Starting to get really tired with Milestone

[fekish]

Hello,

i was and i am so excited with my phone, but unfortunately there is a big BUT after that...

How can i be happy with my phone if some of the basic features are not working properly? I am very frustrated with my phone not because of the bugs but because it really affected my life.

1. Alarm issue, Motorola wants the user to be searching in the forums to find a solution to a core function? I got to work late by 1 hour the first time this occurred.
2. Yesterday suddenly when i unlocked my phone there was nothing on the home screens, and i have the stock home application. I was going right left, and nothing was there!!!
3. The music player suddenly starts playing. I was in a meeting and suddenly the music player starts playing! What should i say to the other people? There's a bug in my Milestone and Motorola is just too lame to fix it... they would just say "yeah right..."

I am not requesting new things in order to have a better experience...
I am just shouting "i paid and bought a smart-PHONE, i didnt pay for smart-google-to-find-a-solution-phone"

Thanks

 

[craigcrawford1988]

A few things first.

I have not experienced a problem myself with the alarm because my phone stays on. I believe there is a problem with waking up the CPU when the phone is off, so I suggest leaving it on standby and plugged in. Test this before you use it in the real-world by setting it for an hour ahead and leaving it on standby.

I sometimes get the weird home screen with the icons all messed up, etc. I'd suggest trying a different menu app such as the one used in the Google Nexus One. Since 2.1, I haven't had this issue however.

The music playing on it's own is a little weird. I've never had that before, if it was a 3rd party music player then I'd blame that. To ensure it doesn't happen again, just lower the volume to it's lowest before you stop the music. That way it will play silently . I'd also suggest taking a look at what is running in the background when you've stopped playing the music. If the music player is still running then that is why. If you are using the widget then you may have unlocked the phone in your pocket and pressed it by accident.

Have you updated to 2.1?

 

[jonmorris]

The alarm/music playing by itself problem seems to be one and the same. It's well known about now it seems, and on the Motorola developers forum they've known about it for some time.

Why it isn't being fixed, I really DO NOT know. I am amazed it wasn't fixed in the delayed 2.1 update for the UK Milestone users. It's a REALLY major issue; either the alarm for not waking you up, or the music player blasting out when you disconnect Bluetooth/remove the headphones and other 'triggers'.

The home screen is another annoyance. You can solve it with something like Home++ or Helix Launcher, but why should you have to add a third party app to do something so simple? I think what happens is the home screen is shut down by the standard memory manager, and has to re-load and repopulate the panels with icons and widgets. SURELY IT SHOULD BE A PROTECTED APP?!

It's also quite slow to scroll up/down through the app menu. All of this makes the Milestone appear quite slow and laggy, which only goes to support the argument that the Desire/Nexus One/X10 is so much better with the Snapdragon processor. Yet, in direct comparisons you'd be hard pushed to really notice much difference (3D, video decoding etc).. it's just the fact the home screen is slow - and it's what you'll use a lot of the time.

I do wish Motorola would not only acknowledge these issues but work to fix them as soon as possible.

 

[cdl]

Hello,

i was and i am so excited with my phone, but unfortunately there is a big BUT after that...

How can i be happy with my phone if some of the basic features are not working properly? I am very frustrated with my phone not because of the bugs but because it really affected my life.

1. Alarm issue, Motorola wants the user to be searching in the forums to find a solution to a core function? I got to work late by 1 hour the first time this occurred.

I have verified that the apps 'Alarm Klock" (yes, spelt like that) and "better alarm" do work properly, unlike the built in alarm clock. As for the other points, even though I didn't experience the other issues myself, yes, I compeltely agree with you.

 

[elektrobix]

I have to say i really regret giving my partner my HTC hero and having this Milestone. I was playing on the Hero the other night updating a few things and it's so much faster whizzing through the screens! Camera is much better too, i can't get over how much noise there is on the Milestones camera since the update, it's shockingly bad.

It'll be the last Motorola device i ever buy, it's more like a prototype than a finished product :/

 

[ewok666]

I have to say i really regret giving my partner my HTC hero and having this Milestone. I was playing on the Hero the other night updating a few things and it's so much faster whizzing through the screens! Camera is much better too, i can't get over how much noise there is on the Milestones camera since the update, it's shockingly bad.

