Last updated on August 30th, 2019 at 07:27 am
I was heading off to my hair appointment and decided to try out the GPS and map functionality on my Android phone. Just as I was about to step out the door, I disabled the wifi (to save battery) and enabled the GPS. Immediately, a popup screen appears warning that the current location detail will be less accurate with the wifi disabled. Knowing that I’ll be out of wifi range shortly, I don’t worry about it. As I press OK, nothing happens! The interface on the phone appears to have completely locked up. Pressing OK does nothing, pressing home does nothing, press back does nothing – uggg. I turn off the phone screen, run to my computer to validate where I’m going and head out the door. At the hairdressers, I decide to try and reset the device – but I have no idea how to reboot it. The power button just toggles the screen on and off – I make a mental note to learn how to reboot the device. I try to remove the battery, but can’t seem to get the back panel off. I decide that it is time for a trip to Costco to get help (I bought the phone at Costco). So, off to Costco I trudge. In my mind I’m thinking that if my device is flaky, I want it replaced. I’m still within the 14-days of purchase, so a swap-out shouldn’t be a problem. The only issue is what to swap with – since I really like my phone (despite my various posts, I do like it), and looking at the other phones available, it certainly has the nicest screen! The assistant manager and Android expert is away on training, and the guy working the kiosk is new. He admits that he is still in training and doesn’t completely understand everything, but he was able to quickly remove the back of the phone and reboot it. He makes comments like “they are like PCs and need to be rebooted” which does nothing for my confidence in the device. I’m also thinking that I may need to return when the assistant manager or manager are there to get the phone replaced. Once the phone is rebooted, I try again, and the screen isn’t working. He picks up the device and shows me how it works – everything is working fine. I take the device back and try again, only this time, I use my middle finger rather than my index finger, because the bandaid on my index finger is leaving gunk on the screen. Of course, I have no trouble when I use the screen with my middle finger – the device is working just fine! And then the light goes on, and I feel like a complete idiot. The capacitive touch screen requires direct content with your skin to work (or a device that is able to direct the electrical current from your hands such as a stylus). Alas, the bandaid on my index finger was the cause of my screen “lockup”, since my finger wasn’t making direct content with the screen, it didn’t work. I leave Costco laughing at myself – one more lesson learned.
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