. The Shield runs cooler (I used to blow on the hot end of the Nexus 9 when holding it in my hands, in it's case, for longer periods of time) and the battery definitely lasts longer.
I will finish moving everything over to the Shield in the coming few days and make up my mind what I want to do with the Nexus 9. With it's large size and 4:3 aspect ratio, I may relegate it to electronic magazine reading - of which I have a few. I saw a reference to running some flavor of *nix on it. That could be interesting. A touch panel for security cameras is a thought, if do-able, as well. I'm sure more thoughts will come up, including getting a more stable Android installed on it.
Please keep me/us posted on your experiences with the Fire-Ice kernel! And thank you again!
GedBlake said:
Hi, Kazz5...
I can't comment on CSR Racing 2, having never played it myself, however the crash symptoms you describe - a largely white, blocky, garbled pixelated screen accompanied with a loud, high pitched banshee like squealing or shrieking noise (it scared the crap out of me the first time it happened ) is certainly something I've experienced myself several times on my Nexus 9.
I've had this spectacular and very noisy crash happen whilst playing Minecraft and whilst playing old (1990s) pinball games via video game emulator apps. But it's also happened when doing something no more taxing on the hardware than checking my emails with Inbox or browsing the web using Chrome.
There doesn't seem to be any logically consistent reason why it happens or under what circumstances are required in order for it to happen. It just happens, suddenly and unexpectedly, and then I find myself hurriedly scrambling around for the power button and long pressing it in order to make the ear piercing howl go away!
I've noticed when it happens my battery is on the low side, usually less than 25%, although I'm uncertain whether this is the actual cause.
----------------------------------
A Possible Solution...
Recently I flashed the Fire-Ice kernel , primarily for the purpose of improving the thin, weedy audio that Andoid Nougat 7.1.1 suffers from on the Nexus 9. (See my post here.)
Now it could just be a complete coincidence or maybe the unique circumstances required to trigger this crash haven't yet arisen on my Nexus 9 since I flashed it - in other words, perhaps I haven't been running it long enough yet, but since flashing Fire-Ice eight days ago, I've had no recurrence of this hard and spectacular crash as you and I have described.
Flashing this kernal though, will cause complications (but not insurmountable ones) when the June OTA security patch is due from Google in around three weeks or so.
----------------------------------
Sorry I couldn't provide a more definitive solution to this problem... or suggest any diagnostics of the type you allude to or suggest solutions regarding CSR Racing 2. If this game is as cutting edge as you suggest, it may be asking more than the now two and half year old Nexus 9 can deliver.
Minecraft, old pinball games and Solitaire card games are about as high octane as it gets for me these days .
Good luck with your Shield and I hope you have a better experience playing CSR Racing 2 on it than on the Nexus 9, and which I suspect you probably will. The Nexus 9 has been riven with a variety of problems ever since it was released back in November 2014, and this seemingly random, complete crashing of the device is unfortunately one of 'em .
Rgrds,
Ged.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wanted to follow-up with you on an experience. I moved to the Shield K1 and have been using it since May. Something's happened with it's charging (I suspect the mini-USB port's connection as it seems to be a weak spot for many). In a pinch, to keep playing my game of choice, I picked up my Nexus 9 and gave it a full charge. I was thrilled since it was working so well. But once it hit 58% charge the weird screen and shrill shrieking returned. Now cornered, I did my best google-fu and uncovered a couple of threads that claimed I could fix my Nexus 9!
It seems many people were having success with removing the back panel (easy), gently prying a small, metal cover off of the battery's connection at the circuit board, unplugging the cable, cleaning connections with isopropyl alcohol, and re-assembling. I found a Youtube link (ifixit, I think?) there that showed how to disassemble the Nexus 9 and I was off! It seems some folks have had this clear up the problem for months and some have had it recur, fixing it again with the same procedure.
I've been using it for days in all states of charge with no return of the problem so far. It's given me plenty of time to get my warranty-replacement Shield enroute. The Shield is still much quicker. But I'm thrilled that there's not some odd gremlin with the Nexus 9. I knew I needed to track this post and your reply down in order to let you know. I hope it helps you and/or someone else!
And thanks again!
Just wanted to bump this thread as I am having the same problem with my N9 and it is steadily getting worse. When this problem first started, it would happen once every 2-3 weeks, usually when I was in Instagram. Now it is happening daily, or multiple times in a day, and sometimes it occurs right after reboot.
I have gotten frustrated enough that I am going to do a clean (reflash) of Pure Nexus, ElemX, etc and see if that has any effect.
Did you read my reply? Cleaning the connector to the battery has fixed my issues - which were constant - for weeks now!
I just got one of these Nexus 9 32GB giving to me by a family member as they upgraded to something else due to the issues with the Nexus 9 . It had the whole deal going on with the white pixelated screen freezing followed by a loud ear busting screeching noise at roughly 50% and 20% battery. I factory reset the tablet and cleaned the cache in recovery then popped back off the tablet and disconnected battery for a min or two, hooked it back up and it runs like butter so far for the last week through the whole cycle of the battery without freezing or screeching. Strange indeed but that fix works for whatever reason.

Tablet dies when battery drops <50%

Hello everyone, I bought my Nexus 9 two years ago and it has been a complete disaster for me since the beggining.
During the summer, the tablet desided to go crazy when the battery dropped below 30-40%.
The screen would turn white and the tablet produced a REALLY loud noise.
Since there is no dedicated HTC service center in my country, the tablet was sent to Romania 3 times, in order to be fixed.
The first time they only flashed again the stock firmware, the second time the service center "cleaned the screen from dust" and the third time (it had already been a month), they finally decided to fix it by replacing the screen and the charging circuits.
The table was ok since that, but last week randomly it decided to lag when battery was under 30-40%, the cpu got stock at 653mhz and it stopped charging.
Since i was on lineage Os, i thought it might be a rom or kernel issue, and i reverted back to stock.
However, the stock rom only solved the charging issues, as I was able to fully charge the tablet.
But now, when the battery drops below 50% the tablet dies on its own.
The only way to turn it back on, is to open the back cover, unplug the battery and then replug it.
Do you have any ideas as what might that be?
Is this because the battery has died, or maybe because of some other hardware problem?
I really wish i can solve this on my own, because now my tablet is out of warranty and the repair center has been proved not to be trustworthy
Thank you
nickefor said:
Hello everyone, I bought my Nexus 9 two years ago and it has been a complete disaster for me since the beggining.
During the summer, the tablet desided to go crazy when the battery dropped below 30-40%.
The screen would turn white and the tablet produced a REALLY loud noise.
Since there is no dedicated HTC service center in my country, the tablet was sent to Romania 3 times, in order to be fixed.
The first time they only flashed again the stock firmware, the second time the service center "cleaned the screen from dust" and the third time (it had already been a month), they finally decided to fix it by replacing the screen and the charging circuits.
The table was ok since that, but last week randomly it decided to lag when battery was under 30-40%, the cpu got stock at 653mhz and it stopped charging.
Since i was on lineage Os, i thought it might be a rom or kernel issue, and i reverted back to stock.
However, the stock rom only solved the charging issues, as I was able to fully charge the tablet.
But now, when the battery drops below 50% the tablet dies on its own.
The only way to turn it back on, is to open the back cover, unplug the battery and then replug it.
Do you have any ideas as what might that be?
Is this because the battery has died, or maybe because of some other hardware problem?
I really wish i can solve this on my own, because now my tablet is out of warranty and the repair center has been proved not to be trustworthy
Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your original issue is kinda common on n9. It could have been solved by unplugging the battery (maybe cleaning connection) and re-plugging. The new issue I haven't seen before. Maybe try wiping the battery stats.
I can confirm that re-plugging battery helped in my N9
I just got this Nexus 9 a couple weeks ago from a family member who got a new tablet due to the Nexus 9 doing a similar thing as the OP has described. The battery would get like 50%-20% and screen would go crazy and a loud screeching noise would take place until you hard reset with the power button. Worked great long as i kept it plugged in on the charger.
So i fixed the problem on mine by doing what others recommended. I took the back off the tablet and disconnected the battery. cleaned up the contacts and let it sit unplugged for a few mins and put it all back together. I then dumped the stock OS for lineage and elemental kernel which also disables the encryption allowing the tablet to run significantly faster than the stock setup. I also disabled the animations in the developers options as i'm a power user through and through over eye candy.
Since doing all that, i'm on week two of heavy usage and the tablet runs like new and is snappy as hell. Goes through the whole cycle of the battery now without the screen going nuts and the screeching noise when the battery gets low 50% - 20%. Not sure how long it will last but so far so good and i scored a decent tablet for free. Only thing holding this tablet up is the the lousy 2gb ram but it's still a very respectable piece of hardware to be 2014 tech.
If it acts up again i may invest in a new battery for it to see if it fixes the issue as i don't have any money invested in the tablet anyway. So it would at least be worth a new battery but so far i've had no problems with it after doing the above fixes recommended by others and the battery in it still gets roughly between 6-7 hrs between charges so not bad for a battery that old.
Just finished up my holiday shopping with the Nexus 9 and not a problem out of it so far. If this Nexus 9 stays working good then it will be replacing my Nexus 7 2012 32gb Grouper as my daily driver. The old Nexus 7 has been solid for me since i got it in 2012 but it's really time to let it go as it's really showing it's age now but still works good as a reader and browsing the web isn't too god aweful. Hope the OP figures out a solution as the Nexus 9 is still a very capable tablet. Hope my experience shared helps with your issue.
Juggley said:
I just got this Nexus 9 a couple weeks ago from a family member who got a new tablet due to the Nexus 9 doing a similar thing as the OP has described. The battery would get like 50%-20% and screen would go crazy and a loud screeching noise would take place until you hard reset with the power button. Worked great long as i kept it plugged in on the charger.
So i fixed the problem on mine by doing what others recommended. I took the back off the tablet and disconnected the battery. cleaned up the contacts and let it sit unplugged for a few mins and put it all back together. I then dumped the stock OS for lineage and elemental kernel which also disables the encryption allowing the tablet to run significantly faster than the stock setup. I also disabled the animations in the developers options as i'm a power user through and through over eye candy.
Since doing all that, i'm on week two of heavy usage and the tablet runs like new and is snappy as hell. Goes through the whole cycle of the battery now without the screen going nuts and the screeching noise when the battery gets low 50% - 20%. Not sure how long it will last but so far so good and i scored a decent tablet for free. Only thing holding this tablet up is the the lousy 2gb ram but it's still a very respectable piece of hardware to be 2014 tech.
If it acts up again i may invest in a new battery for it to see if it fixes the issue as i don't have any money invested in the tablet anyway. So it would at least be worth a new battery but so far i've had no problems with it after doing the above fixes recommended by others and the battery in it still gets roughly between 6-7 hrs between charges so not bad for a battery that old.
Just finished up my holiday shopping with the Nexus 9 and not a problem out of it so far. If this Nexus 9 stays working good then it will be replacing my Nexus 7 2012 32gb Grouper as my daily driver. The old Nexus 7 has been solid for me since i got it in 2012 but it's really time to let it go as it's really showing it's age now but still works good as a reader and browsing the web isn't too god aweful. Hope the OP figures out a solution as the Nexus 9 is still a very capable tablet. Hope my experience shared helps with your issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just picked up a spare Nexus 9 because I want to try an Android build that has encryption turned off (I have a Nexus 9 running 7.1.x). So I'm very interested in your build, it's overall compatibility, and how you went about selecting and installing what you did.
But on to your screen/screeching problem! I solved mine by removing the back cover, disconnecting the battery, cleaning the connections, and putting it all back together. It's been running problem-free for months now! Here is my original post and replies on that exact issue: https://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-9/help/strange-crash-specific-app-t3604379
I'm not that good at assembly/disassembly, but this was very easy! Good luck!
Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you
madbat99 said:
Your original issue is kinda common on n9. It could have been solved by unplugging the battery (maybe cleaning connection) and re-plugging. The new issue I haven't seen before. Maybe try wiping the battery stats.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You rock! So far (just did it today) this has totally worked for me. I Have ran the crap out of it on lest then 50% battery and no issues!
Isabelle713 said:
You rock! So far (just did it today) this has totally worked for me. I Have ran the crap out of it on lest then 50% battery and no issues!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice! I have a 2nd N9 as well, a white one (my first was black) and it has that same issue. I cleaned the battery connection. Fixed it for a few months, then came back. Now at all different battery levels (all below 40%). Iay try cleaning it again.
My first one is on it's 2nd USB daughterboard. And needs another one now. Mostly my fault this time. Watching movies in my work truck (really safe, I know) with an OTG stick plugged in and it fell out of it's stand and smacked right on the otg stick. Now charging and OTG file transfers are hit and miss (mostly miss).
I'm going to fix it again. The USB daughterboard is only around $10 - $15 US. Takes about 15 minutes to fix.
Seems the different colors (white, black, sand color) each are prone to each of the common hardware issues. Black one never had battery issue, but it's getting bubbles in screen at the corners.
Both have the faded, white - ish spots on the screen at the left side (in landscape). Around where the nav bar is in portrait. May have something to do with it.
Ok I've rambled on enough, LoL.
Enjoy your weekend, all you Nexus 9 owners out there.
Sure, we were all a little disappointed at the build quality. Especially for the launch price. And ESPECIALLY if you had the added excitement of upgrading from a Nexus 7 (2013), like I did (and many others). But we still hang on to the 9 because it's tough to replace. Size, flashability, nostalgia, and a bunch of leftover "but this thing was supposed to a super Nexus* that doesn't go away.
Ok done rambling for real this time! ?

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