Help Capacitive buttons acting wonky

[uohaloran]

So I recently purchased a Fascinate through Verizon and everything has been going fine save for one thing that will end up with me returning the phone if I cannot fix it.

The Home key on the capacitive buttons is acting very crazy. I'll be surfing the net or browsing through files on my phone and all of a sudden the Home button will begin to randomly activate as if I'd pressed it. Initially, I figured it was just a minor bug so I'd hit the Back button to get out of the "Recent items" page - well that works for one second until the Home button begins to press itself again.

This can go on for up to two or three minutes. I can completely lay the phone down and the button will activate. Use of the Back button will only worsen the problem because it instantly triggers the Home key (and my fingers aren't that damn big - I'm 100% sure I'm not accidentally pressing it).

I've tried removing all third party apps. I've tried removing the battery for twenty minutes or so (this seems to help temporarily). I've even tried returning the phone to factory settings. The problem just creeps back in.

I'm worried that it's hardware but I've also had a laptop (Dell Studio 1537) that had problems with it's capacitive media keys and that was fixed with a firmware update (the problem originated from the battery's charge; mostly mumbo jumbo that I don't really understand).

Any ideas?

 

[Leonard1818]

Besides totally reflashing the firmware, there's really nothing more you can do. I think the first thing you should try to determine is if it is in fact software or hardware. Are you on 2.2? Are you wanting to try everything you can BEFORE you take it back and replace the hand unit?

If so I would do the following:

THIS WILL WIPE EVERYTHING FROM YOUR PHONE AND COULD POTENTIALLY RENDER YOUR PHONE UNUSEABLE!!! PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!

-- Use the thread in here that is stickied at the top of this forum on "how to get Froyo if your OTA is failing". This will walk you through the process of TOTALLY reflashing your phone.
-- Once you have the Out-of-the-box firmware on the unit STOP. Do not do any updates. Check the phone out. Is it still acting funny? I know there will be *some* differences (like the softkeys at the bottom will only stay lit for 5 second) but use it like this for however long you need to feel comfortable that you've "put it through it's paces". Assuming it does NOT happen, move on. Obviously if it's still happening, then it's likely a hardware issue.
-- Check for updates and DL the next update. This should NOT be 2.2. This was a patch-type update for 2.1. Again STOP. Use the phone like this. Does the behavior continue?
-- Finally, update to 2.2 and continue testing.

The above WILL WIPE EVERYTHING FROM YOUR PHONE. I would ONLY do the above steps if you're really not wanting a refurb phone. The only other option besides the above is to go into Verizon and ask for a new phone. They should give you one but it will be a refurb.

Good Luck!

 

[joshica]

OMG! I have the same issue and I have finally gotten sick of it. Verizon is sending me a new handset. Hopefully I won't have thisthis problem anymore.

 

[joshica]

New phone seems to have fixed the problems up to this point anyway. I will let you know if it begins to happen again. Sounds like more and more people are having this issue.

 

[scott15r89]

i have seen aftermarket batteries and chargers do this. i plugged in an ebay charger and my a855 went all linda blair on me. apps opened and closed, screens slid all over, wacky...

 

[joshica]

That could be but I am currently using the same chargers both in my car and at home that I always have. So far the problem hasn't repeated.

 

[uohaloran]

@joshica

That's good news.

I'll probably be returning mine this weekend and I'll post back if the issue persists. The phone is fantastic when it functions correctly.

@scott15r89

I think it's related to the battery or how the phones are interacting with the battery as well. I'm more inclined to believe it's hardware at this point after exhausting most options on my end (shy of trying what Leonard1818 is talking about). I don't want to potentially mess the phone up before taking it back. If the next phone also does this I'll probably consider more lucrative solutions.