Related
HTC Notes - chokes HARD.. i was in the middle of using it in a lecture and it went into this locked down save mode - screen blacks out other then a "saving" and circle in the screen..
like WTF -- glad others where taking notes -- but seriouslly what the **** is wrong with this software -- there where a few parts where it was "auto saving" while I was writing and that is fine.. but when I cant even do anything with the tablet until its done "thinking" is ****.
I was doing recording of the lecture - but had to turn it off due to the consistant saving..
I shouldnt have to create all new notebooks to get past a few hours of notes. anyone have thoughts/suggestions?
Happened to me as well, I don't like that auto save thing at all it's really annoying.
Don't know if there's a way to turn it off
I have just contacted HTC -- waiting for a reply - probably tomorrow..
is this an intermittent thing or does it happen all the time? How often does it freeze up during note taking? I want to buy an EVO view specifically for taking notes with a pen. thanks.
I personally have not seen this issue with either my flyer or view. I use notes for inspections that typically take 30-45 minutes. No force closes yet been using for over a month.
Renegade360 said:
I personally have not seen this issue with either my flyer or view. I use notes for inspections that typically take 30-45 minutes. No force closes yet been using for over a month.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 for me, too. That's using both the audio recording and note taking in meetings that are anywhere from 30-90 minutes.
It happened 3-5 times during the 2 hour lecture..
for those of you that are not having this issue - when you fill a page are you scrolling down to write on the next page of the notebook - or are you hitthing the + arrow and starting a new notebook??
When I am in the same notebook and scrolling down -- adding notes after about I dunno.. 10+ pages -- it starts to save automaticlly every few seconds.. after about 20+ pages the black screen and the saving circle appears very frequently and at the most inadapt times.. again taking anywhere from 30 seconds to 3 minutes to save and continue.
seems to be a memory issue with the device.. I dont know.. going to test it saturday at my next class.
scrolling. never hit 10 pages though
No FCs here either. Scrolling as I write since I prefer landscape, and I doubt I've ever hit 10+ pages...
What else is going on in the background, anything like Tasker or any type of task/process killer? Maybe space on the microSD?
nope - none of the above -- here is the response from HTC:
" Dear Richard,
I understand how important it is to be able to keep notes and information. There are multiple factors that could have caused the device locking up while recording. For the most part it is meant for simple memos. It sounds like the recording may have run out of memory, or the file itself may have simply been so large it bogged down.
In this case we would recommend if you are planing to take long large notes looking into some sort of alternative recorder or dictation program to keep records of such information. You may also want to check your phones storage to make sure that it has room to save large files.
I hope you find this information useful to you and would appreicate any additional feedback on our service via our online survey to follow"
I mean - REALLY?! "its only meant for simple dictation memos.." LOL this was one of the really hyped up parts of the device.. just going to have to make lots of little notebooks.. ****ing stupid if you ask me..
That would suck if the device can only do dictation. My experienceshave luckily been a lot better. I've successfully recorded multiple 90minute meetings... though I don't take as many notes relying a lot on the recorded audio. I checked my sdcard for the recording file size and largest was about 8mb... So card size shouldn't be a factor. Which could be a memory resource issue on the device. Maybe check the amount of free memory and kill off any background tasks before heading into a lecture.
Let us know what you find.
If you are using your tablet as extensively as you are and it is not working for you, I would recomend switching to a more robust tablet like a windows tablet, See the Fujitsu Q550 or a rugged version of the Motion CL900. Both are pen enabled and will do a great job at extensive note taking operations.
If I was in a more full time education environment, I wouldn't be messing around with android systems. They aren't mature enough for this type of important stuff.
Renegade360 said:
If you are using your tablet as extensively as you are and it is not working for you, I would recomend switching to a more robust tablet like a windows tablet, See the Fujitsu Q550 or a rugged version of the Motion CL900. Both are pen enabled and will do a great job at extensive note taking operations.
If I was in a more full time education environment, I wouldn't be messing around with android systems. They aren't mature enough for this type of important stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to agree.
The hint is in the name of the app 'Notes' not 'Essays' (hope you not majoring in English language!
Renegade360 said:
If you are using your tablet as extensively as you are and it is not working for you, I would recomend switching to a more robust tablet like a windows tablet, See the Fujitsu Q550 or a rugged version of the Motion CL900. Both are pen enabled and will do a great job at extensive note taking operations.
If I was in a more full time education environment, I wouldn't be messing around with android systems. They aren't mature enough for this type of important stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to agree with this also. This is the first generation of app... And we are early adopters.
Here's what I would try on the Flyer:
- make sure background apps are to a minimum (i.e. friendstream, Facebook, Twitter, cnn)
- make my written notes more efficient
- consider noting highlights and rely on verbose audio recording for details when reviewing.
It may be a stupid question but a bit annoying to me.
There may be a frequent case which you want to take pictures while you have chats with your friends. However, I just discovered that Galaxy SII won't be able to do this. In certain extend, it is a limitation in terms of multi-tasking.
Is there any ROM or other ways to let them work at the same time ?
I have the same problem and it makes me very sad ...
