Related
Good Day,
For those users who are suffering from the "Random Lockup or Screen Corruption" problem after the ICS update we are currently finalizing our replication efforts along with a final fix. We have identified two issues that could potentially cause this problem and will start contacting a subset of users who have already reported the problem for further testing and system level information.
Issue -
1. System might randomly lockup or generate a blind screen effect after the ICS update. I have received a few reported cases matching this behavior and we will be in contact with most of you in the near future.
a. If we do not contact you directly, it does not mean we are not working on this problem. I have read all the messages and randomly selected a couple of users for further contact. We will have a fix for this problem shortly.
Sincerely,
Gary
1/18/12 Update - We will continue to contact additional users over the next two days. We are in the process of qualifying a fix now and are awaiting a system return to verify this fix with our partners shortly.
1/19/12 Update - The ICS 9.4.2.11 update being rolled out now addresses the horizontal line and random signal line issues after the initial ICS load. It also addresses poor video playback (especially YouTube), however if you still have the YouTube corruption problem after this update, please uninstall then reinstall Flash from the app market. This patch also addresses the random reboot problem after the ICS update but we still have another patch that is in qualification testing at NVIDIA to fully solve these problems.
1/22/12 Update - I will provide an update tomorrow on our new Customer Service Support program for the Transformer Prime and additional forum support that will be coming in the very near future. In addition, I expect an update from engineering and NVIDIA shortly on the random lockup problem after the ICS update.
1/23/12 Update - Replication testing is still in process and I do not have an update to provide yet. We will provide a customer support hotline and direct email address shortly for users suffering with this problem. In the meantime, we will start another series of direct communication between our service/engineering group and selected users for additional testing.
1/25/12 Update - We are working on two different solutions now and hope to have a fix available in early February. One option to try is to revert back to the last Honeycomb image through the manual update process, set the unit power mode to balanced performance and screen brightness manually to 50%, and then manually update to the latest ICS build using these instructions - http://service.asus.com/TF201_fwupdate. You will need a fully charged battery and have the system plugged into AC power. This worked on a couple of returned units but not on all units. Only try this procedure if you are comfortable with flashing a new ROM image and want to take the time to complete each process.
1/31/12 Update - We are now testing a firmware and driver update. I will provide an update once initial alpha testing is completed.
2/1/12 Update - We received new code from NVIDIA today and are in the process of testing it. If this code is acceptable and provides a solution to the lock/reboot problem after the ICS update, we will release it in beta form for additional testing with users suffering from this problem before implementing it in the next OTA update. I should have an answer in two days if we can release the current patch code.
2/7/12 Update - We received another new code update from NVIDIA for testing today. Hopefully we will be able to release a beta patch or OTA update shortly. I will have an update after testing is completed tomorrow.
2/8/12 Update - We plan on releasing a new OTA update with revised firmware and code to solve the random lockup/reboot problem early next week.
2/8/12 Update - We pushed 9.4.2.13 US early to address the random lock and reboot issues plus you might see general improvements in performance including WiFi and maybe even aGPS.
9.4.2.13 Release Notes -
1. Fix Random Reboot / Lockup Problem (100% success in regression testing with returned units, hopefully the same in the community)
2. Enable Google WideVine video rental in the US
3. General Performance Enhancements
4. New WiFi Firmware (there might be improvements in WiFi performance or lock capabilities, still working on the WiFi/BT dropout fix that will not be assisted by the WiFi/GPS firmware updates) (Edited for clarification)
2/23/12 Update - We will release the .15 Firmware update in the very near future. To date, 100% success with the beta testers whom I thank profusely not to mention a very smart engineer at HQ.
Just a reminder, for those I or engineering did not contact directly yet about this problem, it does not mean we are ignoring your problem. We have read all the messages so please do not be upset if we have not contacted you yet.
3/6/2012 Update:
I am back and will start answering messages.
Thats great news! Thank You for your help Gary!
Thanks for the update!
Gary Key said:
We will have a fix for this problem shortly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So does this mean it is a software problem and will be fixed through an update? I'm still not sure if I want to send in my tablet, but based on the news it kind of sounds like it will be fixed with an OTA update.
Based on my VERY little experience with this tablet, it seems that the lockups only occur while I am in high performance mode. The balanced setting gives me no problems as of right now, compared to substantial lockups with high performance. Anyone else have similar results?
redandblack1287 said:
Based on my VERY little experience with this tablet, it seems that the lockups only occur while I am in high performance mode. The balanced setting gives me no problems as of right now, compared to substantial lockups with high performance. Anyone else have similar results?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most of the people who've responded in the original thread have said that it either happens A.) randomly, B.) when something "high performance" is going on, or C.) "usually" when trying to use the browser. In nearly all cases, the tablet was working just fine in Honeycomb.
Various users have been able to replicate the issue within certain applications, seemingly narrowing it down, though still others have different experiences. There seem to be two common veins of this problem - the very frequent lockup/reboots, often accompanied with freezing on boot, and the more sinister infrequent lockup/reboots.
For more info, check out the doc in my signature or the original (and lengthy) thread here.
Gary Key said:
Good Day,
We have identified two issues that could potentially cause this problem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Two issues? Care to explain? Two potential hardware problems? We know anything and everything no matter what and when your doing something the lockup can happen so I would love to know what you mean by "two issues that could potentially cause this problem"
Unfortunately, I am having the problem with freezing/locking up and subsequent rebooting since I upgraded to ICS (never rooted).
While going to "power saving" mode seems to lengthen the time between freeze-reboots, it does not eliminate them.
I have a few days left before I'll need to return this to the retailer for a refund...and am trying to decide what to do. If it is a simple software/firmware fix, that's great...but if I need a whole new tablet, I guess I might as well return this one for a refund.
Thoughts?
And: Gary, thanks for your help to all of us!
Good that you are aware of this problem with the freezes and the pad does not respond to touch.
And this is what I like about asus. That they work closely with customers. And bring updates
Coming from a Samsung Galaxy Tab. And there was never any updates or support. Was always left out in the dark.
So those who complain that they do not receive updates should take a look at how things look for other brands.
I've read through a lot of posts and would like to repond with my own analyzing effort
First of all, no issues when I've had HC. After upgrading to ICS, the reboots started immidiatly. I've it on the following (some times):
1. Browser: Random crashes when surfing
2. WakeUp: When putting the screen off and waking it up. On first keypress in a app or(not that much on homescreen) it will lockup and reboot after a few seconds.
I must say in the first couple of days the reboots where constantly happening on above 2 scenarios, after almost a week now, the problem is much less. I do have reboots, but it is definitly not going over and over.
I think it is a combination of ICS and Asus Drivers. It would be weird if it is a hardware problem as there are no issues at all in HC. As the amount of reboots are affecting a lot of users, it puzzles me why Asus isn't able to reproduce it themselves
But ok. Love the tablet, but they will need to resolve these issues. First GPS, then Wifi and now this... I don't think a lot of people can handle more
I posted this in the other thread about locking up primes, but figured I would post it in here as well. If it's not necessary, please delete it. Anyways, here it goes.
I have one of the newer primes, and ever since the ics update to 4.0.3 it's been randomly rebooting. I also notice i get the android.process.media error quite a bit. At first I thought it was the asus stuff not playing well with ics, so i turned as much of it off as I could. That seemed to calm down the weird graphics glitch where it would freeze then when you'd press the home softkey, the screen would instantly blank unreadable, looks like when you halfway unplug a vga cable or something. Once you reboot, it comes back fine. Now I'm just getting random reboots.
Seems to occur shortly after the android.process.media fc's. I was playing with androidvnc just now and twice it rebooted. Going to try the force gpu rendering first, and if that doesn't work, I'll try to flash the zip. Here's the key info. I also notice when I have wifi off and it's chilling in my bag, it stays just fine. I know by checking the uptime. But as soon as I turn wifi on and start messing with it, it can run from 2 minutes to 2 hours then I get a reboot. Very random. Will report back on the gpu rendering and the zip to see how it goes. Honestly it looks like it's stuttering right before it locks up. Almost like the processor isn't getting the voltage it needs, or bad memory. It's so hard to tell though.
Here's the fyi:
Never rooted
Worked perfectly on Honeycomb
Updated it the day the update came out to 4.0.3, and the camera firmware to tf201-0x9900
Other misc info:
Gps - 6.8.13
Wifi - 6.1.1.17
bluetooth - 9.23
Kernel - 2.6.39.4
Build number - IML74K.US_epad-9.4.2.7-20120106
I'm seeing similar symptoms as everyone else but i dont recall seeing reports of the additional 'Upgrading Android' message that i seem to be seeing.
Below is the chain of events over about 6 hours since unboxing the tab.
Took delivery of device, powered on and configured wifi followed by upgrade to ICS 4.0.3 and camera firmware. After upgrade, verified everything was working then did a wipe of user data and cold boot (both done by restarting with volume down and power pressed)
Configured device again with basic settings to get online and used it for approx 1 hour of browsing with stock ICS browser before lockups started. Lockup occurs followed by a reboot about 20 seconds later. Balanced power mode is in use.
Lockups and reboot occuring frequently, probably no more than 10-15 minutes apart. Browser is most frequently in use at the time but I see the same symptoms in other apps.
After perhaps 3 hours of this lockup/reboot cycle the device restarted and stuck at the EEE Pad screen. I then reset using the pinhole. Device then entered a boot loop. It would restart at any time between the dots in a circle and occasionally the login screen but would lockup and reboot before i could unlock. During this reboot cycle i then saw a message saying 'Upgrading Android, Step 1 or 16' which then counted up to 16 and changed to 'Starting applications' but froze and rebooted. This 'upgrading' cycle occured several times. After a significant number of wipes, cold boots and pin hole resets the device now appears to boot although the lockup and reboot cycle continues when in use.
If i can help, pm me for any details you need.
Guys, let's wait for Garys response before badgering him. Just wait a little longer. Just hit the seven day mark since the ICS update.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA App
So basically they don't know a damn thing. And no I won't give him or Asus any more time. As it is they showed that they simply can not handle releasing a product. I'm not giving Any benefit of the doubt because Asus has lied and pushed out a faulty product to all of us. im not Just talking about ics. this is crazy.
Just got my first reboots last night on 4.0.3 in performance mode while doing heavy surfing with the stock browser. First the browser instantly disappeared in the middle of what I was doing, then I got a reboot when I tried it again with all the same tabs open. It seems the stock browser has trouble rendering/navigating around the full desktop version of Facebook. It lags like crazy. Could it be the heavy PHP code that Facebook desktop site is written in is making the Tegra 3 flip out/overheat?
I remain hopeful that Gary Key's crew at ASUS can replicate the problem and fix it.
imb951 said:
Just got my first reboots last night on 4.0.3 in performance mode while doing heavy surfing with the stock browser. First the browser instantly disappeared in the middle of what I was doing, then I got a reboot when I tried it again with all the same tabs open.
I remain hopeful that Gary Key's crew at ASUS can replicate the problem and fix it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How long did you go thinking you did not have the lockup issue?
