MAJOR BUG - Running Toddler Lock will break your Samsung Epic 4G

[HumbledHuman]

Just wanted to let all Samsung Epic 4G users know that if you install and run the "Toddler Lock" program from the Android Marketplace it causes the phone's screen goes black and locks you out even after taking the battery out and doing a hard reset.

Right now the only known way to "fix" it is to do a factory reset.

To do a factory reset, when powered off hold volume down, power and camera button (thanks cgomis for this tip.)

 

[megabiteg]

I do Thank you very much for this report, but I have to differ when you mention the word BUG. When ever you say this you are implying that there is a problem with the Phone and its operation, this here is caused by a 3rd party software which Samsung is not responsible for.

Just wanting to clear the waters for you, for future reference.

But Thanks anyways for the alert.

 

[gme109]

I do Thank you very much for this report, but I have to differ when you mention the word BUG. When ever you say this you are implying that there is a problem with the Phone and its operation, this here is caused by a 3rd party software which Samsung is not responsible for.

Just wanting to clear the waters for you, for future reference.

But Thanks anyways for the alert.

Yeah but its an Android phone, that runs Android apps. Unless this wasn't an Android app, wouldn't this then be some sort of bug?

 

[Eazail70x7]

Can anyone else verify that toddler lock bricks the Epic 4G? I have it already installed but havent ran the app yet...

 

[megabiteg]

Yeah but its an Android phone, that runs Android apps. Unless this wasn't an Android app, wouldn't this then be some sort of bug?

in the QA world when you reference the word BUG its ONLY to speak about a problem with the devices which is directly linked to the manufacturer of the device. per say:

lets say if you click on the application button on TWiz or the 4G enabler on the status bar and you get a FC, that's a BUG, because out of the box the phone should not do this. But lets say if you install a 3rd party application and after doing so the problem described above happens, then its not a BUG of the PHONE (EPIC in this case, and were your posting the report at) its a BUG of the software and should be reported to the 3rd party that his software is breaking functionality that Sam$ung already guaranteed to you.

If you post the word BUG on this site, on this thread corresponding to the Epic 4G everyone's mindset will be to think that the phone has a problem they have to deal with, which in this case, doesn't apply.

Like said, I don't knock down the warning, and actually its highly appriciated that all of us from this community keeps the rest of us informed of the goods, the bad and the ugly but we need to keep the "BUG" word to the minimum so people who are new to the thread or considering the phone doesn't get the wrong picture.

 

[HumbledHuman]

I am a software developer so I come from the other side of the coin megabiteg. I see this as both a bug for the 3rd party application (Toddler Lock) for causing this issue when it is run, and then I also see this as a bug for Samsung/HTC/Sprint because when I reboot the phone the customized rom is still loading the Toddler Lock application and doesnt give me an option to run in a safe mode where I could disable 3rd party apps. In fact I can't even seem to do a factory reset by following my own instructions I placed above that I found by Googling. So if anyone can confirm how to do a factory reset with a Sprint Samsung Epic 4G I would be greatful.

 

[gme109]

in the QA world when you reference the word BUG its ONLY to speak about a problem with the devices which is directly linked to the manufacturer of the device. per say:

lets say if you click on the application button on TWiz or the 4G enabler on the status bar and you get a FC, that's a BUG, because out of the box the phone should not do this. But lets say if you install a 3rd party application and after doing so the problem described above happens, then its not a BUG of the PHONE (EPIC in this case, and were your posting the report at) its a BUG of the software and should be reported to the 3rd party that his software is breaking functionality that Sam$ung already guaranteed to you.

If you post the word BUG on this site, on this thread corresponding to the Epic 4G everyone's mindset will be to think that the phone has a problem they have to deal with, which in this case, doesn't apply.

Like said, I don't knock down the warning, and actually its highly appriciated that all of us from this community keeps the rest of us informed of the goods, the bad and the ugly but we need to keep the "BUG" word to the minimum so people who are new to the thread or considering the phone doesn't get the wrong picture.

I understand. I'm wondering though, if this app doesn't causes problems in other Android phones, and only the Epic, could it be that something isn't right, even though we're not calling it a bug?

 

[HumbledHuman]

I can confirm that Toddler Lock works fine in my HTC Evo and has for 2 months with multiple versions downloaded and ran. (This is my wife's phone that we are having an issue with.)

Doing a quick Google Search turns up an issue with the Samsung Galaxy line of phones and Toddler Lock causing this problem.

 

[Mike-G]

How about actually paying attention to your kids or get them their own toys instead of them using your phone as a toy???

 

[Kelmar]

How about actually paying attention to your kids or get them their own toys instead of them using your phone as a toy???

One of my friend's kid won't play with ANY toys EXCEPT for cellphones!

So... he and his wife give the kid cheap or old cell phones as toys and even let their baby play with their NEW phones. The kid is entertained for HOURS just by pushing buttons and looking at the screen (the 6 month old doesn't try to eat them either)!

They pay attention the entire time.


To each their own

 

[dr.pepper1]

My wife put this on her Epic yesterday. It didn't cause any problems, but I think she should remove it until more is known about this issue.

 

[marcone]

Just wanted to let all Samsung Epic 4G users know not to install the "Toddler Lock" program from the Android Marketplace. The phone's screen goes black and locks you out even after taking the battery out and doing a hard reset. The only way to "fix" it is to do a factory reset.

DO NOT install this on SAMSUNG GALAXY S. Had to factory reset to get it working again. TO do that hold all the up volume button, home button and power button on your phone and restart. then do factory reset.

