ICS Tips and Tricks for the Razr

[Ethang]

I have a few questions.

1) Is there a way to get rid of the keyboard notification when the keyboard is open? I have researched this and havent seen a clear cut answer. Seems like its there in case you lock your phone and are typing something and forget that you are typing and then if you see if it will remind you that you were typing.

2) I read somewhere that there is a app you can get to toggle 3g and 4g...i think it was one for the thunderbolt that somebody mentioned work for the razr ics...is this true?

3) Battery life tips? I usually have background sync off when not at home, and when i am at home on wifi i have data disabled and i always have my screen on the lowest setting and i kill the apps after im done with them...my battery life is still horrible. It was alot better on gingerbread. So if anybody has any helpful tips for this it would be much appreciated

1) I found a way to "silence" the keyboard notification. Go to Apps from the Settings menu. Then tab all the way to the right to "All" ("Downloaded" --> "Internal storage" --> etc.). Click input methods/apps (i.e. Go keyboard, Motorla Input, etc) that you do not want to use, and then click Disable. I can't remember if I had to restart my phone for it to take effect. For my Razr, I kept Google Voice and the Moto keyboard, and disabled Go and Swype. Hope this helps!

2) There is an app called "LTE OnOff-HTC thunderbolt" that works flawlessly and brings you to the page where you can select CDMA (auto) or LG/CDMA/EVo. As far as a simple toggle widget, I'm not sure there is one out yet.

3) Minimize GPS, LTE, screen brightness, yada yada yada. Or scan Ebay for a busted Maxx and swap the batteries? I have the Maxx and the battery life is astounding for a 4G smartphone, granted I have it on 3G all the time. I only use 4G when I know I'll have good signal. I'm more worried about cracking the screen than battery.

 

[FoxKat]

A little off subject but just wanted to say how much I really like this ICS sub thread. I had a palm device but switched to RAZR in February due to lack of third party apps once HP bought Palm. I didn't really try to learn the android OS (GB) other than phone, text, and a few apps. Probably the smartest thing I ever did. Now that ICS is out, I get my phone, read the tips and advice, and try it on my phone. It works like a tutorial and I don't have to ask a million questions. I think that by the time I have read this sub thread, I will be dangerously proficient with Android ICS!!:biggrin:

And then we'll put you to work!! :icon_ devil:

 

[lyndsey78]

Can anyone tell me how to keep my rarz from going to sleep in the car dock? Never had an issue until I updated today. Can't find anything in the settings for the phone or the dock...the best I can find is to keep it awake for 10 minutes of inactivity.

 

[djembeman]

screen on while plugged in?

Can anyone tell me how to keep my rarz from going to sleep in the car dock? Never had an issue until I updated today. Can't find anything in the settings for the phone or the dock...the best I can find is to keep it awake for 10 minutes of inactivity.

I've always used the setting in developer tools to keep screen on while plugged in. You can always just hit your power button if you want the screen to turn off while plugged in. Menu,System Settings, Developer Options, Stay Awake. Hopefully it will stay awake even if you are at 100%, not charging and plugged in. My older phones used to. I'll have to try on my RAZR MAXX.

 

[jaybogg]

And then we'll put you to work!! :icon_ devil:

Unfortunately, right now I am not proficient, only dangerous!!:biggrin:

 

[jaybogg]

I posted this on another thread but feel it is appropriate here in "tips and tricks...".

The SYNC toggle on the power bar is same as ACCOUNTS/ADVANCED SETUP/ACCOUNTS AND SYNC. There is a slider switch beside the words "ACCOUNTS AND SYNC", Slider says "OFF/ON". This is the switch within the ACCOUNTS App that does the same thing as the power bar SYNC. Change it in either place and the other switch follows the change you made.

 

[lyndsey78]

I've always used the setting in developer tools to keep screen on while plugged in. You can always just hit your power button if you want the screen to turn off while plugged in. Menu,System Settings, Developer Options, Stay Awake. Hopefully it will stay awake even if you are at 100%, not charging and plugged in. My older phones used to. I'll have to try on my RAZR MAXX.

Tried this and it didn't work- any other ideas??? Trying to use the navigation is very annoying when the screen keeps going off.

 

[FoxKat]

And then we'll put you to work!! :icon_ devil:

Unfortunately, right now I am not proficient, only dangerous!!:biggrin:

And you couldn't tell by the little guy above that we are OK ^^ with dangerous?? :icon_ devil:

 

[bodieism]

Tried this and it didn't work- any other ideas??? Trying to use the navigation is very annoying when the screen keeps going off.

