VisorCentral.com - Visor Edge freezing and no-power off problem resolved .. I think

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Posted by rashid_k_ali on 10-05-2001 01:51 PM:

Visor Edge freezing and no-power off problem resolved .. I think

Earlier this year, I purchased a Handspring Visor Edge which had worked flawlessly until today. No identifiable circumstances had caused the unit to stop working.

The problem description is as follows:
"In the datebook application, when I pressed anything it wouldn't exit or let me power off. A soft reset gave a fatal exception. A hard reset that erases all data also resulted in a fatal error. In any event, the unit could not be powered off."

I noticed that the problems occurred after removing the Edge from the cradle. In addition, the "fatal exceptions" mentioned did not occur if the unit was in the cradle. However, the unit was stuck in the digitiser setup mode and could not exit.

I concluded that the symptoms changed when the Edge was in the cradle and maybe an intermittent power issue (e.g. fluctuations when removing the unit from the cradle) caused the problems in the first place.

Given that the unit could not power off, even though I could press the power button that would clear the screen, I though that the best course of action would be to totally disconnect the battery and reconnect. Fortunately, after about three or four hours while occupied with work, I noticed that the battery had drained to the extent that no response could be solicited from the unit. It appears that the condition caused the battery to discharge much more quickly than it should.

After recharging for a short while, the unit worked perfectly.

My conclusion at this point is that the Visor Edge is sensitive to power being supplied from the cradle and may malfunction if any tolerance regarding supply to the connector is exceeded. It is likely that this problem can be rectified if the unit is allowed to discharge to the extent that the circuitry does not function and then recharged and reset accordingly.

It would be worth knowing if others experienced problems with the Edge in the cradle or shortly after removing from the cradle.

Hope this feedback may help others.

Posted by Toby on 10-05-2001 02:57 PM:

Re: Visor Edge freezing and no-power off problem resolved .. I think

quote:
Originally posted by rashid_k_ali
[...] However, the unit was stuck in the digitiser setup mode and could not exit.

Hmmm...I'm beginning to wonder if power and digitizer issues are endemic to the Edges.

quote:
[...] Given that the unit could not power off, even though I could press the power button that would clear the screen, I though that the best course of action would be to totally disconnect the battery and reconnect. Fortunately, after about three or four hours while occupied with work, I noticed that the battery had drained to the extent that no response could be solicited from the unit. It appears that the condition caused the battery to discharge much more quickly than it should.

This sounds extremely similar to the behavior I experienced after my digitizer died and I performed a hard reset.

quote:
After recharging for a short while, the unit worked perfectly.

Well, I'd hesitate to use the word perfectly under the circumstances, since perfection wouldn't have required the steps that led us there.

quote:
My conclusion at this point is that the Visor Edge is sensitive to power being supplied from the cradle and may malfunction if any tolerance regarding supply to the connector is exceeded. It is likely that this problem can be rectified if the unit is allowed to discharge to the extent that the circuitry does not function and then recharged and reset accordingly.

Well, I might buy that were it not for the fact that my power supply for my Edge is plugged into my UPS and hence should be receiving somewhat conditioned AC.

quote:
It would be worth knowing if others experienced problems with the Edge in the cradle or shortly after removing from the cradle. [...]

My experience was after being out of the cradle for about 24 hours, so it definitely wasn't immediate. AAMOF, I had used the Edge earlier that morning with no problems.

Posted by rashid_k_ali on 10-06-2001 09:30 PM:

I spoke with Handspring Support about their replacement policy and they only replace Visor Edges with Visor Edges. They didn't even offer the option of trading in for a Visor Pro even after I indicated that Edge customers probably would not mind paying a little extra to get another PDA they can use with confidence.

Additionally, the support rep. was apparently unaware how common my problem reported was and held firm that "the Visor Edge is like the Mercedes of PDAs".

While I am happy my PDA works now and I really like the overall design of the Edge, I will probably not return to Handspring for a new PDA.

Posted by dick-richardson on 10-06-2001 11:50 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by rashid_k_ali
"the Visor Edge is like the Mercedes of PDAs"

It is, when it works.

__________________
-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Posted by Toby on 10-07-2001 10:17 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by rashid_k_ali
I spoke with Handspring Support about their replacement policy and they only replace Visor Edges with Visor Edges. They didn't even offer the option of trading in for a Visor Pro even after I indicated that Edge customers probably would not mind paying a little extra to get another PDA they can use with confidence.

I'm sure that's their policy currently. It's been their policy on other lines in the past as well, although I seem to remember them deviating on occasion.

quote:
Additionally, the support rep. was apparently unaware how common my problem reported was and held firm that "the Visor Edge is like the Mercedes of PDAs".

I'd believe that there may be some support people unaware of it, but if I can help it, that won't be so for long. I wouldn't compare it to a Mercedes, though. When it works, it is a very classy and useful PDA. However, Mercedes would probably never have such lacking quality control.

quote:
While I am happy my PDA works now and I really like the overall design of the Edge, I will probably not return to Handspring for a new PDA.

That's the really sad thing here, IMO, because it's something they could fix. The real kicker is that yesterday my wife noticed the power button crack on her Visor Deluxe. She's out of warranty (by less than a month), and it's not important enough to her for me to press the issue with them, but Handspring will almost definitely not see money for her next PDA unless they surprise both of us with their response to the Edge issue.

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