I am about to throw my pre out my car window going 85, PLEASE HELP.

[marinshelby]

Okay, so my current palm pre is the seventh one I have had. All of my palm pre's have had the same EXACT problem. Completely unreponsive touch screen. One of my replacements was because it was stolen at a bar, but as for the other ones...just one day out of the blue my pre touch screen will quit responding. I have tried switching the battery, hard resets, soft resets, the paper in the battery trick and everything else I have been able to find out about that has helped people. It will power up and charge and go to the "home" screen, but I can't get anything to respond except with the keyboard. What has happened in the past is that my pre will start acting funny and randomly freezing (I noticed a lot of the times after putting it on the charger) and then all of the sudden it's completely unresponsive. For the first couple of tries, taking out the battery is a temporary fix, but it goes back to being unresponsive shortly.

Yesterday in my latest horror of a phone...I noticed that when I plugged it in on the charger that the screen would respond for a moment, but if I unplugged it it would go back to no response. Today...absolutely nothing has worked. I have taken this phone back for the same problem 5 times now and they either replace it in store or order me a new one. I AM SO SICK OF BEING AT THE SPRINT STORE! :dft007:angryThey should not know me by name! Plus, I have lost all my contacts not once, but TWICE as a result of this even with the help of Palm themselves.

So since many of you are Palm Pre gurus and seem to know more than most sprint employees...what am I doing to these phones that make them ALL mess up in the same way? Does anybody have anymore tricks that I can try? It really ruins my day when I can see that I am getting a multitude of text messages and e-mails and I can't look at any of them. I absolutely love my palm pre when it's working, but I am so tired of it being so unreliable. Did I mention this is my 7th one!!! I obviously do not want to give up.

A couple more questions...is there anyway to completely navigate with the keyboard? I have learned how to at least call people by searching for the phone app and typing in there name. I would at least like to temporarily use the keyboard as a back up before I can take my phone back into the sprint store.

One last question...has the pixi been having the same problems? I was considering demanding that they replace my pre with the pixi, but I looked at it and I do NOT like how small the screen is compared to the pre...it made me very sad. I don't know what to do because I am at my whits end, but there are not any other Sprint phones are comparable. I just want my palm to work!

Any advice, tips, tricks, etc...are welcomed! PLEASE help me I am so frustrated!!!

Thank you in advance,

Marin

[booklaw]

Marin, have you removed the clear plastic screen protector which came with the Pre? If not, that is probably the cause of your problems... it can trigger the proximity sensor on the Pre, which turns off the screen.

[marinshelby]

No, I always remove that within the first few minutes of getting it. I wish it was that, then I could fix it! What else can trigger that sensor that you're talking about? Maybe that's my problem...

[booklaw]

It's a proximity sensor... meaning if the phone's screen is too close to your face, or to anything else, the screen will go black and will not accept touch commands.

[Wizzums]

Seems like it could be something as simple as that, but if he (she?) is taking the phone to the sprint store and they're able to replicate the issue and confirm it's not easily fixable.. it likely isn't.

However, I do agree that if you're having this same problem time and time again, it seems like it would be traceable back to something you're doing to your phone, probably unintentionally.

How long have you been using the Pre altogether? The time between your device replacements.. is it weeks, months? Are they from the same "batch" of phones? Same store? I've had my Pre since launch day, along with a few of my friends, who haven't experienced any issues (other than my recent postings regarding battery drainage). I know we're a small sample size, but the fact that you keep having the same problem with new and refurbished devices is very odd. How do you usually carry the phone day to day? In your pocket/purse? What patches/apps do you always have installed? Any specific themes you always have installed?

[don1lather]

Use Google as your defacult contact. so your contacts will be where you can find them online. Sprint store have a machine called a cellebrite machine where if you still have your old phone they can transfer your contacts from your old pre to your replacement pre. the replaccement phone will start the data transfer assistant where you transfer the contacts to Google. this has been my experience.

[marinshelby]

I have been using the pre since August 2009. My first device worked well for a couple months before the screen started not responding. Ever since then when I get a replacement it will work perfectly fine for a month or so and then start having the same problem. I have recieved refurbished phones through the insurance program and new phones in the sprint store --- so they have been from different sources. I work in a hospital so a lot of the time my phone is in my pocket. I really try to be careful with it and there are no outward signs of damage.

Does anybody have an opinion on the palm pre vs. the palm pixi? I am thinking of trying he pixi (although I would rather not)...just to see if I experience the same problem.

I plan on going to the sprint store today and hopefully 'll give me some sort of in store replacement so I don't have tdeal with an unresponsive phone for two more days.

A new development on my phone since yesterday: I noticed that when i jiggled the battery charger a little bit, my screen came back to life temporarily. It was not long lived and now the light on the screen will not turn off. That happened with my last palm pre.

I those of you trying to help, it is much appreciated!!

[Honis]

I agree with Wizzums about the problem either being unintentionally caused by either you or your environment.

A few questions:
- Do you use a screen protector of any kind? Have you applied it to every Pre you've owned?
- What case are you using? Have you used the same case for every Pre? (pictures would be best for this reply).
- What has the weather been like since November (you didn't give an exact month that this started, but I'm taking an educated guess)? Has it been rainy, humid, snowy, colder than Hell after the Red Sox won the World Series against the Cardinals, etc?
- Do you have any unofficial patches or apps installed (through Preware or WebOS Quick Install)?
- Have you attempted to Doctor your phone (WebOS doctor is an offical Palm tool that will bring your phone to factory everything)?
- Do you experience Oreo Effect? How much (mm you can move it side to side)? Has ever Pre you've owned had a similar Oreo Effect (silly question but I'm looking for a consistent amount of oreo effect)?
- What version of WebOS are you running?
- What charging method do you use (touchstone or USB)?

Answer those and we may be able to draw some conclusions as to what is causing this problem.

[deathbyblue]

Do you use the docking charger or charger directly by the cord? There have been a error in the charger docks that are killing the touch screens. It happened to my first one too but I was turning it in for scratches any way. The docks are garbage and should never be used other then to hold ur phone. I charge from the cord, then let the base hold it by the magnetic section. No problems since!

[prephoneuser]

This seems silly, but I have noticed greatly decreased response to touch under the following conditions:

First, if screen is dirty it is nearly unresponsive. Clean it well and a light flick works where nothing else did. I clean it all the time now and have no issues.

Second, use the lightest filcks you can. I have a real light touch and, on a clean screen, barely have to touch it. But then I took it to the Sprint store and the clerk pushed and dragged his finger across the screen many times and it took weeks to come back to my original level of sensitivity.

Seems anecdotal, I know. But it does work for me - and now I never let anyone else use it - I am convinced it adjusts it sensitivity negatively to those with a heavy hand... (i.e. anyone but me, lol)