PrimeTimeBro said:
How long did you go thinking you did not have the lockup issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't have a single lockup since upgrading to ICS until last night, however last night I was really putting my Prime through its paces. Bluetooth streaming audio, wifi on, several tabs open in the browser and I was surfing constantly. Like I edited into my previous post, I think the Facebook desktop site and the stock 4.0.3 browser do not get along very well. I don't have my Prime on me now, but when I get home this evening I'll stress test a different browser like Dolphin HD...
All of my lag appears to be in the browser. If I go into about:debug and turn on "Normal Rendering" it improves somewhat. 3rd party browsers such as "ICS Browser Plus" do not experience this issue as much, although it does somewhat.
Lag and freezing is especially noticeable when flash video is involved, although Adobe just released an update --here's hoping that improves something.
AndroidPhan said:
So basically they don't know a damn thing. And no I won't give him or Asus any more time. As it is they showed that they simply can not handle releasing a product. I'm not giving Any benefit of the doubt because Asus has lied and pushed out a faulty product to all of us. im not Just talking about ics. this is crazy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Return Prime
2. Buy iPad
3. Get off the forum.
4. Everyone else profits without up constantly complaining like a big baby.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA App
imb951 said:
Just got my first reboots last night on 4.0.3 in performance mode while doing heavy surfing with the stock browser. First the browser instantly disappeared in the middle of what I was doing, then I got a reboot when I tried it again with all the same tabs open. It seems the stock browser has trouble rendering/navigating around the full desktop version of Facebook. It lags like crazy. Could it be the heavy PHP code that Facebook desktop site is written in is making the Tegra 3 flip out/overheat?
I remain hopeful that Gary Key's crew at ASUS can replicate the problem and fix it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Besides the fact, that PHP is server side scripting and has nothing to do with the Prime, I too experience difficulties with the Facebook main page and resulting lock-ups/reboots. I'm really torn between waiting for a fix and driving to the RMA site, which is close by my hometown here in Germany, to hand the Prime in.
The frustrating experience for me is, that I'm not using the browser that often to surf around facebook, but I really rely on gBrowser to read the news on my commute and this also leads to reboots. Do I have to go back to a single newspaper now?
Btw. I've written my Prime's details into the datasheet that flies around here.
imb951 said:
I didn't have a single lockup since upgrading to ICS until last night, however last night I was really putting my Prime through its paces. Bluetooth streaming audio, wifi on, several tabs open in the browser and I was surfing constantly. Like I edited into my previous post, I think the Facebook desktop site and the stock 4.0.3 browser do not get along very well. I don't have my Prime on me now, but when I get home this evening I'll stress test a different browser like Dolphin HD...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This doesn't sound like the same lockup issue. Did your screen freeze on whatever current screen it was on for 10 seconds and then reboot?
My prime is showing from time to time black horizontal lines across half of the screen and I have this with ICS and none of the updates was able to fix this.
I am using stock ROM and don't have root.
*I don;t know if I had this problem with android 3.2 because when I got the device I immediately updated to ICS.
When I reboot my device the problem goes away and I am unable to connect the problem with a specific usage all I know is that this problem happens always after i wake my prime it is never happened in the middle of me using it.
I am guessing the problem is software related and wanted to know if anyone else is having this issue and if there is any solution?
I am adding some video of the horizontal lines
Looks very nasty, way worse than the much common tearing/flickering problem. I can only suggest a few things; Disable your live wallpaper, and go to settings > developer options > scroll down and check 'Force GPU Rendering". If that doesn't help, then you can try a factory reset, or download the firmware from asus support website and manually flash it on your prime. If these don't fix the problem, then it is definitely hardware related issue. RMA it or return it if you have time. You can also try to get in touch with Gary from Asus on xda, he has been very helpful and dedicated in solving problems people are having with the Prime.
Thanks mate,
I will try to do the things you suggested. And see if that helps.
I still think its a software probleam because after digging around the web I found couple of threads. With the same problem.
All of the people saying that the problem started when they updated from 3.2 to ics.
Imo Asus ****ed up with the transformer prime, they wanted to be the first with the new hardware and the new ics so they rushed the device.
There are a lot of threads with people reporting bugs and hardware problems.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
I know some other people were having this problem a couple of ota's back, but the random reboots are increasingly happening. Anyone else having this problem on .21? Any known fixes? Thanks for any support/help
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
THIS is the stuff that kills my enthusiasm
cullenmq1 said:
I know some other people were having this problem a couple of ota's back, but the random reboots are increasingly happening. Anyone else having this problem on .21? Any known fixes? Thanks for any support/help
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
/start rant
So what I really don't get is the incredible mix of results in the field to updates. I realize that there are infinite variables as far as installed software, system settings, environmental conditions (Temp, WiFi signal, router type, etc.) but from my observations, including results with my 2 TFP's and the posted results, it appears that:
For every new FW roll out, the following things will happen. 100% of the time:
1. Your WiFi Signal strength and throughput will get better
2. Or it will get worse - # of affected units vary, but we can tell exactly, just by estimating (LOL) Seems to affect roughly 50% of units in the field.
3. Your WiFi + Bluetooth streaming will get better (Unless it gets worse, which happens on half of the units affected bt the update.
4. It will stay the same. Exactly. This seems to NOT be affected by whether you had ****ty WiFi or Great WiFi.
5. Your GPS will come back after losing it in the last update. Or it will go away, if you got it back on the last update. Or it will stay the same, which is to say, it STILL works like ****, even if you can, for 9 seconds lock onto 14 out of 18.
