Twitchy glitchy screen.

[sNuFfYStiGLiTZ]

Hello all. I was wondering if anyone was having the same problem I'm having with my Razr. Every now and then when I'm typing on the keyboard, the phone will register buttons that I never even pressed. For example, I'll be typing the word hello. When I type the letter L, they keyboard for some reason will act as if I letters on the other side of the keyboard like A even though my finger was never on any of the letters on that side of they keyboard. This problem is quite prevalent when I have the charger plugged into the phone. This problem also happened when I had the Bionic. As a result (Along with the data issues with the Bionic) Verizon sent me the Razr. Again, am I the only one experiencing this problem?

 

[jjlittle1]

Are you using the charger that came with the phone? If your not the wrong charger will do that. I've done it with my OG DROID messed it up just like that. But switching to the right one solved the problem.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using DroidForums

 

[FoxKat]

Are you using the charger that came with the phone? If your not the wrong charger will do that. I've done it with my OG DROID messed it up just like that. But switching to the right one solved the problem.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using DroidForums

You are exactly right. In many cases it IS the charger that is being used which is at the root of the "ghost typing" syndrome. It can be "dirty power", or RFI (Radio Frequency Interference), that causes the capacitance readings to change or fluctuate nominally and throw off the method used to sense your finger's "touch". There are other potential causes, even when using the stock charger. I mentioned the explanation in another thread... See below with additional comment regarding this thread in brackets.

...It's due to a combination of fluctuations in line current which translate into variances in the voltages being supplied to the battery, and any lack of proper filtering of that charging voltage by lower quality chargers [here's where the issue of non-Motorola chargers is sometimes the culpret], coupled with the battery current draw which also fluctuates as it's charging. These variances all confuse the circuitry that monitors capacitance levels of the digitizer surface and fools it into thinking your finger is somewhere it is not or thinking it's moving.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

 

[sNuFfYStiGLiTZ]

In this case, yes I am using the charger the phone came with. I went through 3 Bionics and Verizon is about to send me my second Razr. It's quite frustrating. This wouldn't happen to have an impact on the battery would it? I noticed that my battery life has taken a nose dive as well....

 

[FoxKat]

In this case, yes I am using the charger the phone came with. I went through 3 Bionics and Verizon is about to send me my second Razr. It's quite frustrating. This wouldn't happen to have an impact on the battery would it? I noticed that my battery life has taken a nose dive as well....

If you're using the stock (Motorola) power supply and suffering the glitches in finger sensing, it's unfortunate. I also suffer some of this but it's minor, though sometimes it affects the Swype software's ability to translate my finger path into the proper word. If I remove the power supply and use it on battery the problem stops. It's easy to see with Swype because it lets you see a line representing the path your finger took. A drawing application also lets you see this. With the power supply plugged in, the line has slight "jitters" on it showing the slight errors in detection of finger location. On battery, the line is smooth and showing none of the "jitter".

I think it's just a characteristic of the type of digitizer used, since it senses you finger location by the relative capacitance changes of underlying capacitor junctions just below the surface of the digitizer. Since we're talking about minute voltage difference changes, ANY fluctuation of input voltage or dirty power from an external supply will only amplify the "jitters" and make them worse. Unfortunately there is no better touch-screen technology at present, although Sony has announced a touch screen that uses two methods of detection, one that is identical to ours, and another that can actually detect your finger being waved above the screen and even can determine how close or far from the screen it is. Apparently by combining the two, you will get more precise positioning and even pressure, as well as the benefit of 3D control.

As for the battery, unless the stock supply has either failed (meaning it is no longer performing within manufacturer's recommended tolerances), or it's a third-party supply that was never properly suited for the purpose to begin with, you shouldn't see any ill effects to the battery.

Finally, if your battery life has taken a nose dive recently it may be an effect of the battery meter not accurately tracking the actual power in the battery and causing you to believe it's low when it actually isn't, or saying it's completely charged and turning off the charging circuitry too early, when it hasn't actually reached a fully saturated charge level. These batteries have a peculiar performance characteristic in that unlike most batteries where the voltage drops relatively steady from a full charge to the recommended minimum charge level before requiring a recharge, Lithium Ion Polymer batteries (the one in your RAZR) actually maintain a fairly stead voltage across a wide range of charge level. From 100% to about 80% the voltage will drop from about 4.2V to around 4V. From 80% charge to about 20% charge the voltage may only drop a few tenths. Then once it reaches about 20%, the voltage starts to roll off rapidly and will bottom out at about 3V before the phone will shut down to protect the battery from being deep-discharged.

This makes it difficult for the battery meter to accurately gauge how much charge is actually remaining across the time you use it. This can result in the meter getting "out of sync" with the battery. Also when charging while the phone is powered up, the metering circuitry can be fooled into thinking the battery is fully charged when it really is only as little as 85% charged, so you miss out on the additional 15% or so that it could have had added if the charging process were more accurate. This is due to the phone using power while charging and the use of power causing an error in the amount of current and voltage of the battery while charging. It's a known problem and one that can cause a lot of concern about battery performance.

Fortunately to resolve this is simple. Power off the phone and plug into the charger. Allow the phone to boot into charge only mode (the large battery with animated "liquid" level). Allow it to charge to 100%. You can be sure this will be complete if you plug in at night before bed and you'll have the 100% level in the morning when you wake. It will actually take much less time, but since the display only remains on for about 10 seconds at a time it's difficult to keep track of where it is in the charging process.

If you want to check along the way, a quick click of the power button and waiting about 3 seconds will have the display light up and you'll see the battery level. Let the display time out and come back later to check again. Once you've fully charged the battery in charge only mode, go ahead and disconnect the charge, then power the phone and use it normally through the day. Once your phone reaches the low battery warning level - about 15%, go back and do the full powered off charging cycle again and you're all set for the next month to two months or so. You should now see it giving you a full day's power or more. Fact is, it would have probably lasted almost as long but it may have hung in at the low battery levels for a very long time due to the out of sync level estimates. This way, you'll have it giving you a fairly accurate estimate of remaining charge from here forward.

Whatever you do, try to avoid ever letting the phone reach a battery level so low it powers itself off (0%). If you do happen to have it power off due to a fully discharged battery, make sure you get to a charger quickly and plug in and allow it to fully charge again in charge only mode, and then follow the steps above again. This will restore the battery and meter back to their best level representations.

 

[sNuFfYStiGLiTZ]

my head almost asploded hahaha but thanks for the tips. I hope this replacement they're sending works. I'm starting to get rather frustrated.

 

[FoxKat]

my head almost asploded hahaha but thanks for the tips. I hope this replacement they're sending works. I'm starting to get rather frustrated.

Sorry, I get carried away sometimes (most off the time...) I mentioned on another thread that I have to try to tone down my posts but that comment was met with cries of disappointment. LOL! Anyway, best luck with the new one. One last comment. Don't power up or use the new phone until you first give it a full charge with the power off. You'll be happy you did.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

 

[sNuFfYStiGLiTZ]

Will do. Thanks again!

 

[Zandar]

Also, and I know this is a bit simplistic, make sure your screen is clean. A dirty screen will cause poor registration of swipes and taps, so that could be a problem. Ditto for dirty fingers. In fact, why don't you just go and take a shower?

 

[FoxKat]

Also, and I know this is a bit simplistic, make sure your screen is clean. A dirty screen will cause poor registration of swipes and taps, so that could be a problem. Ditto for dirty fingers. In fact, why don't you just go and take a shower?

:blink: True to form! Hey Zandar, does getting caught in a rainstorm count?

And another thing to note along the vein above (dirty fingers). Gorilla Glass is highly RESISTANT to scratches, but even the slightest amount of earthly residue such as garden soil or any other fine abrasives, if contained on your finger tips (they tend to hide in your fingerprint lines), will result in super-fine scratches that my not even be visible except under the proper light and the proper angle. I find direct sunlight to be most revealing since it's highly directional and the whitest light, so even the finest of superficial scratches are revealed. Same with dust, finger oils and such.

 

[Gleason81]

Hello all. I was wondering if anyone was having the same problem I'm having with my Razr. Every now and then when I'm typing on the keyboard, the phone will register buttons that I never even pressed. For example, I'll be typing the word hello. When I type the letter L, they keyboard for some reason will act as if I letters on the other side of the keyboard like A even though my finger was never on any of the letters on that side of they keyboard. This problem is quite prevalent when I have the charger plugged into the phone. This problem also happened when I had the Bionic. As a result (Along with the data issues with the Bionic) Verizon sent me the Razr. Again, am I the only one experiencing this problem?

I have naturally sweaty hands and sometimes this causes this problem. Something to consider.

 

[FoxKat]

I have naturally sweaty hands and sometimes this causes this problem. Something to consider.

Since this is a capacitance touch screen, anything that can conduct electricity or contain a static charge will affect the finger placement determination. Water, and especially sweat (water with elevated salt content which increases conductivity) is a perfect example.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk