Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 1683

Well, to update my saga, I received a very nice email from Donna with her apologies. She also 'bribed' me to keep me happy...which never hurts

She did admit that early Ice cases had brittle plastic, and that she thinks that perhaps some of the returns are not being cycled out properly. She's looking into that.

If that is true, it probably is a case of very poor quality assurance people or poor QA management. I have a feeling once you get one replacement, you are more likely to receive multiple replacements, due to the recycling of visors with 'genetic' defects.

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We're all naked if you turn us inside out.
-David Byrne

Registered: Aug 2000
Location:
Posts: 33

What a joke! My 5th visor stopped working last night. It turned on, and then wouldnt respond to anything (including turning off). So I did a soft reset, and it just freezes on the prefs screen. So I took the battaries out and put them back in. It stayed off for about 30 seconds and then came back on frozen. So I did a hard reset, and the thing is frozen on the 1st digitizer screen.

I can't believe this.

-nilbog

p.s. I did start from scratch on this one, and I wasnt running ANY programs in memory. No hackmaster, handscape, sign on, etc. Oh yeah, and I was using the alkline battaries that came with my replacement.

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Posts: 80

quote:

---

Originally posted by Nilbog
What a joke! My 5th visor stopped working last night.

I can't believe this.

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I too, cannot believe this. That you and homer should have so many devices go bad is defying the odds. It would be interesting to learn if any other Visor owners are also having the same (bad) luck (e.g. owners that do not access VisorCentral).

Is there any chance that the Visor is being exposed to any "extreme" such as heat or cold. How about moisture/humidity? And of course the biggie, magnetic fields? (Perhaps you both have overly "magnetic" personalities. )

=Dave=

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I do NOT look wierd! I just look ... "different".

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 35

Do you guys live near high tension power lines or maybe inside a x-ray machine? Just kidding. Seriously though, I find it odd for a handful of people to keep receiving bad visors. Either HS keeps sending bump Visors back out or there is something in the environment affecting them.

Registered: Nov 1999
Location:
Posts: 341

Either this is a troll post (which I accept it is not) or they live on TOP of a high power electric feeder line. I've purchased several Visors-Deluxes and Platinums and have NEVER had a problem with any of them like what is described.

Mike

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Simi Valley, CA
Posts: 110

Looks like it's time to call in Mulder and Scully!

Seriously though, I've had a BVD since nov of last year and have yet to experience any negatives except for a couple of soft resets caused by suspect apps.

Chemical incompatibilites are not unheard of, there are reports of some people so affected that virtually all consumer electronics are useless to them.

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Joe V. - Simi Valley, CA

Registered: Aug 2000
Location:
Posts: 33

well handspring said they would send me out a NEW visor instead of a refurb. I wasnt very happy with that, and I think I'm going to try talking them into letting me upgrade to the plantinum. I dont think thats too much to ask considering I've gotten 5 bad visors.

I live near no power lines or extreme conditions. I am always very careful with my visor, keeping it in it's case, etc. At one point, I even made a little anti-static sleave out of one of those bags hard drives come in.

Hey homer, what kind of bribe did they offer you?

-nilbog

Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Posts: 40

quote:

---

Originally posted by dequardo
Either this is a troll post (which I accept it is not) or they live on TOP of a high power electric feeder line. I've purchased several Visors-Deluxes and Platinums and have NEVER had a problem with any of them like what is described.

Mike

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You purchased "several" of them? One is not enough, or do you give them away as gifts? I've had a problem with my original Visor, it would crash as the memory got filled up. The second one I got was fine for a while and then little dots appeared under the screen, so I returned it again. Now I'm on my first Visor Platinum.

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Belzebutt

Registered: Nov 1999
Location:
Posts: 341

Yes. It's called a business.

Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 1683

quote:

---

Hey homer, what kind of bribe did they offer you?

