Develop Bugs

Response From O2 !!! Re XDA IIs Bugs

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.

O2 Xda IIs "wakes up" by itself!!!

Ok, I am getting increasingly frustrated trying to resolve an issue... my Xda O2 IIs keeps "waking itself up" ....aaaargh!!!
I hit the power button on the top to shut off the display (it saves power and enables me to lock the other keys from being accidentally pushed) but after a very short time, the screen comes on by itself, and I can't figure out WHY!!!!
While just sitting on my desk or out on the road, not in the cradle, I noticed, from time-to-time, that the "G" Icon at the top is often replaced by an "x" and the 'left/right sync arrows' ...so I naturally thought it was trying to connect to something.
I thought it might be trying to connect to GPRS, so I removed the connection. It didn't fix the issue.
I thought it was a Bluetooth File Transfer issue, so I deleted that connection also... still no resolve.
I checked my ActiveSync settings, and it all looks ok.
PLEASE HELP, it's killing the length of life in my battery on a daily basis!!!

i had the same problem when i was on the o2 rom, i sorted it by getting shut of the o2 rom and installing the imate 1.40 rom.... it runs faster,better and never needs soft reseting, with the added bonus of wm10.
but i kinda came to the conclusion that when the fone itself talks to the network every so often, ( ya know when u get interferance when its next to a radio or ur desktop speakers.) as it did it at those times, maybe u should stick it next to something and see if u get the radio interference, and see if it does this in flight mode......
also maybe think about removing the o2 active if u have that, and as a last resort, if no-one else can halp with a fix, maybe think about upgrading to imate 1.40 rom...

Mine did this for a while. I can't remamber the EXACT setting, but it was activesync trying to sync on a schedule (like every 5 minutes) over WAP.
If its the same problem, a bit of rummaging around the activesync settings should sort it out.
-Mike

Thanks joey jojo. Thanks mike freegan.
Joey, where can I get iMate 1.40 ??? Although, I really don't want to use the iMate rom. Ideally, I'd like to find and fix the problem I'm having with this O2 rom.
Mike, I checked my ActiveSync settings on the device... everything looks ok to me. Under ActiveSync/Tools/Options/PC Synchronization: 'Use this PC' is set to ZEUS (which is my computer name) and the other two boxes are UNchecked for 'Use mobile schedule to sync with this PC' and 'Sync with this PC during manual sync' ...then when I click on the Options button, the 'When cradled' dialogue appears, the checkbox for 'Enable PC sync using this connection:' is CHECKED and the connection to use is set for 'USB' . Then, under the 'Mobile Schedule' tab, everything is set to 'Manually'.
BTW, when I put the device in 'Flight Mode' ...it doesn't mysteriously 'wake-up' by itself.
I agree, it appears to be trying to use GPRS to 'connect' or 'sync' with something... I just can't seem to find what or where the cause is located. Aaaargh!!! Any other ideas guys?? Anyone else?

XDA III IIs IIi Waking UP
I've found that if I leave my bluetooth switched on it does this I'd love to have my bluetooth on all the time but as it does this I have it off unless I'm using my GPS.
Can this be fixed ?

Thanks Carl n Adele,
I tried your suggestion, shutting off BlueTooth, but after doing so, and then pressing the power button, the device STILL wakes-up after about 20-30 seconds. So, that wasn't the problem.
Is there any O2 subscribers that can call O2 Tech Support and ask some questions? I'd even call myself if I could pretend to be someone else. Just a thought, if there was anyone willing to help out.

i will try to get u xda support number, i work at o2 so i might be able to ask someone too... tho i guess they wont know, cos there idiots.... lol

I had this problem too. Found that Activesync was still running in the background and was using "mobile schedule" to sync via GPRS (even when set to manual), check that ActiveSync does not appear in the Running program list...

