HTC TyTN II Annoyances

[Guest rickyburke]

I should have mentioned really, the bitrates are really low (I like to cram as much music on my card as I can ;) ) The files are all 64kb WMA's or OGGs. It's the same whether playing back with WMP or TCPMP, and every other HTC device I've used (which is most of them) doesn't do this <_<

I'll try flight mode and see if it still does it though. Cheers!

Yeah thats strange, the only time i've ever seen this happen on an HTC device is when system memory is low or data connections are being used. (bluetooth/3g/wifi etc)

[Guest duked]

• I do notice 2 problems thou, first is the gaming performance is really a no no even compare to my old atom.

In what way is it bad for gaming? Because of the quality or placement of the keys? Or does it run FPS games at a jerky framerate? Or is it too slow for platform games? Sound out of sync with the action on screen?

I do want to play games on this device...

[Guest xeno1]

On mine, "Check Contact Names" only hides the "numbers" of the contact list, not the sim contacts. I can tell because the "chip" icon for the sim contacts are still there.

You know what, I was right and wrong at the same time on that. At the time when I noticed it I was playing with trying to get the hide sim contacts registry settings and when I saw your message I went in to contacts and you were right, it had both there. Then I went in to the registry and reset the showsim setting back to 0 again and opened up contacts again and all the sim contacts were gone again. I didn't realize that I had set the registry setting back to 0 again and hadn't reset it at the time when I noticed that. No wonder when I reset my phone they all came back again.

[Guest AwJm]

My findings so far

- HTC home is nice but the clock is just too big. But the choice is up to you to use it.

- Seems to be a bug with audio/sound over a Bluetooth device. The quality you get is below par according so some.

- In landscape mode the screen is filled up till 85% with the clock from HTC Home.

- It’s getting used to with the keyboard (coming from a MDA Pro) of my fingers are just too be, will be getting used to it

- ‘OK’ button on the front doesn’t always respond

- The back of the phone gets dirty quick. Grease stains

- The piece sticking out of the phone when you have the USB stereo in is a bit scary, with that I mean if it get touched too often/hard it might damage the USB connection

- Internet activity can only be closed/stopped when using the stick and tapping on 3G or through the CommMgr

- Think this is an old Windows Mobile bug, when hooked to a power source the backlight jumps to full light and stays there. Even if you had set it to a much lighter setting earlier

- Read about warmth coming free when using 3G/GPS and it’s true.

- The pouch included is much better then the one I got with the MDA pro

- The red phone button works as the button lock when you press and hold it

- Still searching for a way to add my own alarm tones

- Google Maps works nice, only you need to have a connection already active when wanting to sue the option ‘follow position’

- Tried TomTom on the bus and it worked. Did not have to change any settings. Want to try it out soon in a car.

I’m using the HTC TyTn II and I think even after these findings that it’s a great phone with lots of features/possibilities

definatey a nice summery

[Guest ckindel]

RE: Standby of Death on my Tytn II (only happened to me so far remember)

To update the last time I had the standby of death was Tuesday about 12:00pm its now Friday 12:29pm and I haven't had it again since. With regard to resets - I was forced to reset the phone Tuesday after the SOD then I reset it intentionally on Wednesday afternoon, intentionally on Thursday morning and intentionally on Friday morning.

The longest it went when I was doing forced resets *only* was 3 days last Friday morning to Monday afternoon when it SOD'd again. I will edit this post over the coming days/weeks updates regarding its stability when used in this fashion. Its looking like resetting it intentionally everyday keeps the device stable - for me anyway.

That is my honest expierience of the device, it may be only my device that behaves in this way. I don't want to hark on about it esp as it may be only my device that behaves in this way. I feel however that is relevant information to this thread and as I say I won't keep posting new replies I`ll just edit this POST over the next days/weeks with my expierience.

Hope your not too annoyed with me for going on about this issue but I feel it is important - for me anyway.

