Related
Had the following response to o2 as a result of emailing them with a load of bugs in the XDA IIs a while ago. My email to them it still on the end of their response.
Hi Nigel,
Thanks for this detailed and comprehensive report.
Most of your observations relate to the core Microsoft OS or the integration of the WIFI software, and we will pass them on to the right groups.
In response to some of your comments:
- When will O2 be releasing the firmware update that HTC have already made available to resellers?
* A new ROM image is planned for release in the next few months. We cannot advise a specific date at this time.
- Will this update fix the bluetooth issues
* We are looking to include a new version of the Bluetooth software from the Vendor, Broadcom.
- Will this update include mobile media player 10 as recently made available to integrators by MS
* WMP10 is planned for a later release of the software, later in 2005
- Have any of the hardware faults above been fixed on later units, have you managed a software work-around for the microphone issues?
* O2 reviews all customer feedback with it's supplier, and changes to device manufacture are made from time to time. We cannot comment on what changes are made or when, but we are aware of your observations and are actively discussing with our vendor.
Regarding the yellow screen: our experience is that if Cleartype is enabled, this will significantly affect the quality of the screen display. Please disable cleartype if it is enabled. If the screen is still visibly yellow then you should discuss returning the unit for repair under warranty with your service provider.
thanks,
O2 Product Management
-----Original Message-----
From: Nigel Webber [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: 04 January 2005 11:54
To: [email protected]
Subject: List of issues discovered on O2 XDA IIs
Hi
Having owned an O2 XDA IIs for 6 weeks now, I have discovered a huge number of bugs - its actually the most buggy product I have ever purchaced, and I do buy alot of gadgets. I am a programmer by trade, so you can rest assured that these issues are genuine and not 'finger trouble' on the part of the user.
Anyway, I suspect MS/HTC have fixed most of these by now, I note that both QTEK and IMATE have released firmware updates based on new firmware from HTC for the Blue Angel. We are yet to see the same from O2.
Connectivity Problems
---------------------------------
Add a new profile to connection manager and then add a 'modem' to that connection. Go and fiddle elsewhere for a while. Often when you come back to change the settings for that connection the 'modem' has dissapeared. (its still there, a soft reset will cause it to re-appear).
Skype does not work with the XDA IIs. This is not a skype issue, but rather an issue with the WiFi implementation on the XDA IIs. Using skype with the XDA IIs (more than 10 metres from your AP) will cause the XDA IIs to drop the connection, and worse still, the WiFi system on the 2s locks up completely requiring a soft reset. No app should be able to cause WiFi to crash like this! This is fully repeatable on Skype versions 1.00.14 and 1.00.20 (latest).
Often, after setting connection manager to always use certain profiles, and then encountering a problem, you head into connection manager and find that your selections never stuck
VPN connections do not always stick when set, they dissapear from the menu (aka the modem settings)
I have tried for ages and failed to make a VPN connection over anything GPRS, WiFi etc. VPN was one of the reasons that I bought the device (access to home and work networks), but it just does not work. Additionally, the instructions with the unit offer no help about how to get it working. Perhaps O2 can offer an FAQ on this feature.
IMAP support is very very bad. Its quite common for an IMAP server to not store mail folders in the root. In decent clients you can specify the root imap folder, not in pocket outlook, it ends up pulling the entire dir struct from your home dir!! I rebuilt the imap daemon on my linux box to compile in a default root folder. This solved the previous problem, but the imap support is not suitable for use away from wifi cause its so damned slow. It does not just look for new messages, and there is no way to tell it to do this. Also, when you send an item it ends up in the default sent items, not the imap sent items. Imho, the main reason to use imap is to keep your emails intact (be able to see what you sent from the mobile device from a desktop). I realise that this is an MS issue, but its pretty naff. (Outlook 2K3 on the desktop has the same issue re sent items btw, but at least that supports rules so you can put it right.)
MS wrote pocket outlook for connecting to an exchange server, which, I suspect only 50% of the devices purchaced will ever do. Pocket Oulook *always* starts pointing at the exchange folder structure, not your POP3/IMAP account, and there is no way to config this. Unessesary taps required. Why can I not DELETE the default exchange folders if I dont need them? I have a work-around for this, perhaps O2 should FAQ it. Changing the shortcut for outlook in the appbuttons folder makes the outlook button on the device start outlook in a user specified mail folder. Just change the shortcut to: 19#"\Windows\tmail.exe" -service "ServiceName"
Sending/recieving MMS messages is unrelable. I seem to have to go into the connections manager and manually select 'MMS Network' in the Work and Internet sections, then I can send/recieve MMS messages. After this, I then have to reset Network Connections to what they were before. MMS should automatically select MMS network when the user is sending/recieving an MMS message and automatically put the original setting back afterwards. There is an option in pocket outlook asking the user which connection to use. This is set to MMS network, but it keeps asking for a password all the time, and fails to remember the password when told, and fails to retrieve the MMS message. To get MMS to work, I have to manually select MMS network in the Connections Manager.
WiFi
-----
WiFi Reception is **attrocious** my laptop will tell me that I have a full signal and the XDA IIs will barely register when at the same location. Even holding the 2s 1 ft from the AP does not cause the signal indicator to go past 40%. I have tried the unit with several AP's all with the same result. Did someone forget to fit a WiFi patch antenna on the Blue Angel??!
Refuses to connect to a network that is not broadcasting the SSID. In general, when you want to add a new box, you can set AP to broadcast SSID, it will then find the network, after it has connected, you can hide the SSID. For future connections from 'pre-registered' boxes, no SSID is required. Not so for the XDA IIs, refuses to connect to a base station that is not broadcasting an SSID, or in some cases, creates a new connection with the name "" (i.e nothing) (which again refuses to connect).
Right, now, if you have 2 wifi networks listed in PPC settings, it will sometimes sit there for ever failing to connect, do a soft reset and it connects.