---

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We're all naked if you turn us inside out.
-David Byrne

Registered: Aug 2000
Location:
Posts: 33

Actually mine is a graphite. I called customer support and am trying to get them to send me a plantinum as a replacement (hopefully not a platinum refurb!). I don't know if they will do it - but it seems like if they gave you a $80 memory module, they would give me a $50 upgrade on a different device that hopefully works a little better.
But I am waiting for that call back. I'll give them another day before I call THEM and have even more of a reason to be pissed off.

-nilbog

Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 1683

Nilbog:

They won't call you back. They never do.

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Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 23

[/B][/QUOTE]
I too, cannot believe this. That you and homer should have so many devices go bad is defying the odds. It would be interesting to learn if any other Visor owners are also having the same (bad) luck (e.g. owners that do not access VisorCentral).
[/B][/QUOTE]

Just discovered VisorCentral and registered. And yes, I also already own the 4th or 5th unit (don't remember) of a Visor (2 MB version) within 10 months.
Observations (some of them with several units, some of them unique to a particular unit):
- unit works fine for a few weeks/months, then it develops a habit of crashing requiring soft-resets. This is usually followed within 1 week by a crash requiring a hard-reset resulting in loss of all data.
- unit doesn't turn on although battery indicator was still high the last time I used the unit. Replacement of batteries doesnot help. Hard-reset is required in addition.
- soft-reset (for whatever reason) results in BSOD (=Blinking Screen of Death). Requires Hard-reset and sometimes even battery replacements.
- unit turns on but shows BSOD. see above.
- unit freezes, soft-reset results in BSOD. see above.
- unit shows BSOD and I can NOT turn it off with the power button!!! Only, removal of batteries helps.

All this is not obviously related to any of the software I am using, it happens even if I am not using any programs (=the unit sits on the table and I am staring at it or I am sleeping. Perhaps it's my evil spirit...), it happens with or without the installation of Hackmaster, it happened before and after I used the backup module, I didn't drop it, BUT: I am a chemist...

So, what does Handspring say to this? 1. Perform Hard-Reset and do NOT install any 3rd party apps. Wait a couple of months and if it is working fine, please feel free to add ONE 3rd party app. Wait a couple of months... 2. Well, we'll send you a new one...
Rather interestingly, I received during my last exchange a "new" unit which showed an extremely dark screen or more precisely extremely low contrast (and yes, the contrast slider was set in the middle position). First, I thought that the batteries might be empty and replaced them. But still, it looked dark. Only, setting the contrast slider to maximum gave me the usual screen appearence. Contacting Handspring with this, resulted in a replacement of the replacement of the replacement...
And I also tried to convince them to upgrade me to a Deluxe or a Prism unit. I offered to pay the difference in price. But without luck! It's not Handspring's policy they tell me. Well, I'd be curious to see if you are successful.

What might be the reason for those fatal crashes? I can't help but wonder if it is somewhat related to the batteries. I noticed that upon crashes (and subsequent soft-reset) the batteries are sometimes drained extraordinarily. Let's say from 90% full to 20% according to the battery indicator. Now, if the same drainage happens while the batteries are only full to 50% it might effectively empty the whole batteries thereby deleting all data... A point in this direction is that I have the impression that the fatal crashes (loss of all data due to hard reset necessary) occurr more often at relatively low battery levels (let's say 20% or so). I am using Duracell's alkalines. Anything wrong with that?
Another thing which keeps me wondering is that I find my unit sometimes ON although I switched it off and/or the Auto-off settings (3 min.) should have turned it off. For instance, I have the impression that Auto-Off doesn't work (always) if I received an appointment alarm. If this is true the unit would stay on until the batteries are empty...
But why should then a soft- or hard-reset in addition to battery replacements be necessary??? I know...

I am tired of the whole thing and I am pretty sure that my next unit won't be from Handspring.

Joerg

Registered: Aug 2000
Location:
Posts: 33

homer - Yes, I forsaw their lack of calling me back. That is actually to my advantage, as I can make them feel worse about themselves and hopefully get them to send me the upgrade.

JRocken - Welcome to our club! It seems the 2mb visor has the same kinds of problems as the vdx. makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside doesnt it? Makes you really feel how much handspring cares about you! (You and your money that is).

