M5000, almost unusable

[Guest Wizard]

Over the last few days my M5000 has developed some new symptoms:

- People call, the phone doesn't even attempt to ring, and then a moment later a voicemail appears, despite apparently good coverage (London!). For a mobile to not accept incoming calls is pretty friggin' useless.

- Speed. The performance of the phone is sliding and sliding. Can someone recommend a tool I can put on the phone to view the memory usage, and help me get rid of any and all unnecessary software. I'm currently showing 2Mb of free storage, which seems awfully low. In particular I'd like to turn off the smooth opening menus - I don't need that and it makes the phone even less responsive than it is already.

I'm still in two minds about whether to send them damn thing back to Orange. I mean FFS, if it can't even accept a damn phone call???

Wizard

[Guest Wizard]

I forgot to mention another problem that has showed up recently. The device will go into suspend, but then refuse to come back out again. The screen stays dead, and pressing the power button has no effect. The only way to bring it out again is to do a soft reset. This combined with the way the stylus falls out means it's easy to be without a styles, with a phone that doesn't work, that can't be reset.

I am losing count of the number of times I'm so close to throwing this damn phone at the wall.

Wizard

[Guest philtech44]

I'm sure I'm NOT the only other M5000 user who has at one time or other experienced these and similar issues... it IS becoming ridiculous...

Both my wife & I have been as patient as possible blaming anything and everything else apart from our beloved yet temperamental M5000's

After 6 weeks of soft & hard resets, countless calls & emails to OCS, and much hair pulling it is now becoming a very unfunny joke...

We are both on the brink of a serious and very in-depth complaint to Orange's Executive team... I wonder if waiting for a ROM fix would really resolve all these very varied issues with the M5000.. and a lot of which seem to be purely & only SPV M5000 related?

I hope the orange techies do take time out and check this forum once in a while and report their findings further up their line of command... for what ever that may change I really dont know...

Do O2, T-Mobile, i-Mate users have the same problems as us or what?? somehow this seems typically reserved for us Orange disciples!

Apologies for the rant but hey.. were talking 6 weeks of it ;-)

[Guest bronksy]

see my post about the voicemail and dropped calls...I'm having the same problem in London..As a test turn off 3G and use only 2G...its looking more like the phone isn't handling 3G for voice very well at all, so as a test it may be interesting to try and let us know.

to turn off 3g, press the green call button, go to menu then options then band and change it from auto to GSM and see how you go.

[Guest thelondonthing]

Ditto on the 3G and voice calls/voicemail issues here. Also finding that it's abysmally slow. Considering the speed of the processor, this is unacceptable.

I've noticed a new problem as well: the 'Remove Programs' feature does absolutely nothing at all. It goes through the motions of removing the program with all relevant options, but the program remains in the Start menu, and all files remain in the memory. The only thing it actually does is remove itself from the 'Remove Programs' menu.

Bloody useless.

[Guest Wizard]

Does anyone know if uninstalling the Orange customisation stuff helps free up memory? I have selected another theme, but I notice the Orange junk is still listed in Remove Programs, and am wondering if it's worth removing it.

I spent an hour today clearing large files, and removing Microsoft Voice Command (manually as the Remove Programs utility failed to remove it).

"Microsoft Mobile - all the problems with Windows, in your pocket"

I can handle a few issues, but this slow-ness is just too much, and that combined with missing calls renders the device almost useless. I've turned off error reporting and made the theme the default, but the speed and responsiveness is still dreadful, though it IS better now I've cleared some more memory.

Wizard

[Guest bronksy]

have you tried disabling 3G? try and see how your calls are handled..

[Guest Tech]

let me say something

you are NOT the only one that has had this problem

do a forum search - you will see alot of threads/replies coming up for these problems and MORE :)

its not a ROM upgrade that is required but rather the actual h/w to be honest, ROM update may help but from what im seeing here, nope.

I know a guy, well, we all do, who had a HUGE list of problems he personally had problems with this device including where when he coughed, the device hard reset itself LOL (im sure this was a joke)

seriously, get on their backsides and tell them "FIX IT OR ELSE"

:D orange have slipped quality DRAMATICALLY in the past 2 years in my experience

[Guest Tech]

Wizard can i also say - its NOT the Microsoft OS causing the issue, NEVER has. its the ROM from orange

MS give out the best possible solution then its up to the network venders/providers to customize it the way THEY want to, not MS. Majority of the problems are known to appear from the network/cellular providers.

:) trust me on that

Edited December 8, 2005 by Tech

[Guest Wizard]

Wizard can i also say - its NOT the Microsoft OS causing the issue, NEVER has. its the ROM from orange

MS give out the best possible solution then its up to the network venders/providers to customize it the way THEY want to, not MS. Majority of the problems are known to appear from the network/cellular providers.

