HTC Desire series

[scoobie268]

About 3-4 weeks ago I bought a brand new HTC Desire S for my daughter, to replace her Wildfire. For the first couple of weeks the phone ran brilliantly, with no problems (albeit a few unnecessary apps) but in about 3 days the phone has rendered itself completely unusable. 

The touchscreen doesn't work all of the time - it won't slide up to unlock. It opens random applications on the home screen, it randomly opens the call option and multiple times it has dialled the emergency services (all when nothing is even touching the screen). When texting, the middle row of the keyboard is completely unresponsive, and again when nothing is touching the screen the phone still types. Pressing the space bar and the shift key also confuses the phone - neither work and random letters and symbols appear. The 4 buttons along the bottom of the screen have also stopped working, and it doesn't let you scroll up or down when using the internet. My daughter has to take the battery out of the phone to switch it off because the screen becomes even more unresponsive when she wants to turn it off. The phone also freezes when she tries to call anyone, and yet again numbers are randomly typed when nothing is touching the screen.

I'm not happy - we're either going to have to reset the phone or get a new one, which is a hassle.

Has anyone else had these problems? 

[Wayne]

Hi scoobie268 and welcome to the eForum

I’m afraid it would appear as though your daughters phone is faulty. It will need to be sent away for repair to fix the issues she is having.

To find out all the information you will need on how to get this sorted take a look at the link below;

Vodafone Repairs thread

Thanks

Wayne

[garybythesea]

I have had the very same problem. I have taken it to the store three times and they were good enough to change it three times. However on the FOURTH occasion they have sent it off to the engineers and guess what? They are sending me a new one!

I wonder how long this will go on for. I've had four phones in 5 weeks!

[markajessup]

Hello scoobie and tech team

My daughter has the exact same issues with her phone. Fortunately it only calls us and her friends, not the emergency services. The home keys at the bottom of the screen refuse to work and frustration is mounting.. We have restored to factory settings, but that did not make any difference. It took a lot of persuasion to get her into a android phone and not a blackberry. I fear she may have cause to say 'I told you so'

This is beginning to appear a frequent problem with the desire s. Perhaps some feed back from vodaphone to htc about build quality would be valid.

[biffo1963]

It sounds as though there has been a recent bad batch from HTC.  I've had my Desire S since May 2011, I've had no problems at all  ( apart from poor ringtone volume - Nokia phones are better in this regard ! )

[Wayne]

Hi markajessup and welcome to the eForum

Thanks for your post here. I’m sorry to hear that you are having problems with this. I appreciate how frustrating this must be for your daughter.

She’ll need to have this sent away for repair so that the issues that she is having can be repaired. For more information on what you need to do, check the link below;

Vodafone Repairs Thread

Thanks

Wayne

[John-N-London]

Okay I registered today simply to say I'm having exactly the same issues.

My screen becomes totally unresposive sometimes, and other times it's just unpredicable with certain buttons not working, and other buttons appearing to activate other areas of the screen. When it's playing up writing a text message is impossible. I press certain letters on the keyboard and completely different letters come up.

This is the third HTC Desire S I have had since 20th December 2011. I'm now wanting to replace it, but on the phone Vodafone are asking me to send it off for repair.

There is clearly a bad batch of Desire S's going around...

[Dave]

Hi John-N-London,

Has this been the same issue on each of the handsets, and has this latest one been sent for repair previously?

All repair jobs are logged against a handset's unique IMEI number, so if a handset has been received previously with the same reported fault, then the repair teams are aware of this straight away and can tailor their investigation accordingly. If this has been a different fault to the others, then this may be one which can be resolved rather than replaced.

Was there any change, such as a firmware update or installation of a new app, around the time this started? Alternatively, has it always acted like this?

I would suggest a couple of checks which may resolve the handset issues for you as a first stop.

 What version firmware does the handset have installed? As with anything running software, some issue may be cleared up by ensuring the latest version is in place. If yours did not receive an update properly then this may cause issues.

Can you try a hard reset for me as a basic troubleshooting check? This ensures any fragments of orphaned code are closed down.

- Switch the handset on
- Whilst powered up, remove the SIM card and battery
- Put the battery back in and switch on
- Wait a couple of minutes, then remove the battery again
- Replace the SIM and battery and switch back on

If there is still no luck, can you back up the handset and perform a factory reset to clear any software corruption.

Let us know how you get on with these checks.

Dave

[John-N-London]

Yep, the issue has been exactly the same on both phones, an unresponsive touchpad. The first phone was replaced, not repaired. Both times I have installed 'Launcher Pro' which I thought would be the issue, but after a restore to factory settings the issue persisted. I have also just tried the 'hard reset' you described which also only worked for a few hours before the issue returned.

