Typing with phone on flat service fault? - Hero, G2 Touch Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Wow. Just noticed something really odd with the keyboard/screen, but then it could be my phone!
If put your phone on a flat surface (ie table) - try type some letters on the right/left/bottom edge - i find it not as responsive as if you typed in the middle part of the screen. But if you hold the phone in your hands, its perfectly fine!
Anyone else getting that weird problem?

Yep
Noticed the problem to.
I'm guessing there is some screen sensitivity changes when it knows its flat on a surface.
I guess its another on the list of things to fix when the release a new build (or some devs release soem cooked ROMs).

I wonder if this is related to the capacitive nature of the touchscreen? I can replicate the effect if the phone is flat on the surface and I'm only touching it with my typing finger. However, if I rest another finger on the device, or hold it lightly by the edges (still sitting flat on the surface) it works fine.
If this is the case, I doubt any rom will be able to fix it since it is likely to be the capacitive touch screen technology and not a software "fault" per se.
Regards,
Dave

I have seen this too. I wondered if it was a perspective thing - are you pressing the right part of the screen?

are you pressing the right part of the screen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh yeah, looks like I am pressing the right part. It just have to be more firmer pressing those edge buttons. It doesn't matter which way the keyboard layout is.
Anyway, thanks to everyone confirming that you got the same problem. I would have thought it was hardware related, but it could be software related I suppose. Perhaps whatever software is trying to rotate the keyboard is having a hard time to work out what direction to show the keyboard is causing that weird problem

Try holding the phone between thumb and forefinger whilst it is on a flat surface and then typing. If I do this, I have no issues, but the second I remove my fingers, I then get the lack of response for the keys on the bottom row of the device.
Regards,
Dave

mines the same may be to avoid key presses in your pocket?

I have the same problem too. It isn't a problem with all capacitive screens as the iphone never used to do this (l know, I know)
So far I've found no solution, let's hope it gets a quick fix

wow, and I thought it was only me, when I put the phone on the desk, and try use my fingers it becomes really unresponsive but when I'v got it in my hand and I'm using my thumb its all fine, hmmm really weird

it's not really a fault, but more of the nature of the capacitive screen and/or software. In comparison with the iPhone, the iPhone's capacitive screen lets you type/navigate with the phone lying on a flat surface. I find that the Hero's screen requires you to apply a tiny bit more pressure and more surface-area of your finger/thumb, for it to respond. I hope HTC somehow tweak the software for this to be more responsive with less pressure/surface-area contact required so it is usable on a flat surface - don't always want to be picking my phone up to use it at work.

i confrim, using hero without touch the metal edge result in less responsivity and difficult on multitouch operation
hope new firmware can solve this, too many errors using it like a normal keyboard on a table!

Noticed the same problem when using the Hero in my In Car Holder. Makes data input into CoPilot very difficult indeed.
A couple of observations...
I actually have mine in one of those Silicon Covers - the new style 'Gel' ones (work really well and looks good too, unlike old Silicon ones). So it's not actually about having contact with metal as such.
Problem does not occure when plugged into USB.
Now this bit could just be perception rather than reality, but I tried typing while flat (USB disconnected) when touching the coated surface around the trackball and it did not seem to improve things. Trying to do the same while touching the metal area around the speaker grill did seem to improve things. You guys observing similar ?
Anyway, I'm hoping that when I have my car charger, it will fix my CoPilot problem since this should be the same as having the USB plugged in.
Zuber

Related

Can it be more finger friendly ?

