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-- My Edge isn't working!!! (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=18673)

My Edge isn't working!!!

Seems like the screen froze, whenever I tap anywhere on the screen a little menu on the upper left corner comes down. I can't do anything! I tried a reset but that didn't do anything. Please help.

Hard reset, then call for a replacement.

__________________
-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

1. hard reset: Hit the reset button while holding down the power button. You'll know you've done it b/c it will ask you if you want to lose all your data (hit "up" button for yes).

2. Run the digitizer 3 or 4 times.

3. have them replace it. Handspring's quality control (esp. on the Edge) often leaves something to be desired.

__________________
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quote:

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Originally posted by dietrichbohn
(esp. on the Edge)

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__________________
-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

I feel your pain

After ~5 months of faithful service, my Edge has evidently succumbed to the same problem. The pissening (yes, I'm making up words) thing about it is that I used it this morning, and postponed backing up until I had entered some items into my to-do list. It was when I went to turn it on a few minutes ago to actually back them up that the behavior started. The hardware buttons still work, though, so I suppose I should be able to sync and save the data when I get home before hard resetting.

Re: I feel your pain

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Originally posted by Toby
After ~5 months of faithful service, my Edge has evidently succumbed to the same problem. The pissening (yes, I'm making up words) thing about it is that I used it this morning, and postponed backing up until I had entered some items into my to-do list. It was when I went to turn it on a few minutes ago to actually back them up that the behavior started. The hardware buttons still work, though, so I suppose I should be able to sync and save the data when I get home before hard resetting.

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That same thing happened to me with my second Edge. Eventually the battery ran out and it would not charge. Time to call for a replacement.

Re: Re: I feel your pain

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Originally posted by Toby
Maybe it's time I consider putting my Edge up for sale and getting something else.

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__________________
-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Now I feel _my_ pain

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Originally posted by dick-richardson
I'm interested in your final decision.

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Re: Now I feel _my_ pain

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Originally posted by Toby
At this point, it isn't looking positive for a Handspring device....

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__________________
-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Re: Re: Now I feel _my_ pain

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Originally posted by dick-richardson
I wouldn't have dealt with them after a hard reset. I'd have called the 888 number and argued my case with them.

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Handspring seems to be trying various mixes of quality devices, decent tech support, and various prices to see where they can skimp. They can't.

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Incidentally, the total battery drain seems to have fixed the problem for some unknown reason. At least I've got a good backup now between my restore of the last backup combined with a "Desktop overwrites handheld" sync. I still plan to call Handspring Customer Care, though. This behavior is simply unacceptable.

THe guy told me to run the battery down, but how the hell am I supposed to do that? It has a 4 week life! I need the damn thing ready now!

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Originally posted by sfhustler
THe guy told me to run the battery down, but how the hell am I supposed to do that? It has a 4 week life! I need the damn thing ready now!

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OK, I tried to send the following via Handspring's web interface and it was too long, so I sent it to [email protected]. For some odd reason, though, they no longer post email addresses on the website, so I'm not sure if it'll get through. If I don't have even a canned response by Monday, someone from 'Customer Care' is likely to receive an earful.

To whom it may concern:

I am writing this in an effort to try to salvage a customer relationship that has been sorely damaged over the past couple of days. I purchased my first Visor Deluxe in June of 2000, and purchased one for my wife shortly thereafter in September. I have recommended Visors to countless friends and business associates as I'm a technical professional and people often seek my advice on such purchases. In April of 2001, I started having trouble with my Ice Visor Deluxe. I had been observing many stories on VisorCentral.com and Usenet of some Visor Deluxes (especially the Ice ones) having problems with case cracking near the power button. When I checked mine, I noticed the same case defect had apparently happened to mine. A call to tech support turned up that this was evidently common to some early runs and a replacement was sent out. Now given that my Visor has become an important repository of information for me, I thought that I should see if a more durable option didn't exist. Handspring had just produced the Edge which was a thinner form factor and had an aluminum case. This fit the bill perfectly.

I ordered an Edge on approximately April 30th, 2001 (purchased directly from Handspring, so I'm sure it can be looked up easily). It arrived a couple of days later, and for all intents and purposes seemed to work fine. However, there were several users on VisorCentral.com who reported serious problems with the digitizer (several links included shortly). My Edge apparently had no such defect initially.

However, two days ago when I turned my Visor on to enter a memopad entry and then backup my Visor, wherever I tapped on the screen only brought up the menu command. Since I could not afford to lose data since the last backup, I turned it off until I could sync at my house. After syncing later that evening, I performed a soft reset. This did not fix it, so I performed a hard reset. When I then tried to recalibrate the digitizer, it would only alternate back and forth between the upper left and lower right crosshairs. Obviously the problem was still not fixed.

I then called Customer Care to see what my options might be. After trying to relay the steps I had already performed and querying about a replacement, I was informed that I would have to call Tech Support. Unfortunately, I did not have time at the moment to go through another phone queue waiting for a representative. Since the battery light was showing solid indicating a full charge, I simply turned the Edge off and put it into my backpack to speak to Tech Support the next morning.

