Develop Bugs

Compas

Now i love my desire... Its fantastic but it isnt without some issues...
One ive noticed that could be a problem esp when your working with reality overlay apps...
The compass doesn’t seem to work that well...
Its slow to respond to movement and even when it does move its horridly inaccurate. north seems to have a room for error of 60-90 degrees.
Has anyone else noticed this? Is it the same for most digital compasses? or do i have a faulty module?

Hi Nutsy,
I've also noticed these issues with the compass in the Desire. I've worked with magnetic compass chips before and I think it's all to blame on the way these compasses work:
To sense the earth's magnetic field they use a two- or three axis magnetometer. Although it's a very accurate way to sense the earth's weak magnetic field, it's also very sensitive to any other magnetic field. That means that the presence of ferromagnetic materials (like iron) or electrical currents in the vicinity might really screw up your compass reading.
So electrical wires, iron piping, laundry machines (almost anything that you would find indoors that runs on electricity or contains iron), will interfere with your compass.
a good alternative would be to use a gyroscopic compass like they do on submarines, but I don't think these fairly expensive devices aren't used in mobile equipment yet. So the only thing to do is to stay away from anything that might interfere.
The slow response to movement might be caused by internal filtering. These analog sensors produce quite an amount of measurement noise. In order to cancel this, they probably use some sort of filtering algorithm like this one:
step 1 -> Take a new sensor reading.
step 2 -> Add it to a buffer that contains the last 25 readings.
step 3 -> Calculate the mean value of all measurements in this buffer. This will be the compass heading that is sent to Android OS or your application.
step 4 -> Repeat this cycle every 25 milliseconds.
Hope this answers your questions. Of course if you compass readings never make any sense under any circumstances, the thing might just be broken...
Friendly regards,
Joost
Ps.
There's an App in the market called "Metal detector" that actually uses the interference "problem" with the compass to detect ferromagnetic metals.

Wow Thanks for the really detailed reply...
Im glad its not just me then... Didnt really want to RMA it over a dodgy compass unit.
And thanks for letting me know about that app... sounds usful... I guess it could be used to detect wireing in plaster as well?

You're welcome.
In theory you could use it to detect metal or wires in a plaster wall. I've just tried it, and it works quite well. On the other hand, I really don't want to risk electrocution by trusting a telephone to find electrical wires...

My compass is shocking. Actually points closer to South whenever I open Compass or a programme which uses the compass like G-sky. I have to calibrate it every single time.
Thing that annoys me, is if I calibrate, then exit the programme and immediately re-open the programme, it doesn't remember the calibration, it reverts to pointing in a ridiculous direction.
I want to hit it with my fist.
Addtitionally, think it's broken?

jimmymagix said:
My compass is shocking. Actually points closer to South whenever I open Compass or a programme which uses the compass like G-sky. I have to calibrate it every single time.
Thing that annoys me, is if I calibrate, then exit the programme and immediately re-open the programme, it doesn't remember the calibration, it reverts to pointing in a ridiculous direction.
I want to hit it with my fist.
Addtitionally, think it's broken?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yesterday I found out the same thing... Sometimes I cant even get it working after calibration. I was beginning to think that this happened because I dropped it once pretty hard. What should we do next? Can this be solved by replacement with warranty or something?

Smauglys said:
Yesterday I found out the same thing... Sometimes I cant even get it working after calibration. I was beginning to think that this happened because I dropped it once pretty hard. What should we do next? Can this be solved by replacement with warranty or something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure your phone isn't in a case which uses magnets to keep it closed, as they affect the compass. If you're affected, take your phone out of the case and try again. Also, try out in the open, away from structures which may contain a lot of ferrous metal.

In my case the problem is due to powered-on wi-fi module. Turning off wifi, compass works fine. Could Anyone elserepeat my experience?

poldie said:
Make sure your phone isn't in a case which uses magnets to keep it closed, as they affect the compass. If you're affected, take your phone out of the case and try again. Also, try out in the open, away from structures which may contain a lot of ferrous metal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I know that. Tried out doors, and wheres no metal... When I had the G1, the compass worked normally.
In my case the problem is due to powered-on wi-fi module. Turning off wifi, compass works fine. Could Anyone elserepeat my experience?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just tried what you said. It did not help for me. I turned it of completely.

Smauglys said:
Yes I know that. Tried out doors, and wheres no metal... When I had the G1, the compass worked normally.
Just tried what you said. It did not help for me. I turned it of completely.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just went outside to test it again. And I think I found how to get it working. If i launch the compass application, and try to turn the phone in the flat position (on its back), then the arrow moves in random directions. But if i lift the phone that it is facing straight to my face, and then turn left and right a few times, like a steering wheel, the compass "calibrates" as I can see. And then when I lay it down again flat, it starts to work normally. Can anyone try this, if you understood my instructions?