I use the Head Set and would like to take some pictures and send them via E-Mail while I use the phone.
Any hint would be nice! Thanks in advance!!
I too have this issue/question
It's blocked in the s/w. Just like not being able to use the camera with the battery below 15%, The latter was changed in a recent update to only not being able to use the flash below 15%. In other words, it's not a flaw, it's a "feature."
BarryH_GEG said:
It's blocked in the s/w. Just like not being able to use the camera with the battery below 15%, The latter was changed in a recent update to only not being able to use the flash below 15%. In other words, it's not a flaw, it's a "feature."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I figured as much. there is no reason we shouldnt be able to talk and snap a pic. i drive a taxi and am on the phone most of the time with other drivers and have to hang up if i see something i wanna take a picture of. does anybody know if there might be a workaround? Im fairly new to android, was pretty handy with winmo registry stuff, dont know how to tweak android yet
euphoria47 said:
I figured as much. there is no reason we shouldnt be able to talk and snap a pic. i drive a taxi and am on the phone most of the time with other drivers and have to hang up if i see something i wanna take a picture of. does anybody know if there might be a workaround? Im fairly new to android, was pretty handy with winmo registry stuff, dont know how to tweak android yet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm guessing it's blocked because the phone still supports video calling over 3G on networks capable of it. One of the devs might be able to change it in a cooked ROM. Quite a few undid the 15% camera thing.
BarryH_GEG said:
I'm guessing it's blocked because the phone still supports video calling over 3G on networks capable of it. One of the devs might be able to change it in a cooked ROM. Quite a few undid the 15% camera thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup it was me who found the way to disable the battery checks on apps, and disable the pausing of music when opening camera...
Let's test this...
OK, looks like something worth trying
I have got this working now and is in VRTweaks for VillainROM 2.4.2 as of now.
pulser ur just awsome....
but am using cognition......how can i use ur VR tweaks....?/?
Look I'm sorry if I broke one of the 500 rules here, I am just desperately in search of help.
I have been a smart phone owner since 2009. I bought an iphone 3. I upgraded to a 3gs eventually, then last summer got my first note.
I went through five iphones because I kept sending them back due to various issues. I thought Android would be great and fix all my issues, but honestly I hate my phone and I just want a smartphone that works. Like I said I bought my first one in 2009 and I have just been trying to have a fully functional smartphone ever since and it is something I have never gotten to experience. Four years! Jesus, I just want one that works and doesn't give me random issues everytime I try to use it.
So my note is running android 4.0.4 I am going to list various issues I am having with it in the next post. I would do it in this post but I had it all typed up then this page just turned blank and I lost what I typed. I have no idea why.
Please keep in mind I have owned five Notes. I have sent them back for various issues, but these problems have persisted across all of them.
1. If I am using a web browser in landscape mode and go about ten seconds without touching the screen or buttons, the right side of the screen flashes black repeatedly.
2. When I use the default audio player the last song I picked automatically starts playing. It used to not autostart the music. How can I disable this?
3. When I am in an app and press home, sometimes after the app minimizes it comes right back up instead of going to the home screen. Why?
4. How come sometimes when I go to unlock my phone, the clock is in the middle instead of the top, which is what I have it set to?
5. When I attempt to download an image off the internet through any of the five browsers I have installed about 50% of the time the download fails regardless of 4G or wifi connection strength. How can I fix this?
6. Sometimes when I click a link on a webpage, the page jumps to another part of the webpage and activates a random link from that area. Wtf?
7. If I close every running app, disable every unrequired service and turn my screen brightness down all the way, I cannot use my browser and charge my phone at the same time without the battery draining quicker than it charges. How can I browse the web and charge my battery at the same time?
8. If I click up by issue #5 or #6 to edit something, this website scrolls the edit box all the way up to the top. The only way I can get back down to where I am typing this is to drag the text selection tool. Kind of annoying.
9. My lock screen setting is set to auto lock after ten minutes because I prefer to manually lock my phone when I'm done using it, not use auto lock. When I get a phone call this setting is overidden and the screen locks after ten seconds of inactivity following a phone call. How can I get my phone to always respect the value I selected for that setting rather than some of the time?
10. the default camera app has an option to set custom shortcuts. This is a useful feature. However every time I exit the application the shortcuts are reset to default, making that feature worthless. How can I set custom shortcuts permanently?
What's the common denominator among all these devices(ip*/sammy)?
Saved and Texan by the Grace of God, Redneck by choice.
Maybe you should try the latest BlackBerry
mrhaley30705 said:
Maybe you should try the latest BlackBerry
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or an old Nokia!
Sent from The Bacon Pope's Galaxy Note 2
boneless9000 said:
Look I'm sorry if I broke one of the 500 rules here, I am just desperately in search of help.
I have been a smart phone owner since 2009. I bought an iphone 3. I upgraded to a 3gs eventually, then last summer got my first note.
I went through five iphones because I kept sending them back due to various issues. I thought Android would be great and fix all my issues, but honestly I hate my phone and I just want a smartphone that works. Like I said I bought my first one in 2009 and I have just been trying to have a fully functional smartphone ever since and it is something I have never gotten to experience. Four years! Jesus, I just want one that works and doesn't give me random issues everytime I try to use it.