Thanks joey jojo, I really would appreciate the help!
m4ttyw, you are correct, ActiveSync was running in the background. But I had set everything in ActiveSync to MANUALLY SYNC. Nevertheless, I STOPPED ActiveSync in the Running Programs List, then pressed the Power Button again, and with fingers crossed and holding my breath, I waited to see if the device would 'wake itself up' again... and... sure enough, it did. Same thing as always! DAMN! Nice try though, thanks.
This is really frustrating me. The manual shows NOTHING about that Icon at the top if the screen (see earlier message in this thread) and what it is doing, so I can only think that is is still trying to connect or sync something... AAAAAAAARGH!!!!!!
Hmmmm, I wonder if it might have something to do with the GSM Band setting? It's currently set to Automatic, I am not sure what it SHOULD be set to for Rogers in Canada???

Darn think waking up
checked all my settings and its def the bluetooth causing my problems

Not mine, Carl... I have BlueTooth SHUT OFF and the device still wakes up by itself!!!

NEW Observation: When the device wakes-up, it takes about 5 seconds before the "G" icon changes to the 'sync' icon with the 'x' (see pics earlier in this message thread) but, I've noticed that signal strength drops off to nothing except a few dots "..." as if it were searching for a signal. And then, immediately comes back to normal signal strength.

sol
This is sometimes caused by a conflict between ur current radio stack and the frequency ur network is using.
What i mean is, the 'G' icons only represents the availability of gprs in ur current coverage area.By default, ur phone syncs with ur provider every x interval
in seconds, by which the state of gprs availability is changed (Hence,its icon) in ur case, ur pda wakes up whenever ur pda syncs with ur network. A temporary solution would be to choose a network configuration (under settings - connections) which doesnt have a gprs connection. This might, or might not cure it. The best thing to do in my opinion is to change ur current Rom ( or atleast ur radio Rom) that would definately cure the problem.
Try both solutions and post.

Sorry for my worse english.
I met this problem for several times, and it seem to cause by active sync inside the PPC.
I have to connect it to PC and have a Sync Operation,then solve it .
My Device :
Simpified Chinese Dopod 696
The Version Number is fogotten Because I had upgraded it .

Thanks gz_lgz,
I think you are CORRECT!!!! I started to think about what you said in your message, and decided to INSTALL the NEW VERSION of ActveSync 4 on my desktop pc.
After installing ActiveSync 4, I did a sync, removed device from cradle, pressed the power button on the device and waited... and waited... and waited... and waited... and waited... and waited... AND it did NOT WAKE ITSELF UP!!!
It seems there was something happening with the ActiveSync installed on the device that was not working properly and therefore kept trying to sync itself again & again, but since installing the new version of ActiveSync, it corrected the problem.
NOTE: I suppose that uninstalling and reinstalling the OLD version of ActiveSync may have done the same thing... but I never tried to do that.
Nevertheless, I am very happy that it is working properly now!!!
Thanks EVERYONE for your time and patience and WILLINGNESS to help!

Gentlemen,
After upgrading to the latest Dangaard ROM I've got a problem that seems to have the same root cause although the symptoms are slightly different.
If Bluetooth is switched on and my hands-free Logitech is paired with the Blueangel, it wakes up every minute. Once the hands-free is switched off, the device sleeps normally. Another lame thing is if the phone call is long enough for the device to go to the sleep mode (longer then 1 minute in my case), the Bluetooth connection is dropped and the sound is transferred to internal speaker.
There is no need to mention that Activesync is stopped. I'm quite sure that all these problems have something to do with the power management of the device. That's why I'd like to ask if somebody uses any additional software for the power management and if you've got any recommendation on the subject.
Hope it could help us to get rid of the problem. Any help is greatly appreciated. My device details are mentioned in the signature.
PS. Thanks to all the contributors to this wonderful forum. I must admit that the idea of BlueAngel was as great as the implementation sucks...
Update: Check this out: http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=21235
I think this workaround is good enough.

just a thought, but open active sync on your xda, and make sure that on the PC tab, the box marked 'use mobile schedule to sync with this pc' is not ticked and the other marked 'sync with this pc durin manual sync' IS ticked
also on mobile schedule tab, all selections are set to manually, and the box marked 'sync outgoing items as they are sent' is not ticked.
dunno if that will help, but its a thought anyway!!!
joey 8)