I mean, Asus has ASSURED us that there are NO rolling hardware revisions. Even though a Support MANAGER, high enough up the food chain to have some real power told me my 2nd Prime "Had the new Hardware" Then again, he told my the GPS - THAT THEY TESTED ON THIS UNIT would be at LEAST as good as my TF101 was. (It isn't)
Why WOULD Asus admit new hardware was in place, even if it was? With the returns they are getting on these (less than 1%... ih, shuuure) could you picture the run on returns when folks caught wind of new hardware? For each Serial # revision, we see a slew of "Anything different?" questions. Picture someone saying, oh yeah: Wifi is off the charts, and the added 5 Ghz radio, and GPS works! It would be a feeding frenzy/bloodbath for folks to get the "NEW" ones..
Ahh well, all this is old news, been said time and again. Also when new users hit these forums, I kind of feel sorry for them, knowing the same old crew is gonna pounce on them with their positions and tell the poor noob what to love, what to hate, why the Prime is the best device ever since the dawn of time / worst POS that anyone ever sold... Man, I hope they are made out of taffy, cause they are in for some MAJOR being pulled in dif. directions.
Okay then. /Rant over
I understand completely what you are ranting about, but buggy wifi, bluetooth, gps doesn't really bother me. What I'm wondering about is less about hardware specs and more about these random reboots i got after the .19 update. Just wondering if anyone knows an effective fix...
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
Okay, this should fix you up.
So, .19 - Thats obviously not US. Is the .21 we received here in USA available to you? If not and you are on the latest available FW, do what I did when .15 gave me issues: Roll back your FW. Using the instructions in this thread, you can roll back to whatever FW was trouble free for you. As I said, ALL versions were okay for me with mixed success but no major bugs like reboots.
Note you WILL need to root to roll back, but then you can choose to root again or stay unrooted. If you need a quick, easy root, use the Sparky Root apk that doesn't even require a PC to root!
Install any version (ICS, Honeycomb, change SKUs) to your Transformer Prime:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1492887
EDIT: LOL - I just noticed you DID the .21 update, but you said .19 in your post, probably thinking about what it was predicted to be for weeks before they actually rolled it at .21
yeah sorry... it was the previous one before .21. Just assumed it was .19 . okay yeah i am rooted and in the U.S. with .21 thought there might have been an easier fix where i could be on the current version but i guess not. It hasn't rebooted lately, maybe it just needed time to settle. Thanks for your help!
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
reboots steps found
Hi,
I have managed to reproduce random reboots on my unit.
I'm running a TW unit on .21
1. Install TED from market place
2. Play any video, the one I used is Lucy McRae: How can technology transform the human body?
3. Pause the video
4. Wait for 5 minutes. I set my Transformer screen timeout to be 2 minutes
5. Press power again to activate the device and try to resume the video
6. 8 out of 10 times, my transformer will hang and reboot
Can anyone confirm this any other .21? Thank you!
I got a few random reboots after the update, but now they don't really happen from what I've noticed.
1. Backed up my app using the built in app backup tool
2. Factory reset
3. Installed TED and tried to play the same video, no hangs/reboots now
4. Tried to restore apps, tells me FAILED?!!?!?
-.-"
5. To restore all apps and try TED again.
Mine has been working fine since i got it up to the latest update wifi is strong and gps locks(not that i really use it).
There is actually a known issue with the TED app. They will need to update the app to resolve the issue on our primes.
It happens not only with TED but almost all other video players too. As long as I put it to sleep, once I try to resume the video, it hangs n reboots. It drove me nuts.
But I did a factory reset today (refer to the earlier post), and I haven't been reproduce the problem again. I will monitor for the next 7 days.
In the past 7 days, I had 3 reboots, all video related. From TED to DicePlayer etc.
I also do alot of surfing and run some apps, these do not encounter reboots.
I just installed AndroWook rom. I didn't want to, not really. I was hoping to never have to unlock my prime. But then there was the thread about performance, and the other one about users not being able to unlock. How could I possibly walk away from that kind of a challenge? So I downloaded it just to see if it would work. And it did. So then I had to install TWRP, and then I had to install a rom.
So I installed AndroWook with Motley 3.0.5 and all the tweeks it had to offer.
I didn't wipe, I cleared cache and dalvik. I have nearly 2 years of screwing around on an HTC desire, so I felt comfortable with this level of deleting. Everything booted up properly, no apps were missing and everything (as of now) is working at least as well as before.
Then came the big test. The one that annoys me more then anything else. Copying a file from a USB thumb drive to internal memory. It usually takes 10 times as long as my windows PC does. So I plugged in the drive and copied a 250mb file. It took all of 20 seconds (I didn't really time, but it was MUCH faster). My jaw dropped.
I'm sold. ASUS has no clue what they're doing. This thing is great. I can copy files to the internal storage without staring at the percentage copying 10, then stoping, 12, stop, 15, stop, 20... This time it went smoothly from 0 to 100%.
If you haven't unlocked your device, you're missing out.
Appreciate the oppinion. Would like to hear more from your experiences with custom firmware as I'm also very unsatisfied with stock rom.
epology said:
Appreciate the oppinion. Would like to hear more from your experiences with custom firmware as I'm also very unsatisfied with stock rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I've been up for about 2 hours now, and while I'm not sure if it 'feels' a lot of faster, but I haven't had screen tear issues. I'll keep running this rom for at least a week and I'll update if anything changes. If there's anything you'd like me to test (as long as it is free or I already have it) let me know!