Another one: you have two connections in the 'configure wireless networks' dialogue, one is 'connecting' other is 'unavailable'. The one that is connecting is obviously not gonna connect despite 100% correct settings, so I select 'remove' it does not dissapear!!! If I had written this software, the user would see a dialogue box thus 'This network is connecting/connected, are you sure you wish to remove its settings?' Selecting yes, would either terminate the connection attempt, or terminate the connection and then remove the damned setting with no further agro!
In network settings, I often get some *stupid* status info. It sometimes says that my home network is 'available' or 'connected' when I am at work, and that the AP thats 3 ft away is 'unavailable' Clearly it isn't, wifi does not travel 10 miles! Soft reset solves (it connects to the AP thats 3 ft away).
Sometimes, when Wlan is disabled, and I enable it, it stays disabled. i,e I try and re-enable it and the tick has dissapeared again. This continues until I give up and soft reset the device. This seems to happen more when there are two networks present, and more still when the disable WLan after X mins of inactivity option is used.
BlueTooth
---------------
When you use bluetooth, for network access, all the stuff in connection manager gets reset. If this needs to be changed to facilitate bluetooth network access then I would expect it to return to the old settings once the BT Network access session was ended.
Sometimes bluetooth fails to start complaining about insufficient driver space. I write windows KMD's all the time, I suspect its somet daft like a lack of available stack space, or stack recursion. Soft reset cures
Also, sometimes when I try to start bluetooth, I get a daft message saying that the licence for the bluetooth stack has expired!!! It then starts BT and all is OK.
Most usefull application of bluetooth is the headset. Unfortunately, no headsets work with the XDA IIs. It says it supports bluetooth, but it does not. When will this be fixed and will O2 be releasing a bluetooth stand-alone patch like Imate have?
Applications
------------------
The bundled O2 active stuff is very flaky. Take the end programs applet - it often crashes its self while trying to force an app that is 'not responding' to stop. The built in 'stop app' applet (which they burried in settings) seems to work but...
- If you reconfig your shortcuts (so you can find stuff!) Then the applets 'camera' and 'O2' always seem to copy themselves back out into the root of StartMenu-->Programs again. *why?*
Go into the find applet and get it to do a search that takes some time. Wait for it to get going and then click stop. PDA hangs. It does come back eventually (2-3 mins later), but remains sluggish until you do a soft reset. Trying to suspend while its hung just switches the backlight off!
There are a load more issues as well... I currently do around 10 soft resets/day. My basis is that a wait of more than 10 secs means that the device has crashed. Perhaps if I was willing to wait 5 mins all the time for it to get its arse into gear then the number of soft resets could be reduced!
Hardware Issues
------------------------
Microphone: No one can hear a word I say to them on the phone. This is especially bad with the built in microphone, but also present with the supplied headset. Is this a hardware/software issue? do I need to return my unit to be exchanged for one with a working microphone?
Keyboard slider mechanism: This gets progressively looser until it starts flopping around. Has this issue been solved on later units?
Yellow screen: The screen takes on a yellow hue when view off angle (by say 10 deg). XDA II did not suffer from this problem. Is there a fault with the LCD on the 2s?
Questions
---------------
Since my device is basically a door stop due to the huge number of issues above, I have some questions:
- When will O2 be releasing the firmware update that HTC have already made available to resellers?
- Will this update fix the bluetooth issues
- Will this update include mobile media player 10 as recently made available to integrators by MS
- Have any of the hardware faults above been fixed on later units, have you managed a software work-around for the microphone issues?
If you require any more info on the above problems, let me know. The XDA IIs could be a decent unit, there aint ought else like it which is why I am documenting my problems rather than buying a competitors product. I would like to see these issues fixed.
Regards
Nigel Webber
If you're a chewin' the fat fan, you'll know what I mean when I say I'm taking a seriously big sniff and there's a hint of something in the air.
Sounds to me like they really are just fobbing us off with standard responses and aren't taking complaints seriously.
* O2 reviews all customer feedback with it's supplier, and changes to device manufacture are made from time to time. We cannot comment on what changes are made or when, but we are aware of your observations and are actively discussing with our vendor.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well thats just pish isnt it?
We cannot comment? Why not? Is it because they would have to acknowledge the product has gone to market well before it should have?
The least they can say is that they have gone to HTC with the list, and what HTC are planning on doing about it.
This is what I got:
Hello,
Thank you for yoru email,
Unfortunatley we don't have any dates at present for an upgraded
Bluetooth stack, we are aware of issues with it and are pushing our
products group for an update or at least a timescale.
I will keep this mail, and as soon as any information is released, we
will let you know.
Regards,
Paul
O2 Data Support UK
-----Original Message-----
Sent: 12 January 2005 01:03
To: O2 Data Support (UK)
Subject: XDAIIs Rom Upgrade timetable
Hi
Have you guys got a timetable for rolling out an upgraded ROM for the
XDA IIs?
I'm having quite a few complaints from callers saying they cant really
hear me well and bluetooth isnt working particularly well either.
From what I've read on the web, this is a known fault with the default
ROM version included as standard.
Also, i'm interested in the Blackberry functionality once it becomes
available, but at present, I'd settle for a handset thats not annoying
colleagues and customers.
Thanks
Darren
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't want to seem too critical (after all, if you're really having to reset 6-10 times a day you must be on the verge of killing someone by now) but a lot of the issues you list aren't bugs, they're useability issues. Someone working in a customer complaints department (wouldn't wish it on anyone) is going to take a lookat the list and dismiss most of it as whining because you present personal gripes and subjective observations as bona-fide bugs. It is very tempting when angry to try to oversell parts of a long list of complaints, but this just gives the recipient amo to dismiss the lot.
I also think you should get your unit replaced with a new one ASAP. So few people are having the problems you describe, particularly surrounding the WiFi signal strength and screen, that you do seem to have a barely working unit!
You do have my complete sympathies. To spend so much money on something that SHOULD be as near as dammit perfect, only to end up with a damp squid is hugely frustrating (it has happened to me a couple of times).