EDIT: Its now been just over 6 days since I last had an SOD I believe this is becuase I`ve been doing intentional daily resets.

EDIT: Its now been 7 1/2 days since I last had an SOD.

Got my Kaiser last Friday. Worked like a champ through the weekend. Sunday night I encountered my first SOD. Device would not "turn on" from standby. LEDs were flashing, keyboard backlight would come on, but the screen was blank and no input appeared to work. Reset was the only way to get it working again.

Over the last 2 days it has done this several (4-5?) times.

This evening things got worse. I was taking notes and wanted to swtich to keyboard/landscape mode. The device refused to respond (stayed in portrait mode). The power button no longer functioned (unless I held it down for 5 min, then it would pop up asking if I wanted to reset). Soft reset/reboot did not fix this problem (e.g. power button and landscape keyboard/landscape mode failed to work after a reset). Even after removing the battery and replacing it.

I literally could not turn the device off (other than by reseting it).

Got home, logged on here and started reading. About 20 minutes in, for kicks I reset the device again. Now it's working fine.

Suspect I have a hardware problem? Sigh.

[Guest kapot]

I got the same situation for transfering hundreds of SMS from my old pda to Kaiser (I dont delete SMS, well most of them! I like to keep it for nice thing to remember).

So, I ended up buying this utility : EasyHelper Contact + SMS Backup

Google it ...

And it works fine.

I cant find free alternative ... and there is no option from let say sprite backup to backup just the SMS.

I hard reset mine, and then restore the sms backup using the above software and done. All were restored, including custom folder.

Morning All

I am going to do a hard reset, as I installed a 3rd party app that managed to crash the system.

Went to restore with sprite that seemed to skip some files! Not good!

But I want to save the SMS messages - anyone tell me what file this is stored in, so I can place onto the memory card, hard reset and put back?

Thank you

P.S. Have to say, the device is still VERY good, even though some annoyances are there. But with most Windows mobiles, your gonna get it either way! Nothing will be perfect.....

[Guest Webreaper]

HTC home is nice but the clock is just too big

Yep. Other than the weather, PhoneAlarm does everything it does for me, and uses about 1/10 of the screen acreage. ;)

It’s getting used to with the keyboard (coming from a MDA Pro) of my fingers are just too be

Biggest problem I find is I keep hitting 'Send' when writing a text and typing 'R' or 'T'. Annoying. And there's no keyboard shortcut for £ that I've found.

‘OK’ button on the front doesn’t always respond

Not found that. I would like to be able to set the 'Ok' button on the side to be 'select', but it appears that if you do that it changes both OK buttons, and I want to keep the front one as 'OK'. Trivial though.

The red phone button works as the button lock when you press and hold it

Neat. Never realised that. :-D

Google Maps works nice, only you need to have a connection already active when wanting to sue the option ‘follow position’

Download MS Live Search. It's the GUI isn't as intuitive, but it's better because 1) it allows you to store the cache on the SD card, 2) it allows you to start the app without a data connection (meaning you can cache the maps over wifi, and use 'em whilst out and about without wasting GPRS data).

The things I really don't like (possibly WM6 rather than the device itself):

• In the calendar, when editing appointments, instead of the LHS soft-key being 'Edit', it's now 'Reply' - but 95% of the time it's disabled. So you have to unnecessarily go via a menu.
  
• In SMS/MMS, to do a new message, why on earth did they make it New->SMS / MMS? It's a pointless extra click needed - particularly as I never use MMS, and MMS is the first item in the sub-menu. Thankfully, there is a better way :wub:
  

[Guest cgcmd]

Jerky fps noticed both at video and game. Perhaps the CPU is not well optimized?

[Guest Nick Le Lievre]

Got my Kaiser last Friday. Worked like a champ through the weekend. Sunday night I encountered my first SOD. Device would not "turn on" from standby. LEDs were flashing, keyboard backlight would come on, but the screen was blank and no input appeared to work. Reset was the only way to get it working again.