Guinness said:
Thanks gz_lgz,
I think you are CORRECT!!!! I started to think about what you said in your message, and decided to INSTALL the NEW VERSION of ActveSync 4 on my desktop pc.
After installing ActiveSync 4, I did a sync, removed device from cradle, pressed the power button on the device and waited... and waited... and waited... and waited... and waited... and waited... AND it did NOT WAKE ITSELF UP!!!
It seems there was something happening with the ActiveSync installed on the device that was not working properly and therefore kept trying to sync itself again & again, but since installing the new version of ActiveSync, it corrected the problem.
NOTE: I suppose that uninstalling and reinstalling the OLD version of ActiveSync may have done the same thing... but I never tried to do that.
Nevertheless, I am very happy that it is working properly now!!!
Thanks EVERYONE for your time and patience and WILLINGNESS to help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ah, i didnt read that before my last post, ok, glad to hear you sorted your problem out tho!!!
joey 8)

i get the same problem with mine - ever since i turned my active sync onto manual it started with the problem so i turned it back to automatic.. just seeing if that fixed the problem i've been having..
also Downloading the lastet Active sync 3.8 and see if that helps..

I've figured out that its Sprite Backup Software v3.0 thats causing my XDAIIs switch on all the time. Disabling the Scheduled Backup seems to resolve the problem.
However, I've upgraded to SBSv3.14 which works even without turning off Scheduled backup.
Hope this helps

VoIP and keeping WiFi connected while standby mode

I have finally decided to give WM6 a go on my Vario II and flashed it with latest 1.40 Olipro bootloader, 1.38 Radio and LVSW WM6 OS (btw, BIG thx for MrVanx for really great tutorials!).
In addition, I have installed VoIP application (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=299950 ) which I found pretty interesting, however it's also pretty unusable as WLAN connection goes down together with VoIP service while Hermes enters standby mode. I have found solution (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=245773 ) which unfortunately seems to not work with WM6. After applying Default={'0', '1', '2'} values, whole device completely hangs after resuming and the only solution is soft-reset by stylus. I've also set AllowSuspend=0 in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Comm\Parms, but it also does not keep WiFi on. Basically - I cannot effectively keep WiFi and VoIP up, which make whole VoIP application totally useless.
Did anyone manage to resolve this problem?

eva_d said:
I have finally decided to give WM6 a go on my Vario II and flashed it with latest 1.40 Olipro bootloader, 1.38 Radio and LVSW WM6 OS (btw, BIG thx for MrVanx for really great tutorials!).
In addition, I have installed VoIP application (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=299950 ) which I found pretty interesting, however it's also pretty unusable as WLAN connection goes down together with VoIP service while Hermes enters standby mode. I have found solution (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=245773 ) which unfortunately seems to not work with WM6. After applying Default={'0', '1', '2'} values, whole device completely hangs after resuming and the only solution is soft-reset by stylus. I've also set AllowSuspend=0 in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Comm\Parms, but it also does not keep WiFi on. Basically - I cannot effectively keep WiFi and VoIP up, which make whole VoIP application totally useless.
Did anyone manage to resolve this problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wish, I tried the same things you did with the same failures

eva_d said:
I cannot effectively keep WiFi and VoIP up, which make whole VoIP application totally useless.
Did anyone manage to resolve this problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll find that if you kept WiFi on all the time, your battery will last about an hour (or less).. so... it's by design that WiFi shuts off when the phone drops into sleep mode.

I thought that WIFI used less energy output then Bluetooth and I've used a bluetooth headset on a phone call that lasted well over 3 hours and still had plenty of battery to last the rest of the day. Aside from 90% of the day I could easily keep the phone on charge (It's used on charge at home, work and in the car)

jmat said:
You'll find that if you kept WiFi on all the time, your battery will last about an hour (or less).. so... it's by design that WiFi shuts off when the phone drops into sleep mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I am aware of that, as in every single topic I've found regarding this problem, there are zillions of posts saying about poor battery, but rarely anyone is coming up with actual solution.
Anyway, battery life is obviously a big downside, however without keeping WiFi on, there is absolutely no point of having VoIP application at all. I would be pleased to have fully working VoIP in my Hermes, as my first tests showed it works quite fine and could be excellent cost-saver international phone calls.
BTW, I'm curious how VoIP app works in official release of WM6 (not xda-cooked ROMs) - I cannot believe that VoIP configuration must be done by preparing XML/CAB file with settings, and WiFi goes down together with VoIP, making it useless. :-o