I agree, most of this list is not bugs that anyone has. Some are even limitations of the operating system.
If you are soft resetting 6-10 times a day you should hard reset your device because it is 3rd party software, do not restore from backup, do not install software and see how it is. If you still have to reset your xda is defective and its time to send it back!
I would agree with some points mostly that bluetooth is a mess and needs to be fixed, the o2 bt patch resolves the connection issues but there still is static issues! But this is not exclusive to the XDA iis but all blue angels. The siemens model SX66 has no update at all!!!
Oh remember when we had our xda II & imates and wanted to dump the microsoft BT stack and would do anything for the widcomm stack. LOL we sure got what we wished for. Bet most of us would go back if we could.
Indeed, got it all of my chest in one go! Trouble is, with PDA's your only point of contact is with your reseller. I dont have a way of contacting HTC, Broadcom, MS separately as I would if this were a PC with faults in several manufacturers programs/hardware.
I am indeed, not expecting the likes of the mail/imap issues to be addressed for the blue angel, I would like to have some mechanism to tell MS where they are going wrong from me (the user's) point of view.
If we have no mechanism to provide feedback then we just end up with half baked kit in the next iteration as well. Perhaps this is why Windows Mobile 2005 will be the 6th? release of what was originally called windows CE, and why 'CE' is now on its third name? And I still doubt whether they will have got it right!
Nigel
I suspect that I just expect too much!!
Its not third party software cause I have hard reset the device, and installed nothing and I still have to do regular soft resets. I doubt very much whether it is a hardware issue either, and all XDA IIs devices have the same firmware. Most of the time, my soft resets are done to pursuade said device to see the wifi ap thats 2ft from it. I regularly use three different AP's in three different locations. I suspect that this is not the case for most people.
I am also very impatient (a device such as this should be quicker than I am!) The PPC OS suffers from 'pregnant pauses' where the whole thing appears to lock up. If they last longer than 30 secs then I am likely to get bored waiting and do a soft reset. Give me a 3GHz PDA with a 10 hour battery life!
My mate is getting one soon, so I will compare his with mine and return mine if the issues have been fixed. I'd hate to return mine and end up with one thats even worse ;-)
Nigel
veletron said:
MS wrote pocket outlook for connecting to an exchange server, which, I suspect only 50% of the devices purchaced will ever do. Pocket Oulook *always* starts pointing at the exchange folder structure, not your POP3/IMAP account, and there is no way to config this. Unessesary taps required. Why can I not DELETE the default exchange folders if I dont need them? I have a work-around for this, perhaps O2 should FAQ it. Changing the shortcut for outlook in the appbuttons folder makes the outlook button on the device start outlook in a user specified mail folder. Just change the shortcut to: 19#"\Windows\tmail.exe" -service "ServiceName"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you explain this workaround a bit more. Are you just changing the name of the shortcut within \windows\appbuttons or is this some sort of programing? Sorry if I'm missing something obvious but I'd really like to get this one working.
Thanks, JD
@jdee246
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=13755&highlight=
I agree with Nigel on the issues with the XDA2s some i have not seen because i dont use it to its full. I also rest probly 5-10 times a day. I got my first XDA2s on 5th November i am now on my 5th one and in a few days i will be changing for a new one. I simply ring them and go over the list of faults, and then remind them that the device they send me will be no better than the one i have and i will be calling again soon to change it. They told me as long as its less that 28 days since the last one was sent to me it can be changed. So i will keep swoping it for new ones until they get me a working one ( we know this will never happen) but at least the new ones dont slide open on there one when you pick it up for a couple of weeks. So i asume i will contine to do this untill the XDA2i is released then i return the current XDA2s (probley number 20 by then) and do a up grade to the new XDA2i
veletron said:
@jdee246
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=13755&highlight=
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Veletron. That worked like a charm. Thats been hacking me off for ages.
JD
@applecom
How long does O2 take to send you a new unit, and whats this 28 days thing? Surley if its faulty then they are obliged to sort it as long as its within the 1 yr guarantee.
You are saying that apart from the keyboard not sliding open, the new ones are no better? If thats the case then there is no point in my sending mine back cause I'll get one with the same problems.
My screen is only yellow when viewing the unit from an angle, and the keyboard does not fall open (although it is very sloppy).
Any idea if the wifi reception is better on the later units that you have had?
Nigel
XDA IIs Customer Services Response
Hi
As an addition to this subject I contacted the company I bought my XDA from re the poor microphone issue and they asked if I had read up on the issue via any support websites as they (she) did not think the issue had been resolved and I wouldn't gain by receiving a new product.
I agreed that I didn't think it possible yet but wanted to keep within the 28 day replacement window for as when they did.
The response was to:
A) Open up the 28 day replacement window on this problem for a further 3 months and
B) State that if a fix was forthcoming then a recall would take place and I would get a replcement anyway.
On this basis I decided to hold for the moment to see what happens.
In all maybe an easy solution for them but it suits me for the moment! :wink:
veletron
The 28 day window is for an immediate (a few days?) replacement
with a new unit, after this period your unit is taken away for repair with no replacement and no estimate of when it will be returned/replaced.
pvb
they replace it same day, I recieve it by courier the next day and give them my old XDA2s, some times i do a restore from a backup and some i reinstall my software from fresh. But no they are all the same i am hopeing for one that has newer rom and thus might work correctley
Agree with all the problems above, the few that really frustrate me are...
- Floppy keyboard slide, should latch back in?
- Hands Free needs to be louder, could someone build a preamp util?
- Annoying that picture contacts seems to be a separate app to regular contacts?!
- Still slow, thought the faster CPU would mean no delays!!
Cheers, Ash
XDA IIs Battery issue
I have just upgraded from an XDA II to a IIs and other than the normal unlock problem I have just brought a second battery, when I changed the batteries the unit did a hard reset, I thought this was because the new battery was fully discharged.