The next morning, I called Tech Support and as expected, they requested that I perform a soft reset and then a hard reset. Unfortunately, I could not, as somehow the battery had drained itself overnight despite the unit being off. Also, considering that my cradle was at home, I had no way to charge it. The tech support person told me that the steps I had already performed didn't mean anything, and that I would just have to call back when I was near my cradle.

When I arrived at home that night, I placed the Edge into the cradle to begin recharging. Evidently the battery drain 'fixed' the problem because when the calibration screen appeared this time, it accepted input. Now, here is where we get to the meat of the issue. I have no idea what caused this behavior, hence I have no assurance that it won't happen again tomorrow, next week, or next month. This is simply unacceptable behavior from a device which I purchased for $400 and change. What's more disturbing is that it appears to be endemic to the device. The following links show users who have all had the same or extremely similar problems:
http://discussion.visorcentral.com/...=edge+digitizer
http://discussion.visorcentral.com/...=edge+digitizer
http://discussion.visorcentral.com/...=edge+digitizer
http://discussion.visorcentral.com/...=edge+digitizer
http://discussion.visorcentral.com/...=edge+digitizer
http://discussion.visorcentral.com/...=edge+digitizer
http://www.jimweller.net/article.php?sid=15

Now considering this, what can we do to solve my immediate problem (lack of faith in the reliability of my Edge), and hopefully continue my faith in Handspring as a vendor to continue recommending them to my friends (and incidentally to my wife who will likely be upgrading from her Visor Deluxe early in 2002) and associates?

Thank you for your time,
Toby
[contact information elided]

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Originally posted by Toby
BTW, I'm not sure exactly how my battery ran down overnight, so I can't really offer any advice on that. I suppose you'd just have to keep turning it on. The four week battery life is only with typical usage of a couple minutes at a time several times per day. Keeping it on constantly will kill your batteries quick enough.

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__________________
-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

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Originally posted by dick-richardson
I'd call the 888 number.

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Tell them you've dealt with Tech Support and your issue hasn't been resolved.

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Get a replacement.

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One of my edge's had the problem you mention, and like yours it was fine after the battery drained (phenomenally fast as well). For a day.

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There are good ones - and being one of the few that spent $400 for it, you should be entitled to one of them.

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Hi [name elided],

Thank you for your email.

You're welcome, but I'm not sure the problem was communicated clearly. If there's someone else that I should be directing this problem to, please let me know who it is, so that I can get a solution.

Try the different forms of Visor resets (try soft, then system and finally hard) until the operation system behaves normally again.

I did try the different forms of resets, and the behavior wasn't fixed. Whatever drained the battery following the hard reset apparently stopped the behavior, but since the cause of the problem is unknown, I have no assurance that it will not happen again. Further considering the links provided in my original email (reproduced here with URLs condensed for convenience), this seems to be a relatively common occurrence.

http://discussion.visorcentral.com/...?threadid=13486
http://discussion.visorcentral.com/...?threadid=13360
http://discussion.visorcentral.com/...?threadid=13638
http://discussion.visorcentral.com/...?threadid=13424
http://discussion.visorcentral.com/...?threadid=18673
http://discussion.visorcentral.com/...?threadid=18746
http://www.jimweller.net/article.php?sid=15

Should the Visor still be stuck in the Digitizer program with no reasonable hope of recovery, contact your retailer or Handspring Customer Care for a Visor replacement.

I'm sorry that a full explanation required such length, but I did state the Edge was purchased directly from Handspring on April 30, 2001 (Order# [elided]). I am cc:ing this response to Customer Care as well in hopes that they may be able to help resolve this. The problem is that, at this point, I am not under the impression that a replacement Edge will help matters since this seems to be endemic to the line. All that I'm seeking is either an answer as to why this seems to be happening to so many Edges (in the hopes that a permanent fix might be found) or an avenue to get a PDA to which this won't happen. As I said though, I'm really not very confident in the Edge line at the moment without a pretty good explanation and confidence level that it won't happen to the replacement. If another comparable Visor is not an option, then I would like to know what my options are regarding a refund. After all, I'm one of the few people who had confidence enough in Handspring to purchase the Edge in the limited time that it was at its highest price.

You may make an inquiry with Handspring Customer Care using our web based form at http://www.handspring.com/ or in North America, phone us at 1-888-565-9393. They are open from 9:00AM-9:00PM, Monday to Friday. Saturdays from 12:00PM-4:00PM. Sundays closed.

When contacting Customer Care, have your billing information at hand and a pen and paper ready to take down a Return Authorization (RA) number and/or shipping tracking number. Your representative can also review with you any relevant issues involving your Handspring product warranty.

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I started playing the "return bad edge for another bad edge" right off the bat - until I got a decent one. Then I crushed it (screen survived, thank God) and got another one that was perfect a couple of months later. I'm thinking most of the glitches have been worked out. Obviously, I have no way to tell conclusively.

__________________
-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

quote:

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Originally posted by dick-richardson
I started playing the "return bad edge for another bad edge" right off the bat - until I got a decent one. Then I crushed it (screen survived, thank God) and got another one that was perfect a couple of months later. I'm thinking most of the glitches have been worked out. Obviously, I have no way to tell conclusively.

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Well, this morning I received an email that my case was escalated, and I should hear back from someone within a 'few business days'. I guess we'll see what happens...