This is a work in progress. Please suggest topics that you think would be useful, and I will add them in with any relevant information I can find. Please also contact me if you find any typos, errors, or omissions – I want this to be a full and as accurate as possible, but it’s a lot of work and I can only stare at a screen for so long at a time typing it, so I’m sure I’ve got stuff wrong somewhere. Over time I’ll be adding more topics and more detailed information as they arise. Thanks for all your help!
There are lots of points about the Desire that are raised again and again on this forum. This is my attempt to offer quick help to those who want answers to common questions, by compiling a lot of the frequently asked questions and their answers into one place. On that note, thanks go to everyone who contributes on this forum for the information in this thread.
I've tried to format it in the most user friendly way possible, with frequently asked questions in the contents list, and the answers clearly defined in hide boxes. If you've read this guide and still cannot find the answer to your question, please start a new thread rather than asking in here. However please feel free to post here suggesting topics I can add to improve the guide.
Credit goes to nacatomi for compiling the information for the GPS sections!
1. Battery Life
1.1 How do Li-Ion batteries work?
1.2 Do I need to replace my battery, and if so how often?
1.3 Should I always fully charge and discharge my battery?
1.4 My phone doesn't charge to 100% if I leave it overnight. Is something wrong with it?
1.5 My Desire's battery life is terrible. How can I improve it?
1.6 Is there an easy way to monitor my battery?
2. Accessories
2.1 Should I buy a case/screen protector, and if so what type?
2.2 Can I get a spare battery, and if so which should I get?
2.3 Can I get a desktop charging cradle?
2.4 What Micro SD card should I buy?
3. Customisation
3.1 What is ‘Rooting’, and is it for me?
3.2 Am I stuck with HTC sense?
3.3 Can I change the icons for apps and folders?
3.4 Are there any apps to secure my phone if it’s lost or stolen?
4. Known Problems
4.1 My phone takes a long time to shut down. How do I fix it?
4.2 There is a physical defect on my phone. What options do I have?
4.3 My screen doesn’t turn back on properly after a call. Is this a hardware problem?
4.4 I added high resolution contact pictures, but they are now blurry. What happened?
5. GPS, WiFi, and Mobile Data connections
5.1 What are GPS and aGPS?
5.2 Is GPS free?
5.3 Are there any alternatives to Google Maps?
5.4 Does GPS use a lot of battery power?
5.5 I use GPS a lot in my car – Is it a good idea to get a car charger?
5.6 My phone gets hot when using GPS with a car charger – Is this normal?
6. Repairs
6.1 HTC Desire screen repair guide
Section 1 – Battery Life
1.1 How do Li-Ion batteries work?
The Desire uses a 1400 mAH Lithium Ion battery. What that means in real terms is that you have enough power available to supply 1.4 amps of current at the battery voltage (3.7 volts) for an hour, 0.7 amps for 2 hours, 0.35 amps for 4 hours etc. Hence your battery life will depend on how much current the phone draws for whatever you're doing on it, and how long you continue that activity for.
1.2 Do I need to replace my battery, and if so how often?
Lithium ion batteries have a lifespan of somewhere around 400 cycles before they start to become less effective. Basically what that means is that after a year or so, you might want to look at replacing the battery, as it will start to hold less charge.
1.3 Should I always fully charge and discharge my battery?
Lithium Ion cells do NOT suffer from the memory effect. You do not need to fully charge and discharge your battery all the time, you can charge it whenever you want by however much you want, although most people find it convenient just to plug it in overnight and let it charge up. It is, however, recommended to fully discharge then fully charge the battery about once every month. This is because the 'smart' circuit inside the battery that measures the voltage and reports how much charge you have left can drift over time, and doing this helps to reset it to give you a more accurate reading of the battery capacity.
If your phone battery gets so low the phone shuts itself down, DO NOT switch it back on again. Lithium Ion batteries don't like being fully discharged, and it will lower the life span of the unit. If the phone switches itself off due to a low battery, just wait till you can plug it in. The chances are even if you do turn it on it'll shut itself off again before fully starting up.