I am currently running Android version 2.3.5 and software version 2.10.161.3

I will send off for repair but I know they will fail to find an issue as the problem only happens intermittently and a restore to factory settings does not fix the issue.

What should I do when they return my phone without finding any issues...? please help.

[DaveCD]

Hi John-N-London

Thank you for your post and I am sorry to see the frustration this has caused.

Please supply a description of the fault when you send this off for repair just to assist the repairs team to identify the fault, once this has done your phone will work or have an explanation, however if this occurs again we will look at the options available at the time.

Please take the device to your local store and one of our experts will be able to take a look and advise you of your best options or alternatively we can arrange a postal repair.

Many Thanks

DaveCD

eForum Team

[cityaj94]

I've had my desire s now for about 7 months and over the past 5 weeks it has started restarting itself at any random times. It does not seem to be triggered by any individual thing such as going on the internet or writing a text message. Is anyone else having the same problems and are there any solutiions to this problem?

[dcarmi]

A device restarting can be caused by one of several things. The first and probably least likely is a fault. That said there have been reports of problems with loose batteries. Try taking the back off and tapping the battery. If it restarts then try wedging a small piece of card at the bottom of the battery (obviously not at the contact end).

It is also possible you have an app that is misbehaving or you are running low on memory. The latter is probably more likely. Try clearing caches and see if that helps. If you have installed any new apps in the past 5 weeks try removing them to see if that cures the problem.

The final (and arguably the best but most painful) solution is to do a factory reset. Make sure you have backed up your phone, though contents of the microsd should be safe. Once you do a factory reset you go through the process of resetting up the phone. Your contacts etc should be in gmail (check though) and your paid apps will be reloaded. Free apps you will have to locate but http://market.android.com will have a list when you log in. It is best to use a backup tool to keep stuff you might want like SMS etc.

I recently had my phone replaced due to a fault and went through this process. Time consuming but it does give you a chance to clear out those apps we collect but never actually use. You will have to lay out the icons on your screens again.

[DaveCD]

Hi cityaj94

Thank you for your post and a very warm welcome to the eForum. 

There has been some outstanding support from dcarmi (thank you) and most of the bases have been covered. 

The most likely source is the application and if you can delete any applications that you have downloaded recently and let us know how you get on.

Please can you also ensure you are running the latest software for your device.

If you have tried the above and are still experiencing difficulties please take the device to your local store and one of our experts will be able to take a look and advise you of your best options or alternatively we can arrange a postal repair.

Many Thanks

DaveCD

eForum Team

[geezer]

Hi i had the same problem, i found a app in the play shop android market  calld Drippler Desire S  AND THE FIXD EVERY PROBLEM aint  had any now in the last 2 weeks so give that a try

[markajessup]

Thank you Geezer,

I will give that a try, for even though phone has been back to the tech guys, it is better, but still has some of the original problems only less frequently.

[WirralMick]

.

[ac1405]

I've had my Desire S since last summer and for a while it was fine. It now crashes on a regular basis. It's been sent away for repair once then 2 months later has started crashing again and having problems with SD card. I phoned vodafone who suggested doing factory reset which I've done it's crashed 3 times since the last time being this evening. The strange thing was when restarted it suddenly starting installing apps that were deleted on factory reset without me even touching it!!! I have had enough of this phone but am tied into contract. I should have got an iPhone. If anyone's thinking of getting one of these DON'T!!!!

[Simon]

Hi act1405

Thanks for your post. Have you tried the suggestions in dcarmi's post earlier in the thread and also checked that you're running the latest software for your device?

Alternatively it may appear that the underlying issue remains and therefore would need to be sent away for repair under warranty once again.

Thanks

Simon

[ac1405]

My phone barely had any apps left on it as hadn't got round to reinstall them after factory reset (which didn't help).  My phone crashed 3 times following factory reset and then reinstalled free apps without my  assistance!!! I checked for updates after each occasion and there were none available.  My phone has gone off again for repair so yet again I have a week paying for something I can't use.  I must say staff member in Vodafone store in Salisbury was very helpful and has asked for the phone to be replaced due to the ongoing problems, lets hope it is or I may have to rethink staying with vodafone once my contract expires.

[brooxy10985]

Hi all.

I'm having the same issues. After about 10 months of the phone running fine. The screen started to spaz out. Unable to unlock, randomly opening apps and calling people. The handset was replace on 13/06/12 and is now back in being repaired because the 4 buttons along the bottom of the screen aren't responding.. The handset is a month old...its a joke. I wont be using htc again.