A more accurate way of calibrating the compass is by rotating the phone twice around each axis, ideally you should do this away from anything metallic or any interfering magnetic fields preferably outside.

Er......
Where is the compass?
I dont seem to have a compass! In my list of apps there just isnt one called compass...

The Analogue Compass app is very buggy for me so I use the Compass app -> http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-apksoftware-compass-qAC.aspx
When taking readings, I;
Always have to recalibrate on startup as far too many objects cause large interferences within the sensor making it go astray, even the charging cable causes it to go berzerk. The known working routine is to calibrate by fast twisting and turning the phone [I do it after running the built-in figure 8 calibration routine]
Keep it mid-upper body height with no metals nearby (jewellery/belt/metallic objects minimum >5ft away), holding still and level across the x-axis
Point the upper-end of the phone in the direction I want the bearing of (this depends on the type you use though, I use the digital type)
I spin the phone around and then retake 2 more readings for a total of 3 readings - averaging them out for a final mean reading
I only have 2 directions calibrated through professional consultation when this room extension was built a few years back and know the rough directions all sides this property faces, but in particular, I'm 100% sure of the exact degree reading one wall faces. This app using the built-in compass sensor reads that bearing spot on everytime after calibration (fluctuation is 1-2 degree max).

Some friends in a Lithuanian Android forum, suggested to do this, like it is shown in the video. Works perfectly every time. And I thought that something was wrong, because I never had to do anything like this on my G1.
Youtube video ID, because I cant add link because of spam protection http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP3d00Hr14o

Proximity / Light Sensor

Hey guys,
I was talking with a guy from my bank the other day, and the guy was mumbling something which I couldn't hear, and after asking him what did he say, he said I was pressing some keys on the phone which was a bit annoying..
but in reality I was just holding the phone to my ear and my cheek was dialing.. too embarassing.. :/
I know theres this proximity sensor on the Samsung Galaxy S, but I dont know when it is used exactly.. So if it isnt used specifically in situations like this (during call) then I think there must be a mod...
Can a Mod be built such that when the phone is held against the ear during the call, the phone gets locked, the keypad gets tucked in and display brightness gets dimmed and when its moved away from ear it gets unlocked by itself (even if there's a pattern lock), the keypad comes back on the screen and display brightness goes back to normal?
is this cool or stupid? you decide...

The proximity sensor works like this. When you cover the sensor, usually with your ear or side of your head while talking, it turns off the screen. Maybe yours is faulty? Mine is working very well, a lot better than on my previous device.

Are you female? Or do you have long hair?
My moto milestone too had that issue with long hair. It was a bad proximity sensor.
I have not had any such issues with my galaxy. : touch wood :
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Beast using XDA app.

aditya_t90 said:
Are you female? Or do you have long hair?
My moto milestone too had that issue with long hair. It was a bad proximity sensor.
I have not had any such issues with my galaxy. : touch wood :
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Beast using XDA app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have long hair I have the same problem... Is there a way to hold the screen ? While on the phone? Because i didnt find one..

omzart said:
I have long hair I have the same problem... Is there a way to hold the screen ? While on the phone? Because i didnt find one..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can NEVER HOLD A PHONE WRONG(well unless that phone is an apple)
Try asking someone else who has long hair to make calls and see if the sensor works or not.
Then do the same thing with someone that has short hair, i.e. no hair over the ears.
If your tests are inconclusive, download the sensor test from the market and see what happens when it is placed near your palm first.
If it works as it is supposed to then next try your ear and face...tuck you hair in once. If it still works then try it without tucking your hair.
I really hope samsung did not use those defective moto sensors.
tl;dr version download sensor test from the market and ask a bunch of people to check the sensor.(You will see everything on the screen. You dont need to make half a dozen calls)
Get back and we will see what happens next
All the best

aditya_t90 said:
You can NEVER HOLD A PHONE WRONG(well unless that phone is an apple)
Try asking someone else who has long hair to make calls and see if the sensor works or not.
Then do the same thing with someone that has short hair, i.e. no hair over the ears.
If your tests are inconclusive, download the sensor test from the market and see what happens when it is placed near your palm first.
If it works as it is supposed to then next try your ear and face...tuck you hair in once. If it still works then try it without tucking your hair.
I really hope samsung did not use those defective moto sensors.
tl;dr version download sensor test from the market and ask a bunch of people to check the sensor.(You will see everything on the screen. You dont need to make half a dozen calls)
Get back and we will see what happens next
All the best
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I meant an hold button http://www.dvhardware.net/reviews/freecombeatman/4.jpg
sorry ^^