Over the last 2 days it has done this several (4-5?) times.

This evening things got worse. I was taking notes and wanted to swtich to keyboard/landscape mode. The device refused to respond (stayed in portrait mode). The power button no longer functioned (unless I held it down for 5 min, then it would pop up asking if I wanted to reset). Soft reset/reboot did not fix this problem (e.g. power button and landscape keyboard/landscape mode failed to work after a reset). Even after removing the battery and replacing it.

I literally could not turn the device off (other than by reseting it).

Got home, logged on here and started reading. About 20 minutes in, for kicks I reset the device again. Now it's working fine.

Suspect I have a hardware problem? Sigh.

I don't necessarily believe there is anything wrong with your machine apart from Windows mobiles bugs... all I have had so far is SODs (and only 3 of them) I never had a problem switching from landscape to portrait mode or vice versa but I haven't used the keyboard for much more then writing a few emails using Googlemails JAVA Application. I never used it to take down notes so maybe I haven't pushed my machine as hard as you in this respect.

Since I`ve been resetting my machine daily I have not had another SOD in 8 days now. If SOD is a problem for you try resetting the machine daily - that fixed it for me.

[Guest Webreaper]

Since I`ve been resetting my machine daily I have not had another SOD in 8 days now. If SOD is a problem for you try resetting the machine daily - that fixed it for me.

I've only soft-reset my machine 5-6 times since I got it (10 days now) and most of them were in batches of 2-3 times when installing software. Most of the time I've been running it for 3-4 days with heavy GPRS and email use, lots of keyboard use (i.e., landscape switches) and never had it freeze, lockup or hang on me yet.

Nick, you should seriously consider sending yours back. It sounds like you have a duff RAM chip in it.

[Guest Nick Le Lievre]

I've only soft-reset my machine 5-6 times since I got it (10 days now) and most of them were in batches of 2-3 times when installing software. Most of the time I've been running it for 3-4 days with heavy GPRS and email use, lots of keyboard use (i.e., landscape switches) and never had it freeze, lockup or hang on me yet.

Nick, you should seriously consider sending yours back. It sounds like you have a duff RAM chip in it.

If its not just the becuase of the nature of Windows Mobile ie it *needs* a reset quite often then the only thing I can think of is becuase I used to leave the GPRS connection running when the machine went into standby, eventually it disconnects but maybe thats why or that it is because I ran the identification screen at every power up. In anycase I`ve got into the habit of resetting it everyday to keep it running healthily and I feel not resetting it will only lead to problems further down the line. I`m keeping the machine becuase I haven't seen SOD or any other problems in 8 days.

Edited September 19, 2007 by Nick Le Lievre

[Guest Webreaper]

If its not just the becuase of the nature of Windows Mobile ie it *needs* a reset quite often then the only thing I can think of is becuase I used to leave the GPRS connection running when the machine went into standby, eventually it disconnects but maybe thats why or that it is because I ran the identification screen at every power up. In anycase I`ve got into the habit of resetting it everyday to keep it running healthily and I feel not resetting it will only lead to problems further down the line.

Leaving GPRS connected will not (well, should not) cause the device to crash.

I`m keeping the machine becuase I haven't seen SOD or any other problems in 8 days.

You only haven't seen the problem because you're resetting the device daily. That's not how WM is designed to be used. I don't see why you're being so stubborn about this - there's almost certainly a hardware problem with your device, but you seem desperate to overlook it. Why? It's a bit like saying "hey, my tyre doesn't need replacing. I've been pumping it up every morning to stop the pressure dropping, but it's not been flat so far, therefore it's fine". You're kidding yourself.

Try not resetting it for 3 days. If it doesn't hang, then keep it. If it hangs, take it back to the shop. If you decide your device is faulty 3 months down the line, you'll be screwed as they'll probably just say "well, it can't be bust, as you've been using it for 3 months". :|

[Guest Nick Le Lievre]

Leaving GPRS connected will not (well, should not) cause the device to crash.

