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Help Unresponsive screen when in car dock?

After testing your device, like in the car AND surface video, do you have any issues?

  • Yes - Just like the video

    Votes: 24 53.3%
  • No - Mine is perfect

    Votes: 17 37.8%
  • Sometimes, just not as bad as in the video

    Votes: 4 8.9%

  • Total voters
    45

igl007

Newbie
Apr 29, 2010
25
13
Basically, the phone screen is unresponsive when your not holding it or any time it's not grounded. If I put it in the car holder and then touch the screen, its very sporadic. I have compared it with the droid eris and the Moto Droid under the same conditions at the same time, and it performs flawlessly. I have tried the incredible with the screen protector and without. If I take it out of the dock and hold the phone in my hand, it works great again. It's not just the car dock either. If I set it on certain surfaces and just touch it with one finger it does the same thing.
The car dock itself has nothing to do with it. I've narrowed it down to a grounding issue. I've also tested 3 Incredibles and ALL of them do it. I am going to post another video showing it on top of a piece of styrofoam which also creates the problem. It's definitely more widespread then just a few phones. Basically, If the phone has very little ground it is unresponsive. If you ground it, either by holding it or placing it on a surface that is grounded then it solves the problem. If you plug anything into it that is grounded it solves the problem.

Here is a new video on different surfaces. It's not a car dock issue. If it is some static issue as some are saying, it works great on a eris, or a moto droid so it's not capacitive screen in general.
YouTube - Verizon HTC Incredible - Unresponsive Screen Test 3

Here is the car dock video.
YouTube - Verizon HTC Incredible - Unresponsive Screen Test 2

My goal for this thread, (now that I see it is happening to a lot of phones) is too get enough info out there so that other people can effectively recreate this problem on their phones. With enough people, I am hoping HTC or Verizon can offer a fix not just a work around.

UPDATE 5-17-10
I received 2 replacement Incredibles from Verizon. Both phones respond in the same way as the original. I called verizon, and they said "they are compiling a list of problems to send to HTC and they will add this one to the list". Hopefully the rep that I spoke with wasn't just trying to shut me up. I don't know... Anyway, Here is the last video I am going to do on the topic. In this I wanted to clearly show the following:
- It is not a "Capacitive" screen issue in general (MOTO Droid, and Eris are fine)
- It is a MASS DEFECT of this phone. (I am not saying ALL phones)
I am going to forward this message and the video to HTC. I will post the response. Here is the link to the new video.
YouTube - Verizon HTC Incredible - Unresponsive Screen Test 4
 
I have observed similar behavior in my "universal" car dock... it has the foam pads which squeeze the phone in place. When in this dock, I get very sporadic response from the touchscreen. When trying to swipe between home screens, I'll get "no response" 75% of the time, and have it mis-read the swipe as a tap the rest of the time.

Unlike yourself, I do not see this behavior when the phone is sitting on a table or otherwise "out of my hand."

I have the VZW Incredible-specific car dock on order, and I'm very interested to see if this alleviates the problem.
 
Upvote 0
so just tried mine setting it on the table and running it through it's paces. seem to get the same responsiveness as when I hold it.

THANKS for responding!
The table things seems to only do it sometimes. It also seems to depend on the surface you put it on. I know that sounds crazy. Could you try it in your car, like on the dash. If not your car maybe just a few different locations with different material like metal surface, cloth, plastic... It would really help. I usually test it on the all programs screen and try to scroll up and down.
 
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I have observed similar behavior in my "universal" car dock... it has the foam pads which squeeze the phone in place. When in this dock, I get very sporadic response from the touchscreen. When trying to swipe between home screens, I'll get "no response" 75% of the time, and have it mis-read the swipe as a tap the rest of the time.

Unlike yourself, I do not see this behavior when the phone is sitting on a table or otherwise "out of my hand."

I have the VZW Incredible-specific car dock on order, and I'm very interested to see if this alleviates the problem.


I am so thrilled that it wasn't just me. That's sounds like the same or similar holder as the one i am using with the foam on the sides. The only thing scaring me is now that you also have this problem, is that I was hoping it was just a bad phone. Looks like that isn't the case.
 
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I don't have a car dock so I can't try and duplicate your issue but I have not seen any issues with the screen when placing it on different surfaces. I would check that holder and make sure it is not holding in on any buttons. If it continues then I would have them swap it out and see if another phone ends up with the same issues. If there is a problem and it ends up wide spread and not isolated then they would probably issues a patch soon. I'm happy with mine so far but I need some suggestions on apps to replace the functionality I had with my TP2. Let me know if you find anything out with your issue.

Edit: I have the car dock now but I already knew the answer. It's doing it in the car dock as well.
 
Upvote 0
I'm no engineer, but if this is like the Motorola Droid, the holder uses a magnet.

Now, given that holding the phone fixes the problem - what is the casing made of? Is it some sort of electrical grounding problem? Is the magnet causing some issue?

It seems like you're earthing/grounding the phone when you hold it. I can't for the life of me figure out how/why, but that might suggest a hardware flaw in the phone.

Good luck sorting it out though. We haven't got the phone in the UK yet, but I am sure it's coming.
 
