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How To Motorola Droid Ultra FAQ

ChrisK15

Newbie
Nov 7, 2009
49
4
I've posted this on a bunch of other Android forums and thought it would be helpful to have it here too. I wanted to put it in the most viewed forum so everybody could see it. If you have any suggestions let me know.

- - - Physical - - -

Will the Droid fit into either dock with a protective case?
No, only the flat adhesive plastic-type protectors (InvisibleShield) are slim enough to allow the phone to fit.

How easy is it to scratch the Droid?
The glass on top of the screen is very durable and keys will have a very hard time scratching it (I've tried). There are a couple videos of people trying to scratch it as well and failing. The bits of shiny plastic on the back can get scratched, though. YouTube

- - - Hardware features - - -

What's the resolution of the Droid?
854x480

What do the two dots/holes at the top of the Droid do?
The one on the left is an IR emitter and sensor to blank the phone during a call when it's against your face. The one on the right is a light sensor to activate automatic brightness.

Can I change the color of the notification LED?
Yes, but only with third party apps like Missed Call and SMS Popup.

How do I get into the two dock modes without the docks?
For multimedia mode, download an app called DockRunner. For car mode, Android actually includes an application called Car Home. You can also hack it by putting a linearly polarized magnet, like a small cube magnet, on the back near the camera.

Can I tether?
Yes. Set it up through Verizon or look here.

- - - Performance issues - - -

What's wrong with my camera?
There's a time-dependent bug that kills the autofocus every 24.5 days, then it recovers. It will supposedly be fixed forever in an update on December 11.
Also, setting the size to 2MP at any quality will save much faster than 5MP. You do lose detail but until the fix, it makes it much faster.

Why won't my home screen switch to landscape mode when rotated?
Most people who got the Droid when it was released were able to get it to rotate for a short while, then stopped. However, a Motorola representative has stated that this is how it's supposed to work.

Why does switching homescreens or opening trays lag?
Homescreen lag/jerk is present on all Droids at the moment, but I've found that the Locale service really drains your CPU and makes animations lag even more. Also try using a task manager to free up some memory.

- - - Android OS and apps - - -

Why won't my phone rotate?
Check to make sure you have automatic rotation enabled in the sound and display settings.

Why does my screen dim randomly?
It's the automatic brightness feature. Turn it off in the sound and display settings under brightness.

How do I turn automatic text formatting off?
Go to settings, language and keyboard, and in both Android and device keyboard menus, uncheck auto-capitalization, autocomplete, and if you want, quick fixes.

How do I turn keypad sounds and vibration off?
Go to settings, language and keyboard, and in the Android keyboard menu, uncheck vibrate and sound on keypress.

How can I see what's been using my battery?
Go to settings, about phone, then battery use.

How do I check for phone updates?
Go to settings, about phone, then system updates.

How do I reboot the Droid?
Hold the power button on top for a couple seconds, then select "power off".

Why won't my apps close completely/how do I kill programs?
Get a task manager from the app store such as TasKiller; the services manager in the Applications page in the settings isn't very useful.

How do I uninstall apps?
Press the menu button, go to settings, applications, manage applications, then select the program from the list and uninstall.

How do I check for updates for my apps?
Go to the Market, then press the menu button, then Downloads. If you have any programs that need updates they'll be at the top of the list.

How do I rename folders?
Click the folder to open it, then long press the gray bar at the top of it.

How do I open voice search?
Long press on the search button on the phone.

How do I remove widgets and icons?
Long press it, then move to the app tray button which will then have a trash can icon on it.

How do I save Maps destinations?
Long press the home screen and add a shortcut to Directions. Enter the address and name it. Then open it at any time to start navigation.
You can also access maps you've saved on My Maps on your computer from the Android application.

What size should my backgrounds be if I don't want to crop it on the phone?
960x854

Can I make my wallpaper crop square bigger?
Press on a corner of the crop box and then drag it to size.

What size should my contact photos be to prevent pixelation?
I'd say around 250x250 or higher.

How do I add a contact, direct dial, or direct message shortcut to the desktop for a non-Gmail contact?
Start typing using the physical keyboard. This triggers a search through all your contacts that have phone numbers.


How many apps can I download and store on the Droid?
As many as will fit in the onboard 256MB as of now, but you can put any other type of file on the SD card.

- - - Music and video - - -

Why is the Droid's video recording quality so bad?
Open the video camera application, open the menu, and set the video quality to high.

Why doesn't the Droid have a video player/play my video files?
The video player is in the gallery. You have to open the gallery and the folder with your video. Only videos encoded in MPEG-4/H.264 (.mp4) will play, and it shouldn't be larger than 854x480-ish or your phone might stutter or crash.