So my note is running android 4.0.4 I am going to list various issues I am having with it in the next post. I would do it in this post but I had it all typed up then this page just turned blank and I lost what I typed. I have no idea why.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok I hate to be the one to say this but you will never find anything that will not have random issues. This is the way of smartphones. While One device may run perfectly the same device and the same OS version will have random issues.
Also might want to look into something called a logcat. It will help you find the issues you see
Tx Redneck said:
What's the common denominator among all these devices(ip*/sammy)? .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They all feel like a waste of money?
let me see if I can either answer or help you clarify what's needed to solve these issues.
First are you stock unrooted? running a custom rom? Rooted?
(each of the following number correlate with the issues you listed):
1) Stock web browser or all of the one's you've tried? By flashes black, does half the screen start flashing black then back to what's being displayed quickly?
2) the playing the last song if I recall is a restart "function" that the player does, check in the settings for that. Maybe someone else can answer this as I don't use my phone as an MP3 player, just pandora.
3) I've had this happen from time to time with my phone as well. I've noticed that it happens with memory intensive programs. I just hit the home button again. Don't know what to tell you there
4) Are you referring to the clock on your lock screen or status bar?
5) Is this issue one specific image? is it from one given website? have you tried dolphin browser? I can tell you that it does work on my phone from google front page.
6) This happens to me as well, it's annoying and I feel your pain. It happens to me when I go to click a link when I have my keyboard open which resizes and moves the webpage and then activates the click in the new location. Is this similar to your issue?
7) Are you using the charger that came with the phone or a charger that pipes 1A to the device for charging? a lot of chargers our there will only do 500mA and a lot of cables will limit the charging to speed to 500mA because they aren't shorted for full power charging. Though someone should correct me if I'm wrong here.
8) Editing likes to jump around, mainly due to what I mentioned in response to 6 because it closes and reopens the keyboard. Again that's from my experience. this has been limited when I moved to swiftkey and a JB rom.
9) I have no clue about this one. and have no idea what to tell you. I'd say play in the settings for this one.
boneless9000 said:
List o' stuff you posted...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You kindly asked for help, so I’ll kindly try my best.
1. I have NEVER heard of anything like this. So you say this happened on different Notes? That is akward. I wonder if a different dpi setting will cure this for ya. If your rooted you can install xposed and change individual app dpi’s This will also aid in resolving your #8 issue.
2. This is a normal setting in default audio players. I suggest GoneMad audio player. It has TONS of features and device controls to solve this for ya.
3. I noticed this problem once before. I believe it’s an animation lag. I never seen it happen if I turn off transition animations. Try that and repost back.
4. This sounds like a governor issue. The cpu frequency drops when phone is locked. When it wakes up it lags and the clock doesn’t pop back to where it’s suppose to be. I notice this a LOT when I rotate from portrait to landscape while lockscreen is up.
5. When your image downloads fail, what’s going on with the phone? Same with when they do download. Is anything else running? Is screen locked at all during the download?
6. I notice this happening with different individual webpages. Sometimes a webpage will have an advertisement that slowly loads at the top or side. When it does eventually load the screen elongates which moves the spot we were on. But of course this always happens right when we’re clicking a link! Could this possibly be what’s happening to you?
7. Are you using the stock supplied usb cable and charger plug? Aftermarket chargers have different output voltages. If your using a cheapO it will only charge when not doing anything. And even then it’s still slow to charge!
8. Our phones aren’t the greatest for typing LONG paragraphs or replies. I changed my keyboard dpi so it’s a lil smaller. It gave me more room in landscape mode to see what’s above and I can scroll thru what I wrote easier. That’s not a perfect solution but it helps!
9. I believe this problem is a default security issue. I remember reading somewhere that a phone is set to lock after a phone call because our face could be touching it and press something it shouldn’t. Also that if you were to give your phone to someone to make a phone call having the phone unlocked could be a security breach to you. When you think about it for a second it’s not a bad feature afterall! I’ve given my phone to a coworker during a call and I wouldn’t want him playing with my phone for a second! But when the boss is on the phone with me and wants to talk to whom I’m standing beside I let him! Your problem could be solved with a newer release of JellyBean. I notice a setting in my phone that says "Exit to last activity on end call" which will allow phone to exit to the previous activity screen on end call rather than going to call log and locking.
10. This problem makes me think that you might of tweeked something you shouldn’t of. Why else would an app not remember it’s settings you stored? If it’s not a tweek issue, you can try installing a different camera app. There’s literally 100’s!
Sorry if those responses are of no help. I’m no expert they are just my thoughts on your issues. Good luck!
