Category Archives: Tips & Tricks

Potential Fix Found For Motorola Photon 4G “Sleep of Death” Issue [Forum Talk]

Posted by on September 8, 2011 No comments

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Quite a few Motorola Photon owners have been experiencing an issue with their device in what they are calling “The Sleep of Death.” Apparently, the device will shut down at random times without warning forcing users to power back on and check for important missed calls and/or texts. MoPho users took to our very own Android Forums to address the issue though it seems nobody could figure out exactly what was going on and if this was a software issue or a hardware one. This ultimately lead many users back to their Sprint stores for hardware replacements.

As it turns out, AF member 408SandShark seems to have found a possible fix. Apparently, the battery isn’t secure inside the phone and when the device is moved, this causes the battery to lose a connection with the terminals on the device, making the device shut off. The fix? Well, placing some kind of cushioned tape or folded piece of paper in between the battery cover and battery seems to hold everything in place. 408SandShark claims this has remedied “The Sleep of Death” issue for him. Give it a try and let us know if it works for you. Good luck!

[AndroidForums]

NIteUI by AndroidAtNight – Ice Cream Sandwich Concept Theme (No Root Required)

Posted by on September 7, 2011 No comments

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My good friend @AndroidAtNight on Twitter spent a lot of his free time designing this amazing homescreen based around what he feels like the next iteration of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, could look like. I have to hand it to him — it looks pretty nice. The NIte UI theme takes a lot of design cues from the new Android Market and even some hints from the new Google Voice widget with its busy but minimal stylings. The theme isn’t your typical root required/flash zip file theme. Instead, its composed entirely from a dizzying amount of apps you can find in your very own Android Market with no root required. I’d be lying if I said the entire process was an easy one. But — if you have the time, the dedication and careful attention to detail, you too could be the talk of the town with a theme that will make the ladies say, “Aye, papi!” (probably not). Hit up the source link and prepare to be learn-ed.

[Via AndroidAtNight]

Android 2.2 Found Pre-installed On HP TouchPad – Gingerbread and Honeycomb Coming Soon? [Videos]

Posted by on August 22, 2011 1 comment

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Ever since the (now) affordable HP TouchPads have hit the market, people have been trying to their best to get Android ported to one of these bad boys. There’s even a $1,500 bounty for anyone that can get working versions of the OS onto the TouchPad. Now a few videos have surface from users who claim to have it already up and running on HP’s bastard tablet.

The first comes to us from a user on YouTube who claims he will not only have Android 2.3 Gingerbread up and running on his HP TouchPad, but also provide a video tutorial on how others can make it happen on August 24th. That’s not all, he also claims to have Android 3.0 Honeycomb running on the TouchPad by August 26th. I remain skeptical seeing how the source for Honeycomb hasn’t been released but it’s hard to deny anything with such an epic music score in his teaser trailer.

Our next video comes to us from a user on YouTube who claims his coworker’s HP TouchPad shipped with Android 2.2.1 pre-installed and he’s looking for answers. They have no idea how it wound up like but in the video you see a boot logo for QuIC otherwise known as, Qualcomm Innovation Center. Wait- so this is Qualcomm’s doing?! The plot thickens…

Interests are definitely piquing with the internet’s attempt at getting Android onto this failed tablet with some pretty great hardware. I for one have bought into the HP TouchPad hype (it could make a great stocking stuffer) and am currently scouring the internets in hopes of finding one. What do you guys think? Could these videos be legit?

[Via AndroidAndMe and Reddit]

Verizon Users in New York Having Weird GPS Issues, We’ve Got a Temporary Fix For You [Forum Talk]

Posted by on August 22, 2011 No comments

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The HTC Droid Incredible section at AndroidForums.com was filled to the brim with users on Verizon – who also happen to live in New York – having GPS issue. Some users were getting GPS coordinates placing them in Spain and France, while others weren’t able to receive a lock at all. There’s also a sizable thread going over at Google’s support forums.

