Help Droid wont connect to pc any longer. Have tried everything

[anitz37]

I just received a Droid Eris (I don't know how useful the model number is but its ADR6200) and at first i would switch my phone to disk drive in the connect to pc options, plug it in, and it would work fine. I would drag music and videos into it easily. This was for the first 2 days I had it

For the last few days when I plug it into my pc all that happens is a little orange light lights up and it charges (no its not in charge only mode) I know the USB slot works because my ipod and camera connect fine. I have also tried plugging it into several different usb ports that function properly with other devices, with no success.

I downloaded HTC sink but once i open its just two greyed out buttons one says, "sink now" and the other, "sync manager" It says "Disconnected" in the bottom right regardless of if my phone is plugged in and regardless of if I switch my connect to pc options thing to HTC sink.

I have tried rebooting the phone and pc several times and really have no idea what else to do. And yes i have searched the forums but most threads are started by people that don't know what to do once the "device connected" or similar bubble pops up on their pc or dont know howto drag down the "notification" menu on their Droid. I get no bubble and I get no notification.

I have also tried other connection cables that work with my mom's phone which is identical to mine.

Any help would be appreciated

 

[bberryhill0]

I was so going to say try a different cable but you did that. Maybe the connector on the Eris is failing?

 

[doogald]

It sounds like you have done some good troubleshooting. Does your Mom's phone connect successfully to your PC, or is she connecting it to another PC? If she is connecting to another PC, what happens if you connect yours to that PC?

If the answer to the first is that she can successfully connect to the PC but you cannot, or to the second is that your phone cannot connect to the PC that she can successfully connect to, it obviously points to a problem with your phone. It is good, though, that at least the USB connection is active enough to charge the phone. That would really be a drag if the phone stopped charging as well.

One thing that you can try is to factory reset the phone and see what happens when you do that. Ugh, I should have stayed with stock longer. I seem to recall that there is a setting somewhere in settings where you can turn off notifications for USB connection events, but perhaps I am just misremembering after all. Anyway, you can try poking around in settings to see if you can see what I am talking about, in case I am on the right track.

 

[anitz37]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I wasn't able to find a "turn off notifications for usb connections" option or anything of the sort doogald.

But I do have an update. Yes my moms phone connects to both my computer and hers but I was wrong she actually has a droid x not an eris. I tried my phone on her computer this time. 2 different usb slots. Both charged my phone but thats it, still no "disk drive" capability.

it seems unlikely that the connector on the eris failed as I handle my phone very gently and it was working under a week ago. Also is it really possible for the phone to charge via the connector but not use its disk drive capability? That is a wierd concept to me.

Anyways. I understand it is probably something to do with the phone which sucks because I am unable to return it. Any further suggestions at all would be very helpful.

 

[doogald]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I wasn't able to find a "turn off notifications for usb connections" option or anything of the sort doogald.

But I do have an update. Yes my moms phone connects to both my computer and hers but I was wrong she actually has a droid x not an eris. I tried my phone on her computer this time. 2 different usb slots. Both charged my phone but thats it, still no "disk drive" capability.

it seems unlikely that the connector on the eris failed as I handle my phone very gently and it was working under a week ago. Also is it really possible for the phone to charge via the connector but not use its disk drive capability? That is a wierd concept to me.

Anyways. I understand it is probably something to do with the phone which sucks because I am unable to return it. Any further suggestions at all would be very helpful.

Yes, it absolutely is possible for disk drive access not to work with a particular cable - I have several mini-USB cables that will only charge the Eris. I actually keep them separate because sometimes I just want to charge rather than tether, and I don't want the phone to throw up the notification (or sound it if I am running with sound on and stock Eris software.)

The Eris will do well with short mini-USB cable that come with hard disk drives, or with longer ones that come with cameras that sometimes have a fat lump near the mini-USB connector. (That fat lump is a ferrite core. If you have a longer cable without one it may be why disk access is not working.) Of course, the cable that came with the Eris, the one with the slightly strange looking connector, also works well.

It sounds like you need to try a new cable, actually. Just because it works with your Mom's moto Droid that doesn't mean that it will work with the Eris. You'd think it would, but that may not be the case.