Haha
Try pushing the screen lock button during the call.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Beast I9000 using XDA app.

aditya_t90 said:
Are you female? Or do you have long hair?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL NO! I'm a guy.
I have tested the proximity sensor, and I started observing when I made a call.
the screen locks when I hold it to my ear and unlocks it when I move it away.
guess I didn't enable pattern lock earlier..
problem solved

[Q] Wife Claims Ghost Buttons During Calls

So whenever I talk to my wife she always ends up hitting buttons on the screen. (mute, speaker, etc) I told her that the screen should automatically turn off and that maybe something was wrong with her device. As soon as I got home I tested it and it worked just fine. I couldn't get it to happen, light sensor was very responsive.
Somehow she manages to hit buttons and I have no idea how. I covered up the light sensor and tried hitting every button/screen area and nothing happened.
Has anyone else experienced this before? Is there something I can settings/mods wise to help?

DanBergundy said:
So whenever I talk to my wife she always ends up hitting buttons on the screen. (mute, speaker, etc) I told her that the screen should automatically turn off and that maybe something was wrong with her device. As soon as I got home I tested it and it worked just fine. I couldn't get it to happen, light sensor was very responsive.
Somehow she manages to hit buttons and I have no idea how. I covered up the light sensor and tried hitting every button/screen area and nothing happened.
Has anyone else experienced this before? Is there something I can settings/mods wise to help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Woman + X = No longer functioning properly

illogic6 said:
Woman + X = No longer functioning properly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:X
Another funny thing is she said her boss at work has the same problem (female) and her husband has no issue.... Ha! I don't think they have Evos though.

my wife was having the same problem and we narrowed it down to her hair causing interference with the screen sensing that her face was against it. dont know if that makes sense but seemed logical to us and now that she tries to be aware of it and move her hair out of the way the problem doesnt seem to exist. hope this helps.

freaknjoe said:
my wife was having the same problem and we narrowed it down to her hair causing interference with the screen sensing that her face was against it. dont know if that makes sense but seemed logical to us and now that she tries to be aware of it and move her hair out of the way the problem doesnt seem to exist. hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weird! Does the screen actually turn on then? I should watch the screen next time she makes a call on it.

yeah the screen was turning on while she was using it. i think whenever she would basically readjust the phone against her head it would happen if the hair would cause interference...again i'm not claiming this is some scientific answer but its what we found seemed to be causing issues for her

freaknjoe said:
yeah the screen was turning on while she was using it. i think whenever she would basically readjust the phone against her head it would happen if the hair would cause interference...again i'm not claiming this is some scientific answer but its what we found seemed to be causing issues for her
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see, thanks.

My wife had the same issue...earrings.

Yep, Yep. My wife has the same issue but I've never had a problem. I'm going to show her this thread so that at least she knows it's not just her. lol.

Lappie2010 said:
My wife had the same issue...earrings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How would the earrings affect it?

I think it's actually the proximity sensor being highly in tune to how close it needs to be to the ear/face. It takes very little movement of the phone during a call to trigger the sensor and turn the screen back on. They probably don't even realize they're moving the phone as much as they are.

Crotchety said:
I think it's actually the proximity sensor being highly in tune to how close it needs to be to the ear/face. It takes very little movement of the phone during a call to trigger the sensor and turn the screen back on. They probably don't even realize they're moving the phone as much as they are.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
During a call, I pulled the phone away, moved it around, etc and watched for screen to come one. It did not come on easily. I don't get it.
I need to watch her during a call and test some things.

My sis has the same issues with the moment, and I tried it out and it was fine. She does seem to use it outside her hair and does have a lot of earrings. Though this is the Moment, it still runs android and has the sensors. I'll let her know and see if she'll enjoy her phone again lol.

ReFLeX135 said:
My sis has the same issues with the moment, and I tried it out and it was fine. She does seem to use it outside her hair and does have a lot of earrings. Though this is the Moment, it still runs android and has the sensors. I'll let her know and see if she'll enjoy her phone again lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still not sure what the issue/solution even is.

She picked up my phone last night and accidentally hung up on the person during the call! I didn't get a chance to see what happened...
She's starting to hate these phones. I need a solution.