We’re not exactly sure if Verizon is aware of what’s going on, but we’ll ping them just in case. In the meantime, a user at AndroidForums.com has come through with a temporary workd-around that many users are reporting does well to fix their issue. You’ll have to repeat this process every time you reboot the phone, but it’s better than nothing. Look below for the simple steps, and be sure to thank AndroidForums.com user csg261 as he is our benefactor for this one.

We also hear that getting the latest official Gingerbread build will do the trick – more on that in a bit.

turn on gps

activate airplane mode

run gps test by mike lockwood – menu>clear aiding data

exit airplane mode

satellites seen and lock

Malware – How It Can Get Into Your Phone And How To Protect Yourself [Infograph]

Posted by on August 19, 2011 No comments

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Malware has been a fast growing issue with Android devices as of late. You can find tons of “antivirus” apps in the Android Market and simply traveling into Best Buy you’ll find all kinds of over priced software aimed specifically at naive Android users. Make no qualms about it, I hate malware. There are so many misconceptions regarding viruses, spyware and malware on Android. So, in an effort to further educate our readers, I am happy to bring to you this handy infograph from BullGuard with some easy ways of keeping your device clean, clear and under control. (May have to click the image twice for full view)

I’m sure this is common sense to most of our readers but I can’t tell you how many people I’ve run into that haven’t had the slightest idea on what malware is, or how to contract it. It’s either that or they’re so paranoid with viruses on their Android device, they think someone hacked into their phone and is using their all their data (true story). Did you guys learn anything new? If not, maybe you can show this to some of your n00b friends/family and help educate them.

[Via ReadWriteWeb]

Motorola Triumph 3G Speeds Disappointing You? Try This [Forum Talk]

Posted by on August 16, 2011 No comments

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Some users over at AndroidForums.com have discovered that by manually updating to a non-consumer PRL and changing a line in the build.prop file of the Motorola TRIUMPH they’re able to get noticeably increased 3G speeds, with one user professing he’d gone from a low of 80kbps up to a low of around 600. The PRL in question is said to come from select business account phones – this one didn’t make it to consumer phones, for some reason. Whatever the case is, someone is being a huge help in getting these updated PRLs out there and the users that have tried them are reporting great success. More information and full instructions here.

Sexify Your HTC Evo 3D/Sensation With AmazingSense Skin – No Root Required

Posted by on August 2, 2011 No comments

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I’m always checking the “Get More” section of Sense 3.0 looking for the newest themes but I’m always left sad and disappointed at the lack of new themes available for my Evo 3D. Thankfully, a developer by the name of CypiS on XDA made a sharp and beautiful theme called Amazing Sense. Usually, themes are reserved for rooted users only, so I was ecstatic to see that AmazingSense is fully compatible with ROMs as well as stock Sense 3.0 devices (like the Evo 3D or Sensation 4G). The theme uses HTC’s built in Skin engine and directions for applying are easy peasy:

  1. Make sure “Unknown Sources” is allowed (Settings > Applications).
  2. Download and install AmazingSense apk by CypiS
  3. Press Menu on homescreen, select Personalize, choose Skin, scroll to AmazingSense and apply.
  4. Reboot – (If you don’t, the theme may come out wonky)
  5. Enjoy!

I’ve found the free Nexus S Live Wallpaper in the Market really adds the finishing touches on this glassy, minimalist theme quite nicely. Hope you guys like the theme!

[Via XDA]

Google Music Now Allowing You To Invite Friends

Posted by on July 29, 2011 No comments

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Well, what do we have here? It looks like Google Music (beta) is finally allowing for users to invite friends to join Google’s music streaming service. So let all your friends and family know that they can upload their entire music library and no longer have to worry about precious sd card space.

Don’t have any friends (like me)? Well, maybe we could start a request thread in this post ala Google+ and see if anyone is generous enough to send you an invite. Oh- and Google Music is only available for U.S. residents. Good luck!

Thanks, Bryan!