Parastie, you sound just like me almost. I've been twitching at all these challenges being presented before me. Failed unlocks, failed roots, better performance. How I've managed to resist unlocking so far is beyond me. My poor desire s didn't last so long, its been flashed so many times I don't think it knows what kind of device it even is anymore.
So you say file transfer is slow on stock, eh? I must witness this. Might be the straw that breaks the camels back for me. The one last push to unlocking.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda app-developers app
Parastie said:
Then came the big test. The one that annoys me more then anything else. Copying a file from a USB thumb drive to internal memory. It usually takes 10 times as long as my windows PC does. So I plugged in the drive and copied a 250mb file. It took all of 20 seconds (I didn't really time, but it was MUCH faster). My jaw dropped.
I'm sold. ASUS has no clue what they're doing. This thing is great. I can copy files to the internal storage without staring at the percentage copying 10, then stoping, 12, stop, 15, stop, 20... This time it went smoothly from 0 to 100%.
If you haven't unlocked your device, you're missing out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome to the club!
So when you say copying from thumb drive to internal memory, you mean via the usb port on the dock right? (must be because I can't think of how else you would be doing it.)
The reason I ask is, I've been unlocked for a while, but haven't done any thumb drive to internal memory copying since I unlocked. I also found this unbelievably slow when running stock though (and all the starting and stopping made me think WTF???)
Gotta try it out tonight.
seeknom said:
Welcome to the club!
So when you say copying from thumb drive to internal memory, you mean via the usb port on the dock right? (must be because I can't think of how else you would be doing it.)
The reason I ask is, I've been unlocked for a while, but haven't done any thumb drive to internal memory copying since I unlocked. I also found this unbelievably slow when running stock though (and all the starting and stopping made me think WTF???)
Gotta try it out tonight.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah the copying to internal memory was the most annoying. Slow as dirt, it makes putting HD movies on this thing impossible. I've only tried one file, but I'm going to try another large file when I get some time.
Also note, screen tearing still happens. I got it to stop by locking the screen for a few seconds, but that's still an issue.
Parastie, you sound just like me almost. I've been twitching at all these challenges being presented before me. Failed unlocks, failed roots, better performance. How I've managed to resist unlocking so far is beyond me. My poor desire s didn't last so long, its been flashed so many times I don't think it knows what kind of device it even is anymore.
So you say file transfer is slow on stock, eh? I must witness this. Might be the straw that breaks the camels back for me. The one last push to unlocking.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda app-developers app
Anyone know if handwriting notetaking is better with any custom roms? My biggest problem with the prime has been how bad the digitizer seems to be (as in trying to draw a diagonal line the prime makes a crazy wavy line). Touchscreen tune helps but doesn't fully fix the problem.
Not sure if this is something a ROM can really fix or not.
It does help some, I can tell the difference in a well performing rom by using handwriting apps. The handwriting apps when a rom is slow or sluggish don't keep up, kind of like an underpowered android phone and keyboard lag. But when performing properly, the handwriting is more accurate and keeps up with the stylus or finger, in my experiences.
Without seeing your problem, I can't say if it's because of your software and/or configuration, or if it's some very strange hardware problem that software can't fix. But I can tell you that typically a tablets performance overall greatly affects how things react to the touch screen and how the graphics render.
Parastie said:
Well I've been up for about 2 hours now, and while I'm not sure if it 'feels' a lot of faster, but I haven't had screen tear issues. I'll keep running this rom for at least a week and I'll update if anything changes. If there's anything you'd like me to test (as long as it is free or I already have it) let me know!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you please either confirm or contradict one thing: I had a battery drain issue. For example before going to bed the tablet was docked and both batteries almost full, in the morning - dock battery flat, tablet - half empty. SystemPanel suggested it's a Facebook app and, miracle, as soon as I deleted the app I haven't seen leaks anymore.
This's a bit strange because this app has never caused drain issues before. Syncing and notifications were disabled.
Parastie said:
I'm sold. ASUS has no clue what they're doing. This thing is great. I can copy files to the internal storage without staring at the percentage copying 10, then stoping, 12, stop, 15, stop, 20... This time it went smoothly from 0 to 100%.
If you haven't unlocked your device, you're missing out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I won't defend asus as far a knowing what they are doing but I have never used a stock mobile device that could not be drastically improved by dedicated developers. The hardware companies are only focused on a product as long as it takes to hit a shelf and then by and large you are on your own. Thats why this is the best site on the internet for non sheep type people.
svladimir said:
Can you please either confirm or contradict one thing: I had a battery drain issue. For example before going to bed the tablet was docked and both batteries almost full, in the morning - dock battery flat, tablet - half empty. SystemPanel suggested it's a Facebook app and, miracle, as soon as I deleted the app I haven't seen leaks anymore.
This's a bit strange because this app has never caused drain issues before. Syncing and notifications were disabled.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This sounds like a text book app or widget problem and not a device problem.
svladimir said:
Can you please either confirm or contradict one thing: I had a battery drain issue. For example before going to bed the tablet was docked and both batteries almost full, in the morning - dock battery flat, tablet - half empty. SystemPanel suggested it's a Facebook app and, miracle, as soon as I deleted the app I haven't seen leaks anymore.
This's a bit strange because this app has never caused drain issues before. Syncing and notifications were disabled.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you want to keep the facebook app, try turning off wifi when you turn the tablet off before you go to bed. super easy with the dock and i've gotten in the habit of doing so myself. i see 1-2% battery drain on teh tablet overnight, and <1% on teh dock. you might also want to try setting wifi to not stay on during sleep by default in settings, but idk if a wakelock via facebook would fix this.
also, did you try clearing data and cache or restarting and it still did this? anyways, sorry to be so OT to the OP. PM me if you want to chat about this some more.