 

[anitz37]

Thanks again for the help.

I have now tried 5 cord that fit into a usb slot on my pc and into the connector slot of my phone. One came with my droid, another with my moms, two cam with digital cameras, and one I have no idea. All charge the phone but do nothing else....

 

[doogald]

Which version of Windows do you have? If it's Win7 or Vista, is it 32 or 64 bit?

It's been a long time since I've used Windows as a daily driver, but have you looked in system settings for the device manager to see if the system simply is not recognizing the Eris?

(I ask about the version so that people who actually use Windows may be able to give you some clues if this is, indeed, the issue.)

 

[scary alien]

Which version of Windows do you have? If it's Win7 or Vista, is it 32 or 64 bit?

It's been a long time since I've used Windows as a daily driver, but have you looked in system settings for the device manager to see if the system simply is not recognizing the Eris?

(I ask about the version so that people who actually use Windows may be able to give you some clues if this is, indeed, the issue.)

HTC Sync is supposed to provide all of the drivers you might need for Windows (and its worked for tons of people). I can also tell you that the drivers for the Motorola Droid X and the HTC Droid Eris are vastly different and not compatible with each other. If the OP would like a set of Windows USB drivers I've collected over the past year you are welcome to email me at scary.alien@gmail.com and I'll send them to you for you to try.

Cheers!

 

[bberryhill0]

I wonder if you could clean the USB port. There might be a dust bunny on one of the five contacts. I don't know how to clean that port.

I loved my Eris. My intro to Android. Surprised I didn't blow the thing up tinkering with it so much. Took forever to get the balls to root it. Then once I did it was all over. XTRSense made it the phone it should have been. Finally my usb port stopped working. I got off the phone with CS and they couldn't get it working. 6 days past warranty, they pushed my contract up a whole year. Being out of warranty I took it apart and cleaned it up with canned air and deoxit. Put it back together and it was working like new. I had an upgrade available now so i checked the trade in value on the Eris and it was $132. Only paid $99 so I sent it in and got my giftcard. Used it to upgrade to an Inc. on a one year deal. $0 out of pocket after rebate. Wish I didn't have to trade it in, but couldn't pass up getting more $ for it than I paid.

 

[anitz37]

I dont think its the usb port on my compuetr ebcuase ive tried several different ports on two different computers that function perfectly with other devices.

Also about HTC sync. Is their an option in HTC sync to download the drivers or do they come with HTC sync automatically because all the buttons in HTC sync are greyed out.

 

[doogald]

Again, have you been able to look in Device Manager with the Eris plugged in? If so, do you see any items listed with a yellow triangle exclamation point icon, or even a red "x" icon, which would indicate that Windows does not recognize the item attached?

 

[bberryhill0]

Sorry. I meant the USB port on the phone.

 

[anitz37]

Thanks guys, their were no yellow exclamation points or red x's. That was the first thing I looked for. After about a week and a half of useless attempts to fix this phone I eventually made as good of use as you can out of it. This is what I did if any of you encounter the same problem.

1. Take out battery incase it can be used in something you purchase in the future.
2. Put the phone on a coffee table with the screen facing the table.
3. Use it as a coaster

 

[doogald]

Thanks guys, their were no yellow exclamation points or red x's. That was the first thing I looked for. After about a week and a half of useless attempts to fix this phone I eventually made as good of use as you can out of it. This is what I did if any of you encounter the same problem.

1. Take out battery incase it can be used in something you purchase in the future.
2. Put the phone on a coffee table with the screen facing the table.
3. Use it as a coaster

You could also:

1. Buy a micro SD card reader
2. Dismount the SD card from the phone (settings->storage or settings->SD card, it's something like that)
3. Remove back from phone
4. Remove SD card from phone
5. Plug into SD card reader to access files

Or, alternately:

1. Do something like this: How to Transfer Files Between Your PC and Android Phone Wirelessly - How-To Geek or this: Android Manager WiFi Syncs And Transfer Files Wirelessly To Windows PC or, if it is just for music and media transfer, etc: doubleTwist or Dropbox (though Dropbox, in my experience, sucks the battery dry, and Sugarsync is even worse.)

