Motorola Droid Ultra FAQ from "ChrisK15"

[JimMariner]

I Have Posted the Entire Context of of "ChrisK15"s Posting.
I believe this Deserves a Home in the FAQ Section.
Thank You "ChrisK15" for your Efforts in putting this all together.
I am sure it will be of much value to the Droid Community!!
The Original is here ChrisK15's Motorola Droid Ultra FAQ​

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I've posted this on a bunch of other Android forums and thought it would be helpful to have it here too. I wanted to put it in the most viewed forum so everybody could see it. If you have any suggestions let me know.

- - - Physical - - -

Will the Droid fit into either dock with a protective case?
No, only the flat adhesive plastic-type protectors (InvisibleShield) are slim enough to allow the phone to fit.

How easy is it to scratch the Droid?
The glass on top of the screen is very durable and keys will have a very hard time scratching it (I've tried). There are a couple videos of people trying to scratch it as well and failing. The bits of shiny plastic on the back can get scratched, though. Look here

- - - Hardware features - - -

What's the resolution of the Droid?
854x480

What do the two dots/holes at the top of the Droid do?
The one on the left is an IR emitter and sensor to blank the phone during a call when it's against your face. The one on the right is a light sensor to activate automatic brightness.

Can I change the color of the notification LED?
Yes, but only with third party apps like Missed Call and SMS Popup.

How do I get into the two dock modes without the docks?
For multimedia mode, download an app called DockRunner. For car mode, Android actually includes an application called Car Home. You can also hack it by putting a linearly polarized magnet, like a small cube magnet, on the back near the camera.

Can I tether?
Yes. Set it up through Verizon or look here.

- - - Performance issues - - -

What's wrong with my camera?
As of yet, the camera software is sort of broken and takes a long time to focus and save. It will supposedly be fixed in an update on December 11.
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There is much discussion on this point. I Want to leave it all in this section. I am watching the original Thread daily, and I am adding to this what needs to be. Or should be.
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Why won't my home screen switch to landscape mode when rotated?
Nobody knows yet, but so far everybody has this problem. This fix might be included with the next update.

Why won't my home screen switch to landscape mode when rotated?
Nobody knows yet, but so far everybody has this problem. This fix might be included with the next update.

^^this is not a problem or an issue. It's the way the phone operates. Now will they update the phone an make that available? I don't know. But to classify it as an issue or problem is incorrect.

The screen orientates correctly when deploying or stowing the keyboard.

Until this can be claimed one way or the other. I will add this part of the original discussion in here too.

Question.. for the background images.. since there are 3 home screens, shouldn't it be 480 x 3, or 1440 in width to fill the 3 screens?

Well, when you swipe through the homescreens, it doesn't actually show a whole new area of the picture. Left is the left half, main screen is the middle 50%, and right is the right half. That way it's only 480 x 2 = 960.

@cereal killer: I put that as an issue since for most people, it did rotate without the keyboard extended at one point, then it just stopped.

It only rotates to landscape with an open app or with the screen slider open. the home screen stays in the portrait mode any other way. It has been that way since release day

Here's a post from the Motorola Support Forums from a company rep.

Yes SOME people MAY have experienced that but MOST did not . Your FAQ should reflect what point number 3 says


jmm -- I work for Motorola. I have posted on this thread several times. However, I know the thread is long so I will reiterate my previous posts.

1. We are very aware of this thread and the points raised here.
2. We are eager to see this performance in action, though we understand that is not an easy request. Nevertheless, documentation of this would be very valuable. This desire to verify this Droid behavior in no way is meant to imply that it isn't happening. It would help us understand what is happening.
   
3. The no-rotatation on the home panel and other well-documented panels is the expected behavior of the Droid. This is in no way to imply that landscape rotation on these panels may not be desireable.
4. There have been no software updates to any Droids sold to consumers since the launch, secret or otherwise.

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Why does switching homescreens or opening trays lag?
Homescreen lag/jerk is present on all Droids at the moment, but I've found that the Locale service really drains your CPU and makes animations lag even more. Also try using a task manager to free up some memory.

- - - Android OS and apps - - -

Why won't my phone rotate?
Check to make sure you have automatic rotation enabled in the sound and display settings.

Why does my screen dim randomly?
It's the automatic brightness feature. Turn it off in the sound and display settings under brightness.

How can I see what's been using my battery?
Go to settings, about phone, then battery use.

How do I check for phone updates?
Go to settings, about phone, then system updates.

How do I reboot the Droid?
Hold the power button on top for a couple seconds, then select "power off".

Why won't my apps close completely/how do I kill programs?
Get a task manager from the app store such as TasKiller; the services manager in the Applications page in the settings isn't very useful.

How do I uninstall apps?
Press the menu button, go to settings, applications, manage applications, then select the program from the list and uninstall.

How do I check for updates for my apps?
Go to the Market, then press the menu button, then Downloads. If you have any programs that need updates they'll be at the top of the list.

How do I rename folders?
Click the folder to open it, then long press the gray bar at the top of it.

How do I open voice search?
Long press on the search button on the phone.

How do I remove widgets and icons?
Long press it, then move to the app tray button which will then have a trash can icon on it.

What size should my backgrounds be if I don't want to crop it on the phone?
960x854

Can I make my wallpaper crop square bigger?
Press on a corner of the crop box and then drag it to size.

What size should my contact photos be to prevent pixelation?
I'd say around 250x250 or higher.

How many apps can I download and store on the Droid?
As many as will fit in the onboard 256MB as of now, but you can put any other type of file on the SD card.

- - - Music and video - - -

Why is the Droid's video recording quality so bad?
Open the video camera application, open the menu, and set the video quality to high.

Why doesn't the Droid have a video player/play my video files?
The video player is in the gallery. You have to open the gallery and the folder with your video. Only videos encoded in MPEG-4/H.264 (.mp4) will play, and it shouldn't be larger than 854x480-ish or your phone might stutter or crash.

How can I transcode video to play on the Droid?
Some people have had luck with a program called Handbrake, but I use SUPER even though it's a bit complicated to use.

How do I get songs, video, etc. onto the Droid?
How do I get my computer to see the Droid's SD card?
Plug in the USB cable, then bring down the notification tray. Click on the one about USB, then click mount.

Why do Youtube videos look so bad?
When the video starts playing, click menu, more, and "watch in high quality".

- - - Verizon - - -
How much does it cost for unlimited data?
For unlimited phone data, it's $30 a month on top of voice and other features.

- - - Tips, tricks, and cool stuff - - -

Where can I get high-res backgrounds for the Droid?
Locally @ DroidForums http://www.droidforums.net/forum/droid-themes/135-background-images-motorola-droid-960x854.html or The DroidForums Gallery
Or Look Here Too Android Forums Official Droid Wallpaper of the day or at DPReview Wallpaper for some nice pictures. Just make sure they're close to 960x854 or bigger.

- - - Recommended apps - - -

TasKiller - my personal favorite - lets you close unused apps and processes as well as ignore ones you always want running; comes with a couple widgets to quickly close applications

Communication
Google Voice - saves voicemail to your GMail account and transcribes them to text
Handcent - SMS replacement, adds features and notifications
Meebo IM- all-in-one IM suite
Missed Call - custom ring and vibrate settings as well as LED color and settings
SMS Popup - replacement for Android SMS notifier (turn stock off to prevent doubles)
Save MMS - allows you to save MMS attachments
Twidroid - Twitter
WiFi Buddy - detailed WiFi information and settings

Music and sound
Album Art Grabber - gets missing album art for your music
Frequency-Generator - sine, square, saw, and triangle wave generator
gStrings - customizable instrument tuner; also works for voice and other sounds
Instant Lyrics - open while playing a song and will open its lyrics
MixZing - music player with advanced category features and album art finder
Scrobble Droid - enables Last.fm scrobbling in the Android music player
Pandora - online radio
Shazam - analyzes a part of a song that's playing through speakers and tells you the name and artist

Images
PaintNote - MS Paint-like app
Photoshop Mobile - basic editor and online album
PicSay - multitouch image viewer/editor

Location
Car Finder - press once when you park and saves your location on its map, and will show your location as well so you can find your parking spot
Wheres My Droid - lets you turn up the volume and activate ring and GPS to locate your phone; uses an SMS code phrase
Google Places Directory - lists categories of places in your location; searchable
GPS Status - 360 degree compass, horizontal and vertical level, g-force sensor, magnetic field sensor, GPS location in long/lat, shows speed and elevation

Reference
aCar - stores your car information
Barcode Scanner - scans various types of bar codes and Google searches them
ColorNote - text, drawing, and voice note program
ColorDict - comprehensive dictionary with multiple add-ons available
PDFGView - PDF viewer
ShopSavvy - barcode scanner with built-in product lookup
Speed Test - Ookla's speedtest.net application
Unit Converter

Money
Bank of America - online banking and account management
FX Currency - comprehensive currency converter
Google Finance - stocks
PayPal

Security and other
DockRunner - enables multimedia dock mode without needing the dock
Wheres My Droid - see above
G-backup (trial and pay) - backs up almost anything you want to Google's servers
MyIP - shows your phone's IP
Text-To-Speech Toy - converts input text to speech

Games
Hyperspace - sort of like Super Monkey Ball; tilt the Droid to navigate a ball around the level within the time limit
Labyrinth - tilt the Droid to roll the ball around holes and into the goal
Quake - full Quake game as far as I know, runs very well with full graphics[/QUOTE]