Archos G9 101 Turbo - Touchscreen Sensitivity Problem?

[Stileth]

Was experiencing the same problem. What sorted it for good was my try with ICS upgrade which was removed due to wifi problems and downgrade back to HC. Since then no issues with that.

[superpat]

Hi,

About an hour before firmware version 4.07 was released, I lost all faith in Ver 4.06, my tablet froze repeatedly when browsing, requiring reboots.

I therefore did a complete reformat, and installed 3.2.80, and reinstalled all my apps.

So far, the tablet is performing fine. No hangs, no touch screen wobblies, GPS sort of works, still needs Assist on though.

SO reading the few comments about 4.07, apart from the obvious fan boy rubbish, ther is not a lot so far to encourage me to try 4.07 yet.

I am going to hang out for Archos to dump Android 4.03 and release a version based on 4.04.

I will report again in 7 days how 3.2.80 performs on my tablet

regards

Patrick

[superpat]

Well,

No probs with touch screen on 3.2.80

However I installed 4.07, after leaving the tablet in "sleep" mode all night, on pressing the power button to wake it up, the touch screen went crazy, continuous random touches.

See my post on G9 4.07 bug thread.

WTF is going on?

regards

P

[superpat]

Hi,

I am becoming more and more convinced that the "freezes" and "lockups" I get are in fact LOSS OF TOUCH SCREEN INPUT.

On many occassions, after the machine has been in sleep mode overnight, after waking it up I either get the excessive touch syndrome, or at the unlock screen I cannot move, (touch), the unlock icon to unlock the machine.

I ALWAYS have to reboot and then I can unlock as normal.

I have just noticed that if when the machine is "frozen", I turn the device through 90 degs, then the screen display still auto rotates to the new orientation. This indicates to me that the internals of the device are still functioning, but even in the new orientation I cannot unlock the machine.

So I believe that for some SOFTWARE reason, after the machine has been in sleep mode for some hours, the sensitivity configuration of the touch screen gets screwed, either becoming too sensitive or not sensitive at all. Rebooting fixes both cases though!

I am not the only one with this symptom, reading through this and xda forums does show others describing similar problems.

regards

Patrick

[asertori]

I have the same problem, with 4.0.7, somebody has a answer of SAT ? somebody has a solution?

[asertori]

nobody know a solution?

[Dinosaur]

nobody know a solution?

Revert to 3.2.80

[asertori]

nobody know a solution?

Revert to 3.2.80

But it is not a solution. I bought this tablet because is ICS.

[Dinosaur]

Ok, fine. Read the following threads, and you will find that Archos have made a right pig's ear of ICS:

LIVE! - Firmware Update (4.0.7) - Report Bugs
ICS test firmware tackling Wi-Fi and HDMI issues
LIVE! - Firmware Update (4.0.6) - Report Bugs
Just Too Many ICS 4.0.6 Archos Firmware Versions
Firmware 4.0.5 - report bugs here
Firmware 4.04 released - report bugs here
Jelly Bean! Jelly Bean! Jelly Bean!

By all means join the crowd that keep on downloading the "latest and greatest" ICS from Archos and then join in on the complaints that this or that doesn't work. Or, take the safer option and stick with 3.2.80 until (and IF) Archos ever come up with a version of ICS that is worth having. Or, indeed, Jelly Bean.

Your choice.

[superpat]

Re

By all means join the crowd that keep on downloading the "latest and greatest" ICS from Archos and then join in on the complaints that this or that doesn't work. Or, take the safer option and stick with 3.2.80 until (and IF) Archos ever come up with a version of ICS that is worth having. Or, indeed, Jelly Bean.

I TOTALLY agree.

I have given up on version 4.07, I have returned to 3.2.80, it is wonderful!

No more freezes

No more touch screen problems, either going unresponsive or firing touches on its own

GPS works fine, gets a lock in a reasonable time, without any assist.

No more having to reboot every few hours.

I have nothing to complain about with 3.2.80, I only wish Archos could get ICS working as well.

cheers

Patrick

[viking]

Ok, fine. Read the following threads, and you will find that Archos have made a right pig's ear of ICS:

LIVE! - Firmware Update (4.0.7) - Report Bugs

And in that thread you will find many folks like me that find ics 4.0.7 is working virtually pefectly for us. Gps works. Never a freezeup or touch problem. Strange, but true.