So did you mean it breaks on the Epic, the Galaxy S, or both?

 

[HumbledHuman]

It broke 2x Epics. One on Tuesday and one today (Wednesday) both from the Sprint store. I see there is a version 2.4 that maybe my wife didnt have that directly addresses some Samsung Galaxy concerns. I hope this fixed everyones issue. Im too leery to go near it until its confirmed.

History - Toddler Lock

 

[cgomis]

Bricked my wife's new phone (Sprint's version) that she got today by installing Toddler Lock. None to happy as you could guess. Toddle Lock has entertained my kid well on my G1, so I thought to install on wife's phone...

Unfortunately the factory reset steps don't work on this version of the Epic. Will be headed off to Sprint store tomorrow.

 

[cgomis]

Well my wife figured out how to reset. When powered off hold volume down, power and camera button.

 

[mybad]

How about actually paying attention to your kids or get them their own toys instead of them using your phone as a toy???

Wow, judgmental much?

 

[mybad]

One of my friend's kid won't play with ANY toys EXCEPT for cellphones!

So... he and his wife give the kid cheap or old cell phones as toys and even let their baby play with their NEW phones. The kid is entertained for HOURS just by pushing buttons and looking at the screen (the 6 month old doesn't try to eat them either)!

They pay attention the entire time.


To each their own

We give our daughters (1 & 3) our old cell phones and sometimes our newer ones to play with. It works to help keep them entertained when you're out and about. I don't have the luxury of a nanny or some other such babysitter to watch my children when I need to get out of the house. I have to-gasp!-bring all 3 of them with me.

 

[HumbledHuman]

FYI. I got 2 emails back from the developer of Toddler Lock. Hes looking at my concerns to see if there is something that needs to be fixed.

Additionally I feel bad because I was really negative on my posts here regarding Toddler Lock... and in reality I think its a wonderful program and it has performed great on my HTC Evo. (Just stunk that I had to leave work early 2 days in a row to watch my son while my wife stood in line at the Sprint store to get a new phone.) I think Samsung needs to share some of the blame here for not providing proper documentation on how to do a factory reset and also not allowing a safe mode boot option or someway to prevent 3rd party apps from loading along with the OS after a hard reset.

 

[Kelmar]

FYI. I got 2 emails back from the developer of Toddler Lock. Hes looking at my concerns to see if there is something that needs to be fixed.

Additionally I feel bad because I was really negative on my posts here regarding Toddler Lock... and in reality I think its a wonderful program and it has performed great on my HTC Evo. (Just stunk that I had to leave work early 2 days in a row to watch my son while my wife stood in line at the Sprint store to get a new phone.) I think Samsung needs to share some of the blame here for not providing proper documentation on how to do a factory reset and also not allowing a safe mode boot option or someway to prevent 3rd party apps from loading along with the OS after a hard reset.

Please keep us up to date with what he says

 

[JT7194]

This may be what has happened to my phone as well. Got the Epic on tuesday and installed Toddler Lock yesterday (Thursday)...now the phone screen is black but the bottom buttons are lit. Taking it back today to try again. Hope this can be resolved I really like the phone and the toddler lock program - but will wait until issue is fixed to install again.

 

[HumbledHuman]

I got a few emails back from the developer of ToddlerLock. Hes released two more fixes to his application since my post and he now has his application working on some of the Samsung Epics and not on others so he posts a warning message to Samsung cell phone users before installing. If you have technical knowledge and want to give him a hand beta testing new versions on your Samsung Epic you can contact him by visiting him website Home - Toddler Lock

 

[Raekwon]

How about actually paying attention to your kids or get them their own toys instead of them using your phone as a toy???

Wow. Hi there, judgmental dick.

 

[ZEROpcs]

Had a customer come in today with his "defective" EPIC, I asked what applications he DLed on his phone, this was one of them... He was demanding I exchange his phone because "the internet told him his phone was defective and had a bug"... After preforming the hard reset all was good; however he still demanded an exchange. So first off, thanks for calling this a phone bug and causing unnecessary panic which causes unnecessary returns and customer dissatisfaction. And secondly, many of the apps on the market mention in the description what phones they are compatible with, and which they aren't; however this one doesn't... IMHO the developer really needs to be taken to task to update the description until this can be fixed...

 

[marcone]

Had a customer come in today with his "defective" EPIC, I asked what applications he DLed on his phone, this was one of them... He was demanding I exchange his phone because "the internet told him his phone was defective and had a bug"... After preforming the hard reset all was good; however he still demanded an exchange. So first off, thanks for calling this a phone bug and causing unnecessary panic which causes unnecessary returns and customer dissatisfaction. And secondly, many of the apps on the market mention in the description what phones they are compatible with, and which they aren't; however this one doesn't... IMHO the developer really needs to be taken to task to update the description until this can be fixed...

I am the author of Toddler Lock. Some comments:

• this is a phone bug. More specifically, it's a bug in the software that ships on some (but not all) Samsung phones.
• listing which phones an app is compatible with is not feasible, since there are around 80 different Android phone models these days. Even if I had access to all of them, there wouldn't be enough space in the Android Market description field to list them all
• the latest version of Toddler Lock warns against running it on Samsung phones

 

[CrashGordon]

After preforming the hard reset all was good;

How did you do the hard reset? My wife had a similar problem with her phone after downloading Task Killer and a call to Sprint and a visit to Best Buy both confirmed that a hard reset was impossible if the screen wasn't working. In the end, BB exchanged the phone.