Upvote 0
Mine does this quite often, but it does not even have to be in a GPS holder. The screen is completely unresponsive, nothing will work expept for the optical joy stick. When it does this, I have to push the top power button to turn the sceen off for a second or two and then push it again. It will work then. It is getting REALLY annoying!!!! Do I just have a defective device?? Should I try a hard restart?? Is anyone else having this issue?? All opinions welcome
 
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to the OP i just want to know why you're driving a PT cruiser?? lol j/k

That is an odd problem. however i can't replicate it. i've set my phone on a table and it works fine when i'm only touching the screen.

haha, it's a Pontiac Aztec!!! I can't explain that any better :eek:

UPDATE:
I took the phone to Verizon Wireless today, and spoke with a technician. After I demonstrated it to him in the car, he thought the whole thing was very strange. He actually had an Incredible as well so we tried his. His was no where near as bad but it still did it slightly. It would appear that many phones have this problem, but with varying levels. As I reported on the youtube video, If the Car Charger is plugged in then all problems are gone. djwhetzel from youtube suggested that it is a lack of grounding problem. That's the best explanation I have heard of so far.
 
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haha, it's a Pontiac Aztec!!! I can't explain that any better :eek:

UPDATE:
I took the phone to Verizon Wireless today, and spoke with a technician. After I demonstrated it to him in the car, he thought the whole thing was very strange. He actually had an Incredible as well so we tried his. His was no where near as bad but it still did it slightly. It would appear that many phones have this problem, but with varying levels. As I reported on the youtube video, If the Car Charger is plugged in then all problems are gone. djwhetzel from youtube suggested that it is a lack of grounding problem. That's the best explanation I have heard of so far.

haha interior looks like that of a PT...

back on topic. That is very odd. hope i don't run into the issue down the road. i can see where it would be an issue for docks.
 
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Yes, this sounds like a grounding issue.

By touching it or plugging it in, you are grounding it properly. Try adding felt pads or something to the sides of the holster - it may break up the circuit.

I can't promise this will work but it's something to try. I look forward to getting a car dock but hope to have very different results.
 
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Yes, this sounds like a grounding issue.

By touching it or plugging it in, you are grounding it properly. Try adding felt pads or something to the sides of the holster - it may break up the circuit.

I can't promise this will work but it's something to try. I look forward to getting a car dock but hope to have very different results.

Hmm, could grounding also be the reason for a problem I'm having with my chargers? I bought a couple of generic USB wall chargers from monoprice.com and they have the exact same specs as the stock charger. When I plug them into the phone, the screen becomes unresponsive in exactly the same way as shown in the videos. Is it safe to use these chargers with the screen turned off?
 
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My Incredible did this as well with the Verizon dock. I had just about given up, then I plugged in my vehicle charger, and it worked (and continues to work) flawlessly in the dock. Strange, I know. Hope that helps.

Yea, that is a work-around that I am using also. I think as more people start getting their car docks in and using it that way, we're going to see this problem get a lot bigger. It's definitely a grounding issue, and by plugging your cable in you essentially are grounding the phone.
 
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Mine is doing it as well. I just tried it laying it on the arm of the couch and it is very unresponsive. Put it in your hand and it starts working correctly. I ordered the car dock that has the built in holster from Verizon. It comes tomorrow. Whats interesting is that the phone works fine when it's in the Verizon case. I wonder if it was a planned design for some reason? When mine is in the dock I will probably keep the charger on it anyway but I would be interested to hear what the issue is or why they made it like this if it was on purpose.

Edit: Okay I played around with it and it is definitely a grounding issue. I just placed it on my aluminum top laptop and it works flawless, placed it on the mouse pad and it went back to sporadic. I hope the Verizon car dock has some sort of magnetic field or something that activates it. I'll report back after the dock gets here tomorrow.

Edit: It's weird because if you lay it on a blanket it will be unresponsive but if I put it on a granite counter top it works again. As soon as you touch the back case with any part of your hand or fingers it starts working regardless of the surface.
 
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I don't know if anyone has tried this yet, but I did a clean wipe factory re-set. Knock on wood, but all day today it has been working perfectly!!!

Unfortunately I did the same to no avail. I did a complete factory wipe, and my phone still requires some sort of ground for proper touch-screening.

I did find out that it is pretty easy to do the following:

1. Plug in either the charger or headphone jack. Either of those seems to ground it out enough... I also tried just clipping the headphone jack (metal part) into the clip part of the belt clip, and that worked, so there just needs to be SOMETHING else attached to the phone or mount that gives it more of a ground.

2. Just hold the sides (or just one side) with your thumb and ring finger while navigating with your index finger. That seems to do the trick.


I plan to run some speaker wire up the windshield later to try and remedy this.. Here's to hoping!

Hope it helps.

jakewill
 
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Well, my incredible took a dump today. I have been having the unresponsive screen issue. Mine would also get stuck in between the 7 home screens. It would bounce from one screen to another, very jerky. I used to be able to push the top power button to turn the sceen off, then turn in back on and everything would work for a while. Now, the sceen is locked up more often then not. I called Verizon after several wipes and battery pulls. They are sending me a new phone on the 14th. I have tried to duplicate these issues on my wifes Incredible, but hers is flawless.
Another issue I had, is that when I would try to slide the on screen slider down to answer an incoming call, it would just bounce up and down. It would not slide down to unlock the screen or answer the call.
 
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