Troubleshooting

From Android on HTC

This page tries to serve as a comprehensive listing of known issues and their fixes if available. Keep in mind running the Android operating system on non-supported devices (especially those meant to run Windows Mobile originally) is not really supported, especially since the versions of Android currently available are tailored to the T-Mobile/HTC G1, which has different hardware.

Contents 1 Getting a Shell 2 Booting Issues 2.1 HaRET freezes at 100% 3 General Issues 3.1 Unable to make phone calls 3.2 Unable to access the Internet/use data 3.3 Application xyz looks funny/is unusable/crashes 3.3.1 Resolution issues 3.3.2 Crashes upon launch 3.4 Battery life not lasting long 3.5 Low on space warnings 3.5.1 Resizing data.img 3.6 Can not download anything 3.7 Maps/GPS applications show random driving around California 3.8 Text message timestamps are off

[edit] Getting a Shell

If you need to get to a shell to review log files or some other reason the procedure is as follows.

1. Open the keyboard
2. Press the FN button
3. Press the top left function button
4. To exit the shell press the FN button then the top right function button.

[edit] Booting Issues

[edit] HaRET freezes at 100%

This probably means you are running an older ROM/radio that has boot problems. Try upgrading to a newer ROM and use a radio from the 1.65.24.xx or 1.71.xx.xx series. For more information on ROMs, visit the [ROM development] forum on [Developers]. For more information on radios for the Kaiser, read the [Radio Thread] to find new radios and information about them.

[edit] General Issues

[edit] Unable to make phone calls

1. Make sure you have an up-to-date radio from the 1.65.xx.xx or 1.71.xx.xx series
   • You can find this information out in the About screen of Windows Mobile or from the red text on boot up
   • For more information on radios for the Kaiser, read the Ultimate Radio Thread to find new radios and information about them.
2. Make sure you have no PIN code set on your SIM card
   • To find out if you have a PIN/remove it:
     • Open Settings (in Windows Mobile) and tap Phone from the Personal tab
     • Tap the PIN2 or PIN/PIN2 tab (depending on your ROM)
     • Ensure that the check box to require a PIN code to use the phone is unchecked

If neither of the above solutions works, there seems to be a bug introduced in recent builds that is unresolved. Ensuring you have done the following:

1. Upgraded to a recent radio (see above)
2. Removed the PIN2 code from your SIM card (see above)
3. Formatted your SD card as FAT32
4. Deleted all Android related files and re-downloaded and extracted the newest version

If you still have problems after ensuring you have following all of the above steps, consider asking someone in the IRC channel (#htc-linux @ Freenode).

[edit] Unable to access the Internet/use data

Please see the Setup_Data page for help configuring your device's internet access and troubleshooting information specific to data setup.

[edit] Application xyz looks funny/is unusable/crashes

Many Android applications are currently incompatible for a variety of reasons.

[edit] Resolution issues

If the application appearance seems wrong, (buttons off screen, huge icons, etc.) it is a resolution issue, as the Kaiser's screen is QVGA (320x240px) whereas the HTC Dream/G1's screen is HVGA (480x320px). Many applications are designed specifically for HVGA resolution, and as a result have formatting issues on other devices. See the boot_options#mddi.width_and_mddi.height of the boot options page to learn how to use non-native resolutions on your device.

[edit] Crashes upon launch

Many applications simply do not function for unknown reasons. They might attempt to make use of non-functional features on the device, causing them to malfunction and crash. Try the application again in a newer release, as bug fixes and new features are constantly being added.

[edit] Battery life not lasting long

The recommended setting for pm.sleep_mode is 1. It has also been noted that turning off background syncing will give the normal battery life seen in winmo.

[edit] Low on space warnings

Currently, the way Android works is that there are two files (system.img and data.img) that together make up the equivalent of the internal storage for the Android device. The SD card is then seen as separate. Currently, Android does not write to the internal flash (where Windows Mobile is installed) at all. A limitation of Android is that applications can only be installed to the internal storage. For current purposes, the data.img file (which is where all installed applications and other data is stored) is released with either a 64MB or 128MB file, some of which is already in use. ** EVEN IF YOUR SD CARD IS 2/4/8GB, YOU ARE STILL LIMITED TO THE SIZE FOR INSTALLING APPLICATIONS! ** If Android shows you as still having space in the "Internal phone storage" section of the "SD card & phone storage" settings menu, but you continue to receive the warnings, try completely reinstalling Android. If the problem still persists, you probably have a faulty SD card.

[edit] Resizing data.img

From linux or another operating system with ext2fs tools and dd do: dd if=/dev/zero bs=1M count=1234567890 >> data.img

but replace 1234567890 with how many megabytes you want to ADD to data.img.

For example, I wanted a 256MB data.img, so I ran: dd if=/dev/zero bs=1M count=192 >> data.img

Then do a simple: e2fsck -f data.img resize2fs data.img e2fsck -f data.img and copy back to your SD card. You should have as much space as you want.

[edit] Can not download anything

Make sure that you have a "cache" folder on your SD card. If it doesn't exist, create it and **reboot Android**, then try again.

[edit] Maps/GPS applications show random driving around California

The current builds of Android are from the 1.1 SDK. Because you would not normally have a real GPS when testing with an SDK, Android includes a default GPS demo mode of a car driving around on some California highways. This is happening because GPS has not yet been implemented on your device. Check the port status page for more information.

[edit] Text message timestamps are off

In Android, open the Settings application, and go to the Date & time menu option. Uncheck Automatic if checked, and set your date and time manually - making sure to set the proper time zone in the process. **This will change your system clock, resulting in the incorrect time being displayed in Windows Mobile.** To prevent this, set Windows Mobile to the "Visiting" time zone setting with London (GMT+0) as the location before booting Android, and then change it back when you are in Windows Mobile, or use an application such as [[1]] to fix your time in Windows Mobile.