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Help Odd, Added-Character Glitch in Text Fields with '?123' key

T

thethreelaws

Member
UPDATES:
* Second Glitch Found (point 3 in this post)
* My video showing these problems happening
* Now there's a poll for these glitches.
* Temporary work-around (use 3rd-party virtual keypad)







Original Post:
Oh, boy....this one is so odd that it's sort of hard to explain without having you actually see it, but I will try...

I discovered today that my brand new Bionic (which I just bought last night) has some kind of glitch when typing into some text fields while in landscape view.

I am not certain yet whether or not this happens elsewhere, but my experience with it was while attempting to type e-mail configuration details into the relevant fields in the built-in e-mail utility.

Specifically, while entering 'domain\username' into the username field in the configuration page for setting up a connection to an Exchange account, it somehow adds an extra character on by duplicating the character I just typed when going from the 'n' in the word 'domain' above to the '?123' key (which is necessary to get to the '\' key, which is further inside of the 'shift' key screen.

So, by typing normally, the field should end up like this...
domain\username

However, since it duplicates the character that I typed immediately prior to pressing the '?123' key, the field actually ends up like this...
domainn\username

I tested this a number of times, and in different fields and found the same problem. It did not necessarily happen every time in every field, and it seems like it only happens once per 'visit' to a given field (i.e., once it happens the first time during a given 'visit' to a particular field, it won't happen again during the rest of my typing in that particular field on that 'visit' to it), but it is definitely predictably and immediately reproducible.

One more odd thing is that it only seems to happen while typing in landscape view, and not while in vertical view.

Has anyone else experienced this yet?
Is it a glitch or a feature (yeah, right!)?
Does anyone have any idea what the h3ll is going on here?

Thanks



[On another note, I was (and still am) having trouble with setting up e-mail accounts. So, while I was doing that whole, long and drawn-out troubleshooting session (well, it was many hours today), I actually typed the passwords out in a different field first, 1) to make sure that I was typing it correctly, and 2) in order to copy it and then paste it into the password field (by the way, neither had any effect). Anyway, I was able to determine that this problem of the extra character getting in there from pressing the '?123' key was not causing the password to be entered incorrectly. I'm just mentioning this for the sake of building a bit more of the freakin craziness I've been going through with this d@mn thing.]
 
Try turning off word correction: (Settings --> Language and keyboard settings --> Multi-touch keyboard --> Auto-correct errors
 
I cannot say. Since I don't use Exchange, and I use Swype instead of the built in keyboard, I'm not really sure why it is doing it.

Does it happen in any other application?
 
johnlgalt said:
Does it happen in any other application?
Click to expand...

That's a very good question, because it seems that would help in the process of trying to figure out why this is happening.

The answer is yes.

In fact, since my OP, I have now seen it happen in at least two other places when attempting to enter data into text fields.

Background: I'm a member on a particular auto-related forum, and have always wanted to connect to it from my PDA, but as long as I had a BlackBerry, I couldn't, because the only app they have for it is only available for the iPhone and Android platforms.

Well....now that I have an Android-based phone, I decided to buy the app, and check it out. Everything went fine for the most part, except for one more experience with the oddball 'extra character' thing that this thread was originally about, as well as a new, goofy, extra-character thing, and yet another oddball password thing. I will explain them one by one (but not necessarily in that order)...

1. extra-character problem (repeating last character typed in landscape mode)
This time, while I was entering the requested data into the fields to buy the app from 'the Market Place', this problem happened again. I tried really hard to watch each and every character press to make sure that, even with accounting for this clear and obvious glitch, I was typing the information into the fields properly. I even counted the dots at the end of the 'hidden' fields to make sure they had a number of dots that corresponds to the number of characters in the sets of data that I intended to enter (password, etc).

2. password problem
This time, I found out that there is some kind of problem with the password field in some apps on the Bionic. How do I know it's a problem with the phone, and not with how I'm entering the passwords? Good question. Here's how...

I connected with MyPhoneExplorer so that I could see and manipulate the screen through mouse movements and keyboard presses remotely from my regular, Windows computer.

Previously, when I attempted to enter my password to log into the forum in the auto-related app directly on the Bionic, it said that I had entered the wrong password and started warning me that it would be locked out if I did the same thing 5 times.

Well, once I connected the Bionic to my Windows computer with a USB cable and used MyPhoneExplorer, I typed in the password (which I know was typed correctly, because I tested it by logging into the regular forum page on my Windows computer with Firefox first just to make sure), and got the same response (wrong password).

Then, I went back into the forum via Firefox on my Windows computer and changed the password to something less complex, and then tried it again through MyPhoneExplorer, and it worked just fine.

Since it did not work, regardless of which input tool I used to type the password in, this seems to suggest that there's actually a problem with the password field in these apps (or with this phone), and not just with the input method of the Bionic's on-screen, virtual keypad.

3. new extra character problem (period)
Holy cr@p! How frickin stoopid can this text entry system be?!?!?
While attempting to fill out the form to purchase the app mentioned above, I experienced a completely different goofball, 'extra-character' problem.

This time, it was adding a '.' (dot/period) to the BEGINNING of every line I typed in every single field I entered, and I had to 'backspace' once in every field to get rid of the period so that the text I was about to enter would actually be what I entered.

.WTF?!?!?!?

Seems like a fellow can only be :confused: for so long before he gets :mad:




p.s. I really hope they release the Razr in time enough for me to return this d@mn Bionic and get it instead.
 
Hmmm. Can you try using a single finger to enter all words and see if it still happens? I think it might actually be a digitizer issue at this point...
 
johnlgalt said:
Hmmm. Can you try using a single finger to enter all words and see if it still happens? I think it might actually be a digitizer issue at this point...
Click to expand...

Certainly....I will give that a try tomorrow and report back on how that goes.

In the meantime, can you explain what you mean by a digitizer issue?
 
It means that either the sensors are detecting a multiple keypress that's not there only when you use that particular symbol 123 key, or else it's way to sensitive and somehow it detects multiple presses even if you're just hovering over that key.
 
johnlgalt said:
It means that either the sensors are detecting a multiple keypress that's not there only when you use that particular symbol 123 key, or else it's way to sensitive and somehow it detects multiple presses even if you're just hovering over that key.
Click to expand...

I haven't had a chance to do the single finger test yet, but on this I can say something...

It's not just a matter of hovering over a certain character, because one of the the problem scenarios (the one I discovered last night while filling out the form to purchase an app in 'the Market') always does a specific character (the period), and it happens in the 'next' field before I even start typing into that next field; like it's pre-populating it by beginning the line of text for that field with a period as a service to me or something. :eek:

However, the other problem scenario (the original one this thread was about) simply repeats the last character typed, regardless of where it is on the keyboard, and yet, it doesn't happen while my finger is still on that character, but only when I go to press the '?123' key.


Single finger test coming later this morning...
 
You could also try a soft-tipped stylus. You can find them by Googling "bionic stylus". Your local Verizon store probably has hem in their accessory department.

This might be an even better test then the single finger test.

... Thom
 
Thom Little said:
You could also try a soft-tipped stylus. You can find them by Googling "bionic stylus". Your local Verizon store probably has hem in their accessory department.

This might be an even better test then the single finger test.

... Thom
Click to expand...

Makes sense. I will stop in there and ask to use one just for this test.

By the way, I was trying to add a phone number that I just called to my phone's contacts just now, and the first thing I did was scroll down to the 'Organization' field to enter the name of the company (Best Buy).

Since the name starts with a capitol letter, I first clicked the 'shift' key to get uppercase letters. Well, immediately when I clicked the 'shift' key, it placed the leading 'period' there on the line of that text field, and I had to backspace to delete it prior to typing out the words Best Buy.

Actually, I don't think any other tests are necessary with single finger or stylus.

The period is nowhere near the shift key, and this happened without having even typed anything into that field yet. So, it can't just be a hovering finger or an accidental key press on my part.

This thing is clearly automatically adding a period at the beginning of fields where the first thing I click in that field is the shift key.

What's up with that?

Can you guys please try this and tell me if you get the same results?

* Create a new contact from a recent call (or maybe that part is irrelevant...maybe just create a new contact).
* scroll down to one of the fields like name or e-mail or company and once your cursor is in that field, before you type anything, press the shift key as if you're going to type an uppercase letter

Tell me what happens (I'm talking about people with the same phone, of course).


ANOTHER TEST for the original problem...

* scroll to a field, any field
* type a letter character
* wait a second or two (this part doesn't matter, I'm just adding it in for effect)
* type a different letter character (no space between the letters)
* wait a second or two
* press the ?123 key

Tell me what happens.
In my case, EVERY TIME results in the d@mn thing repeating the last letter character that I typed.

Again, this is obviously not a matter of my finger hovering over the keys, or anything like that. The phone is somehow automatically repeating the last letter character typed, and it has nothing to do with user input.


If I can, tonight, I will record a video of me doing this, upload it to YouTube and post link to it in here so that you can actually see it happening.

If I forget, please remind me.

The guys at work already saw the first problem (where it's repeating the last letter character upon pressing ?123), but it would be good to get this in front of more eyes - in the hopes that someone will come up with a solution faster. :-)
 
I have experienced a similar glitch just today for the first time. I had it in portrait mode, though. It was when I was trying to enter my name and password in the Bank of America app. Pretty much the same prob you describe. I should note that I'm rooted, using Deblurred with the black Swype keyboard.
 
As I posted in the poll thread, the built in Swype KB allows you to hunt and peck - you don't *have* to swype to get words in there.

Does Swype also exhibit the same issues?
 
johnlgalt said:
As I posted in the poll thread, the built in Swype KB allows you to hunt and peck - you don't *have* to swype to get words in there.

Does Swype also exhibit the same issues?
Click to expand...

Nope.
I tried it, and the result was zero of the glitches I've been having with the regular, built-in virtual keypad.
Thanks for the tip.
 
thethreelaws said:
Nope.
I tried it, and the result was zero of the glitches I've been having with the regular, built-in virtual keypad.
Thanks for the tip.
Click to expand...

Is this occurring when you are connected to a charger or USB?

There is an issue (google: Bionic Charger Erratic) where using a non-moto USB or charger causes erratic on-screen behavior.

The OP sounds very much like what I experienced when I first used my Bionic -

Verizon sent me the Bionic as a replacement for my HTC Thunderbolt which after four replacements, continued to vex me.

The Bionic is mostly a huge improvement.
 
Lemmy Caution said:
Is this occurring when you are connected to a charger or USB?

There is an issue (google: Bionic Charger Erratic) where using a non-moto USB or charger causes erratic on-screen behavior.

The OP sounds very much like what I experienced when I first used my Bionic -

Verizon sent me the Bionic as a replacement for my HTC Thunderbolt which after four replacements, continued to vex me.

The Bionic is mostly a huge improvement.
Click to expand...


Nope. This is just while holding it in my hand and/or while it's sitting on a table.

It's not 'erratic' either (which suggests 'random' to me).
Rather, it is extremely highly predictable, and also absolutely reproducible (as demonstrated in this video).



For Thom,
I did the stylus test on my way hoe from work today, and uploaded the video. See it in my other thread here.
 
I posted a reply in the Poll thread - First, check the locale of the phone, and then secondly, try the double rubber / Latex glove approach.
 
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