It'll be the last Motorola device i ever buy, it's more like a prototype than a finished product :/

Not sure about the camera but as far as 'whizzing through screens' goes....the Hero is a shockingly low res device so that's not much of a surprise. I'd rather have the high WVGA res and a slightly slower experience though...

 

[elektrobix]

I don't use mine for hq video so i couldn't comment on video, only photos and apps, etc i notice very little difference between the two in terms of resolution. It's nice having the bigger screen on Milestone but a high res screen isn't much use when the phone has one bug after another and is generally a naff phone - great internet device, but naff phone.

The times my cheek has brushed against the screen and put someone on hold or the times people have told me the call quality sounds bad because my mouth isn't close enough to the mouthpiece thanks to the ridiculous noise cancelling that can't be switched off (i moved it away to avoid brushing against the screen - gahhh!).

HTC seems like a much more polished product so i'd definitely be getting another one of theirs next time i swap.

 

[jonmorris]

Are you seriously saying you can't really notice the difference between the Hero/Magic/Legend screen and a Milestone/X10/Desire/Nexus One screen (actually, the Milestone is taller than the others still).

Besides the issue with the alarm/music player (which will be fixed and can already be done manually), and the occasional slow-down of the home app (which can be replaced with Helix Launcher, Home++ etc) what exactly is the Milestone bad at?

Don't get me wrong, the Hero is (was) great but it's a definite category below the Milestone and other top-end Android phones. HTC Sense is nice, but some apps (like Peep) are pretty basic, at best, and better off replaced with many other free or paid-for apps. The Sense UI isn't that unique given that many aspects have either been copied in Helix/Home++ or are part of Android 2.1 anyway.

You can now have Facebook and Twitter sync and status updates/tweets in the contacts book without needing a HTC phone too.

 

[elektrobix]

Yes i can see a difference - a small difference. The phones side by side with identical homescreens i can see very little difference. HQ videos is where i assume you'd see the bigger difference but as i said, i don't watch HQ videos on them.

I know you can replace the alarm app, you can replace the launcher and you can replace the music player ... and this goes back to what i said before, having to strip it down and rebuild it just so that it will function properly is what [to me] makes it feel like a prototype.

It's bad at being a phone. If i hold it too close to my face so that my voice is clear and i'm not holding it at just the right angle the screen will switch on and my cheek will knock the mute or hold button. If i hold it further away (just a little) my voice becomes muffled to the person on the other end. Unlike the Droid you cannot switch off noise cancellation which is a pity because that would solve the problem. Skype bypasses noise cancellation and the phone works normally then.

I could sit my hero on the coffee table and speak from the chair and people could still hear me. I now mainly use my milestone with the headset plugged in because the muting and holding became so annoying.

I also don't understand why the camera is so bad. It was never as good as Hero but since the 2.1 update it's even worse, the noise is terrible.

It's a pity because if it wasn't for the bugs i would love it. I think it's a brilliant internet device. I use it for the internet far more than i did my Hero and i love having the bigger screen when browsing sites.

I think the HTC Desire looks like one of the best Android devices now but i'll be waiting for whatever is coming next from them ... maybe HTC Evo.

 

[Szadzik]

Yes i can see a difference - a small difference. The phones side by side with identical homescreens i can see very little difference. HQ videos is where i assume you'd see the bigger difference but as i said, i don't watch HQ videos on them.

I know you can replace the alarm app, you can replace the launcher and you can replace the music player ... and this goes back to what i said before, having to strip it down and rebuild it just so that it will function properly is what [to me] makes it feel like a prototype.

No dude, it is called a Smartphone for a reason. If you do not like the way something works, replace it with something better.

I think the HTC Desire looks like one of the best Android devices now but i'll be waiting for whatever is coming next from them ... maybe HTC Evo.

for a device without a keyboard - yes. Among the few devices with physical keyboard Milestone is definitely the best. I would not change to Desire even if someone paid me because not having a physical keyboard is just a big misunderstanding. When I exchange texts with a friend who has a Desire I will send 3 of them while he can type 1 at this same time.

I am waiting for something with a keyboard too. In 8-9 months I will be upgrading my phone and hope there will be something good with a keyboard. Otherwise I will have to wait until something worth buying appears the same as I waited for a long time before Milestone was introduced.