:) trust me on that

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I don't buy that. Microsoft produced the software, and although Orange will make customisations, I find it very hard to believe that those customisations would go deep enough into the OS to cause the types of problems we're seeing.

Are these problems of speed and call dropping restricted to the Orange variant, or to all Universals?

Wizard

[Guest philtech44]

Does anyone know if uninstalling the Orange customisation stuff helps free up memory? I have selected another theme, but I notice the Orange junk is still listed in Remove Programs, and am wondering if it's worth removing it.

I spent an hour today clearing large files, and removing Microsoft Voice Command (manually as the Remove Programs utility failed to remove it).

"Microsoft Mobile - all the problems with Windows, in your pocket"

I can handle a few issues, but this slow-ness is just too much, and that combined with missing calls renders the device almost useless. I've turned off error reporting and made the theme the default, but the speed and responsiveness is still dreadful, though it IS better now I've cleared some more memory.

Wizard

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

remove that now! I did weeks ago - no problems experienced. Only seems to free up a 1mb or two but hey it all counts...

What we really need is to get into the ROM and start looking into the junk that Orange has in there... Im quite sure that is where us M5000 users will find the real underlying causes to lack of performance, etc etc...

Check out Buzz_Lightyears findings - now there's our saviour :)

[Guest philtech44]

remove that now! I did weeks ago - no problems experienced. Only seems to free up a 1mb or two but hey it all counts...

What we really need is to get into the ROM and start looking into the junk that Orange has in there... Im quite sure that is where us M5000 users will find the real underlying causes to lack of performance, etc etc...

Check out Buzz_Lightyears findings - now there's our saviour    :)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I forgot to answer the last post.. in my view and after spending 3 months browing this excellent forum it does seem that the M5000 suffers more than any other variant...

are we at agreement people I'm sure this isn't just my view...

anyone?

[Guest Tech]

im afraid you have to buy that and yes it does effect the OS when your customizing it.

Look at the other devices with WM5 in it, my Imate SP5/C500 and so on - I dont have those problems, nor do most people

all this issue is related to this particular handset at this time in present - that also shows that its not the OS but rather the hardware/ROM software! :)

but hey, your call. I'm just stating the clear facts :D you can also ask awarner

Edited December 9, 2005 by Tech

[Guest Wizard]

philtech44 - you said "Check out Buzz_Lightyears findings - now there's our saviour" - I searched and found nothing by that user, except a few posts in 2003. What did he find, and where are the posts?

Wizard

[Guest philtech44]

philtech44 - you said "Check out Buzz_Lightyears findings - now there's our saviour" - I searched and found nothing by that user, except a few posts in 2003. What did he find, and where are the posts?

Wizard

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

hmmm dunno - here somewhere... or try buzzdev.net

I suspect the spv m5000 suffers from a crappy rom.. buzz has found how to unlock it, etc etc!

[Guest nato]

Well I reported the problem about dropping calls to O. They said they would report it to Tech support. They did. I then had 3 calls from O where the phone rang once, before ending and no missed call notification!

Then they rang and I managed to anser it in time! - They suggested turning off 3G and make it 2G. I did and it seemed to make an improvement. Great I thought, I can wait till O fix the 3G issue no probs.

Only had a few calls since Friday, so unable to gauge properly till today.

Received two calls at work. Both answered ok. Got home and phone went again. It was O. Rang once and call ended. Bugger - right time to ring em and give em wot for. hit 1..5..then they rang back again. Its a problem with the Network coverage in your area said Sarah (Computer User Non Technical !!) (Take yer time!)

Oh - i said ..erm how about the other 150 or so users up and down the country?

"I cant speak for them"

So i asked to search their helpdesk system for all calls logged by M5000 users to see how many had reported it.

"I dont have that information available to me" was the response (Computer User Non Technical !)

So because the service is degraded, I can get some money off right ?

"NO" - Orange dont guarentee the Network coverage.

But.but.but.....blah blah blah. (brick wall...head...bang!)

So the call has gone back to tech support now....1 more week and I STOP PAYING THE BILL, followed by a letter to the consumer watchdog I think!

[Guest Skilty]

hmmm dunno - here somewhere... or try buzzdev.net

I suspect the spv m5000 suffers from a crappy rom.. buzz has found how to unlock it, etc etc!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You'll find Buzz on the XDA Developers Forum (just do a google search to find it) - he's been doing lots of tweaks, hacks to the M5000 so it's worth checking out.

Edited December 13, 2005 by Skilty