Well, it helps that my father is a lawyer. I can threaten them that I will sue them for the price of my vdx, expansion module, and the valuable loss of data (a very traumatizing and life-altering thing indeed)!

I mean, after all, they promise that my visor will keep me "incredibly organized" and says that it's so easy to use that I won't even have to look at the user's manual. Well on both counts they have been wrong. Instead of "incredibly organized" I got an incredible headache, and I spend more time dealing with problems then I do using it for anything else! Oh, one more promise they give "organize your life, without losing your mind!" Oh, how it fits me! I'm about to go jump off a cliff...

I have been cheated out of $300 and they damn well better send me an upgrade, so I can have an even more expensive piece of sh*t that I might be able to sell on ebay for the original amount that I spent. I am inclined to believe that if anyone over at handspring actually cared, they would send me a platinum for FREE. I think if they wanted to, they COULD send me an upgrade, regardless of their "policy". Anyway, I guess we'll see.

Oh yeah - JR, you should call them back and tell them you want a NEW one sent to you, not a refurb. Or, better yet, if you ordered it from them, get your money back and RUN!

-nilbog

Registered: Nov 1999
Location:
Posts: 341

JRocken:
Yours sounds partly like a case of 'case tightness syndrome'. It may well be that your case it pushing on either the screen itself or one/more of the buttons. OR you may 70's style tight pants :-)

What happens is that alarms trigger but the device never shuts off because there is screen/button 'activity' passive though it may be.

For your other problems I can only assume it IS some third party app that doesn't play well with the OS. If you truly have NO 3rd party apps installed then you have a legitimate beef.

Good luck, and check out the case issue.

Mike

Registered: Aug 2000
Location:
Posts: 33

just an update:
They (of course) didnt call back, so I called them.
They still would not send me an upgrade. They wouldnt send me a 8mb flash module either (I dont know how you did that homer!), so they sent me a new case (I'm sure it will be pink or something). And they did send me a new visor instead of a refurb. I just can't wait to go through all of this again!

-nilbog

Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 1683

Nilbog:

Did you receive the email I sent you? If not, I'll try again.

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Registered: Aug 2000
Location:
Posts: 33

Yeah, I got it...thanks a bunch man!
-nil

[Edited by Nilbog on 12-30-2000 at 08:20 PM]

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 23

Nilbog: let me know when you file a class-action law-suits against Handspring for mental and emotional traumata! By the way, could we include Microsoft and McAfee too?
With respect to Handspring's customer service: I actually think they do a pretty good job. I mean they exchange units without big hassles, right? But to be honest, this has to be weighted against my experiences with McAfee's "customer service" which ended in a shouting match a few weeks ago. But that's off-topic here of course... So, considering my recently tremendously dropped expectations towards customer service, I'd say Handspring is doing fine.

Mike: I admit that you have a point with your suggestion of a 'case tightness syndrome'. Although I am not into 70s style supertight pants. By the way: does the Visor manual make a statement about the clothes one is allowed to wear with those units? Like: "Your new Visor requires to be transported only with loosely fitting clothing like baggy pants. Alternatively, it can be safely carried in the side pockets of carpenter jeans or in shirt pockets. In the latter case, however, please avoid to lean too much forward over the toilet bowl. Under certain circumstances, the unit might drop into it.")
I am using one of Handspring's 'Deluxe' Leather Cases and I dared to put credit and business cards inside. It might very well be that they press sometimes on one of the buttons keeping the unit on all the time. BUT: why is sometimes a hardreset (in addition to battery exchange) necessary to restart the unit? No need to speculate...

Happy New Year! Joerg

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Seattle, Wa, USA
Posts: 66

With the number of Visors sold in the United States and Canada, it's statistically inevitable that a few people will get a string of bad Visors. It's improbable, but with enough sales, it's not impossible.

I also agree that third party apps can cause errors in many ways, and that for a vast majority of crashes, that is the top explanation.

I sympathize with those in this thread who got the bad luck streak, but I don't think that these siolated incidents are indicative of the quality of the Visors overall.

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