Hi
There's allot of improvements, shells, skins..... that are finger-friendly...
I Really like it finger-friendly, it is more comfortable and usually looks good.
I've noticed that the TOUCH PAD of the IPhone is very sensitive for finger touch, while the Hermes needs a very hard touch (Relatively).
Is there a (hard) sensitive touchpad (Digitizer) for heremes ? (something more finger-touch friendly...)
I was looking in ebay, and noticed that there are 2 kinds of Digitizers, does someone knows the difference ?
Digitizer G1
Digitizer G2
Tnx.
I'm afraid neither of those will do what you might think they'd do. The term digitizer refers to a module that consists of a matrix to sense particular change of state in one (or more) given point(s) and translate that as coordinates data in digital form.
There are maybe 2 revisions of them in the ebay links you attached but I don't think they work differently, perhaps one has better sensitivity or responsiveness.
Digitizers activated by pressure works differently than ones activated by mere touch (capacitance). The first is noticable by the requirement of stylus or something to "press" a point to "short circuit" a tiny area in 2 thin layers that are stacked together, they know where the "short circuit" is and report that as the touch point. The latter is activated by the fact that the touch actually alters the "electrical charge" of that particular area.
Common portable devices nowadays still use the press-type, usually it is completely separated from and installed on top of the LCD (if you look closely to your screen when it's turned off you'll notice tiny dots which is the matrix), that's why sometimes they slide around and you have to recalibrate your touch screen. I hope this makes sense.
KaiserVideoDriver has it correct. That's why the iPhone has such a sensative touch screen. Also, I believe that the resistance based touch screens that our phones use are not capable of registering mulitple touch pionts, which is why Apple had to go the opposite route...in order to facilitate the multi touch interface.
From time to time I try and use my Hermes without the stylus, but I constantly find myself either tiring of the constant finger prints and smudges, or I get aggrevated over the touch screen seeming to have a fit from time to time and register touches wrong. It seems to be calibrated for the stylus (i.e. a small, firm touch point); the larger, spread out touch point of a meaty fingertip seems to drive the screen crazy and cause it to register the touch to either of the upper corners. Infuriating when it closes a program or tries to cancel an SMS on you.

Multitouch doesn't work if you don't hold the hero with both hands.

Ok, probably not. There's gotta be a perfectly valid explanation, but I just noticed this:
When I open Albums on my Hero and look at a single photograph, I can zoom in and out by pinching. Same goes for web pages. We all know this.
But the thing is: if I put my phone down on the table and try to pinch with just one hand (thumb+index finger), it doesn't work!
I only need to touch the phone with one finger on my left hand and it starts working. I have to touch the back or the frame. The chin doesn't react.
I tried it on an iPhone and it works with only one hand. It must be some conductivity issue and the Hero simply has a touch screen that works differently from iPhones.
It isn't really a problem for me: I can hold the phone in both hands while pinching. I just found it slightly interesting...
Yeah I have noticed that as well. Although if you try to calibrate using the g-sensor calibration tool it sometime fixes the issue...
Clue is in the technology? Capacitative touch screen....hit the physics books guys
A good capacitive screen doesn't require the user to complete a circuit with the phone using another hand to hold it, or by touching the bezel with a finger. The problem is either in the circuitry driving the touchscreen or possibly with the algorithms used to establish finger gestures and position.
It's even feasible that the metal bezel interferes with the electrostatic field introduced when your finger is in proximity with the screen. This would explain why the sensitivity is reduced around the edges of the screen.
Spose you need to form a complete circuit for it to work. Interesting point though, I didn't know that capacitive screens needed a second 'plate' to work (i.e. more than just the screen alone).
Makes sense though if you think about it.
Q.I indeed
jayjay said:
Ok, probably not. There's gotta be a perfectly valid explanation, but I just noticed this:
When I open Albums on my Hero and look at a single photograph, I can zoom in and out by pinching. Same goes for web pages. We all know this.
But the thing is: if I put my phone down on the table and try to pinch with just one hand (thumb+index finger), it doesn't work!
I only need to touch the phone with one finger on my left hand and it starts working. I have to touch the back or the frame. The chin doesn't react.
I tried it on an iPhone and it works with only one hand. It must be some conductivity issue and the Hero simply has a touch screen that works differently from iPhones.
It isn't really a problem for me: I can hold the phone in both hands while pinching. I just found it slightly interesting...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The metal bezel actually acts like a ground point between the capacitive circuitry and your finger. When you are touching at the very edges of the capacitive area there simply isn't enough room to get a good grounding point so the driver/controller gets a hard time of locating what points are actually grounded. The bezel helps in this regard.
Switchbitch said:
A good capacitive screen doesn't require the user to complete a circuit with the phone using another hand to hold it, or by touching the bezel with a finger. The problem is either in the circuitry driving the touchscreen or possibly with the algorithms used to establish finger gestures and position.
It's even feasible that the metal bezel interferes with the electrostatic field introduced when your finger is in proximity with the screen. This would explain why the sensitivity is reduced around the edges of the screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...perhaps not then lol
Yeah, well I hate to be the one to ask, but why does it work on the iPhone then? I realize it's a grounding / closed circuit issue, but if another similar phone can do it, then there's obviously a way around it.
And another question: Why doesn't pinching work, but normal one-fingered touching does?
Only place where I could see this becoming a problem is when you dock your device to some plastic holder in a car and want to pinch to zoom in some navigator software. Letting go of the steering wheel to use two hands on your phone isn't necessarily the safest thing in the world. One would assume though, that the interface in any navigator software wouldn't require complex gestures while operating it...
i confrim, using hero without touch the metal edge result in less responsivity and difficult on multitouch operation
hope new firmware can solve this, too many errors using it like a normal keyboard on a table!

