E-mail and text problems....

[babs]

vGot Droid 4 days ago. LOVE IT! However yesterday I started getting forceclose messages intermitently on text. Last night I download Handcent app based on forum write ups. Today I started getting e-mail notifications on DROID but no messages to view. There were in fact new msgs on my PC. My gmail widget then started to lag in loading on selection and force close also started to happen with gmail app and continued intermitently on messaging so I uninstalled Handcent as this was the only change I had made and could think of that may be causing the problem. My gmail now says "NO CONNECTON". Browser works fine and gmail on PC up and running no problem so not a server issue. I'm a real estate agent and can't afford to lose my contacts so am leary about resetting to factory for fear it will then reboot and sync to web and delete my contacts. I have removed battery with no change and would prefer not to be at Verizon's door in the am to deal with the tech support lines and what I have typically found to be the less than helpful tech staff when it comes to issues with new phones. Love the coverage not the service Anyone have ideas or experienced anything similar? Thanks.:icon_evil:

 

[JayMonster]

1st, to get this out of the way, if you do a factory reset of your Droid, it will not delete your online contacts, it will simply sync them back down to the device.

Now, on to the problem... The last release of Handcent, according to a couple of reviews may have introduced a couple of bugs... I have held off updating myself to see what happens over the next day or two. (Before that, I loved Handcent and recommended it heartily, but this release seems... again by other people's comments... a bit buggy).

So, that could have caused the messaging problems, but should have no effect on your Gmail account.

Have you simply tried to reboot the device since you removed Handcent?

And as I always ask when I see/hear Force Close issues... you are not using Advanced Task Killer are you?

 

[babs]

Thanks Jay,
Yes on the recommendation of the self proclaimed "Droid" goo roo at Verizon Advanced Task Killer was suggested and in fact loaded for me at the store due to the volume of messages daily and request for effective means of managing battery life.

Yes I did soft and hard reboots battery and all. NO SUCCESS. I was just reading another post regarding gmail NO CONNECTION issue and it appears to be an ongoing problem and a suggested solution was made.

I am going to start with reset to factory (have backed up contacts) and hope that will resolve messaging issue and if it does not address gmail issue will move on to that suggested fix. They recommend "dumping gmail data and then resync".

Great think about smart phones is the apps but those of course bring inherent problems. Had the same problem on my blackberry. Was hoping Droid would be more app friendly but know it's new and with that will be a workout period for bugs.

Great forum for working through the issues. Love Droid overall at this point as a primary gmail/google user this beats all phones I've used thus far.

 

[babs]

Should have asked do you reccomend a task manager that will not kill the important programs? I charge my phone nightly so just need to make it through the day but am very internet and e-mail intense during the day

 

[JayMonster]

I don't know of a "smart" task killer... unfortunately. I do know that almost every time I have read problems like yours that ATK seems to be involved. I know with all the apps I have on my phone I get at least 15 hours a day without needing to charge the phone, and that is with a lot of internet, e-mail and 3 hours a day of audiobook/podcast listening.

Any platform is going to have apps that will suck the battery dry and/or be buggy. That is true of desktop software, and it is true of apps for phones. Unfortunate but true. You can't force every developer to write good software. It is not like they are trying to add bugs... it happens.

If you aren't having severe battery issues, I would try and just forego any changes and see how long the battery lasts... if you are hitting the limits, I would try and determine which app is actually the culprit rather than just killing process in hopes of finding the problem app.

 

[babs]

Jay,
Thanks again. I did the factory reset and viola.... All is good again. I'm going to forgo any task killers and see how it goes. At least problem presented itself before I had months of phone data I'd lose by reset. Here's to hoping this was an app problem and not a bug with the phone. I suspect it's app based regardless of other postings. I find it hard to believe a phone with a Google platform has a bug which locks up or disables gmail on a regular basis. Pretty sure Google and Motorola worked that intensively prior to release. As you said there is no way they can control apps elected by owners and no one individual is going to have the same combination of apps -- kind of like chemistry with technology. Won't know the result (good or bad) until you try it out.