 

[Loriolus]

Yes i can see a difference - a small difference. The phones side by side with identical homescreens i can see very little difference. HQ videos is where i assume you'd see the bigger difference but as i said, i don't watch HQ videos on them.

I know you can replace the alarm app, you can replace the launcher and you can replace the music player ... and this goes back to what i said before, having to strip it down and rebuild it just so that it will function properly is what [to me] makes it feel like a prototype.

It's bad at being a phone. If i hold it too close to my face so that my voice is clear and i'm not holding it at just the right angle the screen will switch on and my cheek will knock the mute or hold button. If i hold it further away (just a little) my voice becomes muffled to the person on the other end. Unlike the Droid you cannot switch off noise cancellation which is a pity because that would solve the problem. Skype bypasses noise cancellation and the phone works normally then.

I could sit my hero on the coffee table and speak from the chair and people could still hear me. I now mainly use my milestone with the headset plugged in because the muting and holding became so annoying.

I also don't understand why the camera is so bad. It was never as good as Hero but since the 2.1 update it's even worse, the noise is terrible.

It's a pity because if it wasn't for the bugs i would love it. I think it's a brilliant internet device. I use it for the internet far more than i did my Hero and i love having the bigger screen when browsing sites.

I think the HTC Desire looks like one of the best Android devices now but i'll be waiting for whatever is coming next from them ... maybe HTC Evo.

It's sad but true. Unfortunately some people are unable to see a difference between screen resolutions. To me it's a night and day difference between the milestone and the hero. As for the phone functions...the milestone has been one of the best in voice quality and reception. I've had many phones for a comparison.

 

[cdl]

It's bad at being a phone. If i hold it too close to my face so that my voice is clear and i'm not holding it at just the right angle the screen will switch on and my cheek will knock the mute or hold button. If i hold it further away (just a little) my voice becomes muffled to the person on the other end. Unlike the Droid you cannot switch off noise cancellation which is a pity because that would solve the problem.
.

Weird, never had that problem myself. In fact, the Milestone gives me better call quality than my old Nokias and my work Iphone 3GS. Are you sure your poor call quality doesn't depend on the network or the location you're calling from?

 

[fekish]

What i am trying to say in the initial post, is that yes i have tried for example all home replacements, but all have their bugs and at some points they make slower the phone.

BUT what we are asking at least from the manufacturer, is at least to have a flawless phone considering the core functions, and then leave it on the user on whether he wants to do something else.

I had P900, P990, M600, E71 (regarding smartphones) and it is the first time that i am complaining about the core functions of a phone in a forum. And actually it is the first time that core functions dont work properly. OK i would expect a restart here and there, but not the other things...

p.s. I took out of the drawer my old P900, and used it for an hour. It's fantastic the thing that when you were calling someone the picture of the contact came on the whole screen! And this is about 10 years ago... now we have just a tiny little picture...

 

[jonmorris]

I am not going to pretend that the bug introduced on 2.1 (alarm/music playing by itself) isn't a big deal - but it can't be used as a claim that the Milestone is a prototype, because it only appeared with the very latest update.

Given how so many HTC owners were promised upgrades from 1.5 to 1.6/2.1 and 1.6 to 2.1 and are still waiting, I am not sure whether it's better to have got the 2.1 update and a bug (that can be fixed before Motorola does) or still be on 2.0x. As I don't use the alarm (and there are other alarm apps) and the music player problem is relatively rare, I am glad to have got 2.1.

It's unfortunate, yes, but not a reason to say you'll never buy another Motorola device again. In fact, they've got some interesting products to come. I for one hope future devices will make use of optical pads (like the Desire/BlackBerry) including the touch pad on the rear of the phone. When you've seen how you can move around without covering the screen, it's a really cool feature and one that Google is likely to support and encourage the use of more on all Android phones.

The home screen problem can be fixed by replacing it with a third party (free) app that has other cool features. I see no problem with this - it's not stripping the phone down and rebuilding it. I don't get a PC, install Windows 7 and then moan about paint being a rubbish picture editor, or IE8 being lame.. I install better apps. Ditto on my Mac.

For web browsing, I'd be using Dolphin HD over anything else - but I've got a lot of options, from Opera Mini (which is still not quite there for Android) to Skyfire. The standard browser is still more than adequate though, but at least you HAVE the option.

As for the screen resolution - I know people that can't tell HD from SD, despite there being almost FOUR times the number of pixels. Yet, I can never understand it. The Hero/Magic/Legend has a much lower screen resolution, which does make it faster for screen rendering (especially 3D).

I'd still go for a Desire/X10/Milestone (for the 800(854)x480) screen any day. Clearly Apple is going to go with a similar screen on the next iPhone too. For web browsing, it's awesome - and it's not far off the amount of definition of the iPad.

That's why I keep reading web pages on my Milestone and wonder why I'd need to carry an iPad to look at websites! The Hero could never offer that experience, any more than a Tattoo (with a QVGA screen) or the forthcoming X10 mini/X10 mini pro. All perfectly good handsets for their intended market - they're all cheaper for a start - but not for me.

 

[elektrobix]

I suppose part of the problem is my first smartphone was a Blackberry Bold and now i compare later phones to that one (in terms of using it as a phone/texting). My berry had the best sound quality i've ever heard and it had the best physical keyboard. The only thing lacking for me was internet capabilities.

I wondered if it was my particular phone having call quality issues (the same sim in the same area in different phones works perfectly). But many people are having the same problem, like the ones in this 56 page thread over at Motorola support forums: https://supportforums.motorola.com/thread/16215?start=0&tstart=0

Everyone i call said they noticed the drop in call quality from my end since i switched to Milestone. Incoming calls sound great, it's the outgoing ones that are the problem.

A paint application in Windows 7 isn't really comparable to replacing the entire front end of a phone (with something that is even buggier/laggier). And if Motorola can't get the basic features right then it doesn't really give me much faith in them :/

I'll be keeping an eye on whatever HTC have out at the end of the year or maybe even the Dell Thunder!

 

[elektrobix]

What i am trying to say in the initial post, is that yes i have tried for example all home replacements, but all have their bugs and at some points they make slower the phone.

BUT what we are asking at least from the manufacturer, is at least to have a flawless phone considering the core functions, and then leave it on the user on whether he wants to do something else.

Indeed!

 

[cdl]

I had P900, P990, M600, E71 (regarding smartphones) and it is the first time that i am complaining about the core functions of a phone in a forum. And actually it is the first time that core functions dont work properly. OK i would expect a restart here and there, but not the other things...

Funny how different people have different experiences.
I moved from a Nokia E71 to a Motorola Milestone and, let me assure you, I ain't goin' back!

The Milestone is a much better smartphone, and, even when it comes to basic phone functionalities, I get better call quality with the Milestone than with the E71.

I guess that these comarisons/opinions/reviews etc must always be taken with a grain of salt: on one hand there are several subjective elements, on the other hand technology has become so complex that too many factors affect performance (apps installed, network, settings, etc), so that your experience is not necessarily representative of mine, and viceversa.

 

[inner00secret]

Weird, never had that problem myself. In fact, the Milestone gives me better call quality than my old Nokias and my work Iphone 3GS. Are you sure your poor call quality doesn't depend on the network or the location you're calling from?

Honestly, I have been in the same situation. It's really annoying.

 

[jonmorris]

A paint application in Windows 7 isn't really comparable to replacing the entire front end of a phone (with something that is even buggier/laggier). And if Motorola can't get the basic features right then it doesn't really give me much faith in them

But, the way Android has been set up means the home screen is just an app. Most of the core parts of the phone can be replaced with something else. You don't strip the standard home screen out, you just install another. Then the phone asks you to choose the default and it's job done.

That's what I love about Android, compared to my previous OS of choice - Symbian. You could buy other apps but none could so easily replace the core ones. With Android, you can change the home screen and app menu, the messaging app, the keyboard, camera app, the web browser and so on.

I've never had any problem about call quality. Audio quality is excellent (another thing that often gets forgotten about is the amazing speaker on the back of the Milestone. The X10 and Desire are both awful) though, especially on the latest versions of the software that have the audio options app to tweak settings.

 

[cdl]

That's what I love about Android, compared to my previous OS of choice - Symbian. You could buy other apps but none could so easily replace the core ones. With Android, you can change the home screen and app menu, the messaging app, the web browser and so on.

Not to mention that Symbian was conceived for non touch-screen devices. The Symbian which runs on touch Nokias, like the N97 mini, is just a bad attempt at adapting an OS conceived for non-touch devices to a touch device, and it shows. For example, the interface and the number of clicks required for is very inconsistent.

