10
Feb
vibrant-official

Back in December of 2011, the T-Mobile Samsung Vibrant was canned by the CyanogenMod team due to a 911 emergency dialing bug that was considered crucial and unfixable:

We are no longer supporting the Vibrant due to the inability to dial 911. We consider the issues related to this unresolvable without source code from Samsung related to the Radio interface layer and its interactions with the Audio layers and have taken the decision to no longer support this. We apologize for the inconvenience and strongly suggest that Vibrant users use a Samsung ROM due to the 911 issues with any ROMs based on open source code.

09
Feb
image
Last Updated: February 13th, 2012

Yesterday, a security firm called zvelo demonstrated a vulnerability within Google Wallet, cracking its PIN verification system using brute force, giving Wallet access to anyone who had the exploit. It was also revealed that the hack only worked on rooted devices, and Google swiftly reported that a fix for the bug was already being worked on.

Adding to Google Wallet's security worries, a new hack was posted online today, claiming to give access to Google Wallet (sans PIN) on non-rooted devices, requiring just a few steps to gain user information (and funds).

The Smartphone Champ reported on the newly-discovered flaw, explaining just how the exploit works:

The security flaw is painfully easy to do and requires no extra software nor does it require root.  All a person who wants to access your Google Wallet has to do is go into the application settings menu and clear the data for the Google Wallet app.  After doing that your Google Wallet app will be reset and will prompt for you to set a new pin the next time you open it.  The problem here is that since Google Wallet is tied to the device itself and not tied to your Google account, that once they set the new pin and log into the app, when they add the Google prepaid card it will add the card that is tied to that device.  In other words, they’d be able to add your card and have full access to your funds.

18
Jan
PR-ASUS-Eee-Pad-Transformer-Prime-front-Amethyst-Gray_thumb1

Since launch, the ASUS Transformer Prime's GPS issues have hampered an otherwise stellar tablet. To make matters worse, ASUS confirmed that the problem was due to the Prime's all-aluminium construction, indicating that a software fix was unlikely. Indeed ASUS was forced to release a new version of the Prime (TF700T), with an updated back panel to improve the GPS functionality. However, ASUS has not given up all hope on the original Prime as a new OTA update (V9.4.2.7) is rolling out, which could fix the GPS drivers.

The OTA update has not gone live for everyone and in some cases it fails during installation.

23
Nov
image_thumb161

There's been quite a stir caused in the past few days about a mysterious volume bug which surfaced on the Galaxy Nexus. The bug began drawing attention over at XDA's forums, where several users reported ostensibly random muting, and erratic response from the Nexus' volume rocker.

It was quickly discovered that the issue seemed to have something to do with the use of 2G signal, specifically the use of a 900 MHz frequency used by many European carriers. The bug could also be replicated using other phones situated near the Galaxy Nexus, leading to concerns that perhaps the bug was hardware-related.

01
Nov
20110224233315!Android_Market

The intrepid folks over at XDA are always tinkering away to try and make using your Android device a better experience. And a few weeks ago, one of them (namely, temasek) found that the Android Market has some issues trying to resolve DNS servers when your device is connected over Wi-Fi. This can cause the Market to load slowly, and it's definitely something I've experienced on my own phone.

The solution? A popular app called Set DNS (note: root is required), which forces your phone or tablet to use a particular name server when connecting to the web, may speed up load times over Wi-Fi.

15
Oct
image

It looks like the touchscreen isn't the only piece of hardware on the Sensation that works when it wants to. Posted today on XDA-Developers, Sensation owner zmfl recounted his experience with the audio signal coming and going on his phone, and having received confirmation of the issue from other members there, enterprisingly figured out the cause of the problem and its solution.

image

Put simply, the paint around the Sensation's 3.5 mm headphone jack tends to wear away or chip with use. This brings the pins of the cable plug into contact with the bare case metal and results in the audio cutting out or sending errant control signals to your media player.

30
Sep
google_nexus_s_21-500x540

If you've downloaded or had the Android 2.3.6 update pushed to your AT&T, T-Mobile, or unlocked Nexus S recently without issue, consider yourself lucky. None of this applies to the Nexus S 4G on the Sprint network.

While we reported that the update was breaking Wi-Fi and USB tethering initially, it seems something much, much worse is happening to some users who have received 2.3.6 OTA.

If you check out this Google thread, you'll see a number of poor souls have had all cellular connectivity stripped from their devices after updating. The easiest solution so far? Roll back to Android 2.3.4 (or earlier), which almost inevitably requires a full wipe of the device.

27
Sep
The-Google-Samsung-Nexus-S-4G

A few weeks ago, a GSM Nexus S update 2.3.6 (GRK39C) with voice search fixes started rolling out, but it was immediately discovered to break Wi-Fi and USB tethering. After many complaints, Google pulled the OTA, and it seems like they've spent the last couple of weeks making sure everything works as expected.

A new update surfaced tonight, also numbered 2.3.6, but this time bearing build GRK39F. While there is no official changelog, based on the fact that an update with the same exact build hit the Nexus One a few days ago and didn't break tethering, I think it's safe to say it fixes at least that issue (Update: thanks to our buddy Omar for an additional confirmation of working tethering).

25
Sep
optimus_s
Last Updated: September 28th, 2011

On September 14, Sprint revealed that an update to Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) was rolling out for the LG Optimus S. Seems like a good thing, right? Not so fast, actually - it turns out there are some fairly substantial bugs that weren't worked out before rolling out the update. Sprint is aware of the keyboard issue but has yet to acknowledge the other problems users seem to be experiencing, such as issues charging and using USB storage.

Update: Sprint pulled the Gingerbread update for the time being.

optimus_s_knownissues

We've already had over 150 comments relating to the update, issues, and potential fixes, so I thought it would be a good idea to compile some of the suggestions into a post.

23
Sep
SamsungEpic4GTouchFront-550x550

One of the biggest fears that many users have before rooting their device is something going wrong with no way to return to stock. Fortunately, we have a brilliant root community behind us, and thanks to Team ACS, we now have an unrooted, stock kernel available to flash via ODIN. This way, if you encounter any issue during or after rooting your device you have a way to restore the kernel back to its factory state.

The process is very simple, and if you have any previous experience using Samsung's ODIN utility, you should be right at home.

For full details, including downloads and instructions, head over the this thread on XDA and this thread on the Team ACS forums.