What is wrong with my phone? It is possesed

[jmonty]

Have to say stick a fork in it! Done as in over and cooked!
My D1 did the same thing and never came back to life. If you have Ins just "loose" your phone

 

[Lowcarb]

First I started having problems when trying to text. The screen would get all jumpy and then would go back and forth between older texts, I would have to exit and re-enter to type a few more characters, and continue the cycle until I got the text sent.

Then the phone became possessed and will do things on its own, it will open up applications, jump from application to application and then start typing.

I have a brand new Droid 4, less than a week old, it is behaving the same way. It called our daughter all by itself. Every morning there is something random on the screen. Yesterday it was texting gobblygook. Today it was google searching gooblygook. It also gets hung up at times and will not respond to any keyboard input.

 

[Joyna]

now with a 4?!?

that's bad news. I just got a D4 after the screen on my D2 did the same thing on & off for months, then finally failed last week. I will be quicker to ask for warranty service on the D4.

I've been bad & been away from this forum for too long...missed the report on changes that meant I'd lose unlimited data by getting a new phone.
It made sense to upgrade to the D4 instead of replacing via insurance, since I'd read a lot of comments on the same D2 screen failures.

Can anyone tell me if there's a way to get anything out of the dead D2? The screen is lit but is now completely unresponsive. Camera & sticky notes data...

Thanks all,
Laurie

eta....comments on Credo's service? ready to consider other plans for when my newly renewed contract runs out.

 

[Joyna]

... anyone know if this is covered? ...

not covered for failure, but ins will cover for liquid damage...

mine failed for good after it got diesel on the screen... roadside emergency, didn't know diesel was on my cheek:icon_ cry: (ew)

Insurance replacement of D2 with potential for same problem: $99 (one poster said she had 3 in a row do it...$297 and counting, hmmm no warranty on ins replacements?)
Upgrade to D4 (they let me do it 2 months early): ~$290 including case & Calif taxes.

 

[MrCatPC]

I have a brand new Droid 4, less than a week old, it is behaving the same way. It called our daughter all by itself. Every morning there is something random on the screen. Yesterday it was texting gobblygook. Today it was google searching gooblygook. It also gets hung up at times and will not respond to any keyboard input.

same problem as OP's, one question though.

would a Droid 2 digitizer work the same as an R2D2 digitizer?
they look the same but the R2D2 one is like twice the price, and i have an R2D2 phone.

that is, if the problem does in fact lie in the digitizer, which is so far what i've gathered.

Important note from the future : (see quote below) Droid A956 does not have the same hardware as A955 & A957. So to answer your question directly, A956 would need its specific part (digitizer or digitizer+glass and/or digitizer cable), whereas hardware for original D2 A955 and "special edition" R2-D2 A957 have interchangeable hardware. Thanks for catching me on that, Gasai Yuno . I'm sure I got confused with the D2 question I was replying to in a D2G thread, sorry. Stricken passages (below) appear in light gray font since I can't find the strike-out-text button. Hope sharing this by editing past thread doesn't create a time paradox...

I'm looking at replacing my "old" Moto D2 R2-D2 Edition with a Droid 4 or a new R2-D2 (Droid 2) per ongoing battles with the screen possession and demons not yet exorcised. Maybe I'm using the wrong encantations? See Official R2-D2 Owner's Thread for details. The other option I see short-term is to pursue digitizer+glass replacement (don't need the glass but for the cost of parts to include digitizer already mounted to glass versus having to pry & re-apply the thin digitizer itself with replacement under my original glass, weighing the checks and balances here).

@ Lowcarb, sorry to hear your D4 didn't shake the ghost of D2's misbehavior. It began misbehaving that soon after adoption?

@ Joyna, What else might the D4 & your prior D2 have in common? Here's why I ask...

I've decided the kids no longer get to play any games on Daddy's business phone, whether it be a new D2/R2-D2 device or a new/refurb Droid 4: I see an easy path to blame them for pinching the screen to hold down the LEGO App4+ game buttons on-screen that make the truck go vroom. But there are other age/use/exposure factors which probably made my touch screen go wonky. Nah, I totally blame the kids (it began freaking out after they got to play games on it during July 4th holiday). Now, I'm not suggesting you're doing anything wrong, just curious whether something else may be in common to cause similar behavior (some credit bad power chargers, water/heat/drop exposure ((in my case guilty of shower steam exposure and extended cradle charging time and a couple drops (((none recently))) )) )...

@ nineteen43, Did you end up replacing your R2-D2? I've been doing the same calculations Joyna listed, basically, and heavily leaning to replacing with a Droid 4 out-of-pocket versus using Asurion deductible to get a refurbished R2-D2. New artoo unit is ~160 on eBay I see (and going fast out of stock I'm sure) whereas Asurion will want $99 for their refurbished device. I would buy a Droid 4 (even refurbished or gently used) or new R2-D2 via 3rd party instead of under VZW subsidy, just to keep my "unlimited" data in effect. Oh and there's that extra $30 upgrade fee that VZW charges for purchasing a new device from them directly, which we had to pay when replacing wife's LG flip phone at a VZW store in May. Bypassing VZW's shopping cart altogether looks better all the time.