I've never had any problem about call quality. Audio quality is excellent (another thing that often gets forgotten about is the amazing speaker on the back of the Milestone. The X10 and Desire are both awful) though, especially on the latest versions of the software that have the audio options app to tweak settings.

I couldn't agree more! So far the main thing I don't like about the Milestone is that the keyboard is too wide, and the joystick/dpad/whatever it's called is too big and almost useless.

 

[celios]

Funny how different people have different experiences.
I moved from a Nokia E71 to a Motorola Milestone and, let me assure you, I ain't goin' back!

The Milestone is a much better smartphone, and, even when it comes to basic phone functionalities, I get better call quality with the Milestone than with the E71.

I guess that these comarisons/opinions/reviews etc must always be taken with a grain of salt: on one hand there are several subjective elements, on the other hand technology has become so complex that too many factors affect performance (apps installed, network, settings, etc), so that your experience is not necessarily representative of mine, and viceversa.

Yes, as an ex E71 and N97 owner, I concur. Milestone on 2.1 is working just fine for me, and is a big step forward from Symbian. I've only had one complete crash in 6 months, and find the whole thing to be pretty pleasant in day to day use. Very glad I bought it and recycled my ailing N97 in December.

 

[Blue1k]

I've had almost every phone made in the last 2 years. I'm not kidding (over 30). It's that sad but it has given me an appreciation for each phone's strengths and weaknesses. There is no perfect device.

But back to the Milestone:

I don't notice ANY lag at all switching homescreens (Telus 2.1) and I find so much better than the Nexus for reliability.

You think the Milestone is buggy? Try the Nexus. I wanted to love that phone but it was too unreliable. Screen freak out issue, poor battery management, over heating phone while using data connection, and text entry glitches made the N1 a big let down for me.

Voice quality and speaker volume are outstanding on the Milestone. Awesome compared to the crappy speakers from HTC. Battery life is still at 40% after 12 hours of use (3G only with push and wifi on).

I'm wondering if I use Taskpanel and set the Music app to autokill whether this will solve the problem. Hmm....

 

[fejker]

Flashing the newest bootloader will surely solve the "music playing by itself" and "alarm not going off" problem. It did for me on a german device, I don't know about the Telus.

 

[jameschang]

I had a BB 6330 if I remember the model correctly. There was some water damage, and I was forced to get a new phone. It was between the Milestone, BB Bold, or Iphone 3GS...I am very glad I bought the Milestone because of the physical keyboard and large screen. But yes...I noticed that apps act strange at times. I'll try to open Messaging and a browser will pop up...it's happened on a few occasions

 

[Wooden_Alternative21]

I've had almost every phone made in the last 2 years. I'm not kidding (over 30). It's that sad but it has given me an appreciation for each phone's strengths and weaknesses. There is no perfect device.

But back to the Milestone:

I don't notice ANY lag at all switching homescreens (Telus 2.1) and I find so much better than the Nexus for reliability.

You think the Milestone is buggy? Try the Nexus. I wanted to love that phone but it was too unreliable. Screen freak out issue, poor battery management, over heating phone while using data connection, and text entry glitches made the N1 a big let down for me.

Voice quality and speaker volume are outstanding on the Milestone. Awesome compared to the crappy speakers from HTC. Battery life is still at 40% after 12 hours of use (3G only with push and wifi on).

I'm wondering if I use Taskpanel and set the Music app to autokill whether this will solve the problem. Hmm....

This is an interesting tidbit. CrystalTalk from Moto ruins your voice actually. People on the other end tell me my voice sucks. Go Google it. A lot of people complain about the Milestone. However, the SPEAKER and EARPIECE are awesome. The voice on the other end sounds stereo like I'm talking to the person face to face.

I had an N1 too and the earpiece sucked. I could barely hear. Cranking it up you just get a small crackling voice. However, the caller on the other end hears you PERFECTLY with the noise cancellation.

I did a test with my GF where I swapped between the N1 and Milestone.

N1: You can't hear the other person but they hear you well
Milestone: You can hear the other person well but they can't hear you well.

Ehh? I'd rather not be yelling "Can you repeat that" because I work in a room with vacuum tools and pumps and it gets very loud, so I'll pick the Milestone.

But the keyboard sucks. With the HTC_Mod from XDA, I forget I even HAVE a hard keyboard.