You could try Tasker. It's a paid app, but it's well worth the money for its versatility. You could have it set the screen to no timeout when the Navigation app is open. I have it do that when the camera app is open.

For those of you with battery problems, it could also be used to help with that. I made a battery saver profile that gets activated between certain hours if the screen is off and the orientaion is face down.

I have so many Tasker profiles it isn't even funny.


Edited to add:

I just tested it & it appears to still be working on ICS. My screen timeout is set to 30 sec, but I just let it idle in camera mode for more than 1 minute and it didn't cut off.

 

[lyndsey78]

Tried this and it didn't work- any other ideas??? Trying to use the navigation is very annoying when the screen keeps going off.

Found this solution in another thread...worked perfectly!!! Once I disabled VZ Navigaor, the dock worked just like it did before ICS.

"One of the cool things about ICS is you can disable unwanted pre installed apps like VZW Navigator. From Manage Apps select VZ Navigator. If it gives you the option on Uninstall Updates, do it. Then you will have the option to Disable. Disable it. When you hit NAV on the dock menu it will default to Google Navigation."

Once I disabled VZ Navigaor, hte dock worked just like it did before ICS.

 

[BBCLaurie]

Excellent tips... many thanks to all of you!

I received ICS on my RAZR yesterday morning and went out of my mind for the first hour or so. My A/C was out and I couldn't even figure out how to get to my (non-favorite) contacts from the Phone app. Called Verizon tech support with a list of issues and I think I'm about getting mostly settled in now, thanks to a few things they helped with and the tips that you all have posted here. They seemed a bit overwhelmed there as well, and apparently the "mock up" they got of ICS didn't always match what actually came out, so they were searching online forums for some of the answers. I can tell by one item they read me that they probably got the answer here on droidforums. I really like some aspects of ICS, especially finally being able to disable some built-in apps like VZNavigator. Also like some of the new widgets. Other stuff is kind of a bother to me and seems like change for the sake of change... especially when I have to go "deeper" to get to common items.

My remaining question right now: I removed a couple of apps from my home page by dragging them up to the top of the page and dropping them onto "X Remove." My understanding is all that should do is remove it from the home page, not from the App area. I've had a couple of them disappear from the Apps area as well, though. I can see them listed when I go to "Manage Apps," but they're not in the Apps area for plain old launching. One example is "Voice Search." I thought I was just getting it out of the way while I figured out how I wanted to lay out my home pages, but now I can't find it to launch it. Yes, I'm looking at "All Apps." Any idea how to bring it back from the twilight zone?

 

[Tracey4]

Tried this and it didn't work- any other ideas??? Trying to use the navigation is very annoying when the screen keeps going off.

Try a replacement car home app. I like Car Home Ultra. It has an option to keep screen on. Disabling vz nav didn't change the screen timeout for me.

 

[Inky1216]

Try a replacement car home app. I like Car Home Ultra. It has an option to keep screen on. Disabling vz nav didn't change the screen timeout for me.

This is what I do - I don't have the official car dock, just one of those generic claw types that can hold any phone, GPS, etc. I have a SmartAction set up that when I plug in both the headphones (car stereo) and the power it will turn WiFi off/GPS on, keep the display on, and launch my car app. I use Car Dashboard Pro. This set up works like a charm for me, before and after ICS. Good luck!

 

[amy335]

If there is anyone using the car dock in ICS: I noticed it annoyingly opens vz navigator. If you disable vz navigator that solves that problem. Maybe someone can help me with the rest? There is no music player anymore, so no big buttons to use to skip and pause while driving. Also, if you aren't on the main screen, the screen will time out! So I'm listening to music and the screen shuts off! What are they thinking? The only thing i could think to do was use smart Actions to change the screen timeout, but the longest is 10 minutes, so now i assume the main screen will timeout after 10 minutes if I'm say, listening to the radio in my car and not touching the screen to skip through songs. Not only that, but pressing the home button doesn't take me to the car dock home, it takes me to the regular home screen. How is this supposedto be driver friendly?

I'm having the smae problem & thought the exact same thing. In fact, I did hit the shoulder a couple times trying to get the screen back to car dock home. I hope someone can find an answer for this. It's a serious flaw.

 

[CaptainSS]

BBC, for "bring backs"....Go into System Settings-Apps- Scroll Top Blue Bar to "ALL Apps" and at the very bottom of the list will be apps removed/disabled unless they were down loaded and then you just go into the PlayGround and re-install those.


( I think):blink: