Landscape mode

[candreas]

Why does the phone only switch to landscape when its in the dock and connected to the dock power adapter?

 

[hopedpocketts]

check to see if auto rotate is disabled. if so thats your problem. also some apps do not support rotation.
hope this helps.

 

[candreas]

It's set up correctly but the homescreen will turn to landsacpe in the dock but if I'm no the home screen and turn the phone sideways (not in the dock) it will not rotate... Any thoughts?

 

[Marc_G]

It's set up correctly but the homescreen will turn to landsacpe in the dock but if I'm no the home screen and turn the phone sideways (not in the dock) it will not rotate... Any thoughts?

Do any other apps recognize different orientations? I'm wondering if your detection of phone orientations is defective / stuck. Try some app that pays attention to orientation of the phone like a game or star chart or some utility that reports orientation. That should give an idea if it is a hardware issue.

The dock probably forces landscape mode so the mechanism of getting into landscape for docked mode is likely different from normal use.

 

[Marc_G]

OK, this isn't funny!

Just hours after replying to the above I actually got my MAXX HD. Mine doesn't rotate on the home screen either. No hardware problem, any data entry screens rotate just fine as do the apps I've tried... it's just the desktop so far, for me, and related screens. In settings, auto rotate is checked. I also tried unchecking it, then rechecking it. No dice.

What gives? I USUALLY use the phone in what I call landscape mode (long axis horizontal). I see there are utilities that can be installed to do rotation things, but Google in its wisdom couldn't have made such a bonehead move as to disable home screen rotation. Seriously?

Any input from more experienced folks? I'm still finding my way around ICS, having come from a Droid X with Froyo.

Marc

 

[chris4x4]

None of my phones rotate to landscape mode on the home screens.

 

[candreas]

if you use the dock and doc power supply the home screen does rotate. I don't know if its something in the "dock" power supply or not I will experiment with a different PS tonight and find out if it's the cable or the wall charger.

 

[Marc_G]

It's freaky that this standard feature (from my Droid X days) simply doesn't work any more. Apparently there are apps that bring it back, but it's ridiculous that it's not just a normal feature. Boo on Google. I hear it may be coming back with JB.

I've heard the dock makes it rotate, but most of my use is nowhere near a dock. I'll probably get an auto rotate app to get around it, but I'm annoyed by the necessity to do so! Thanks for the replies, folks!

Marc

 

[Marc_G]

Looks like Ultimate Rotation Control seems to work well. Free trial for a week then requires a $2.99 license. [makes "what-ever" snarky hand motions]

Silly stuff like this frosts my bunions. Mostly loving the Maxx HD though!

 

[candreas]

The cable for the dock is the secret! the cable is labled ESP. With that cable plugged into the phone it rotates and brings up dock mode...

 

[drtrask]

While only distantly related to the topic of the feed: "Where'd you find a dock for your Razr Maxx HD?" I've seen nothing but generics available - but am craving one for this model.
(Again, sorry it's not 100% related to this discussion feed - but thanks for humoring me!)

 

[candreas]

At the Verizon Store...

 

[recDNA]

So we need a free app to rotate home screens. If someone finds one please let us know.

 

[Raryn]

The stock launcher was never able to rotate on the home screen for the Droid X either (and that was the primary reason I used a different one). Supposedly Jellybean brings this functionality to it.

 

[Marc_G]

I think my Droid X rotated just fine, but I had ADW launcher on it much of the time.

It's silly that this key feature isn't standard in all Android devices. Clearly it's not that hard to implement since there are apps that do it.

 

[Marc_G]

So we need a free app to rotate home screens. If someone finds one please let us know.

Though it's a couple bucks after the week trial, Ultimate Rotation Control seems to do the trick nicely. I installed the trial, made sure it was set to force auto rotate, and everything works just fine. No muss, no fuss. I'll pay the couple bucks so that I can avoid thinking about it for the rest of the time I own the phone.

I'm not aware of a free one that does the job but others might have one to recommend. I'm pretty new to the Maxx HD, just being one day in...