I did some further testing and found that when ever you remove the battery and replace it the unit does a hard reset (all batteries are fully charged).
Any comments or do I have a unique unit?
Hello to you all.
I have just read all the above with great interest as I am seriously thinking of buying an XDAIIs this week. I will be moving from a Treo 600.
I am very concerned about all the problem you seem to be having and I am starting to think that buying one may not be the best idea. The other phone I am looking at is the Nokia 9500. I already have an HP 4150 and so I really dont need all that the XDA IIs has to offer.
I would be interested in hearing peoples comments on the phone to help me make my mind up. I do have to say that when the Treo came out loads people reported a lot of problems but I had mine for a year and it worked perfectly for 10 months then the screen gave up. It appears that nearly all these "Smart/PDA" style phone have teething problems that are mostly down to the product being shipped before it is really ready.
What do people think? Should I take the plunge?
All the best.
Raymond
XDAIIs Battery Issue
I have two batteries and swap them regularly. Your backup battery is either not charged or faulty if the unit hard-resets when you swap them - I think a warranty claim is likely.
On messages especially sometimes if I type too fast (and I can type very fast ) it misses out letters or just pauses for ages.
Most of the time the first letter I type in a message gets repeated. Sometimes it just decides to repeat one letter as if the key was stuck down.
On top of this messaging and any application where the device is trying to bring up a user input component is SLOW.
Ive not seen these problems mentioned anywhere yet. Is it just me?
Lewis
No, I've got the same problem. But I don't use that keyboard all that much. The main point for me was to get a phone/PDA with WLAN built in, something I believe the 9090 was first with.
same here, it's very annoying..
with the mms app this doesn't happen, input is as fast as in 2003..
Yeah, it is a bit laggy, still acceptable for me.
isn't it possible to somehow replace the messaging module? i use the keyboard very often and this can get really annoying..
I cannot speak for everyone, but I have found a solution that works.
Apparently, the Messaging applet is not getting enough clock cycles to properly process the keyboard input.
For me, simply closing Internet Explorer does the trick. (go into Memory, and make sure it's not listed in Running Programs) Try it now.
If it still occurs, soft reset the phone, and then attempt to use Messaging. Does the problem still occur? Probably not.
Let me know if this solves the issue. I will look more into it when I get the free time.
I found the keyboard horribly slow. That's straight after resets of all kinds and definately no IE.
I have the repeating problem at times, and I never run IE or any other programs at the same time minimized. I use PocketPlus, so programs aren't minimized, they are closed.
that's no good for me, still slow..
just installed rom 1.60c in my gf's qtek 2020 and it's fast as hell! messaging too..dont understand this strange behavior on the BA..
About the keyboard repeating, you can reduce the repeat rate at the keyboard settings..
Keyboard Issue
Has anyone actually solved the problem with the messaging program?
I downgraded back to WM2003 SE because message writing was such a pain. I would like to have WM5 but if and when someone can correct the messaging application.
Any news?
Thanks
Lewis
updated my Blue Angel to WM5 today and found no problem with typing. TheGadgetGuy's probably right about the memory.
I used to have the problem if I would type to fast it would repeat a lot, example "test" would be "testtttttttttttttttttttttt", I found a way to fix it:
A lot of people have been complaining with the same problems with the thumbboard in WM2005, well I found a way to fix it. As you know if you type really fast like a lot of us do with the thumbboard it will repeat and get stuck on a letter, example "fix" turns into "fixxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" then you have to backspace it all. Well let's just cut to the chase, the way to fix it is goto your Start > Settings > System > Keyboard > and goto Repeat Settings, and turn them all the way off (To the left). Tah dah, enjoy .
^The text above is copied from Zevink.com
Had all sorts of problems with WM5, one of the most annoying was this keyboard lag... I type a lot of SMS with it so this made the device unuseable for me.
Happily went back to 2003SE
The blue angel is the biggest pyle htc ever released. That is what is wrong with the ba.
Thanks for that Mikee4fun ... not quite so helpful ...
The only hardware issue I can see with the Blue Angel is with the Radio (Both Bluetooth and WiFi) in that they both seem to be poor in range and BT unstable. That said, BT in particular, may still be a software issue as under WM5 it seems a whole lot more reliable ...
To say the BA is a Pyle (Pile?) based on the fact that an internal thrown together version of WM5 (Trust me, this is the case if you do a bit of Hex editing on a decrypted nbf file and see all the temporary bootloader code which has references to ALL HTC devices by codename) is lacking in areas is not really a solid deduction. From what I have seen of this version of WM5 which has arguably been created in weeks rather than months like version 2003SE, I would say that it is on the whole a very impressive software and hardware solution.
I only hope HTC take the decision to officially update the BA to WM5 in order to fully eliminate all the software bugs in WM2003SE as even the current version of WM5 seems to me a whole lot better than even the latest patched WM2003SE version.
I cannot see it would take them a great deal more engineering time to correct the few issues that remain such as speed tweaks and the odd driver / software update to release a very impressive WM5 version. As Maimach has already proven a number of issues were quite simple to fix (Well, for someone as clever as Mamaich anyway!!!) ...
I had poor keyboard performance (lag) - made me downgrade
Bebbo, I'm afraid that won't happen because of the wish to make people buy new hardware instead of upgrading the stuff they already have. Remember that the biggest selling point of the Wizard and Universal is the WM5. So can HTC create a good WM5? Of course! Will their customers (not us, the providers, Dangaard and Brightpoint) allow them to? Probably not.
Well about the only thing that worked on WM5 was bluetooth...
I get the damned memory error on WM2003SE.... :x
How annoying. I think I'm going back to WM2003se. WM5 isn't that great. It behaves alot like WM2003fe except buggy :S It's not worth all the hastle just for on screen soft keys.