For the record: yes, the D2 (A955), D2 Global (A956***) and D2 R2-D2 Edition (A957) use the same digitizer component and LCD screen. The glass, frame, digitizer, and LCD can all be purchased separately or in various combinations (go fish), and you may see that

1. there are 2 OEM outer frame options (chrome or darker "titanium" color),
2. the D2/D2G models sport a black screen inner frame design behind the glass (R2-D2 gets extra pinstripe flare), and
3. you don't have to replace the LCD to replace the digitizer.

*** Strike out: D2G/A956 Global Edition Droid 2: should not have been part of my hardware reference here. ***

Beware that some vendors require separate purchase of glue/adhesive film for mounting the glass & digitizer to your device, but some include the sticky stuff with a combo digitizer/glass replacement part. I bought a chrome frame with my replacement keyboard overlay but never replaced the cracked chrome on my R2-D2 in February when I swapped its keypads. Now I'm considering buying the digitizer with glass for D2/R2-D2/D2G*** to correct this personality problem with the touchscreen. I stopped and backpedalled the frame replacement previously about 7 screws into removing the slider for the screen when I realized I would have to pry up the adhesive "stickers" that compose the back of the R2-D2 frame in order to access the remaining screws. It's about that time again (or to abandon this device for a different one). If I swap the digitizer & glass, the cracked chrome outer frame will likely fall apart mid-repair, so may as well use that spare frame that's waiting in a box for just such an occasion.

*** Strike out: D2G/A956 Global Edition Droid 2: D2G replacement parts not interchangeable with D2/R2-D2 models. ***

Wish I may, wish I might, Asurion replace my R2-D2 with a D4 and without a fight? In a more perfect world perhaps.

Helpful note from our friend in this thread's present future (later it is in the past) as promised above:

A955 and A957 are 100% compatible in terms of both hardware and software.

A956's hardware is different.

 

[MrCatPC]

The ghost is in the machine

that's bad news. I just got a D4 after the screen on my D2 did the same thing on & off for months, then finally failed last week. I will be quicker to ask for warranty service on the D4.

I've been bad & been away from this forum for too long...missed the report on changes that meant I'd lose unlimited data by getting a new phone.
It made sense to upgrade to the D4 instead of replacing via insurance, since I'd read a lot of comments on the same D2 screen failures.

Can anyone tell me if there's a way to get anything out of the dead D2? The screen is lit but is now completely unresponsive. Camera & sticky notes data...

Thanks all,
Laurie

eta....comments on Credo's service? ready to consider other plans for when my newly renewed contract runs out.

@ joyna (Laurie): You asked for help backing up items stuck on your D2 (do you still have your Droid 2 Global device?)...

1. I think your Sticky Notes are stuck on the dead-to-touch D2. Here's why: the stock Motorola Widget "Sticky Notes" is a touch-based feature (protected system app) at least as far as starting a note on the home screen, and as far as editing & sharing a note. Technically the notes' contents can be shared to e-mail/txt/etc, but according to Add a Sticky Note to your Home screen tip page from Motorola, you'd need to be able to TOUCH the menu key to access the Share function (of course, that's after TOUCHing the note widget itself on your home screen, too). Since limiting myself to keyboard/button control on my R2-D2, I see some home screen items can be selected by the physical arrow keys, but home screen widgets get skipped entirely. Recently I reinstalled root access to my device, which allows me to use Titanium Backup Root (the free version), that can access system apps including "Sticky note 2.3.4," which I can zig-zag through arrow key presses to select (using OK button on keypad where needed) and backup its data. Performing those steps and then attempting to recover the data is apparently futile, because the Sticky Notes widget does not store its home screen widget size or location (all basically temporary data relative to the home screen itself). So when attempting to restore the app data for "Sticky Note 2.3.4," Ti Backup Root completes the task but content doesn't reappear on the home screen as a note. Not even after obeying the prompt to restart the device for changes to sys apps to appear. Sorry...
2. If you meant photos as the "camera data" you want to recover, I think you're in luck. The camera and video camera app's JPG and 3GP files are all typically stored on your D2's micro-SD or micro-SDHC flash memory card under Camera subfolder within DCIM folder on the card, which you can attach to your computer via a card reader adapter & USB (bought my most recent mSD adapter as SanDisk brand at local Staples store around $10). Because Android (or the Moto device programming perhaps) saves photos to the generic "Camera" subfolder, whereas most traditional digital cameras create their own named-by-camera-model-number subfolder, it's entirely possible that simply inserting your D2's mSD card into your new Droid4 will cause the old D2 photos to show up without any other steps needed. If you tried to do that with a Kodak camera swapping the memory card into a Canon, for instance, the Kodak's subfolder on the card would likely be ignored by the Canon camera, but the pictures would still be in that subfolder for a computer to access. Cool?
3. As for "getting anything out of the dead D2," Have you seen the dead/for_parts/not_working devices listed on eBay? You can probably get $omething out of it just judging what I have seen win on those auctions. Bound to be somebody out there who's been driving freight as long as VZW has even been around & has a magic fix for diesel-washed gadgets. Or maybe BP Oil would have a tip? They are in it for the long haul. K

Condolences on the diesel fuel death of your D2's touch screen and unlimited data plan (R.I.P. "unltd data," that was a short window from announcement to implementation, but probably a long time coming). I don't think a bag of rice could fix that, the diesel accident I mean. And for the D4, yes, stay on top of your warranty (spoken as a techie who's self-combusted on that issue myself (that's an "I've been burned" reference there) with laptops, etc.)... Take honest advantage of coverage wherever you can. It's a good thing! I am not up for upgrade til October, but I will be going the BYOD plan buying my next device unsubsidized by VZW through 3rd party (eBay) so that I can hopefully keep my data plan. I don't consume lots of data regularly, but I run LogMeIn sessions from R2-D2 that could eat up the GBs as fast as battery bars, let alone streaming YouTube howto vids and music. Watch out or they'll soon say that the "free 4G sim card" for active accounts activitating 3rd-party-purchased devices will automatically cancel unltd data, too. The hypothetical VZW solution for that problem being a $200 2yr sim card lease, of course! No really, it's not a tax, we promise.

---

All electronics fail eventually, I'm just biding my time...

Overall screen failure is in my device's hardware, but the twitchy stuff seems to have been partially symptom of software/settings. Combo problem. Double whammy. Sweet!

Loop back to this other thread if you want to continue following the adventure of my R2-D2 touch screen issue. I'm stepping back from this Droid 2 Global thread unless I have any helpful news regarding hardware parts replacement should I actually pursue that course versus replacing my device.

Root discussion for the R2-D2 model continues over at Official R2-D2 Owners Thread. The D2G details for ongoing attempts to root 629 updated A956 devices (with possibly the same method as D2/R2-D2?) follow at that conversation on RootzWiki. Not that anyone's interested in that sort of thing, wink.

I forgot to say earlier I elminated suspicious power/usb-charging cables, and last week removed the anti-glare screen protector (2[SUP]nd[/SUP] of 3 in my original VZW brand accessory pack), and I did not see an immediate improvement for my hyperactive touch screen. So I installed the 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] screen protector (the next evening after sunset I decided I couldn't deal with the slick Gorilla Glass glare more than a day), again no change in screen behavior there, but it seems that attempting the recently released 621 Droid 2 fixed SBF root procedure was much more effective than calling a priest (although I'm still at the ready to stick a fork in it, wooden stake, silver bullet, etc). I can't recommend that flashing/reflashing/rooting will repair your own screen, that would be fabulous voodoo, but at least in my own case it stopped my recent R2-D2's case of tourette syndrome-like tics so far). That said, given Murphy's Law, predicting R2-D2 is bound to have some kind of grand mal seizure revenge on me sooner or later.

He's going to need a transplant. We can rebuild him--better, stronger, faster--but we don't want to spend a lot of money.

 

[Gasai Yuno]

the D2 (A955), D2 Global (A956) and D2 R2-D2 Edition (A957) use the same digitizer component and LCD screen.

What.

This forum has quite a few threads on how A956's digitizer's flex cable is different from A955/A957.

 

[MrCatPC]

What.

This forum has quite a few threads on how A956's digitizer's flex cable is different from A955/A957.

Hello Gasai Yuno!

I haven't looked at cables yet, just vendors showing the same part for digitizer+glass combo parts listing cross-compatibility, and getting dizzy with the options I've seen. Should I beware as a buyer before I purchase a non-A957 digitizer+glass? Is it also possible I may just have a worn-out cable behind my digitizer? All pointers & corrections welcomed, especially before I order parts & start turning torx screws counter-clockwise...

Difficult to find strictly A957 R2-D2 replacement parts so far... You already know about misleading Droid Pro listings as "A957" I'm sure. It goes on and on!

Is it possibly a matter of differently designed replacement digitizer cables? I'll definitely be looking up some tear-down/disassembly on YouTube as well as the forums to check this out. I trust your input, just always curious to learn as much as I can before I end up with a money pit project, of course.

Thanks for headsup, I appreciate the caution K ...I'm also realizing some dissimilarity between D2/R2-D2 (A955/A957) versus the D2G model as I dig deeper, so before I get to hunting down those threads, I want to make sure you're highlighting hardware/cable difference for the D2G A956, which I regret I know less about. I'll humbly edit out whatever I need to from my rambling post(s) if necessary. I've probably gone a little blind with various forums basically saying "it's the same thing" for Droid 2 series models on all kinds of software/hardware issues. I know I'm in a minority here somewhat with this A957. It's not yet on the operating table & all the innards are still invisible.

 

[Gasai Yuno]

A955 and A957 are 100% compatible in terms of both hardware and software.

A956's hardware is different.

 

[MrCatPC]

A955 and A957 are 100% compatible in terms of both hardware and software.

A956's hardware is different.

Thanks again for the clarification. K
Edited previous posts accordingly to help prevent spreading my misinformation.