I also bit the bullet yesterday.
Unfortunately my experience was not so good...
1. Unlocked, installed TRWP, made backup (and titanium).
2. Wipe device.
3. Install Androwook.
4. Tried to restore Titanium backup on to find it will prompt you twice for every app (I was not going to do this for 150 odd apps).
5. Go back to recovery, wipe device, and restore backup (this 'only' took about 30 minutes...).
6. Reboot, took about 15 minutes to boot.
7. My home screen was messed up, none of my installed apps would run, only the apps included in ROM.
8. Go back to recovery, wipe again, and installed AndroWook again.
9. Spent the entire day downloading apps from the play store again.
During the last step, the poor tablet consistently froze and even had a random reboot. Play store ANR'd about 15 times...
Eventually had everything back installed, but all my 'user data' is lost (hopefully I can recover this with Titanium if needed).
To be honest. It does not really feel any different. No OOOOHH's and AAAAAHH's like everyone says.
So now I have 2 problems. A useless tablet and no bloody warranty.
To top this off, I discovered another dead pixel (white one, not so noticeable) yesterday.
leppie said:
4. Tried to restore Titanium backup on to find it will prompt you twice for every app (I was not going to do this for 150 odd apps).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The paid version of Titanium Backup allows for one-click batch restoring...
Parastie said:
Then came the big test. The one that annoys me more then anything else. Copying a file from a USB thumb drive to internal memory. It usually takes 10 times as long as my windows PC does. So I plugged in the drive and copied a 250mb file. It took all of 20 seconds (I didn't really time, but it was MUCH faster).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats the only thing which is bugging me on the stock rom. Can others confirm this major improvement? Can anyone say what is responsible for this I/O enhancement? Is it the ROM (IO schedulers) or is it Motleys kernel?
Stefan
Parastie said:
Yeah the copying to internal memory was the most annoying. Slow as dirt, it makes putting HD movies on this thing impossible. I've only tried one file, but I'm going to try another large file when I get some time.
Also note, screen tearing still happens. I got it to stop by locking the screen for a few seconds, but that's still an issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was on the fence about this issue too. Screen tearing & I/O performance was a big issue for me. Looks like it's device dependent, some users dont have it, some have it. Our device have this issue. ;(
B4 this I've read a few posts from other forumers claiming that tearing still happens on custom kernel & ROM.
MXR2 said:
I was on the fence about this issue too. Screen tearing & I/O performance was a big issue for me. Looks like it's device dependent, some users dont have it, some have it. Our device have this issue. ;(
B4 this I've read a few posts from other forumers claiming that tearing still happens on custom kernel & ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wouldn't be a surprise as they're based off the stock rom.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using xda premium
MXR2 said:
I was on the fence about this issue too. Screen tearing & I/O performance was a big issue for me. Looks like it's device dependent, some users dont have it, some have it. Our device have this issue. ;(
B4 this I've read a few posts from other forumers claiming that tearing still happens on custom kernel & ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well screen tearing still happens here. Of course, I did not do a full wipe and I'm running Wook which is based on stock. It is possible that AOKP or CM9 would not have this problem. I was going for what most people said was the fastest. As far as day-to-day use goes, after a full day I don't really see a huge difference. It was great before, and it still is.
BongoBong said:
Anyone know if handwriting notetaking is better with any custom roms? My biggest problem with the prime has been how bad the digitizer seems to be (as in trying to draw a diagonal line the prime makes a crazy wavy line). Touchscreen tune helps but doesn't fully fix the problem.
Not sure if this is something a ROM can really fix or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I suspect JB ROMs will be better at this as it bumps-up the CPU speed for user interactions.
I have as SM-G991U (256 GB S21 US version, stock everything but using Nova Launcher) that is randomly freezing/crashing then rebooting on me 1-2 times/day. Does android have any kind of crash log I could look at to try and figure out what's causing the problem? On the samsung forums, their support reps suggest running in Safe Mode, which I have, but it's not very useful because I can't reproduce the problem on demand and it usually happens 1-2/day, but sometimes less, so unless I just ran in safe mode all the time, that wouldn't tell me much. Plus, it would only tell me it's an issue caused by one of a hundred or so apps which, again, is not helpful.
So I'm hoping there is a crash log or something somewhere because I have no idea what triggers the crashes. The other night, it was sitting on a wireless charger, the screen wasn't on, then all the sudden it rebooted. It's not specific to any app or anything I'm doing. If there are no crash logs (which would be frustrating and disappointing), any other troubleshooting ideas are welcome!
Look for a memory leak. Typically a poorly written 3rd party apk.
Try clearing system cache.
Make sure auto restart isn't enabled...
dougleto said:
I have as SM-G991U (256 GB S21 US version, stock everything but using Nova Launcher) that is randomly freezing/crashing then rebooting on me 1-2 times/day. Does android have any kind of crash log I could look at to try and figure out what's causing the problem? On the samsung forums, their support reps suggest running in Safe Mode, which I have, but it's not very useful because I can't reproduce the problem on demand and it usually happens 1-2/day, but sometimes less, so unless I just ran in safe mode all the time, that wouldn't tell me much. Plus, it would only tell me it's an issue caused by one of a hundred or so apps which, again, is not helpful.
So I'm hoping there is a crash log or something somewhere because I have no idea what triggers the crashes. The other night, it was sitting on a wireless charger, the screen wasn't on, then all the sudden it rebooted. It's not specific to any app or anything I'm doing. If there are no crash logs (which would be frustrating and disappointing), any other troubleshooting ideas are welcome!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi mate
For logs info check here and here
You can always flash firmware , using home_csc , to avoid factory reset the phone , if the problem is system related it will help
If is app related
Try booting in safe mode to see if problem goes away...
MAX 404 said:
Hi mate
For logs info check here and here
You can always flash firmware , using home_csc , to avoid factory reset the phone , if the problem is system related it will help
If is app related
Try booting in safe mode to see if problem goes away...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I'll definitely try these out. I tried safe mode, the trouble is it's not really great as a diagnostic because the phone will go from 4-24 hrs between resets during normal operation, and since a phone in safe mode isn't terribly useful, it's hard to keep it in safe mode for long enough to see if that fixed the issue, if that makes sense. And then, if it did fix the issue, it just narrows it down to 1 out of a hundred apps! But maybe I'm missing something. Is there additional information I can find if I run in safe mode that would help suss out the problem?
blackhawk said:
Look for a memory leak. Typically a poorly written 3rd party apk.
Try clearing system cache.
Make sure auto restart isn't enabled...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I know how to clear cache but not how to check for memory leaks. Do you have a tool you'd recommend to do that? And I had never heard of auto restart before, so thanks for that. I confirmed that it is NOT enabled (that would have been a face palm moment!).
dougleto said:
Thanks! I'll definitely try these out. I tried safe mode, the trouble is it's not really great as a diagnostic because the phone will go from 4-24 hrs between resets during normal operation, and since a phone in safe mode isn't terribly useful, it's hard to keep it in safe mode for long enough to see if that fixed the issue, if that makes sense. And then, if it did fix the issue, it just narrows it down to 1 out of a hundred apps! But maybe I'm missing something. Is there additional information I can find if I run in safe mode that would help suss out the problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is not easy , you just need to be methodic
See if you can find anything useful in the logs first
Reflash firmware , use home-csc , see if it help
Have you notice if the phone fails under any specific circumstances?
If that does not help and if you can really relate the problem with any specific app you may try to freeze or uninstall suspicious app and let it run for a day , Package disabler app is a good option , it is easy to enable or disable app but is not free, you could try this one , is a debloater tool , it allow you to disable app... may be easy that having to uninstall / install by hand
I'm also having the same problem. Had the phone since June, it didn't start to occur until late August, which leads me to suspect it is an update related issue.
GillBates21 said:
I'm also having the same problem. Had the phone since June, it didn't start to occur until late August, which leads me to suspect it is an update related issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm glad you posted today, I've been meaning to post again here because I tried troubleshooting and am still having issues. In fact, it crashed twice today when I was trying to send a text message.
I installed one of the log applications (can't remember which one at the moment) but it wasn't really helpful. They didn't seem to catch any information related to a crash even though they were logging data at least twice when it crashed.
Then I tried reflashing using home-csc using ODIN and that ended up soft-bricking my phone (and yes, I followed all the instructions and used home-csc) so I had to reflash everything and do a full factory reset. That seemed to help, reducing the crashes from once/day to once/2-3 days for a few weeks, but now it's back to ~once a day (sometimes more, sometimes less).
So if anyone has any other idea, I'm all ears. When I was reflashing and stuff, I noticed in the recovery mode (or whatever it's called) options that you can look at logs. Does anyone know if one of those logs would have crash-related data or any other ideas of what to try? This is incredibly frustrating, especially that it's persisting after a factory reset. Argh!
dougleto said:
I'm glad you posted today, I've been meaning to post again here because I tried troubleshooting and am still having issues. In fact, it crashed twice today when I was trying to send a text message.
I installed one of the log applications (can't remember which one at the moment) but it wasn't really helpful. They didn't seem to catch any information related to a crash even though they were logging data at least twice when it crashed.
Then I tried reflashing using home-csc using ODIN and that ended up soft-bricking my phone (and yes, I followed all the instructions and used home-csc) so I had to reflash everything and do a full factory reset. That seemed to help, reducing the crashes from once/day to once/2-3 days for a few weeks, but now it's back to ~once a day (sometimes more, sometimes less).
So if anyone has any other idea, I'm all ears. When I was reflashing and stuff, I noticed in the recovery mode (or whatever it's called) options that you can look at logs. Does anyone know if one of those logs would have crash-related data or any other ideas of what to try? This is incredibly frustrating, especially that it's persisting after a factory reset. Argh!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So what I tried to do is roll back all the default google app updates. Ex: Android system webview, Google app itself, etc etc. I factory reset it without backing up any apps (but pictures and messages etc), It was working for a few days and then it happened again. Which further reinforces my thinking that my problem is software based.
GillBates21 said:
So what I tried to do is roll back all the default google app updates. Ex: Android system webview, Google app itself, etc etc. I factory reset it without backing up any apps (but pictures and messages etc), It was working for a few days and then it happened again. Which further reinforces my thinking that my problem is software based.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I'm curious why you think that means it's a software issue. If this isn't a widespread issue with the S21 and after we've both done a factory reset and still have the issue, that makes me think it could be a hardware issue. Of course, there could be some software incompatibility with an app that most people don't have installed or a bluetooth connection or something, which is why I really want to find a useful crash log (and find it rather absurb how hard it is to find a useful crash log on android, come on guys, it's a mature OS, some kind of crash log seems pretty basic!), because otherwise, it could be a ton of issues and I can't reproduce it. Ugh.
The reason is that the "few days" after the reset and restoring pictures, messages (but not apps) from backup, where there were no crashes at all (where previously it would happen at least 2 times per day).