Hi all
I just got myself sent a Hermes the other day and I was looking around here, my favourite XDA resource, for nifty things I could do with it. One thing that seems to be all the rage is upgrading to WM6. Now, I'm all in favour of upgrading and the amount of information and material here is, well, staggering. Overwhelming even. But, for all I read, I miss one critical thing: why do we upgrade to WM6? What does it give us that WM5 doesn't?
All I see, at the moment, is a swankier interface and a faster operation. But neither of those are big sellers in themselves and don't justify the bricking and incompatibility risks. So, what's the big appeal that I've missed? I guess I'm looking for an excuse to do this
Lastly, as I mentioned, there's almost too much information about all this. i can follow the guides and tools for installation but one thing will vex me if I was to upgrade - and that's which ROM to use. Now I'm certain every one of you has a favourite and so I'm not looking for a definitive recommendation, but what the hot ones that I should look into at the moment? As I see it, the "XDA Live" and "Black" see pretty popular..
Cheers!
Three reasons for me.
1. TomTom doesn't occassionally freeze
2. Easier to set as a modem
3. More responsive menus, button presses, etc
By the way WM6 is more like WM5 second edition rather than a brand new system.
wywywywy said:
Three reasons for me.
1. TomTom doesn't occassionally freeze
2. Easier to set as a modem
3. More responsive menus, button presses, etc
By the way WM6 is more like WM5 second edition rather than a brand new system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty much says it all. I never soft reset anymore. More memory, faster than WM5, better tweaks, and has some things WM5 didn't cooked in to the ROM. As for the risk of bricking, that's an extremely low risk, very minimal actually, if you follow the guide and wiki.
and html email is not to be sneezed at.
Because we can!
Mobile Office 2k7 can read o2k7 native formats. You will never see this on WM5 unless some imgfs God with a lot of time on his/her hands ports it there....
Native SD card encryption is Huge. The A2DP stack is a thing of wonder too....
JasenR said:
Because we can!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
exactly!!!!!!!!
My softbank x01ht came with WM5 and the only upgrade I did was the radio upgrade to 1.40.
May be it is my luck, but my x01ht seems really stable in its original ROM version (WM5 aku 2), I have never hard reset and the machine seems really stable. So my need to upgrade to WM6 to avoid system hang is not really existing.
Also, I use a lot of BUILT-IN functions such as Push Email, Wifi and Chinese support (my x01ht was flashed with a Hong Kong version 838 pro ROM before sold to me). If ANY one of such functions is WORSE in WM6 than in WM5, than WM6 is a no no for me. I can't stand any frequent freeze of the x01ht because I now depend solely on it for my daily phone/PIM use. If I don't have it working 100% normal, then I will lose many important phone calls.
I see WM6 really as an evolution of WM5. In WM6, MS has fixed many bugs that were in WM5, for example:
- Crappy A2DP
- WiFi now supports WPA
- HTML email
- Faster and more stable
- I'm sure MS has updated little things here and there to make WM6 more telco-standards (GSM, etc.) compliant
Well, are you still using Windows 95 on your PC?
My reasons for upgrading have been for (in order of importance) the speed, bug fixes, better memory management, the X button actually closing the app not just minimising it, Office updates, better compatibility and usability in the new Internet Explorer, etc.
When I bought my TyTN I was shocked by how slowly it responded to user input compared to previous Pocket PCs I'd owned.
After the developments that started occurring here a few months ago, there really was no turning back. I upgraded and now the OS is quick and very responsive. WM6 has been a godsend. The phone application also doesn't take 3-4 seconds to load when I press the call button to answer a call like it used to!
WM6 also has a much more polished look to it I think.
hold on, TomTom still freezes on mine with WM6 !
I still love it though (tomtom that is and wm6)
Let me know if this is solved will ya ?
ta
bb
I did it simply because WM5 was a little unstable and I love experimenting / playing with stuff like this.
A side benefit which I didn't know I would get is the LVSW version that I installed allows WPA2 & WPA2-PSK authentication on the Wi-Fi. That meant I could run my Hermes at the same security as my network and didn't have to modify my wireless router and other PCs.
There's probably still a few other good reasons that haven't been mentioned in this thread yet.
Cheers, Oggy.
Bug fixing, more speed,...
With WM5 I had issues like the phone applicatoin reacted too slowy on an incomming call. so i missed the call. Or sometimes it even didn't ring.
WM6 works in that point.
bingobob said:
hold on, TomTom still freezes on mine with WM6 !
I still love it though (tomtom that is and wm6)
Let me know if this is solved will ya ?
ta
bb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you install TomTom 6.03??? As of that version I never had freezes anymore...
I to have tomtom lockup and sloooooowwwww to get map directions. Please I miss my fast tomtom 6. I am using 6.03. I wonder if i did something wrong. I never had this problem with wm5.
What about support?
One benefit of wm6 is that the hackers, tweakers, rom cookers, and random slackers such as myself keep this hermes wm6 forum active (albeit sometimes unforgiving to newcomers). If you have a question about wm6 on a hermes, it is probably already answered here. Can as much be said for the wm5 forums?
Just works
Personally I was about to ditch my TyTN. The default OS was infuriatingly slow, buggy, and had me resetting several times per day. If I hadn't stumbled upon XDA-develoopers and started flashing WM6, I would probably be a Nokia user again... WM6 just works. I've flashed maybe 10 different versions now, also the radio, and it's completely worth it. No big risk of bricking if you do your homework first.
F*SH said:
... faster operation. But neither of those are big sellers in themselves and don't justify the bricking and incompatibility risks. So, what's the big appeal that I've missed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think anyone with half a brain has bricked their phone doing an OS only upgrade (especially if they read the wiki etc etc)... and you answered your own question... who doesnt want a faster device?
LazPL said:
Personally I was about to ditch my TyTN. The default OS was infuriatingly slow, buggy, and had me resetting several times per day. If I hadn't stumbled upon XDA-develoopers and started flashing WM6, I would probably be a Nokia user again... WM6 just works. I've flashed maybe 10 different versions now, also the radio, and it's completely worth it. No big risk of bricking if you do your homework first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I feel the same way as LazPL in that I was about to stop using the phone.