If your phone battery gets so low the phone shuts itself down, DO NOT switch it back on again. Lithium Ion batteries don't like being fully discharged, and it will lower the life span of the unit. If the phone switches itself off due to a low battery, just wait till you can plug it in. The chances are even if you do turn it on it'll shut itself off again before fully starting up.
1.4 My phone doesn't charge to 100% if I leave it overnight. Is something wrong with it?
Nope. The phone does infact charge to 100%, but you cannot trickle charge a Li-Ion battery, so when the battery is at 100% the battery stops charging. The battery will then drain as the phone uses power until it gets to 90%, when the charger will kick in again and top it back up to 100%. The easiest way to overcome this is to switch off your 3G, WiFi, and other power intensive systems overnight (See 1.5 for details), which will leave your battery with a good 98-100% charge by the morning. Alternatively, if you switch the charger off and on again, it will charge it back to 100%.
1.5 My Desire's battery life is terrible. How can I improve it?
Lots of people can easily get two days of moderate use out of the phone, or one day of very heavy use. If you can't, then here are some tips for improving the battery life.
Check your partial wake usage. To do this, tap the phone button at the bottom of the home screen, and type in *#*#4636#*#* to bring up the phone's test menu. Then tap battery history, tap the top list box, and select 'Partial Wake Usage'. If there is an application in here with a bar far larger than any others, it is stopping your phone from sleeping and will drain the battery when you aren't even using the phone.
From here you can try fixing the problem by either uninstalling the app, or turning off any features that could be keeping the phone awake. Some common ones are frequent updates for things like email clients, flikr, and weather apps. Try changing the update intervals to gather data either manually or less frequently. The problem can be less obvious, for example an app that blinks the LED light on the phone as a notification will sometimes stop the phone from sleeping. If you aren't sure what the cause is, start a thread on the forum. Someone has inevitably been there before, and will be happy to help.
Take control. It's all very well expecting the phone to do everything for you, it will if you like. But with some very fast, simple steps you can vastly improve your battery life. First and foremost, choose to manually update apps that use the internet, such as email and news feeds. Periodically updating these services eats power, and by choosing to do it yourself you can do wonders for your battery life. It only takes an extra 5 seconds. If you really don't want to do it yourself, set it to less frequent intervals, for example every hour or so.
Possibly the best way of improving battery life is to take control of your connections through homepage widgets. Downloading an app such as SwitchPro or Extended Controls is the most elegant solution, but most cost about
Check your partial wake usage. To do this, tap the phone button at the bottom of the home screen, and type in *#*#4636#*#* to bring up the phone's test menu. Then tap battery history, tap the top list box, and select 'Partial Wake Usage'. If there is an application in here with a bar far larger than any others, it is stopping your phone from sleeping and will drain the battery when you aren't even using the phone.
From here you can try fixing the problem by either uninstalling the app, or turning off any features that could be keeping the phone awake. Some common ones are frequent updates for things like email clients, flikr, and weather apps. Try changing the update intervals to gather data either manually or less frequently. The problem can be less obvious, for example an app that blinks the LED light on the phone as a notification will sometimes stop the phone from sleeping. If you aren't sure what the cause is, start a thread on the forum. Someone has inevitably been there before, and will be happy to help.
Take control. It's all very well expecting the phone to do everything for you, it will if you like. But with some very fast, simple steps you can vastly improve your battery life. First and foremost, choose to manually update apps that use the internet, such as email and news feeds. Periodically updating these services eats power, and by choosing to do it yourself you can do wonders for your battery life. It only takes an extra 5 seconds. If you really don't want to do it yourself, set it to less frequent intervals, for example every hour or so.
Possibly the best way of improving battery life is to take control of your connections through homepage widgets. Downloading an app such as SwitchPro or Extended Controls is the most elegant solution, but most cost about
Known bugs is a good idea, I'll have to include that as well.