Originally Posted by boneless9000<br />
Look I'm sorry if I broke one of the 500 rules here, I am just desperately in search of help.<br />
<br />
I have been a smart phone owner since 2009. I bought an iphone 3. I upgraded to a 3gs eventually, then last summer got my first note.<br />
<br />
I went through five iphones because I kept sending them back due to various issues. I thought Android would be great and fix all my issues, but honestly I hate my phone and I just want a smartphone that works. Like I said I bought my first one in 2009 and I have just been trying to have a fully functional smartphone ever since and it is something I have never gotten to experience. Four years! Jesus, I just want one that works and doesn't give me random issues everytime I try to use it.<br />
<br />
So my note is running android 4.0.4 I am going to list various issues I am having with it in the next post. I would do it in this post but I had it all typed up then this page just turned blank and I lost what I typed. I have no idea why.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
<br />
<br />
Ok I hate to be the one to say this but you will never find anything that will not have random issues. This is the way of smartphones. While One device may run perfectly the same device and the same OS version will have random issues.<br />
<br />
<br />
Also might want to look into something called a logcat. It will help you find the issues you see
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey its batman
xylon
God I ****ing hate my phone. I had my entire response typed out, got a phone call, then when I went back to my browser it refreshed the page and my **** got deleted. I cannot express how much I ****ing hate this piece of ****. That is not what I expect when an OS is advertised as having true multitasking. What garbage.
stock unrooted.
Flashes in every browser ive tried.
That music app never did that before and there is no option to chsnge it. i am not interested in replacing the app, i want to know how i can change the behavior back to how it was.
4. lock screen. setting stays the same (top) but when i go to unlock the phone sometimes its at the top something the middle. im just wondering why.
5. any website any browser any connection. I can be in a ****ing att store using their hotspot trying to download the google.com logo and it works half the time if that.
6. i dont know it just raneomly jumps around and clicks ****.
7. i am using the chargers that came with my phone. i cannot use my browser with all other apps closed and screen brightness cranked all the way down while my phone is plugged in and have the battery even stay level much less charge. my battery drops 10% if i look at my ****ing phone. i already got a second battery from att and this is the fifth note ive had too.
its so ****ing frustrating how there is no answers for anything at all. im just venting in general. i really, really appreciate people like you trying to take the time to help me out...but at the end of the day i have ****ing nothing at all to go on. i never ever find a solution to anything. everyone always says oh just try a different app or att is all well just send you a new phone. for ****s sake i just want the phone i use and the apps i use to ****ing work. ****.
Theoriginalgiga said:
let me see if I can either answer or help you clarify what's needed to solve these issues.
First are you stock unrooted? running a custom rom? Rooted?
(each of the following number correlate with the issues you listed):
1) Stock web browser or all of the one's you've tried? By flashes black, does half the screen start flashing black then back to what's being displayed quickly?
2) the playing the last song if I recall is a restart "function" that the player does, check in the settings for that. Maybe someone else can answer this as I don't use my phone as an MP3 player, just pandora.
3) I've had this happen from time to time with my phone as well. I've noticed that it happens with memory intensive programs. I just hit the home button again. Don't know what to tell you there
4) Are you referring to the clock on your lock screen or status bar?
5) Is this issue one specific image? is it from one given website? have you tried dolphin browser? I can tell you that it does work on my phone from google front page.
6) This happens to me as well, it's annoying and I feel your pain. It happens to me when I go to click a link when I have my keyboard open which resizes and moves the webpage and then activates the click in the new location. Is this similar to your issue?
7) Are you using the charger that came with the phone or a charger that pipes 1A to the device for charging? a lot of chargers our there will only do 500mA and a lot of cables will limit the charging to speed to 500mA because they aren't shorted for full power charging. Though someone should correct me if I'm wrong here.
8) Editing likes to jump around, mainly due to what I mentioned in response to 6 because it closes and reopens the keyboard. Again that's from my experience. this has been limited when I moved to swiftkey and a JB rom.
9) I have no clue about this one. and have no idea what to tell you. I'd say play in the settings for this one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OP you went through five iphones and five notes?
I don't think the phone is the problem.
boneless9000 said:
God I ****ing hate my phone. I had my entire response typed out, got a phone call, then when I went back to my browser it refreshed the page and my **** got deleted. I cannot express how much I ****ing hate this piece of ****. That is not what I expect when an OS is advertised as having true multitasking. What garbage.
stock unrooted.
Flashes in every browser ive tried.
That music app never did that before and there is no option to chsnge it. i am not interested in replacing the app, i want to know how i can change the behavior back to how it was.
4. lock screen. setting stays the same (top) but when i go to unlock the phone sometimes its at the top something the middle. im just wondering why.
5. any website any browser any connection. I can be in a ****ing att store using their hotspot trying to download the google.com logo and it works half the time if that.
6. i dont know it just raneomly jumps around and clicks ****.
7. i am using the chargers that came with my phone. i cannot use my browser with all other apps closed and screen brightness cranked all the way down while my phone is plugged in and have the battery even stay level much less charge. my battery drops 10% if i look at my ****ing phone. i already got a second battery from att and this is the fifth note ive had too.
its so ****ing frustrating how there is no answers for anything at all. im just venting in general. i really, really appreciate people like you trying to take the time to help me out...but at the end of the day i have ****ing nothing at all to go on. i never ever find a solution to anything. everyone always says oh just try a different app or att is all well just send you a new phone. for ****s sake i just want the phone i use and the apps i use to ****ing work. ****.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no worries I completely understand the pain of having an issue and feeling like I'm the only one EVER to deal with it.
SO don't hate me for these next set of recommendations, it's just all part of the troubleshooting process. What I would do is a full factory reset. I mean wipe everything, and I do mean everything because I'm almost suspecting it could be a rogue app causing at least some of your issues. I believe you can revert all the way back to GB (someone will correct me if I'm wrong, it is the internet after all). then without installing anything at all try the stock web browser see if it still flashes and jumps around. If it does well it's what some Microsoft programs like to call a "feature". as for your power consumption issue. try installing this app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.manor.currentwidget&hl=en . it isn't perfectly accurate, but it should tell you close to what your amperage that's going into your phone, which should be around 1000ma (or 1A). I know the issue you're referring to and it happens to me when I use the GPS on my truck using my truck adapter which is only 500mA. battery just drops and drops and drops.
After you've done all that and still don't have the desired results, flash ICS and try again.
Lastly I hate the browsing system on these phones as well. you can clearly tell it's a simulated multitasking system and it won't even load multiple pages at the same time and if you switch between the tabs it'll refresh the page and redownload it. Annoying as crap especially when you're trying to watch some pr0n. But it is much better than on my ipod touch so I deal with it. Where I guess I differ from a lot of people who buys this phone is I think of it as a place to get my emails, phone calls and look something up to prove something wrong. I don't feel a smartphone has really become a laptop or netbook replacement yet.
I hope these steps help. If all else fails and you're still having issues, maybe this phone just won't do what you want it to do. I know, I know that a phone should do what it advertises but when it doesn't live up to it, it's time to step to a different device. The S4 was just released and the HTC One is supposed to be a smokin phone too. And with the documented cases of issues you've been having I bet they'd be more than happy to get you to a different device without having to pay full price.
Again I hope these help.
rangercaptain said:
OP you went through five iphones and five notes?
I don't think the phone is the problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well explain how this happens:
- Three iphones in a row had an issue with getting dust under the screen. At the time I had an office job, so the phone saw clean slacks pockets and my desk at home, nothing else. The first time it happened they did a screen replacement first and the problem persisted. I never exposed them to extreme environments, never dropped them, nothing.
-I have had the audio port on my Note fail on three different Notes. I use headphones maybe once or twice a week, and when I drive I sometimes plug it up to my tape adapter. They are never subjected to unreasonable force, I never jam the plug in there or anything etc.
-I have had iphones and Notes run at about 30-50% overall speed as the others I have tried, when they are 100% fresh straight from the factory and have not had a single 3rd party app installed or anything.
-I have PC components from the 80's, a circa 2000 HDD based MP3 player from iriver I even used while skateboarding, an original NES and gameboy, the original Razor and countless other electronic devices that have performed flawlessly in the time that I have owned them.
Seriously, explain to me how it is my fault that all five galaxy notes I have tried fail to download a simple image file no matter how good my connection is.
Explain to me why every email application I have used on any smartphone, ios or droid, is so ****ing slow that after hitting refresh inbox I can switch to my browser, open my email providers page, type in my login infox and open my mailbox quicker than the app. Explain why its my fault I can refresh my inbox when I expect mail, see nothing, refresh it again immediately, then have it download five emails from an hour ago. What did I do wrong?
Explain to me why a week ago my phone decided I can't upload images due to "insufficient memory" despite having changed no settings, added no new apps etc. Explain to me what else I can do after resetting the phone, deleting chromes cache, manually stopping and disabling every non essential app that was running, clearing all running processes, clearing ram and resizing the photo. Explain to me why after all that I still cannot upload that photo with Chrome or any other browser, but I can intentionally run as many apps as I can at once, then upload the full size, unedited photo with an imgur app and it goes through no problem. How is that my fault?
How is it my fault that my battery dropped 5% in the time it took me to type this with screen brightness cranked to a minimum, no other apps running, wifi bluetooth and gps disabled and my phone plugged in to a known good outlet with factory wdapters? How is this my fault that I cannot use my phone and charge it at the same time?
How is it my fault that the camera app will not keep my shortcuts?
How is it my fault that a week ago, my music playing application decided to do the following: I pick x song off y album and let it play through a few songs. Q song, the fifth one in the album, is currently playing. I decide I want to listen to another artist. I unlock my phone and go back to the app while the song is still playing. As soon as I open the app it stops the current song and restarts the last song I opened, closing out song Q for song X. It never did that before. I changed no settings. What did I do wrong?
I have a total of maybe five apps I've even downloaded since getting this phone. A 1mb< notepad app, chrome, a sketchbook program and pdanet. All except the last were straight from googles store.
I just dont know. I feel like I paid 500$ for pure, condensed frustration that fits conveniently into my pocket. Every other electronic device I own does what it is supposed to. My PS3 doesnt decide to just stop working. My Wii is a tank. My car is a champ. My digital cameras are workhorses. What is so difficult about obtaining a functional smartphone?