How can I re-encode video to play on the Droid?
Some people have had luck with a program called Handbrake, but I use SUPER even though it's a bit complicated to use.

How do I get songs, video, etc. onto the Droid?
How do I get my computer to see the Droid's SD card?

Plug in the USB cable, then bring down the notification tray. Click on the one about USB, then click mount.

Why do Youtube videos look so bad?
When the video starts playing, click menu, more, and "watch in high quality".

- - - Verizon - - -

How much does it cost for unlimited data?
For unlimited phone data, it's $30 a month on top of voice and other features.

- - - Tips, tricks, and cool stuff - - -

Where can I get high-res backgrounds for the Droid?
Look here, at Android Forums, or at DPReview for some nice pictures. Just make sure they're close to 960x854 or bigger.
Link to gallery of pictures taken by the Droid

Make call quality better
Open up the dialpad, type ##PROGRAM and send. The code number is 000000. Once in the service menu, go to the Vocode option and select EVRC-B. Go back until you exit the menu and the phone will reboot.
Not sure if this actually improves call quality by much, since it probably depends on who you're talking to/what carrier they're on.

- - - Recommended apps - - -

Some of these might be pay-only, but most are free or have a trial version as well.

! You can get a task manager app like TasKiller but it is not necessary unless you need to quickly force kill a process using too much RAM or CPU cycles. Android is built to pause all background applications so they don't slow the system down. It will automatically free RAM if there are too many programs running.

Communication
Google Voice - saves voicemail to your GMail account and transcribes them to text
Handcent - SMS replacement, adds features and notifications
Meebo IM- all-in-one IM suite
Missed Call - custom ring and vibrate settings as well as LED color and settings
SMS Popup - replacement for Android SMS notifier (turn stock off to prevent doubles)
Save MMS - allows you to save MMS attachments
Twidroid - Twitter
WiFi Buddy - detailed WiFi information and settings

Music and sound
Album Art Grabber - gets missing album art for your music
Frequency-Generator - sine, square, saw, and triangle wave generator
gStrings - customizable instrument tuner; also works for voice and other sounds
Instant Lyrics - open while playing a song and will open its lyrics
MixZing - music player with advanced category features and album art finder
Scrobble Droid - enables Last.fm scrobbling in the Android music player
Pandora - online radio
Shazam - analyzes a part of a song that's playing through speakers and tells you the name and artist
Slacker Radio - online radio with Twitter integration and song/artist details

Images
PaintNote - MS Paint-like app
Photoshop Mobile - basic editor and online album
PicSay - multitouch image viewer/editor

Location
Car Finder - press once when you park and saves your location on its map, and will show your location as well so you can find your parking spot
Wheres My Droid - lets you turn up the volume and activate ring and GPS to locate your phone; uses an SMS code phrase
Google Places Directory - lists categories of places in your location; searchable
GPS Status - 360 degree compass, horizontal and vertical level, g-force sensor, magnetic field sensor, GPS location in long/lat, shows speed and elevation

Reference
aCar - stores your car information
Barcode Scanner - scans various types of bar codes and Google searches them
ColorNote - text, drawing, and voice note program
ColorDict - comprehensive dictionary with multiple add-ons available
PDFGView - PDF viewer
ShopSavvy - barcode scanner with built-in product lookup
Speed Test - Ookla's speedtest.net application
Unit Converter

Money
Bank of America - online banking and account management
FX Currency - comprehensive currency converter
Google Finance - stocks
PayPal

Security and other
DockRunner - enables multimedia dock mode without needing the dock
Wheres My Droid - see above
G-backup - backs up almost anything you want to Google's servers
MyIP - shows your phone's IP
Text-To-Speech Toy - converts input text to speech

Games
Hyperspace - sort of like Super Monkey Ball; tilt the Droid to navigate a ball around the level within the time limit
Labyrinth - tilt the Droid to roll the ball around holes and into the goal
Quake - full Quake game as far as I know, runs very well with full graphics
 
Hmm, can you explain what else the ##PROGRAM menu does? I was looking all over for the number to put in for this menu since I remember that I had to manually activate my Droid and the tech support told me to put in this number, but I couldn't remember it for the life of me. Glad to have found it again! :)

But I'd like to know, what else can you fool around with in this menu? Are there any other wonderful tweaks we can make? ;)
 
Upvote 0
I don't think so. ##PROGRAM is for making tweaks to the radio and network settings, and that's really the only thing that would change anything relevant to us.