[Q] A43 touch screen

Am I the only one having really poor touch recognition on my A43? Whether I use a finger or stylus, it often happens--about once in five keystrokes or more--that after releasing the touch on an on-screen keyboard, a different key additionally gets registered, sometimes not even a neighboring key. It is very hard to type in a password.
My touchscreen also has this problem. I'll hit one key and it will add another key somewhere entirely else on the screen. Menus will spaz out when I try and scroll through them.
Oh yeah, remember that problem I was having where strange spots showed up on the screen and I had to get it RMA'd? That came back on my BRAND NEW unit. I'm getting sick of the crappy screen on this otherwise great unit =[ Maybe Archos will just give me a refund and I can spend my funds on an unlocked/off contract phone with similar specs.
Sadly, I think this is a hardware issue. I'm not sure there's anything firmware can do besides ignore half of the inputs. But then, you have a non-responsive issue ...
Have you guys tried to calibrate the screen through SDE?
I have a similar issue with my A101, although it's not as bad as you guys describe - sometimes the screen just won't register my touch at all, mostly in the edges of the screen - sometimes I think it's the calluses on my fingers from playing guitar, sometimes I think it's the horrible screen they gave us....
My $0.02
So does anyone not have this problem with an A43?
wokker666 said:
Have you guys tried to calibrate the screen through SDE?
I have a similar issue with my A101, although it's not as bad as you guys describe - sometimes the screen just won't register my touch at all, mostly in the edges of the screen - sometimes I think it's the calluses on my fingers from playing guitar, sometimes I think it's the horrible screen they gave us....
My $0.02
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might be having better luck because the A101 has a capacitive screen with multi-touch capabilities. They're known to be more reliable than the resistive screens the 43IT's have.
arpruss said:
So does anyone not have this problem with an A43?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a 43IT, which is why I posted Sorry I wasn't clear. I feel your pain. Also, I suggest using your nail or a stylus, as the pinpoint hardness of either are better than the soft, blob your fingertip makes on the screen sensor array.
ddukki said:
I have a 43IT, which is why I posted Sorry I wasn't clear. I feel your pain. Also, I suggest using your nail or a stylus, as the pinpoint hardness of either are better than the soft, blob your fingertip makes on the screen sensor array.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I generally use a stylus. The problem is probably due to the way the plastic digitizer flexes which generates ghost movement data on release. A glass digitizer would be much better.
By the way, it is possible to ameliorate the problem slightly in software. I did that in the myKbd app for PalmOS. Basically, you filter out some very rapid motions. It doesn't affect sensitivity in any significant way.
The reason I'd like to know if everyone has this problem is because I'm going to send my A43 in for warranty repairs, and I am wondering if I should include this problem (in addition to the annoying bright 1/4" area on the screen, and the occasional timeouts when writing to internal flash that result in the device hanging).

Soft buttons going crazy (hardware?), which ROM supports switching to on-screen btn?