I am A+ and Network+ certified. I know the basically means jack ****, but I'm not a complete idiot when it comes to electronics. I know how to take care of them, I know how to teoubleshoot. I built my first PC before my voice cracked. When I try to troubleshoot my phone I feel less productive than if I were to bang my head against a wall.
boneless9000 said:
I am A+ and Network+ certified. I know the basically means jack ****, but I'm not a complete idiot when it comes to electronics. I know how to take care of them, I know how to teoubleshoot. I built my first PC before my voice cracked. When I try to troubleshoot my phone I feel less productive than if I were to bang my head against a wall.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As an A+ certified tech myself, you should know there is nothing like wiping the hard drive and starting over fresh.
The previous poster walks you through to factory reset the device, which is what I would recommend as well.
When wiping select factory data reset and wipe the cache too.
This will erase the internal SD card contents. Transfer that stuff over to external SD if you need it.
Set it up. Give it a couple reboots.
Computers and phones are different beasts. As I have incorporated the latter more into my business as of recent.
Hey boneless, I'm sorry to have offended you. Remember, I don't know anything about your background or your technical skills. I don't know how high your expectations of electronics are. So please, no offence intended. I'm just passing on my observation in an open forum.
If you want to blow off steam, go ahead. And I hope some of the suggestions help.
Hi,
I had been awaiting the Gear S arrival forever...I almost gave up on it with the lack of information and when the Asus was supposed to come out the very same day, I was very uncertain which was the watch for me. In the end, the Gear S was available from T-Mobile (my carrier) and the Asus was nowhere to be found at BestBuy, so I bought the GearS.
It has been a long time since I have looked forward to getting any kind of new IT device. I had been looking into smart watches for a few months and this is my first one, here my first thoughts and impressions:
Size/Attention Getter:
It is big. I am female, 5'6" but I don't think it is too big. Other people may disagree, but it is just super-cool, techie looking.
It is not great with every outfit, though. I can already imagine there may be times I would prefer a different looking one. T-Mobile had only the black bands at the time, perhaps different bands in the future ay make a difference.
Watch faces:
Nowhere in their pre-launch advertising did I see a hint that the watch faces don't stay as is to save battery power. I liked the stock watch faces it came with (the dark blue and white one) and when I realized those are not on display all the time, I was disappointed. Now I have gotten used to it. Picking a watch face means you need to like its "alter ego" in power savings mode too, because you may end up seeing it more than the regular one. Fortunately, the white stock face has a nice alter ego, so I am ok with it now. Initially was a bit of a let down, though.
Apps:
I had no pre-conceived idea as to which is better, Android Wear of Tizen. Heard there were fewer apps in Tizen, but then, how many would I realistically run using my watch anyway? Well, I still don't know if waiting for the Asus would have been the smarter choice, but the first time I looked into the Gear S appstore, I was really disappointed. One particular bit in the Asus pre-launch movie was the ability to control presentations with your watch. How cool does that sound? Well, nothing like that in the Tizen App store. Later, they all of a sudden showed up, but for some very strange reason, initially there were very few. Again, bit of a let down at first that got better at the end of the week when I took another look. Still hoping more useful things will show up in there eventually.
Notifications:
I have to admit, the advertising worked like a charm on me, I never paid enough attention to details. E.g. facebook "notifications" vs. a "facebook app". After the initial "how awesome is this" feeling, a few days later I became a bit annoyed when I could see someone had posted something, but I could not see what.
Battery life:
It lasts me throughout the day. What more can I expect? I charge my phones (personal Note 3 and work Blackberry) every night, now I just add the Gear S to my evening ritual. One thing to make note of: I worked all day and then had to take a red-eye to the east coast. Even though I put the GearS in Airplane mode, I should have just turned it off altogether, 11hours on a plane, what was I thinking?
S Health:
Love the tracking of steps. I am not a runner, but it feels good to know I actually walk a lot more than I thought I did - after all, I don't take my phone with me just to walk into the kitchen, the garage or the back yard every time...
The Sleep Monitor is a bit more of a gimmick, IMHO. To clarify: the watch does not know if you are asleep or awake, it only knows you pushed a button confirming you are going to sleep now and when you pushed a button confirming you are awake now. In between it measures your movement. It kept me pretty much awake the first night with the display coming on and off every now and then...Since I have to charge it at night, I no longer use the sleep monitor.
S-Health does not sync with the S-Health app on my phone, but I never noticed it. I use S-Health more for monitoring the "moment" and do not look back over time...so it works for me.
Music Player:
no bad...but I sat on the beach the other day and could not hear it at all over the sound of the waves. Not a huge problem, since the waves are nice too...and the watch was never intended to replace a real sound system. I don't actually use it much on a day to day basis.
**** Tracey effect:
Walking my dogs and talking into my watch is awkward. Driving while talking on the watch is awesome! Forgot my hands-free device at home? No problem with the watch! I have a VW Diesel which can be a bit noisy inside and I could hear and be heard well.