On many occassions, after the machine has been in sleep mode overnight, after waking it up I either get the excessive touch syndrome, or at the unlock screen I cannot move, (touch)

I have an arnova which is is starting to show screen insensitivity after sleeping overnight. It worked ok doing that for many months, and now with the same firmware it needs turning off overnight to eliminate the screen problem.

All these clues contradict simple explanations like a dead on arrival firmware. It may be some combo of individual software configuration, individual hardware sensitivity, and obscure quirks of googles ics and archos firmware.

[Dinosaur]

Ok, fine. Read the following threads, and you will find that Archos have made a right pig's ear of ICS:

LIVE! - Firmware Update (4.0.7) - Report Bugs

And in that thread you will find many folks like me that find ics 4.0.7 is working virtually pefectly for us. Gps works. Never a freezeup or touch problem. Strange, but true.

And also in that thread, you will find many for whom GPS doesn't work, problems with 3G sticks, problems with HDMI, problems with the Touch Screen, WiFi issues, calibration issues, and many others. Strange, but true.

I am glad for you and some others that 4.0.7 is "working virtually pefectly" (sic), but then again 3.2.80 also works virtually perfectly. Sure, I know that 3.2.80 doesn't fully use the inherent power of the device and also has its own idiosyncrasies, but at least it is stable enough for me to do mostly what I want on the device. My biggest bugbear with 3.2.80 is that GPS doesn't have my location to within a few feet like my 6 yr old TomTom does, but is about 50 miles out! But I can live with that - I just ignore the GPS functionality and hope that Archos will someday come up with a version of 4.0.x that works on everyone's G9, not just those of the lucky few.

And if Archos can't (or won't, because they are concentrating their resources on the upcoming G10) then maybe xda-Developers will. Until such a happy day arrives, I will stick with 3.2.80.

[viking]

You are missing my point, which was summed up in my last paragraph. The strangeness is that it isnt a clear cut case of firmware 407 being a mess. You have assailed it as such, but other problem sources in combination must be at play as well. Maybe the great majority of folks experience no problem with it... it is highly unusual a bunch of people bother to post thumbs up for it in the problem thread, because it isnt a polling place but a place for complaints. See the review posts for more typical assessments.

I'm not saying everything is ok, but i am saying your extreme condemnation in black and white terms is your own personal thing, and should not be taken as a group concensus that others must avoid 407.

[superpat]

@Viking

One point you have not considered is that there are many variables in HOW the device is used. This can alter the perception of the devices' reliability!

It is useless and counter productive to say "My Archos works" or "My Archos is a junk" . What is different between the two peoples machines and THE WAY THEY ARE BEING USED.

Variables:-

1. Usage

1.1 Does the user turn the Archos off every day?
1.2 How it is turned "off", I stop using mine by pressing the off button briefly, which leaves the machine in a sort of sleep mode.
1.3 How is it turned "on" I start using mine by pressing the "off" button briefly, bringing back to life.
1.4 How long is the Archos used for in a session?

1.4 How is GPS used?
1.4.1 Is the wifi on and connected?,
1.4.2 ARE all the various Google location aids turned on?
1.4.3 Has the Archos been rebooted before using GPS?
1.5 What wifi router is being used?
1.5.1 What protocol?
1.5.2 What is the signal strength at the Archos?

2. Model type?
2.1 Exactly which Archos model / cpu /memory is the owner writing about?

3. Software

3.1 Which firmware is in use? There are many variations of Archos software which all appear under the same generic revision level?
3.2 How was the firmware installed? Clean install on newly formatted memory?
3.3 Which applications were running when the machine malfunctioned? What revision was the application?
3.4 How LONG had the failing app been used for? Under 4.07, if I browsed for 5 minutes it would appear fine, if I browsed for an hour the "Archos" would freeze, using Boat Browser.
3.4 How many applications were loaded?

4. Environment

4.1 What was the temperature?
4.2 What was the case temperature of the Archos?
4.3 What was the humidity? I have noticed on dry days with low humidity the Archos capaitive touch screen wiil accept a touch with a finger positioned about 1 cm ABOVE the screen!

There are probably many more items to compare, without knowing the facts, it is impossible to quantify the results.

I will add this.