GillBates21 said:
The reason is that the "few days" after the reset and restoring pictures, messages (but not apps) from backup, where there were no crashes at all (where previously it would happen at least 2 times per day).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got it, that makes sense. I'm on t-mobile and just got an update this morning. We'll see if that improves anything because my device restarted 4 times yesterday
I havent had a crash like this since i disabled chrome and other google stuff, and downgrading google apps lol.
GillBates21 said:
I havent had a crash like this since i disabled chrome and other google stuff, and downgrading google apps lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you disable chrome and what other google stuff did you disable? (There's obviously quite a lot of google services that can't be disabled)
After the most recent monthly update, my phone has gone from rebooting multiple times/day to once every 2-3 days, which is more manageable but still super annoying. It is incredibly frustrating to me that there are no good tools to troubleshoot a crash (at least that I've ben able to find). Honestly, it's driven me to consider an iPhone for the first time in my life .
My trouble is back... I will be scheduling a fix with samsung soon so I can RMA it
Check the below link. This seems to be a hardware problem which got solved after Samsung replaced the motherboard.
Samsung Restart problem
So I bought this phone for my wife. Since I received the phone, after a day the phone started crashing whatever app she was on and then take you back to lock screen without having to go through a full restart process but it was definitely a restart as you would need to enter your pin again as opposed to fingerprints.
Since it was within 15 days of purchase I returned and reordered another one from Samsung, and to my surprise exact same issue. What are the odds of having two brand new phones having exact same issues.
This leads me to believe it must be a software issue. I just received this 2nd new phone last Friday.
Yeah, I think what I was experiencing was a hardware issue (it definitely went through the full restart process, not what is described in the previous post). And from the link posted by sandystays above, it looks pretty common. I contacted Samsung support and was not impressed at all. They walked me through a number of troubleshooting steps that weren't helpful then had me take my phone to UBreakIFix. I did, they ran a diagnostic and their tools couldn't find anything wrong so they said Samsung should replace it.
Contacted Samsung, told them I had taken it in. They said I needed to take it to a technician (again, right after telling them I just had). They then said, oh, you'll have to mail it to us and you'll get your phone back in 7-10 business days. Their suggestion for what to do for a phone in the meantime? Buy a prepaid phone then return it when I get my phone back (which a) is unethical and b) wouldn't work anyways since they're locked). Ridiculous. They also admitted that this is a very common problem, so I asked why they just won't send me a replacement device if it's so common to which they had no real answer, just "that's our policy".
Eventually, I contacted T-mobile (my carrier) and was very pleasantly surprised. After me telling them the issue and the steps I'd taken to troubleshoot it, they sent me a replacement phone (recertified, but still) that arrived in 2 days. WAAAYYYY better than Samsung. The entire process made me a bit jealous of my wife's iPhone. If she had had a similar issue, we could have taken it to an apple store and not had the whole "our policy is that you have no phone for 7-10 business days" nonsense from Samsung AND the backup and restore process is still way better on iPhones than on any android I've ever owned. How there is no easy and reliable backup/restore mechanism on android after so long is beyond me.
Bottome line: if you have a similar issue, it's very likely a hardware problem (my replacement phone has been fine for 3 days now). And avoid Samsung support if you can!
dougleto said:
Yeah, I think what I was experiencing was a hardware issue (it definitely went through the full restart process, not what is described in the previous post). And from the link posted by sandystays above, it looks pretty common. I contacted Samsung support and was not impressed at all. They walked me through a number of troubleshooting steps that weren't helpful then had me take my phone to UBreakIFix. I did, they ran a diagnostic and their tools couldn't find anything wrong so they said Samsung should replace it.
Contacted Samsung, told them I had taken it in. They said I needed to take it to a technician (again, right after telling them I just had). They then said, oh, you'll have to mail it to us and you'll get your phone back in 7-10 business days. Their suggestion for what to do for a phone in the meantime? Buy a prepaid phone then return it when I get my phone back (which a) is unethical and b) wouldn't work anyways since they're locked). Ridiculous. They also admitted that this is a very common problem, so I asked why they just won't send me a replacement device if it's so common to which they had no real answer, just "that's our policy".
Eventually, I contacted T-mobile (my carrier) and was very pleasantly surprised. After me telling them the issue and the steps I'd taken to troubleshoot it, they sent me a replacement phone (recertified, but still) that arrived in 2 days. WAAAYYYY better than Samsung. The entire process made me a bit jealous of my wife's iPhone. If she had had a similar issue, we could have taken it to an apple store and not had the whole "our policy is that you have no phone for 7-10 business days" nonsense from Samsung AND the backup and restore process is still way better on iPhones than on any android I've ever owned. How there is no easy and reliable backup/restore mechanism on android after so long is beyond me.
Bottome line: if you have a similar issue, it's very likely a hardware problem (my replacement phone has been fine for 3 days now). And avoid Samsung support if you can!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On the second phone I still have the 2wk window to return. I am contemplating if I should just return altogether. I had bought an s21 Ultra as well and that seem to be working OK.
Two s21+ phones with same issue, what are the odds of hardware problem? But what if it is the entire batch that is bad.
isiddiqi said:
On the second phone I still have the 2wk window to return. I am contemplating if I should just return altogether. I had bought an s21 Ultra as well and that seem to be working OK.
Two s21+ phones with same issue, what are the odds of hardware problem? But what if it is the entire batch that is bad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your issue sounds different to me. Mine definitely fully rebooted, I have no idea what is going on with yours, it sounds like your crashes are locking the phone or something, that could definitely be software. Good luck!