@lmmmmm: Android allows you to run as many programs at once as you want, which is multitasking. You can't run programs side-by-side like on a PC, but you can switch between them pretty easily.
 
Upvote 0
Hmm, well do you know what these settings do? They seem interesting and even if they're nothing, I'd appreciate knowing what they mean. I'm always up for a little education. :)

02 AKEY: What is this? And why do I need a special key to access it?

05 Data Rates --> Data Rates: I don't know if this is the speed setting or something, but if it is, wouldn't setting it to 153.6/153.6 be better than the default 153.6/9.6?

06 SID/NID Pair: Is it possible to set a different SID when you're roaming to AVOID roaming? Or does it just show up on your phone as not roaming if you put in the SID for that area? I doubt we could get away with that but I'm just curious. :)

08 Test Mode: What does that mean?

09 Data Call Settings: What does THAT mean? Data calls? Like, routing a voice call through your data plan?
 
Upvote 0
Apparently AKEY is the activation key for Verizon. Data rates are the regulated speed for Verizon's 1x CDMA mode (not 3G). I don't think that really matters since Verizon has 3G virtually everywhere. Not sure about SID/NID or test mode though. Data call might be for tethering and using your computer as a phone or something.
 
Upvote 0
Apparently AKEY is the activation key for Verizon. Data rates are the regulated speed for Verizon's 1x CDMA mode (not 3G). I don't think that really matters since Verizon has 3G virtually everywhere. Not sure about SID/NID or test mode though. Data call might be for tethering and using your computer as a phone or something.

Not so, I get 1x in quite a few places! :)

So would I gain any benefits from setting it to 153.6/153.6?

Though that "data call" setting has me interested. I'd touch it but I'm afraid of what I could do in this menu. :p
 
Upvote 0
Ah I see, that's unfortunate. I don't really know much about those settings, as the cell towers itself might not support that bitrate. I assume that it would just send as much as it could up to that limit, but I'm not totally sure. If you notice any difference with the higher upload setting let me know.
 
Upvote 0
I've posted this on a bunch of other Android forums and thought it would be helpful to have it here too. I wanted to put it in the most viewed forum so everybody could see it. If you have any suggestions let me know.

- - - Physical - - -

Will the Droid fit into either dock with a protective case?
No, only the flat adhesive plastic-type protectors (InvisibleShield) are slim enough to allow the phone to fit.

How easy is it to scratch the Droid?
The glass on top of the screen is very durable and keys will have a very hard time scratching it (I've tried). There are a couple videos of people trying to scratch it as well and failing. The bits of shiny plastic on the back can get scratched, though. YouTube

- - - Hardware features - - -

What's the resolution of the Droid?
854x480

What do the two dots/holes at the top of the Droid do?
The one on the left is an IR emitter and sensor to blank the phone during a call when it's against your face. The one on the right is a light sensor to activate automatic brightness.

Can I change the color of the notification LED?
Yes, but only with third party apps like Missed Call and SMS Popup.

How do I get into the two dock modes without the docks?
For multimedia mode, download an app called DockRunner. For car mode, Android actually includes an application called Car Home. You can also hack it by putting a linearly polarized magnet, like a small cube magnet, on the back near the camera.

Can I tether?
Yes. Set it up through Verizon or look here.

- - - Performance issues - - -

What's wrong with my camera?
There's a time-dependent bug that kills the autofocus every 24.5 days, then it recovers. It will supposedly be fixed forever in an update on December 11.
Also, setting the size to 2MP at any quality will save much faster than 5MP. You do lose detail but until the fix, it makes it much faster.

Why won't my home screen switch to landscape mode when rotated?
Most people who got the Droid when it was released were able to get it to rotate for a short while, then stopped. However, a Motorola representative has stated that this is how it's supposed to work.

Why does switching homescreens or opening trays lag?
Homescreen lag/jerk is present on all Droids at the moment, but I've found that the Locale service really drains your CPU and makes animations lag even more. Also try using a task manager to free up some memory.

- - - Android OS and apps - - -

Why won't my phone rotate?
Check to make sure you have automatic rotation enabled in the sound and display settings.

Why does my screen dim randomly?
It's the automatic brightness feature. Turn it off in the sound and display settings under brightness.

How do I turn automatic text formatting off?
Go to settings, language and keyboard, and in both Android and device keyboard menus, uncheck auto-capitalization, autocomplete, and if you want, quick fixes.

How do I turn keypad sounds and vibration off?
Go to settings, language and keyboard, and in the Android keyboard menu, uncheck vibrate and sound on keypress.

How can I see what's been using my battery?
Go to settings, about phone, then battery use.

How do I check for phone updates?
Go to settings, about phone, then system updates.