You only haven't seen the problem because you're resetting the device daily. That's not how WM is designed to be used. I don't see why you're being so stubborn about this - there's almost certainly a hardware problem with your device, but you seem desperate to overlook it. Why? It's a bit like saying "hey, my tyre doesn't need replacing. I've been pumping it up every morning to stop the pressure dropping, but it's not been flat so far, therefore it's fine". You're kidding yourself.

Try not resetting it for 3 days. If it doesn't hang, then keep it. If it hangs, take it back to the shop. If you decide your device is faulty 3 months down the line, you'll be screwed as they'll probably just say "well, it can't be bust, as you've been using it for 3 months". :|

I have a feeling its bound to hang if you don't reset it often enough. Its becuase of this and that other devices have had the same problem too that I feel its in my best interests to keep it... I don't seem to have a problem anymore and if I send it back its possible (is it not) that I`ll get another that behaves in the same way if not reset often enough. Windows Mobile is not like a desktop operating system its flaky always has been, so regular resets are advised... if you still don't agree with me read this under "Shipping ROM not quite perfect" http://www.htcwiki.com/page/Known+Issues?t=anon its for the Tytn but I think it applies to the Tytn II as well... it says "Currently it is recommended to power down completely and power up again at least once every 2 to 3 days to achieve predictable system behavior"... that means holding the power button for 5 secs or pressing the reset button on the underside of the device with the stylus at least once every 2 to 3 days.

I have the feeling that its not becuase of the ROM that the device needs a reset at least once every 2 to 3 days but is becuase of the nature of Windows Mobile operating system. I know you have no problems but maybe you should try to run past 3-4 days without a reset see how you go. I know I`ve had problems.

Edited September 19, 2007 by Nick Le Lievre

[Guest rickyburke]

I have a feeling its bound to hang if you don't reset it often enough. Its becuase of this and that other devices have had the same problem too that I feel its in my best interests to keep it... I don't seem to have a problem anymore and if I send it back its possible (is it not) that I`ll get another that behaves in the same way if not reset often enough. Windows Mobile is not like a desktop operating system its flaky always has been, so regular resets are advised... if you still don't agree with me read this under "Shipping ROM not quite perfect" http://www.htcwiki.com/page/Known+Issues?t=anon its for the Tytn but I think it applies to the Tytn II as well... it says "Currently it is recommended to power down completely and power up again at least once every 2 to 3 days to achieve predictable system behavior"... that means holding the power button for 5 secs or pressing the reset button on the underside of the device with the stylus at least once every 2 to 3 days.

I have the feeling that its not becuase of the ROM that the device needs a reset at least once every 2 to 3 days but is becuase of the nature of Windows Mobile operating system. I know you have no problems but maybe you should try to run past 3-4 days without a reset see how you go. I know I`ve had problems.

But the TyTn and TyTn II use a different ROM and a different OS if you believe MS.

You shouldnt have to reset your device routinely.

[Guest Nick Le Lievre]

But the TyTn and TyTn II use a different ROM and a different OS if you believe MS.

You shouldnt have to reset your device routinely.

but what if its not a software problem but a hardware problem... that people have been prepared to put up with for years on numerous devices... it may be that you "shouldn't" have to reset your device routinely but the fact of the matter is you may HAVE too. Well that's been my expierience, and I did own a PocketPC 2002 device some years ago and that never seemed to run very long without being forced into a reset. Maybe if I`d reset it intentionally each day things would of been better.

EDIT: My theory is that the hardware is just not able to run for more then a few days without a reset nothing wrong with it - just the way it behaves - by design... a fault of the very core of the design if you will - the technology in these devices hasn't yet got to the stage where it can be as stable as that which we can expect from a desktop.

Edited September 19, 2007 by Nick Le Lievre

[Guest fusi]

EDIT: My theory is that the hardware is just not able to run for more then a few days without a reset nothing wrong with it - just the way it behaves - by design... a fault of the very core of the design if you will - the technology in these devices hasn't yet got to the stage where it can be as stable as that which we can expect from a desktop.

sorry but i totally disagree with that statement Nick - i dont quite follow your logic for not sending your unit back to get a replacment either.

[Guest funkychicken9000]

So after 10 pages of discussion on Kaiser annoyances - is it still worth going for? My contract comes up for renewal this weekend, and I'm thinking about either going for a kaiser, saving a bit of cash and getting the Touch or jumping the smartphone ship and getting a sony ericsson. Any comments?

I've got the Tmo Compact III (HTC Charmer) at the mo, and whilst its nice its still more effort than typing on a keypad. Also, its frustratingly slow and crash-prone, especially when running opera.

[Guest rickyburke]

but what if its not a software problem but a hardware problem... that people have been prepared to put up with for years on numerous devices... it may be that you "shouldn't" have to reset your device routinely but the fact of the matter is you may HAVE too. Well that's been my expierience, and I did own a PocketPC 2002 device some years ago and that never seemed to run very long without being forced into a reset. Maybe if I`d reset it intentionally each day things would of been better.

EDIT: My theory is that the hardware is just not able to run for more then a few days without a reset nothing wrong with it - just the way it behaves - by design... a fault of the very core of the design if you will - the technology in these devices hasn't yet got to the stage where it can be as stable as that which we can expect from a desktop.

I've been using Htc manufactured phones since the Spv E100, and have had pretty much every model since then, I currently use an M5000 and M3100 and don't have to reset routinely.

You say you might HAVE to reset routinely, and this is just not true, what i'm saying is that if you need to reset your device to keep it working then its faulty, simple as.

Theres no theory or maybe about it, your device has a fault.

And if you dont get a replacement then more fool you I'm afraid.

[Guest Nick Le Lievre]

sorry but i totally disagree with that statement Nick - i dont quite follow your logic for not sending your unit back to get a replacment either.

The logic is I believe the replacement would exhibit the same problem. So I`m not prepared to pack it up pay shipping costs, and wait for a replacement only to have it do the same thing. I feel happy about resetting my device everyday... I know it will give me faultless performance throughout the day.. I couldn't take that risk if I didn't reset it.

Maybe a replacement would work without ever needing to reset it, but maybe it would do exactly the same thing... I am just not prepared to take the risk on what I believe is a design fault.

Edited September 19, 2007 by Nick Le Lievre

[Guest Nick Le Lievre]

I've been using Htc manufactured phones since the Spv E100, and have had pretty much every model since then, I currently use an M5000 and M3100 and don't have to reset routinely.

You say you might HAVE to reset routinely, and this is just not true, what i'm saying is that if you need to reset your device to keep it working then its faulty, simple as.

Theres no theory or maybe about it, your device has a fault.

And if you dont get a replacement then more fool you I'm afraid.

I guess it comes down to it being my choice then... look at the G900 Standby of Death problem... everyone had a different opinion. Expansys said the first batch of G900's were faulty, Toshiba released a software patch which didn't work... who do you believe. I believe its just a design fault and a reset everyday is required. Its just my opinion take it or leave it. I`m not sending mine back when I get perfect performance from mine with just a simple reset everyday... I can even download some software that will do it automatically if I like.

[Guest Nick Le Lievre]

So after 10 pages of discussion on Kaiser annoyances - is it still worth going for? My contract comes up for renewal this weekend, and I'm thinking about either going for a kaiser, saving a bit of cash and getting the Touch or jumping the smartphone ship and getting a sony ericsson. Any comments?

I've got the Tmo Compact III (HTC Charmer) at the mo, and whilst its nice its still more effort than typing on a keypad. Also, its frustratingly slow and crash-prone, especially when running opera.