Or, alternately (not sure about this, but I am pretty sure it should work):

1. Get a copy of a Live Linux CD distro, like for Ubuntu. Boot your PC with it. Linux and Mac don't need special drivers for connection to Android phones, like Windows does.

One other thing that you can try (you haven't mentioned trying this) is - and this is a little radical, as it will mean setting things up all over again - try a factory reset.

Oh, also I installed stock. Just to check, in settings->Connect to PC, is default connection type set to "Charge only"? Is "Ask me" checked? If "Ask me" is not checked, it will not give you the option to connect as a disk drive automatically, though you can by pulling down Notifications and choosing "Charge only. Select to change USB connection type."

 

[erin2577]

my phone as decided to do the exact same thing. also, while charging it likes to flip thru all of the screens. im gonna be replacing this phone soon altho, i do love it.

 

[toddles12]

Thanks guys, their were no yellow exclamation points or red x's. That was the first thing I looked for. After about a week and a half of useless attempts to fix this phone I eventually made as good of use as you can out of it. This is what I did if any of you encounter the same problem.

1. Take out battery incase it can be used in something you purchase in the future.
2. Put the phone on a coffee table with the screen facing the table.
3. Use it as a coaster

I had the same issue with my HTC Hero. I was also very frustrated trying to find help in all the forums and getting nowhere. Well, I figured it out and hopefully this solution works for you:

1) Go to Settings>SD & Phone Storage and Unmount the SD card.
2) Turn off the phone and turn it back on.
3) Connect via USB.

After I did this, the USB Connection screen came up (like it used to) and I was able to choose 'Mount as Disk Drive'

Hope this works for you!

 

[scary alien]

I had the same issue with my HTC Hero. I was also very frustrated trying to find help in all the forums and getting nowhere. Well, I figured it out and hopefully this solution works for you:

1) Go to Settings>SD & Phone Storage and Unmount the SD card.
2) Turn off the phone and turn it back on.
3) Connect via USB.

After I did this, the USB Connection screen came up (like it used to) and I was able to choose 'Mount as Disk Drive'

Hope this works for you!

toddles12,

Welcome to the AndroidForums!

Thank you for posting and sharing your experiences and solution.

We hope that this is the first of many posts and contributions yet to come.

Cheers!

 

[JLWrobel]

If you go to Administrative Tools while device is connected and USB enabled on device. Select Computer Management and look at Storage - Disk Management. Your device should be listed. If it is listed and details are blank select properties and try selecting a different drive letter. This worked for my droid connection when it disappeared from explorer.

 

[scary alien]

If you go to Administrative Tools while device is connected and USB enabled on device. Select Computer Management and look at Storage - Disk Management. Your device should be listed. If it is listed and details are blank select properties and try selecting a different drive letter. This worked for my droid connection when it disappeared from explorer.

Welcome to AF, JLWrobel! (wow, lots of first-posters in this thread )

Thanks for this tip, too!

I think what we're seeing here (and have seen over the last couple of years) are the differences in how Windows O/S versions and the PC hardware they sit upon..."your mileage may vary" is a good credo to live by re. USB connectivity to Android devices (unless you are on Unix/Linix/Apple/Mac that is, eh doogald? since the *Nix operating systems seem to connect to Android devices without too much fuss).

Cheers!

 

[doogald]

(unless you are on Unix/Linix/Apple/Mac that is, eh doogald?

Get a Mac. None of this device driver foolishness.

 

[sdt410]

I had the same issue with my HTC Hero. I was also very frustrated trying to find help in all the forums and getting nowhere. Well, I figured it out and hopefully this solution works for you:

1) Go to Settings>SD & Phone Storage and Unmount the SD card.
2) Turn off the phone and turn it back on.
3) Connect via USB.

After I did this, the USB Connection screen came up (like it used to) and I was able to choose 'Mount as Disk Drive'

Hope this works for you!

Thank you, toddles12! I KNEW there had to be a way to fix this. I know that many people think the Eris is a piece of junk, but I LIKE this little phone. People need to keep in mind that 15 years ago, we were carrying around a brick and using it just to make phone calls. I find it more helpful for people like you to tell me what WORKED for you, rather than just telling me I need a different piece of equipment, cables, computer, a new phone, etc.