HTC - touch screen problems?

[sw-12345]

Hi all,

My HTC Desire is 6 months old. I started to have problems with the touch screen about three weeks ago.

It would intermittently either

1. Freeze, i.e. not recognize any touch input at all

2. Get my touches wrong - e.g. I'd touch 'q' and get 'z' on the keyboard

3. Have phantom touches - i.e. it would press buttons all by itself

But the problems have been intermittent and temporary each time.

Though it does make it bloody hard to answer calls and even switch the phone off when it's having one of it's episodes.

Now, today, I needed to switch the phone off and couldn't. So I pulled the battery out. And then Android wouldn't start. I followed a tip to re-set the phone.

Does anyone know if the problem I'm experiencing is (a) common; and (b) fixed by re-setting?

Thanks,

Steve.

[neal2271]

I have the desire hd and my phone is doing exactly the same it has a mind of its own started ever since I had the last update and slowly getting worse :smileyvery-happy:

[Retired-Trev · Accepted solution]

Hi guys.

I’m not aware of any general issue with the HTC Desire that gives these symptoms.

Can you check what firmware you’re using, and also check if there’s an update available for your device?

To check your firmware:

Go to Settings > About Phone > Software version

To check for any updates:

Go to Settings > About Phone > Software Updates > Check now

If there’s an update available, ensure your battery is fully charged preferably you’re connected to WiFi. This will ensure the update is speedy, doesn’t use your data allowance and will stop you getting a corrupt file by your handset switching off during the process.

A factory reset may also alleviate the problem. Do ensure you have backed up all your data before trying this, as a reset will erase all the information you’ve added and set it back to a factory status.

To factory reset:

Settings > SD & Phone Storage > Factory data reset

It could be a specific issue with the device itself, but this would be fully covered by the Vodafone repair policy.

If after trying this and the issues are still present, please let me know and also add with firmware version your device is using. This information would be needed if we had to escalate this to the device team.

Regards

Trev

[sw-12345]

Hi,

Thanks Trev, I've checked firmware updates - I'm up to date.

And I have done a factory reset. I had to. I had the touch screen problem one day when I really needed to power the phone off, so I pulled the battery. The phone wouldn't reboot after that. It just kept looping round the welcome screen. So I followed instructions here to factory reset.

My sister's friend had exactly the same problem. She said she had her phone replaced twice and kept getting the same problem. Then someone told her it's because of apps taking up too much CPU and memory, not the hardware. She was advised to install Advanced App Killer and claims she hasn't had the problem since.

Well, I did the same and I *STILL* do have the problem.

So, I'm going to take it to a shop rather than ask for a postal repair.

The problem is always temporary and goes away, but it occurs two or three times per day.

Cheers

[sw-12345]

Update:

I reported my problem to Vodafone. They advised postal repair (making me phone-less for 7-10 days) or go to a shop.

I went to a shop.

Know what they told me?

That they had to send my phone off in the post and I'd be phone-less for 7-10 days.

Would they not replace the defective phone, as it was under warranty?

No, they said. Not unless I had insurance.

I'm not used to needing to have insurance as a pre-requisite to having defective products replaced. And the way the staff kept emphasising how long I'd need to be without a phone and how insurance would have prevented this made me think I had "cash cow" tattooed to my forehead.

Disappointing.

For this reason, I will not be renewing my Vodafone contract when it's up for renew.

Anyway, in the meantime I've requested a phone repair.

By the way, I did a search on google and I can tell you that this defect is VERY common.

Cheers

[kat10309]

Same problems here :catsad: and I have just had to order a postal repair for my 2nd HTC Desire handset.  I had my brand new handset at Christmas and had to have it replaced because of this problem the following week.  Now its happening again!!  I do have insurance and still the repair is going to take so long that I am phoneless for nearly 2 weeks - again!!! Surely this can't be right? 

[SeanOlder]

I have similar issues BUT I can't get IN to my phone as it has a password and can not sense the information needed to get into it.

Can anyone help me out with this please!?

[Retired-Matt_B]

Hi @SeanOlder,

Please follow the instructions on our repair guide. You'll then be able to arrange a repair for your phone and the issue will be resolved

Thanks,

Matt B