If you want a phone that you shouldn't have to reset everyday then get a dumb phone. If you can live with a daily reset then get a Tytn II. Just my honest advice... you'll thank me for it. Other people reckon my phone is faulty so take that into account too... but if you get a Tytn II and find that it goes into SOD then don't say I didn't warn you.

[Guest duked]

Jerky fps noticed both at video and game. Perhaps the CPU is not well optimized?

What was the resolution of the video clips? Qvga?

And what type of games did you have problems with (fps, platform, racing, etc.)?

[Guest captainsensible]

Just to add my opinion....

Had mine for over a week now, only reset it, as was said earlier, to do software installs and I would say the number of resets I have done is about 4 or 5 with big gaps between. Rest of the time it has been rock solid, and always connected to gprs or 3g and I have installed plenty of apps too.

No probs here - I would be p*ssed off if I had to reset it every day! That was how it was running my old M5000 with an unofficial WM6 rom, which I expected to be honest.

[Guest Webreaper]

If you want a phone that you shouldn't have to reset everyday then get a dumb phone. If you can live with a daily reset then get a Tytn II. Just my honest advice... you'll thank me for it. Other people reckon my phone is faulty so take that into account too... but if you get a Tytn II and find that it goes into SOD then don't say I didn't warn you.

Nick, It's one thing for you to put your head in the sand, and assume that a problem which only your phone exhibits is a 'standard feature' of the platform. However, it's another thing to start making baseless and scaremongering statements like this. ;)

If the WM platform was as inherently unstable as you suggest, then it would have failed or been rewritten by now. I've been managing a PocketPC app development team for the last 3-4 years, and have seen literally hundreds of WM5 and WM6 devices of all types (Artemis/XDAs/M3100s to name a few) go out to clients. We lock down the devices and are notified back via webservices whenever they are soft-reset (or hard-reset - we embed our apps in the ROM). I can categorically state with literally thousands of hours of usage experience that WM devices do not need to be soft-reset every day to run stably. There's enough people here already (and enough attention on it) that if the TyTNII really did have a stability problem which required a soft-reset every day, people would be shouting and screaming about it right now (including me).

Your device is the exception, and if - having paid several hundred $/£ for it - you don't want to pay out £15-20 (or less) to have it replaced when there is clearly a fault with it, that's your foolish choice. But don't start making daft comments like this which might scare off a potential purchaser of what is a fundementally stable and well-built/designed device.

funkychicken9000, if you have the choice, buy the Kaiser. Regardless of the benefits of a single device (over a separate bluetooth GPS receiver), the extra memory and other features (like the light-sensitive keyboard lights, non-telescopic stylus, 3G, etc) all make it a superb choice. There is, to my knowledge (and in my opinion) not a better device available on the market at the moment in terms of features, implementation and usability - and that includes the woefully inept iPhone.

Get a Kaiser. You will not be disappointed.

Edited September 19, 2007 by Webreaper

[Guest Nick Le Lievre]

Your device is the exception, and if - having paid several hundred $/£ for it - you don't want to pay out £15-20 (or less) to have it replaced when there is clearly a fault with it, that's your foolish choice. But don't start making daft comments like this which might scare off a potential purchaser of what is a fundementally stable and well-built/designed device.

Actually its now 2 people who have had the SOD with the Tytn II, myself and another poster above + many more who have HTC Wizards, Tytns, G900s etc. If it is actually faulty there must be quite a high failure rate, across all devices I mean. You haven't really commented about the "Shipping ROM not quite perfect" link http://www.htcwiki.com/page/Known+Issues?t=anon specifically for the Tytn but maybe applicable which says Resetting at least once every 2 to 3 days is the current recommendation. I guess you think its either unrelated, that they fixed the problem ages ago or that its been mentioned on that official "known issues" wiki as a work around so that HTC can get out of replacing as many defective units as possible.

Edited September 19, 2007 by Nick Le Lievre