Not a joke...but are these ladies blonds? At start of thread I was thinking hair color or earrings too. But earrings shouldn't impact the sensor as it is up top of phone and earrings would be down toward the screen.
But...if their hair was very light color...and they had phone only loosely pressed to head, I could 'guess' that the hair had enough light reflecting through it to set off the sensor.
Another thing to check on the earring side....what part of phone contacts first...do earrings hit the screen before head covers up the sensor?

My wife had dark brown hair :x

My wife too. Dark brown hair. With and without earrings. Swapped out one device, same problem. She even made it happen on mine.
I have seen it get in a mode where the proximity sensor seems to get reversed. Near head, screen on, away from head screen off. A button gets pushed at some point and then when the screen is on you can't un-mute, un-speaker, or answer a returned call from the one she just hung up on.
I think we are going to have to get her a different phone

I have the same issue but it only seems to come up with AOSP ROM's (Cyanogen & UD)
If I call Sprint and hit the prompts followed by putting the phone to my ear it presses other numbers. I think there is a delay in the proximity sensor that's causing this. I don't have long hair and my face is clean shaved so it's not that.
If I go to show someone that when everything works perfect. It's like when you call tech support for Dell, Netgear, etc. It works when you're on the phone with them and when you get off it doesn't.

I've noticed this in the past. If you are talking on the phone and you cant it just a little bit away from your ear, towards your face, you can see the backlight come back on. Also, hair can carry a static charge. So if your ladies cant the phone and the screen turns on, their hair could trigger a button press.

[Q] Reconfigure compass?

The compass is about 10' to 15' out on my phone - i normally wouldn't care that much except the built in locations app uses the facing direction instead of the travel direction... so it looks like you are driving down a road diagonally.
Any ideas of how i can re-calibrate the compass - or make locations use the direction of travel instead of the compass?
Thanks
Kris

Maybe it is a magnetic compass, and hence points to the magnetic north?
BTW I have the same with mine. Mine is about -15' out.
The GPS Status app has something to 'calibrate' with, but the results stayed the same IMO.

Well I think that really su* ... y can't it just use the direction of travel like other software - or have the option

I know man, have the same issue. I have proper compass 'analog' and a digital one and the one on hd is a joke. Tried everything, it's still off. Most likely it's software issue here. Not sure though, but looks like it. Mine is -20 and less or more useless.

Mines off about that too.
When using the one in my Hero, I could wave my hand in a infinity symbol shape (or figure 8 on it's side) out in front of me for a few seconds, that would get it fairly accurate for a little while. Haven't tried it on the DHD, but it might work?

I have exactly the same issue. Annoyingly it is also 10 to 50 meters off on my location......
HTC Hub also shows me 20 meters off of my location.......
Anyone have a solution let me know!!

Good i managed to calibrate it to be fairly accurate.
There is still a minor distortion which i assume is caused by battery but it's an improvement never the less.
Basically go to maps. Then hold your phone by pointing your screen towards the sky and start making infinity symbol in the air. In such way like if you were trying to paint it on the wall in front of you. Do it for about 30 sec, then it should show you a fairly accurate readings.
Hope it helps, worked for me.

Thanks Madeinru........ it helps a bit but hasn't completely fixed it.
Probably will go back to the shops and exchange it - its still annoying the hell out if me

MadeIRu, could you describe your method in a lilttle more detail. I thought you had to hace your device towards the sky and make a movement like drawing an 8 horizontally al the time the device facing the sky. Thanks

Hello there
What i did is:
Switch on any compass app or maps.
Point your device with your screen towards the sky, same way when it basically lies on the table.
Then start making 'infinity' like sign in the air while your screen points at the sky all the time.
Just like you wanting to paint an 'infinity' sign on the wall.
Just like the guy in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOkErjFKiD8&feature=related
But i was pointing my screen upwards all the time, so my phone stayed in the same position at all times.
Do it for about 30 sec or so.
Regards.

download compass from market, it has a calibration feature builtin
not sure if it will help you're situation though, i guess it's supposed to.

GPS can not be set correctly

So now I have the Nexus 4 days and not really angers me that my compass really works 100%.
I have him with various calibrated compass apps already but something does not seem to agree there.
If I slowly turn my phone on its own axis, the compass rotates too slowly mit.Nur he moves to something.
And then when I get on a given compass direction (in my case, between West and South) moves to the cell phone is faster and then briefly right times.
I think the cell phone in the south it is really as it should, I think the North it is actually there, according to compass the west.
What can I do and how it looks at you with the compass.Can I put him somewhere completely to zero?
Ask for your help ....

Can someone help me with my problem?

Moved to Q&A
When you're using your compass make sure there are no large metallic objects or anything magnetic any where near it. The Earth's magnetic field is very weak and can be covered/jammed easily.