Figuring out all needed settings:
The watch is a complicated device. There are so many different settings and ways one may use it, that I think many are having problems. I read all the issues other people had and was able to resolve mine with the help of this forum and others. I have both watch and phone on one carrier, have one of the recommended phones, so it was only a matter of time and preferences to get it set up. Here are a few that made a difference to me:
Getting all texts, calls all the time, regardless if sent to phone or watch: Here in the US, we do not have multi-Sim cards, so my watch has a different phone number than my phone. If I send a text from my watch while not connected to my phone, I know the person I sent this to will simply hit reply. If I reconnect via BT to my phone, it is important to have the setting for mobile networks set to always on. Otherwise you won't receive their response until you disconnect from BT later...
Call forwarding when connected remotely (not via BT) That one bugged me the most, it just did not seem to work. Turned out to be user error (isn't it almost always and I had accidently added my phone # and not the watch # in the Gear manager app on the phone as to where to enable call forwarding to.
For now, these are the things I have played with. I downloaded "Find my Car" (should be super helpful next time I park in a gigantic airport or Costco parking lot), Opera Mini, Yelp and a presentation aid "PreGear", but have not yet tried any of them out, since I have been traveling for work and was super busy. I will take a closer look at them later when I have more time.
What bugs me and has me still looking at the Asus Zen Watch
I am still bummed out over the facebook notifications. I have no idea if Android Wear works any differently and you can actually see what people posted, but I will take a closer look at that one when I see it for the first time.
My phone has a lock pattern. Many times if you want to see something on the Gear S, but can't, it will give you the option of "Show on device". Well, but it won't unlock my phone for me. Pain in the neck. I could have sworn I saw it can unlock your phone, but that may have been for a different smart watch.
Schedule: would be nice if I could figure out how to add anything to it, have not been able to yet. So for now, I have not a single appointment anywhere to be shown. Would be nice if true. There are other calendars one can download from the Gear App store, but I have not had enough time to look into which will work for me.
When getting onto an airplane I now have another device that I have to remember to put into airplane mode (2 phones, 1 iPad, 1 Kindle and now my watch! I don't mind too much, but if this list gets much longer, I will need to request advance boarding for the additional time it takes to do so lol
The band sometimes gets a bit uncomfortable when it is very warm outside.
It is a large, geeky device, while most of the time I think this is great, there will be others when I may prefer something more elegant.
I wished I could get my work emails on it but this may fall into the category "be careful what you wish for". We use Blackberries still but are moving to iPhones next year. There are no apps that allow me to connect to the BB Enterprise server. Even if they existed, chances are my work would not permit it anyway for security reasons...and why would I want to see 200+ emails on my wrist anyway, most of them containing attachments I would not be able to open...
That's it, sorry for the length, but perhaps someone can make a more informed buying decision, rather than the deeply emotional "I have to have it NOW" one I made! I probably would have still purchased it that day, but I would have saved myself the letdown factor when it simply did not do all the things I took for granted...
Thank you for your help. I'm trying to decide between the two myself
just a few things
bennie joe said:
What bugs me and has me still looking at the Asus Zen Watch
I am still bummed out over the facebook notifications. I have no idea if Android Wear works any differently and you can actually see what people posted, but I will take a closer look at that one when I see it for the first time.
My phone has a lock pattern. Many times if you want to see something on the Gear S, but can't, it will give you the option of "Show on device". Well, but it won't unlock my phone for me. Pain in the neck. I could have sworn I saw it can unlock your phone, but that may have been for a different smart watch.
Schedule: would be nice if I could figure out how to add anything to it, have not been able to yet. So for now, I have not a single appointment anywhere to be shown. Would be nice if true. There are other calendars one can download from the Gear App store, but I have not had enough time to look into which will work for me.
When getting onto an airplane I now have another device that I have to remember to put into airplane mode (2 phones, 1 iPad, 1 Kindle and now my watch! I don't mind too much, but if this list gets much longer, I will need to request advance boarding for the additional time it takes to do so lol
The band sometimes gets a bit uncomfortable when it is very warm outside.
It is a large, geeky device, while most of the time I think this is great, there will be others when I may prefer something more elegant.
I wished I could get my work emails on it but this may fall into the category "be careful what you wish for". We use Blackberries still but are moving to iPhones next year. There are no apps that allow me to connect to the BB Enterprise server. Even if they existed, chances are my work would not permit it anyway for security reasons...and why would I want to see 200+ emails on my wrist anyway, most of them containing attachments I would not be able to open...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very thorough. Just a few things.
Facebook [Notifications]: I've been playing around with the Tizen for Wearables SDK (software development kit). The Gear S and Gear devices employ something called Rich Notifications. What has to happen in order for Facebook to be able to provide more detailed information and interactivity for notifications that are pushed to the Gear S, is that Facebook (and the rest) need to update their app with the ability to work with Rich Notifications. The same goes for each and every other Android app developer/company. But ... whether they do that is up to them. If they don't see any value in it (if none of their users are asking for it, but are instead blaming Samsung--not saying you are at all), then they won't do it.
Lock pattern: There is a setting in Gear Manager on your phone that allows it. Open Gear Manager, scroll to the bottom and choose Settings. Scroll half-way down to Auto Lock and check the box.
Schedule: This is one of the Gear S's shortcomings. We used to be able to "add an event" using S-Voice on other Gear devices, but for some reason we can't with the Gear S. I can see all of the events on my calendar, but only because I use S-Planner. If you aren't using S-Planner, then your calendar won't "sync" with what's on the Gear S. The same goes for texts, email, and some other things. If you aren't using the TouchWiz (stock Samsung apps on the phone), then it won't play so nice with the Gear S. Same thing goes for using Samsung calendar and text messaging while owning and using an Android Wear device. Google has closed down what can be used fully with Android Wear, to their proprietary apps. The rest have limited functionality and display the same "Send to Phone" message to do anything interactive. That may change for both Samsung and Google, since they are starting to open up and release their SDKs, but while Samsung is opening up, Google is starting to tighten up.
Email: I think Samsung is working out the kinks with the Email situation ... but it could be a moment. The email app on the device isn't quite a stand-alone email application. When you add email accounts (e.g., corporate Exchange, which is what I do) through Gear Manager, for example, it also adds it to your phone ... so it's a bit of a challenge. The problem I have is that with it, I can't reply to or compose new email messages, though others with newer phones like the S5 and Note 4 can. There's a combination of Galaxy device model version, Android version, and Stock Email app version that causes variance in the available features when it comes to email. And it's aggravating. But we'll just have to wait and see what happens.
I didn't use use Android Wear for long, but while I did I found it to be too much like having Google Now on my wrist, and not enough of it being an actual extension of my phone or a productivity device. I don't know if that makes any sense ... But I did sell it after a few weeks of use because I found it to be of minimal use. Your mileage will certainly vary, but if you have the opportunity you should try to play around with an Android Wear device. You may be surprised. I won't say whether that will be positively or negatively ... but do try to check it out.
Thanks!
So how do you suggest users let e.g. Facebook know to change their ways? Any particular venue that might be more effective?
Thanks for the info on the lock pattern, I will check that out!
Have you tried Facebook in Opera Mini?
You can read and respond to Facebook messages in there.
bennie joe said:
Thanks!
So how do you suggest users let e.g. Facebook know to change their ways? Any particular venue that might be more effective?
Thanks for the info on the lock pattern, I will check that out!
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Click to collapse
Twitter and official FaceBook support. Maybe the Gear S communities on FaceBook too. I don't use it so I really don't know! Also try hitting up Samsung Support on FaceBook.
Great post by the way. It will definitely be useful to some people who are on the fence.
New app "encouragement"
Thanks again for the suggestion of contacting the apps which I currently like on my android device. Oddly enough, it did not occur to me to contact them, since I figured why would they listen to me? But there is power in numbers!
I have reached out to 2 of my favorite apps, my fitness pal and facebook and will send more in the future as I miss using them on the Gear S.
Here is what I did:
For facebook:
On your profile page on my samsung Note 3 on the very bottom you have the option of reporting a problem. Then it breaks it down to 3 options: general feedback, Something isn't working and abusive content.
I chose something isn't working, because on my Gear s, it isn't I figured, general feedback receives a lot less attention than a reported problem...
My fitness pal:
Under help is a section FAQs/Feedback where you can send them emails. Done!
I encourage everybody to do the same with their favorite apps.. There is power in numbers and only if we reach out can our voice be heard! If developers do not know how many people are out there wanting to use their app on a specific platform, why would they bother spending time and resources on it! As long as everybody keeps the message positive and points out they already purchased the Gear S, they should listen and can actually measure demand ...
Yes, I just started using it last night, not a bad interim solution. Thanks for the tip!
Hey, i have a big addiction problem with screens, usually i use buttoned phone rather than smartphone.
But sometimes there is a need for messenger to chat with people to meet them and calendar might come in handy.
So far i haven't found an app that could efficiently block screen time for some apps. They all have some bugs or workarounds.
I was thinking about rooting phone and deleting apps that make me addicted the most like browser, youtube, app store..
Would that work? Or maybe you have some good recommendations regards to some app or other method?
Would love to have smartphone in my pocket for only important things ,but i know eventually it will get out of hands.
That's the reason i don't have tv or have restricted pc usage
Its ****ing weird but its real..
Migueles said:
Hey, i have a big addiction problem
Its ****ing weird but its real..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you try turning it off, for eg an hour a day?
Maybe start turning it off for 10 minutes and increase it as tolerated?
Do something distracting during this time, eg go for a walk?
Bit like stopping smoking, I guess.
HTH
'600
Have tried this. Eventually I will get hooked again.
For smoking, only thing that worked was just stop and never touch it again.
Works with smartphone also, but the thing that wants me using it is fb chat with newly met people.
I see alot of people who have problem with phones, but they seem to not give damn.
For me I see big drop in quality of life so I need to find a workaround.
This is something yo u will have to learn to deal with. Smartphones are gonna be almost as widely used in our lives as laptops are. You will just have to curb your usage. Like after I get off work. My phone goes on a charger and I never touch it again until the next morning, unless it rings of course.