What about using a Screen Off utility like the ones used to keep Windows Media Player Working while turing the Screen Off. Then you would also need to go to the Battery Applet and unCheck the StandBy option.
.

eva_d said:
Yes, I am aware of that, as in every single topic I've found regarding this problem, there are zillions of posts saying about poor battery, but rarely anyone is coming up with actual solution.
Anyway, battery life is obviously a big downside, however without keeping WiFi on, there is absolutely no point of having VoIP application at all. I would be pleased to have fully working VoIP in my Hermes, as my first tests showed it works quite fine and could be excellent cost-saver international phone calls.
BTW, I'm curious how VoIP app works in official release of WM6 (not xda-cooked ROMs) - I cannot believe that VoIP configuration must be done by preparing XML/CAB file with settings, and WiFi goes down together with VoIP, making it useless. :-o
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My guess is the official release will be something lame - only enablable by phone companies - i.e. Cingular will start offering Cingular VOIP where for $5/month more you can make unlimited calls within the U.S. (or insert your local country) on Cingular voip without using your minutes or something like that. The VOIP settings will be pre-installed by the carrier and you will be "unable" to change them yourself. I really have no idea if this is actually the way it will work but it tends to be the way that potentially cool things like this pan out :S

eva_d said:
without keeping WiFi on, there is absolutely no point of having VoIP application at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
VOIP is good on 3g as well(we currently use 64KB for a video calls! voice only will be much less, data costs will be much lower then minutes while calling long distance for example).
use it like this:
1. initiate the call yourself(turn on the WIFI)
2. use your DATA plan for long distance calls(out of country)

elivne said:
VOIP is good on 3g as well(we currently use 64KB for a video calls! voice only will be much less, data costs will be much lower then minutes while calling long distance for example).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's right, however any VoIP usage is strictly forbidden in my data plan (T-Mobile UK web'n'walk £7.50 option), and I don't want to risk any fines or anything for misuse of the service...

cyberdrakula said:
What about using a Screen Off utility like the ones used to keep Windows Media Player Working while turing the Screen Off. Then you would also need to go to the Battery Applet and unCheck the StandBy option.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why dont you do that Eva_d ?
Also, like mentioned before, wifi will murder your battery, but if you want to use VoIP for home use only, or office desk, then you can simply have a an extra long USB cable to constantly charge the phone. In the "backlight" settings, you can chose to have the phone ALWAYS-ON when plugged into a charger.
That way, you'll have a "home phone". All you'll have to do is unplug the charger if you wanna talk on the phone and walk around the place wireless

alkizmo said:
Why dont you do that Eva_d ?
Also, like mentioned before, wifi will murder your battery, but if you want to use VoIP for home use only, or office desk, then you can simply have a an extra long USB cable to constantly charge the phone. In the "backlight" settings, you can chose to have the phone ALWAYS-ON when plugged into a charger.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I found different solution. Using PocketZenPhone I have created 'VoIP' profile, which does not switch device off at all. So, when I plan to make or receive call through VoIP, I just switch that profile on, then WiFi and that's it. Maybe not very convenient, but works fine for me.

eva_d said:
Well, I found different solution. Using PocketZenPhone I have created 'VoIP' profile, which does not switch device off at all. So, when I plan to make or receive call through VoIP, I just switch that profile on, then WiFi and that's it. Maybe not very convenient, but works fine for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats a good idea. Just did the same with mine.

eva_d said:
Well, I found different solution. Using PocketZenPhone I have created 'VoIP' profile, which does not switch device off at all. So, when I plan to make or receive call through VoIP, I just switch that profile on, then WiFi and that's it. Maybe not very convenient, but works fine for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just purely out of curiosity, how does your battery life do leaving WIFI constantly on - can you make it through the day? If so what do you have left?

chymmylt said:
Just purely out of curiosity, how does your battery life do leaving WIFI constantly on - can you make it through the day? If so what do you have left?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I neved used WiFi for whole day. I only switch it on when I need to call through VoIP. For everyday internet use I have T-Mobile's WnW package.
However, I must say - WiFi drains battery REALLY fast...