What I hated most about WM5 was a lack of real integration between the phone and contacts funtions, eg.:
. If you chose a call from the recent call list you could not access the contact directly (eg. if you just tried calling someone on their fixed line and wanted to try their mobile, you could not just click on the recent call you just made and select a different type of number, you had to select the name again from the list). In WM6 you can do this
. If you saved an unknown number from your recent call list it would automatically create a new contact, instead of giving you the option to save it in an existing contact (and choosing what type of number it was) or creating a new contact. In WM6 you can.
For me these 2 were just basic everyday usability features that I can find in the cheapest phones, and totally unacceptable to be missing in a €600 device. On the basis of these 2 alone, upgrading to WM6 was worth it.
In addition, my original Orange ROM had some bugs that were just pathetic (although these could have been cured with a newer ROM, or perhaps were due to the original radio ROM - which I also upgraded - and not the OS):
. Calls to busy numbers started blaring the busy tone through the loudspeaker (very loud)
. Trying to answer a call waiting would freeze the phone and require a soft reset
Hope that helps.
Pastings WIFI keys!!!
I've not been able to paste a wifi key in my WM05 ROM somone told me it was security...
rubish i think M$ to implement the copy/paste code.
Modem -> Bluetooth PAN is HUGELY more stable, my connection used to drop all the time in modem mode, i can now sit for 2 hours on my laptop at coffee shops and surf the web, whithout paying silly 1 day WIFI pass prices!
I have been thinking about this for a while so I will go ahead and get it started. We all know that Tom_Codon is currently working on V 4.0, and as always he will thoroughly test it before release. I thought maybe we could, as a community, come to a conclusion on the fixes for the upcoming rom.
We all know the problems such as
1. Dialerpad not working for redial( green button) different dialerpad fixed
2. Flashing issue that was resolved.
3 HTC plugin going to vibrate during appointments- not a rom problem but an issue
4. Weather for "your town"- not a rom problem but an htc server issue.
We need to get together a complete set list,if you will, of known issues so that these bugs can be worked out before the Rom hits "production".
PLEASE, dont turn this into a request thread. Lets make an effort as a community to help Tom, put out the best Rom of his ability.
I have talked with him recently and he feels that the Touchflo is working flawlessly, but this is going to be a completely new build, from a new version of windows 6. So there MUST be some test time
I think as a group we can pitch in and give some targets to look at, via our experiences with 3.7
On another note, many people have donated to Tom, but the truth of the matter is more have not. I understand that times are hard, for some, harder for others, but we should look at it like this, If Tom wasnt doing what he was doing, along with others like him(none have released anything as complex and mature as Toms) werent doing what they are doing, you would already be in the market for another ppc, some, like here in America, having to pay upwards of $550.00 like myself.
Some of us appreciate the hard work of others and are willing to cough up $ without much proding, while others just download and go. I myself am guilty of such actions, I mean I do have and have had a usenet account for about 3 years, and have used bit torrent since it was in command prompt days(bit commet anyone) but I do recognize hard work and a love for what one is doing, so please make Tom feel your appreciation, this guy is having to go way out of his way to do research for us, due to internet issues, so please donate to Tom's work. Drink one less caramel mociado,beer or coke for that matter and send some $.
Back on topic.
Please help by posting any known issues with 3.7 so 4.0 can be tested properly, Thanks.
I agree with 1 to 4 in the previous post, also, the dialer writes text in green, this is very hard to see and suggest changing to white text.
5. Dialer text changed to WHITE for easier reading
Another Issue
First of all Congrats to Tom for making the bes PPC a million times better.
I had some issues, besides the redial button some programs crash my machine, for example yahoo go 2 and others.
Also the machine sometimes restarts itself with programs like tomtom and google.
Thanks for all your hard work!!!!!
5 good point, I am sure that will or has been changed already
yahoo go... what others, lets try to make a thorough list
6. Inclusion of TouchFlo cab
(The dialpad was really a big issue in my friend's phone i upgraded, so had to go back to B&B 3.0)
Thanks for all ur great efforts Tom!
I fully agree with post 1.
The only thing that is not working for me is the camera.
Gpsphoto is not working for me. Gps is not turning on.
And the colors of dailpad. They are now green but difficult to read.
White is much better.
For the rest it runs perfect.
But please Tom take your time.
And guys the rom is for free so donate to Tom. Mobile Telco's have to pay Microsoft for this update. And we get this for free.
I haven't donated as well but i will this week.
There is a workaround for GPS Photo. Just change to main memory as storage. Then restart the camera and off you go Nasty thing is that you have to do this every time you want GPS photo. It's a ROM issue and has nothing to do with Tom
[email protected] said:
5 good point, I am sure that will or has been changed already
yahoo go... what others, lets try to make a thorough list
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi all,
my only (not so big) problem in B&B 3.7 that I wonder to be solved in the new version is the camera delay problem, when I push the button it takes about 3-4s for the camera to take te photo.
The other issue is pics destination folder. My old ROM saves the photos to \storage card\my docs\my picture, that was very nice, this new camera saves the photos to a specific folder, it's not a big problem, just annoying...
By the way the B&B 3.7 is the best rom what I've ever tried, so Tom, appreciate your work...
Hi!
I don't know if I'm the only one, but when I desactivate the WM5storage apps by clicking on "desactivate", it runs TOMTOM automaticaly!
It can be a bug...
@++
TraXer.
Taking a picture in 3.7 takes about 3 seconds.. Still can't fix that..
Wi-Fi issue
Hi @all,
the B&B 3.7 is the best ROM i ever had. Thanks to Tom.
I've an issue with the Wi-Fi start/stop.
I can start and stop Wi-Fi with the comm Manager but if I start Wi-Fi I could not stop Wi-Fi over the Wi-Fi icon on the Headerbar.
