Screen not accurately tracking finger

[MarkIAlbert]

I have been experiencing problems trying to restart my Droid
phone when it has been locked out due to inactivity. Here are
the details:
1) I am using pattern recognition to unlock the phone.
2) When the phone is locked for more than 20 minutes,
the pattern recognition screen fails. The screen is unable to
track my finger movements across the screen. As a result, the
pattern recognition fails and I am unable to get back into the
phone. Specifically, the program shows my finger moving in
directions other than those I took.
3) Restarting the phone does not help.
4) The problem occurs regardless of whether or not I use a
screen saver.
5) After the screen 'warms up' its ability to recognize finger
movements improves and I can log in.
6) After logging in, the phone has trouble figuring out what my
finger is doing and I have to resort to the mouse and copper
button.
7) Sometimes, the problem goes away on it's own. Some times
not.

[extorian]

It's not Android, as it would happen on all Android phones (it doesn't on mine). I would imagine we'd have heard loads of people complaining if it was an issue with the Droid in general.

So this leaves two options:

1) An app being bad.

2) Your Droid is faulty.

If it's number 2, you will have to get a new phone and hence have to reinstall everything anyway. So, my recommendation is to do a factory reset, and see if it still occurs with a freshly wiped phone.

If it doesn't reoccur with no apps on your phone, you know it was a dodgy app - so make a note of what you install (do a few apps at a time and leave it for a while to see if the problem occurs to figure out which one it is).

If it does reoccur before you've added any apps to your phone, you'll need to return it and swap it.

[aliciaadorada]

people are complaining about this very thing on the motorola cliq ( me included). I think it might have to do with motorola itself. I cannot say for sure if its hardware or software related, though.

[extorian]

But, it's also possible that it's just a commonly used app that's causing it.

One of the big differences with some of the newer Android phones is the screen size. In the past few days I've had around 40 of my apps get updates that are related to fixing bugs in the apps relating to the new screen sizes.

What about the apps that haven't been updated yet? OK - some might not need any changes, but a lot still do as there's a whole load of people complaining that certain apps simply not working at all on some of the new phones, or force closing frequently, so there's still a load waiting to be updated.

I'm not saying it's not a hardware fault - I just doubt it, because it seems like the kind of problem that the hardware developers and testers would have noticed before they released the phones. Incompatible apps, on the other hand, could cause this type of problem.

I guess only a factory reset (or uninstalling all of your apps) can tell if it's app related or hardware related.

[MarkIAlbert]

Thanks,

The errant app appears to have been the 'Where' application. The minute I removed it, everything started behaving as expected. Bummer. I liked that app. Hope an update comes out soon.

Thanks!

[extorian]

Good to know it's not a fault with the phone though.

Developers seem, so far, pretty good at updating their apps. You can also give the developer a nudge via email and mention the problem and if an update for your model of phone is going to be released.