838Pro Will not "standby"

Sorry if this has been covered before, I've been searching the threads for quite a while though only came up with those having problems with standby freezing.
So I have a 838pro, running Elf 2.1 - Clean! -- Connected to exchange 2007 (push) 3g/HSDPA. This works great -- except I cannot go far from a charger since my pda will not enter standby mode.....(unless i hit the power button - this works fine, and so does resuming) -- Every thing is great except it drains the battery like no tomorrow.
Not running wifi or bluetooth. 3 Network in Australia.
If I kill the activesync service it will standby as set by my power settings (1min power/30sec screen)
Would my exchange server be playing funny buggers?
I've tried a couple of different roms (black etc) and all seem to have a similar problem.
Running 1.41xxx radio / hard spl v7;
Any ideas?
Cheers.

Since yesterday, I've down graded to my Networks current rom (which is 1.30 vm5) and standby works fine.
Tonight I will re-flash to a wm6 rom and see if it helps (e.g. not changing the radio rom back to 1.41)
The rom I got is specifily for my network so call quality is actually better than 1.41 - with regards to range/data -- too early to tell.
Cheers'

Snoops said:
Since yesterday, I've down graded to my Networks current rom (which is 1.30 vm5) and standby works fine.
Tonight I will re-flash to a wm6 rom and see if it helps (e.g. not changing the radio rom back to 1.41)
The rom I got is specifily for my network so call quality is actually better than 1.41 - with regards to range/data -- too early to tell.
Cheers'
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My phone has never gone into standy while using Push from the exchange server. Once I make it sync every 15 minutes it seems to be able to turn the screen off.
Rob

Well about half way thru today it started doing the not sleeping thing. So tonight I re-installed elf and tried using push with an exchange 2003 server (I am not sure of services packs etc, as the exchange 03 server isnt hosted locally).
So now it has been running for about 4 hours without any problems. It must be a exchange 2007 thing.. Maybe the keep alive packet??
Any Ideas?

same issue here
I noticed since I set up DeniaL's Exchange 2007 service, my battery life went into the toilet. My bro in law was comparing phones (he has a Hermes too) and asked why mine never went into standby... Battery problem discovered... Ideas anyone?

Does Denials owa access use http or https?
(e.g. when you setup your exchange server do you leave the ssl option ticked?)

After having a little time to play around.. I think (might) of found the issue.. Syncing over a http connection seems to be the problem for me. Switching to ssl seems to fix the issue... -- Will update in a two or two after more testing

Is it network, WM6, or the unit problem?

The problem is one of the most annoying ones you can have: it appears only from time to time and you don't know when and even when it does you don't notice.
Simply my phone is not accessible for others even it shows full range and so on. The message "...the phone is switched off...". This problem occurs in as far as I remember 3 releases of ROMS (full, vanillas, etc). The radio ROM was also changed. I don't remember having such issue in early WM6 or in original 2005.
Since it's not related directly to any of the releases I post it as a new thread.
Now I have 3 options:
1. Downgrade to 2005
2. Throw the unit through the window, wait until end of contract and buy an iPhone
3. Try to fight with T-Mobile UK - which is not really an option since I just recovered from fighting with Orange for over a month
Does any of you experienced such problem?
Any known issues with downgrading to 2005 like ISPL required before flashing original ROM?
Any suggestions?

Adigital said:
...
Any known issues with downgrading to 2005 like ISPL required before flashing original ROM?
..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I got the answer - couldn't wait and did the downgrade using original ROM. If anyone interested it went without problems. No ISPL needed. Connected, fired-up the exe file and worked OK.
I'll see how about the availability problem.