How do I reboot the Droid?
Hold the power button on top for a couple seconds, then select "power off".

Why won't my apps close completely/how do I kill programs?
Get a task manager from the app store such as TasKiller; the services manager in the Applications page in the settings isn't very useful.

How do I uninstall apps?
Press the menu button, go to settings, applications, manage applications, then select the program from the list and uninstall.

How do I check for updates for my apps?
Go to the Market, then press the menu button, then Downloads. If you have any programs that need updates they'll be at the top of the list.

How do I rename folders?
Click the folder to open it, then long press the gray bar at the top of it.

How do I open voice search?
Long press on the search button on the phone.

How do I remove widgets and icons?
Long press it, then move to the app tray button which will then have a trash can icon on it.

How do I save Maps destinations?
Long press the home screen and add a shortcut to Directions. Enter the address and name it. Then open it at any time to start navigation.
You can also access maps you've saved on My Maps on your computer from the Android application.

What size should my backgrounds be if I don't want to crop it on the phone?
960x854

Can I make my wallpaper crop square bigger?
Press on a corner of the crop box and then drag it to size.

What size should my contact photos be to prevent pixelation?
I'd say around 250x250 or higher.

How do I add a contact, direct dial, or direct message shortcut to the desktop for a non-Gmail contact?
Start typing using the physical keyboard. This triggers a search through all your contacts that have phone numbers.


How many apps can I download and store on the Droid?
As many as will fit in the onboard 256MB as of now, but you can put any other type of file on the SD card.

- - - Music and video - - -

Why is the Droid's video recording quality so bad?
Open the video camera application, open the menu, and set the video quality to high.

Why doesn't the Droid have a video player/play my video files?
The video player is in the gallery. You have to open the gallery and the folder with your video. Only videos encoded in MPEG-4/H.264 (.mp4) will play, and it shouldn't be larger than 854x480-ish or your phone might stutter or crash.

How can I re-encode video to play on the Droid?
Some people have had luck with a program called Handbrake, but I use SUPER even though it's a bit complicated to use.

How do I get songs, video, etc. onto the Droid?
How do I get my computer to see the Droid's SD card?

Plug in the USB cable, then bring down the notification tray. Click on the one about USB, then click mount.

Why do Youtube videos look so bad?
When the video starts playing, click menu, more, and "watch in high quality".

- - - Verizon - - -

How much does it cost for unlimited data?
For unlimited phone data, it's $30 a month on top of voice and other features.

- - - Tips, tricks, and cool stuff - - -

Where can I get high-res backgrounds for the Droid?
Look here, at Android Forums, or at DPReview for some nice pictures. Just make sure they're close to 960x854 or bigger.
Link to gallery of pictures taken by the Droid

Make call quality better
Open up the dialpad, type ##PROGRAM and send. The code number is 000000. Once in the service menu, go to the Vocode option and select EVRC-B. Go back until you exit the menu and the phone will reboot.
Not sure if this actually improves call quality by much, since it probably depends on who you're talking to/what carrier they're on.

- - - Recommended apps - - -

Some of these might be pay-only, but most are free or have a trial version as well.

! You can get a task manager app like TasKiller but it is not necessary unless you need to quickly force kill a process using too much RAM or CPU cycles. Android is built to pause all background applications so they don't slow the system down. It will automatically free RAM if there are too many programs running.

Communication
Google Voice - saves voicemail to your GMail account and transcribes them to text
Handcent - SMS replacement, adds features and notifications
Meebo IM- all-in-one IM suite
Missed Call - custom ring and vibrate settings as well as LED color and settings
SMS Popup - replacement for Android SMS notifier (turn stock off to prevent doubles)
Save MMS - allows you to save MMS attachments
Twidroid - Twitter
WiFi Buddy - detailed WiFi information and settings

Music and sound
Album Art Grabber - gets missing album art for your music
Frequency-Generator - sine, square, saw, and triangle wave generator
gStrings - customizable instrument tuner; also works for voice and other sounds
Instant Lyrics - open while playing a song and will open its lyrics
MixZing - music player with advanced category features and album art finder
Scrobble Droid - enables Last.fm scrobbling in the Android music player
Pandora - online radio
Shazam - analyzes a part of a song that's playing through speakers and tells you the name and artist
Slacker Radio - online radio with Twitter integration and song/artist details

Images
PaintNote - MS Paint-like app
Photoshop Mobile - basic editor and online album
PicSay - multitouch image viewer/editor