Whether running 3.2.80 or 4.07 on my Archos G9 1010 turbo (1.5Ghz, 1Gb mem), I always use the Archos in the same manner, in the same environment, running the same apps for the same time.

I NEVER have any problems with 3.2.80, with 4.07 I get touch screen problems most mornings, needing a reboot , I get freezes needing a reboot and the GPS never gets a lock. I have never had any Wifi problems, (apart from a browser app saying it is not connected, when it is, but doesn't occur with Boat Browser)

I have repeated the trial several times switching between 3.2.80 and 4.07, always with a clean install on a formatted memory. The results are always the same. Version 4.07 problems, version 3.2.80 works fine!

regards

Patrick

[superpat]

Hi,

Well I have been back on 3.2.80 for about a week now.

Using my Archos in exactly the same way as I did with 4.07.

I HAVE NOT HAD TO REBOOT FOR SEVEN DAYS!

No touch screen problems, No browser freezes, It is performing fine.

So Archos, when are you going to get your act together and give us a ICS that performs as well as Honeycomb.

On second thoughts is there ANY advantages to try to run on ICS?

regards

Patrick

[Dinosaur]

My sentiments exactly, Patrick.

I have been recommending reverting to 3.2.80 for quite some time now and leaving the 4.0.x versions to those who are content to be unpaid beta-testers for Archos - and I have taken flak from some Forum Admins and others for doing so. I find 3.2.80 quite adequate, and look forward to a working and usable version of 4.0.x or 4.1.x or whatever it ends up being, whether it is ICS or Jelly Bean.

[franklin]

I am on my third G9 101 Turbo (8G) now. The first worked fine (sometimes required reboot to use 3G, but no touchscreen issues on 4.0.7). Unfortunately I damaged it.

The replacement G9 101 would have random touch screen input, recalibration would not work for longer than a few minutes, if at all. Also sound was distorted. Sent it back.

The third G9 101 seemed to work fine, but about once a day of medium use I could not unlock the device on power-on. It was still running (I got email notifications) but it did not recognize touch screen input. Reboot normally helps, though just now I had to go into maintainance mode and recalibrate the touchscreen to fix it.

[superpat]

Hi,

I have been running my G9 101 turbo successfully, ( no screen issues) for some time now on V3.2.80, I thought I had it cracked.

HOWEVER

I have just found out how to bring back all the screen horrors, even on 3.2.80. It appears to be battery charge sensitive.

Normally, I leave my G9 on charge every night, by my bedside, ( I use it for reading Ebooks). In the mornings I read the news headlines and a bit of an ebook before I get up, with no touch screen problems.

Recently I changed the location of the Archos charger from my bedroom, to another room, and now charge it on an ad hoc basis during the day. Sometimes when I use it at night it is left with a 50% charge, (no overnight charging now).

If I fire it up in the morning with the less than 50% charge, then the touch screen goes crazy, the most common fault is the lower right corner constantly registering phantom touches, bringing up the status information, or the lower left corner, resulting in constant closure of applications. Rebooting the Archos clears the fault.

So 100% charge ---- No touch screen problems
less than 100% charge (occurs more frequently at about 50%) ---- Touch screen problems but CLEARED by reboot!


regards

Patrick

[franklin]

I am not sure this is the general case. My tablet has progressed so far as to require a touchscreen calibration to get working again - a simple reboot does not fix it anymore. In fact, sometimes I have to reboot+recalibrate multiple times until it works again. And it also just happened when it was fully charged and not connected to the charger. I also enabled the debug option to show me where my finger touched the screen, and sometimes I see stray input - even if nothing is touching the screen, e.g. during putting it down somewhere. I guess this may be the case bending slightly and applying pressure, or maybe some internal electrical noise or whatever.

I guess I'll have to send it back - again :-/

[wmayo44]

Yes, I wonder if the touchscreen problem is only/mainly with the turbos. Mine behaves EXACTLY like the video in the first post. It is HORRIBLE. Sometimes the touchscreen goes completely dead ... until reboots and recalibrations, sometime repeatedly to get it working. Sometimes the top of the screen loses touch response (very top strip).
When others around me see this, they say "Gosh, I'd never buy one of those."
I just hope Archos does not abandon its turbo users (I'm glad others do not have this problem).
Everyone who has this ... hit them every week with complaints!