Got a 6GB-RAM/64GB-flash rose X820 sent from China 6 months ago. Been very happy with it until some weeks ago.
Ghost touches did very occasionally happen several months ago, after the device had been running for weeks without rebooting.
Since I update my ROMs rather regularly, that didn't really happen all that often, thought it was some kind of software glitch.
Now things have deteriorated to the point where the phone becomes unusable: After a reboot, things work for a minute or so, and then it goes crazy, reacting to phantom button presses. Since my default home button double tap actions is "previous app" and the default menu button action is "app chooser" you can imagine what's going on on the screen: Can't watch without getting dizzy.
After a while the phone will settle down with the buttons dead: They won't react or light up on touch, just light with screen or hardware button action.
Happens with all kinds of ROMs btw., the latest Chinese stock ROMs, Mokee Marshmallow and the various Nougat ROMs I tried over the last weeks.
By now I'm pretty sure it's a hardware issue with my phone, especially since I have only ever encountered one other mention of "ghost touch" in the forum.
It may be a sad case of failing hardware, "a bad soldering point" sort of thing, pretty much impossible to fix with reasonable effort for a phone at this price.
But I know Android natively supports using on-screen software buttons and I've even had ROMs which allowed you to choose between the hardware buttons and on-screen software buttons: Yet somehow, in the current crop of Nougats I haven't really come across this option any more.
So I have two questions:
1. Do others experience similar issues with failing soft buttons? How prevalent is the issue?
2. Does anyone know if one of the CM derivatives like Remix/Mokee etc. Nougats enable foregoing the soft buttons for on-screen ones?
(3.) Would a kind developer put the option back into his ROM or tell me where to find it, so I can put it there myself?
Clearly I prefer using the "hardware" buttons, but even more clearly I prefer using (typically auto-hideable) on-screen buttons to ditching the phone, which is otherwise still going very strong and much faster than its Samsung Note 3 predecessor, which I have to fall back on until the ghost touch madness is resolved via "soft-button amputation".
BTW: I noticed that my Max was rather more bendable than I would have believed a "solid metal case" phone to be (always had plastic Samsungs before and was very happy with their practical advantages of swappable batteries, light weight and drop resilience).
It typically got to the point where it wouldn't lie flat on its face, but toggle on two corners. I would then very carefully bend it back until would rest flat again.
Can't say I saw any direct relationship between the bends and the ghost touches, during "ghost attacks" careful bending either way also doesn't change the occurrence or rapidity of the ghost touches, either.
I am also using a hardenned glass cover on the screen, which is ever so slightly lifting in one corner and could have tiny specks of dust enter between the cover screen and the original front. Since I don't have an equivalent quality replacement and Le Max doesn't have the best quality screen glass, I'm hesitating to remove it, just to see if it makes a difference for the soft buttons: I'd find it hard to believe it could make a real difference, but I wouldn't mind to be corrected if wrong.

I9300 Touch not responding until I press screen hard?

Hi guys. I have an old I9300 and it works great for it's age. But, when it gets a little hot it stops responding to my touches. I found out that the only solution is to press it hard in the lower left corner and then it works normal after that until it happens again. This solution works all the time. I tried opening the phone up and pressing that part (there's a connector for something there) with a small piece of paper, but it doesn't help.
Anyone had any problem like this or something?
Thanks
PS: is there any remedy for the horrible screen burn in except a new display?
Lick your finger and touch the screen. if it doesn't work then the digitiser may be delaminated or faulty.
shivadow said:
Lick your finger and touch the screen. if it doesn't work then the digitiser may be delaminated or faulty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This sounds interesting enough Will try the next time it happens. Will also feel stupid doing it, but yolo.
Conductive screens work on moisture on your skin causing an x-y voltage drop..
Capacitive screens work on x-y voltage resistance caused by pressure..
If it's glass is conductive. If it's plastic is capacitive.
Wetting your finger makes sure you don't have dry or dirty hands and ensures a good contact. If you were licking the screen itself you might get a funny look from passers by..

Categories

Resources