Ok, seems that it's only me having the conversation ;o)
I apologize for the thread location - it doesn't seem to be related strictly to WM6 anymore as I...
...installed WM5 and did some tests:
(I have voice mail switched off)
- Call waiting enabled = no calls allowed when GPRS active
- Call waiting disabled = no calls when transferring data (large file) but received when no transfer
- Used W660i SonyEricsson handset - could receive calls regardless of GPRS activity
Rang T-Mobile tech support where they told me that this is network feature that when internet connection is active no calls are allowed and since my voicemail is turned off all callers get message that my phone is switched off. In the light of GPRS specification and my tests this is a bull****.
Now I'm asking anyone on UK T-Mobile Web'n'Walk and who wants to help - please do such test. Just try to call your number from different phone when opening a web-page.
This is pretty important to me - I need internet on the move and don't want to get rid of my MDA.
Thanks in advance!

Hi there,
I'm on T-Mobile UK too and I ran some tests myself and found that you are absolutely correct. When you transfer data you cannot receive phone calls.
I've got an O2 device with me I can do some more tests on and I'll also try and borrow my Wife's Samsung and test that too. I'll post my findings here.
Cheers
Alex

ok, i've just tested this on an O2 3G device and there was no problem, next to try a none windows mobile t-mobile phone.

seems this problem has been around for while and on other networks.
http://www.freenfo.net/mobile/archive/index-t-64022.html

ok, final test and conclusion.
I tested the same o2 phone as above but in a NON 3g area (i.e. gprs only) and found the exact same issue.
conclusion: this seems to affect all types of phone and multiple networks but only when using gprs NOT 3g.
I'm suprised we havent heard more about this problem.
cheers
Alex

Thank you Alex very much for your help.
I did some research on the topic last night and found the same info as guys in the thread your linked. It must be that T-Mobile UK operates in NOM-2, which allows to suspend GPRS session only when no data is transferred. When packets are transmitted the device doesn't 'see' incoming calls as it's 'busy' with dealing with the packets. NOM-1 is 'able' to encapsulate information about incoming call into one of the packets and the device is notified about - so it can react, suspend the transmission and pick up the call.
The fact is that our MDA/Artemis uses Class B of GPRS which doesn't allow simultaneous CDA/GPRS at the same time. Even if it can suspend active data transfer it is the network that has to support that feature.
What I must notice is that I had lot more problems wiht this when I was using WM6. It seems that there were some packets transmitted by the system or something. I had my mail set to check servers every 15 mins at the beginning but lately ony once an hour or two. Other soft that could transmit anything was Weather module from SPB or Touch. Now when I'm on WM5 and was checking the issue during loading a page I was unavailable but as soon as a page was completely loaded my phone was accessible back.
My surprise is that if the 'issue' seems to be quite normal and there is nothing to do about it why I couldn't find any info about it here. Doesn't it affect anyone of our community?
I may be wrong with the WM6 expirience but still. If WM6 works fine in that respect it must have happened that someone missed a call when browsing the net.

i hadnt noticed to be honest

mugglesquop said:
i hadnt noticed to be honest
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you try ringing your phone when it was loading a long page or downloading a file?

TBH I think I've noticed it just as much on WM6 as I did (or didn't) on WM5, I think I put these odd voice mails turning up down to weird WM issues! Now I know the truth though.
Obv. there isn't a lot we can do about this and I'm not prepared to turn off my Windows Live Mail or my direct push. I think we just have to wait until our contracts are up for renewal and get over to a 3G device - I'm liking the look of the Touch Cruise myself, or the Touch Dual if I want that keyboard back and by the time my contract is up I think they should be on T-Mob UK.

does the same thing happen in Edge areas or as that rolls out will the problem disappear?

I'm not sure about how EDGE works but the problem affects GPRS rather than 3G due to the fact that GPRS and the incoming call are submitted alongside each other and 3G is seperate. I don't think t-mob uk have edge running yet so I can't test, perhpas some else can test for us.

Bro.. My first 3rd party ROM is the Touch 3.0.. and yes.. my connnection did go off once a while (no bars as well).. that was kinda irritating. I have to go to connection manager and toggle my data connection or something like that, before my phone will get the GSM signal.
And yea.. the original WM5 and WM6 have no such issues.. I wonder if this is because of the new radio version..