Normaly there is a link if you click on the icon [Turn on Wi-Fi] if its off and [Turn off Wi-Fi] if its on.
I have always [Turn on Wi-Fi]... also if its on and if i click, nothing effects.
I don't know if someone else solve this problem and if its a bug.
Cheers
[email protected],
First of all, i would like to express my eternal gratitude for tom who is doing a great work. People like you makes the community better and better.
I have another issue:
when using de X-Button, the rest of icons of the heather bar doesn't show properly. The signal power of the operator displays only left half and he volume icon doesn't show.
make a contact picture also does not work: not file is saved after shotting
Agree
I agree with you and i would like to donate to tom. But i need account information, i don´t use paypal.
However i have not been abel to use Tom´s 3.7 ROM at all. No problem flashing it but my sound on bouth, my HTC P3300 goes balistic (like if my botton was stock)..
This has happend everytime i tryid this ROM and i tryid it on my too. P3300 and my body´s too..
So i haven´t realy enjoyed the ROM at all.. just tryid it and shiftet to the new WW3.7 Original (which works flawless on my phones)
.... but still i would like to support the great work and research Tom is doing.. Please make it possible by posting som account information so i can transfer a donation to you Tom
i only tried 3.7 for a short time because i had the battery drain problem, and the redialing problem was getting on my nerves.
however, there were 2 problems (or 2 times the same) that i also have in v3.0 (german version):
wlan and gps connections cant be deactivated using the taskbar icon. the "bubble" always says "no connection".
for wlan, i use connection manager to disconnect. that works perfectly. to stop a gprs connection however, i have to switch to flight mode and back...so:
7. (or whatever) would be nice to have a more confortable way of disconnecting gprs than using flight mode...
to stop a gprs connection however, i have to switch to flight mode and back...so:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haved the same problem but after looking close all the app (like msn messenger) who use Gprs Data and with com manager you can stop it ^^
More problems, possibly unreported?
I have a couple of issues with 3.7, and I don't think I have read about them anywhere else.
Firstly, this may be a problem with the Comm manager. Sometimes I turn the phone to "off" in Comm. Manager, and then when I click again to turn it "On", nothing happens - the code lock keypad is supposed to show but nothing happens at all and I have to soft reset.
Secondly, after a soft reset, MSN contacts do not appear in the list when you login, and you must chage accounts to see them again
I also had the more common problems with green button and HTC home screen vibrate mode.
Also would it be possible for us to have Windows Update inlcuded in the ROM?
Excellent ROM though by the way! Will be donating very soon!!!
Tristan
morpheustfw said:
I haved the same problem but after looking close all the app (like msn messenger) who use Gprs Data and with com manager you can stop it ^^
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, you are right. i just tested what you said, and indeed: the "Datenverbindung" button in comm manager (i got german version) will eventually light up when i switch to conn manager and a gprs connection is active. but it takes something between 3 and 10 seconds for that button to light up. that's why i never saw it.
but waiting for the button to light up then clicking it will indeed cancel the gprs connection. i am cool with that. thx for the hint.
Actually this started as a B&B 4.0 issues thread...
but i really would like to thank the person who open it because i had the opportunity to see all the bugs of previous versions in one place....
Thanks again...
Many thanks to Tom as well for his effort..
Looking forward for v 4.0
I believe we are on the right track, but I feel some of theres issues are problems do to the base OS..I will later update my most and include a pool to see where we stand as far as how may people are experiening these situation.
All,
I've just upgraded from WM5 to WM6 with HTC Home RevROM, which is excellent, however, I have this strange issue.
First, I paired my laptop through Internet Sharing over a Bluetooth PAN - works perfectly.
Second, I paired my Jabra BT2020 earpiece.
As soon as the Jabra was paired, the list of devices under Settings->Bluetooth->Devices was empty. Not even the words "Add new device" is present........
I have checked, and I can still continue to use my laptop through Internet Sharing, and I can also use my Jabra earpiece to take phone calls.
Switching the phone off/on and Soft Resets do not solve this problem. Only a hard reset will solve it - but then of course I have to re-enter everything - which I have done, only to have the problem re-occur, hence it is repeatable.
Has anyone else seen this issue and could help me with a solution. I have searched the forum (and Google) to no avail.
Many thanks,
BrianP6
BrianP6 said:
All,
I've just upgraded from WM5 to WM6 with HTC Home RevROM, which is excellent, however, I have this strange issue.
First, I paired my laptop through Internet Sharing over a Bluetooth PAN - works perfectly.
Second, I paired my Jabra BT2020 earpiece.
As soon as the Jabra was paired, the list of devices under Settings->Bluetooth->Devices was empty. Not even the words "Add new device" is present........
I have checked, and I can still continue to use my laptop through Internet Sharing, and I can also use my Jabra earpiece to take phone calls.
Switching the phone off/on and Soft Resets do not solve this problem. Only a hard reset will solve it - but then of course I have to re-enter everything - which I have done, only to have the problem re-occur, hence it is repeatable.
Has anyone else seen this issue and could help me with a solution. I have searched the forum (and Google) to no avail.
Many thanks,
BrianP6
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey man, Unfortunatly this is a bug with my current kitchen, I believe he is using parts of it for making roms. I'm working to fix it soon in my kitchens.
Peace,
Josh
Thanks for the quick reply Josh,
Do you have any ideas at the moment as to the cause? Is it the number of connections, type of connections....... so that I can avoid the bug cropping up.
Also is there a workaround that you're aware of....
oh, and nice work chef
Cheers,
Bri.
BrianP6 said:
Thanks for the quick reply Josh,
Do you have any ideas at the moment as to the cause? Is it the number of connections, type of connections....... so that I can avoid the bug cropping up.
Also is there a workaround that you're aware of....
oh, and nice work chef
Cheers,
Bri.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This bug appears only when 2 or more devices get paired.
I've been trying everything, even abusalza himself suggested some module replacement. i'm working on replacing drivers and certain folders in sys in my kitchen but still nothing yet... so far not yet, but it's fixable, i just gotta figure it out.
Thanks Josh,
I guess you'd know this anyway, but for completeness and for the benefit of the whole forum.........
Even though the paired devices are no longer shown in the Bluetooth Devices window, and you can no-longer use your HTC to pair more devices, then so long as you carefully initiate the pairing from the other device, it will be recognised, PINs will be requested and devices configured appropriately. I have just done:
Audi A4 in car kit
Laptop via Internet sharing
Jabra earpiece
None appear on the Devices window, but all (so far) appear to work perfectly.
Cheers,
Brian.
I have had a similar nagging problem with my Motorola S9 and Hermes 100/Cingular 8525. After a new flash, I can pair the headset and the phone relatively easily. During first pairing, I am *not* prompted for the headset's PIN. Over time, switching between phone and music functions becomes more unreliable. Icons disappear while the headset is in use. Discontinuing a call with the headset results in audio resuming through the external speaker instead of the headset, etc.
Eventually, out of the blue, the headset will fail to pair; and I will receive a prompt to enter the PIN number for the headset. I enter the PIN and the phone refuses to accept that it's the correct PIN. From that point on, I'm screwed until I reflash the phone. It never works properly anymore.
This has happened across multiple ROMS, including some of Josh's that I've tried. It happened again the day before yesterday with one of TAI_Sw's ROMS I'm currently using. In this case the profile in Bluetooth settings appeared to be corrupted. The profile no longer read "Motorola S9". Instead it showed a series of block characters (like unsupported fonts). I was able to delete the profile, and, after multiple resets (hard and soft) the phone finally redetected the headset and we went through the configuration wizard again. It's been mostly working well since then.
Has this happened to anyone else?
austinsmartie said:
Has this happened to anyone else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, I have experienced everything you mentioned at one time or another, even the square characters showing up in the device list.
I have gone all the way back to test Faria R32 ROM. It's amongst the best I've found for A2DP with the S9's along with some of PDACorners early ROM's. The drawback are that it doesn't have the 1% battery increase .dll cooked in and also still exhibits the "numbers for character during a call" bug.
It does have nearly 31 MB of memory free after fresh install though. (using 4MB pagepool - default is 6MB)
austinsmartie said:
I have had a similar nagging problem with my Motorola S9 and Hermes 100/Cingular 8525. After a new flash, I can pair the headset and the phone relatively easily. During first pairing, I am *not* prompted for the headset's PIN. Over time, switching between phone and music functions becomes more unreliable. Icons disappear while the headset is in use. Discontinuing a call with the headset results in audio resuming through the external speaker instead of the headset, etc.
Eventually, out of the blue, the headset will fail to pair; and I will receive a prompt to enter the PIN number for the headset. I enter the PIN and the phone refuses to accept that it's the correct PIN. From that point on, I'm screwed until I reflash the phone. It never works properly anymore.
This has happened across multiple ROMS, including some of Josh's that I've tried. It happened again the day before yesterday with one of TAI_Sw's ROMS I'm currently using. In this case the profile in Bluetooth settings appeared to be corrupted. The profile no longer read "Motorola S9". Instead it showed a series of block characters (like unsupported fonts). I was able to delete the profile, and, after multiple resets (hard and soft) the phone finally redetected the headset and we went through the configuration wizard again. It's been mostly working well since then.
Has this happened to anyone else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It frustrated me enough that I started building my own rom!
I released one version here that I have been running for quite some time with no issues in the bluetooth at all.
I need to tweak it a bit more to make it "polished" but it is very useable and stable. I just wanted to run it for a while to see how it is going to act over a longer duration before I continue to fool with it, and I have been rather busy here lately.
Well, if you have a magic potion, please share with the community. And, by the way, this is the only device I pair to my Hermes; so this may be different from the problem Josh and others have described.
joshkoss said:
Hey man, Unfortunatly this is a bug with my current kitchen, I believe he is using parts of it for making roms. I'm working to fix it soon in my kitchens.
Peace,
Josh
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i just installed your new v15 color(thanks very much for that release it looks great) and i definitely want to pair 2 devices with the phone. this has worked for me in whichever random wm6 rom i found on the web last year and i have been trying to find the right rom for me this week so my question: is this a random bug, is there a trick to doing it right or am i just plain sol?
Hmmm - doesn't happen on my ROMs...
The suspect things I'd be looking at in SYS are:
Bluetooth
Bth_A2DP
Bth_HID
Try replacing those folders with known good ones and see if the problem still happens...
austinsmartie said:
Well, if you have a magic potion, please share with the community. And, by the way, this is the only device I pair to my Hermes; so this may be different from the problem Josh and others have described.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No Magic potion! lol
I basically did what CRCinAU described. (His rom doesn't have the issue, and feels a bit faster than mine. But, I was looking to create "My perfect rom").
But I also replaced files in the redist folder with "bt" in their name, with files from a known working rom (anryl's 20755). Like I said I wanted to run the rom for a while, now I just need to go back and tweak and clean up some things in the rom before I make another release.
summary
stickybud said:
i just installed your new v15 color(thanks very much for that release it looks great) and i definitely want to pair 2 devices with the phone. this has worked for me in whichever random wm6 rom i found on the web last year and i have been trying to find the right rom for me this week so my question: is this a random bug, is there a trick to doing it right or am i just plain sol?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it is a really odd issue and seems to only affect the hermes... Here is the deal, Some chefs when porting sys grab the cplmain.dll to get the build number and keep some other items in their kitchen sys for stability purposes... I have noticed in my experience when porting, if the cplmain.dll does not match some other components with the same build number it will cause this issue. usually resist, shell, os, folders have been containing these sensitive items. so in short, if the issue is occuring cplmain.dll in redist folder does not match other components in your sys causign the conflict.
edit, and oh. i've tried replacing all bluetooth which had no effect.
So to fix this, the chef needs to report sys correctly and recook the rom.