Location
Car Finder - press once when you park and saves your location on its map, and will show your location as well so you can find your parking spot
Wheres My Droid - lets you turn up the volume and activate ring and GPS to locate your phone; uses an SMS code phrase
Google Places Directory - lists categories of places in your location; searchable
GPS Status - 360 degree compass, horizontal and vertical level, g-force sensor, magnetic field sensor, GPS location in long/lat, shows speed and elevation

Reference
aCar - stores your car information
Barcode Scanner - scans various types of bar codes and Google searches them
ColorNote - text, drawing, and voice note program
ColorDict - comprehensive dictionary with multiple add-ons available
PDFGView - PDF viewer
ShopSavvy - barcode scanner with built-in product lookup
Speed Test - Ookla's speedtest.net application
Unit Converter

Money
Bank of America - online banking and account management
FX Currency - comprehensive currency converter
Google Finance - stocks
PayPal

Security and other
DockRunner - enables multimedia dock mode without needing the dock
Wheres My Droid - see above
G-backup - backs up almost anything you want to Google's servers
MyIP - shows your phone's IP
Text-To-Speech Toy - converts input text to speech

Games
Hyperspace - sort of like Super Monkey Ball; tilt the Droid to navigate a ball around the level within the time limit
Labyrinth - tilt the Droid to roll the ball around holes and into the goal
Quake - full Quake game as far as I know, runs very well with full graphics

Thanks for sharing all this. How about a good missed call/message reminder? Know one that actually works?

Regards,
Ace
 
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Upvote 0
What do you mean turn them off? If you mean the stock messaging notifications, go into the messaging app, press the menu button, and at the bottom, uncheck notifications. Also, I don't think you can make the SMS font any bigger.

I thought I heard about Spare Parts being able to modify the global font size, but it doesn't work very well. You can still try it if you want.
 
Upvote 0
is there a button you press to quickly switch from one active app to another. or do you go to home and navigate from there?

Yes there is. Sort of. If you press and hold the Home key for about two seconds (till the second vibrate if you have Haptic Feedback enabled) it'll bring up the 6 most recently used items/apps. It's sort of like ALT + TAB if you're a PC user. It's very handy
 
Upvote 0
I don't know if this has been covered or not, but I figured out something the other day.

For those that have automatic screen dimming enabled - there is not just one but 2 sensors that seem to be affecting the brightness on my DROID.

The first is as mentioned above by Chris.

The second is..... *drum roll*


The camera lens. I knew I was not crazy when I mentioned in a couple of posts last week that my screen kept oddly dimming itself when I know for a fact the light had not changed. Well, it seems to me (and this is not perfected yet as I have only performed cursory testing) that it monitors both 'sensors' and whichever has the greater light input is the one it uses to base the dimming - however, if that sensor then all of a sudden loses light input, rather then checking the other sensor, the screen dims.

I just tested this. Sitting in front of my computer screens and holding my phone vertically, screen facing me, lens facing the monitors, if I cover the lens, the screen dims. Covering the screen-side sensor does not make the screen dim.

If, however, I angle it so that a good amount of light from the monitors is still hitting the camera lens, and a good amount of light from my overhead lights is hitting the screen-side sensor, then only covering both will make the screen go dim.

Can anyone confirm this? Or am I smoking crack?

Also, Chris, in your FAQ:

You mention in one place that the resolution of the phone is 854 * 480, but that wallpapers should be sized to 960 * 854. Can you specify with one of those settings (or both) which mode the phone is supposed to be in? b/c 854 * 480 is in landscape mode, whereas the 960 * 854 for WPs is displayed in Portrait mode, correct?
 
Upvote 0
there is not just one but 2 sensors that seem to be affecting the brightness on my DROID.

The first is as mentioned above by Chris.

The second is..... *drum roll*


The camera lens.

you're not smoking crack. i'm with you. i actually didn't know about the top ones when i first got the droid, but i noticed while typing emails with auto brightness if i moved my fingers on the back a certain way it would dim. so i tested and verified that the camera lens was a sensor. this was way before i knew about the ones on top, which i learned about from this forums.

just wanted to jump in and second that emotion.
 
Upvote 0
You mention in one place that the resolution of the phone is 854 * 480, but that wallpapers should be sized to 960 * 854. Can you specify with one of those settings (or both) which mode the phone is supposed to be in? b/c 854 * 480 is in landscape mode, whereas the 960 * 854 for WPs is displayed in Portrait mode, correct?

The wallpapers don't change the screen res. The wallpapers are 960x854 because 854 is the display's height, and 960 is 2x the display's width. This is because the screens scroll horizontally but not vertically (regardless of which way the phone is rotated) so they want a wider width so your background can scroll slightly as well.
 
Upvote 0

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