Mtbrider

I went through the chat support on Saturday concerning my screen alignment problem and they overnighted me a replacement X50v on Monday. So far no problems. I have to say that Dell support through the chat option was prompt and pleasant enough to use. And you can't complain about shipping a replacement unit out on the next business day overnight fedex delivery. Hopefully, the screen alignment problem won't repeat itself with this unit.

FYI: I asked if they knew what the problem was and the response was perhaps the firmware. So I still have no idea if the problem is a general defect or related to a certain manufacturing run. It would be nice if someone could get something out of Dell on what caused the problem and if it has been fixed.

bjseverns

I have had my Axim X50v for 2 months. I was running hardware revision A01 and software revision A01 with no digitizer problems. I upgraded to Rom version A02 around the same time that I started using a screen protector. My alignment started to fail around this time.

I cannot correlate the problem to the screen protectors or the BIOS revision. But some interesting things I know. The note on the Dell website for the A02 rom update stated that they made some "improvements" to the touchscreen. So I am guessing that hardware version A01 and rom version A02 are incompatible.

Anyone still having the problem may want to downgrade the rom to verify this. Personally, I am going to opt for a replacement first.

Anyone running on A02 without problems at all?

My second theory is that the screen protector (maybe stick adhersive,etc.) is somehow messing up the digitizer. I did not have a problem until adding the "Dell brand" screen protectors.

cnycompguy

Mine just started doing this,
Hardware: A01, Rom: A02 second release.

Never used screen protector, no debris in the button-cover at the bottom of the screen, even though that is the part of the screen that the screw-up is manifesting.

I can put it in that drawing mode, and everywhere but the bottom of the screen is fine, but i can simply draw a single dot at the bottom and after 1/2 second it draws a vertical line on its own.

Hope there's some way to fix this myself, i'd hate to have to deal with dell support again.

bjseverns

Anyone have an idea as to how the digitizer works? I have a theory about how mine was damaged but I am not sure exactly how it works so excuse me for not being very technical in my explanation.

A little background, I noticed the problem after putting a screen protector on. At first, I thought that maybe the screen protector was not allowing the presses to register or that some adhesive was left behind when I removed it, but I am not thinking this anymore.

I just received my replacement from Dell. It is hardware version A01. The first thing I noticed is that there is more resistance to the screen. It is hard to describe, but almost as if there is very tiny particles or pockets behind the screen itself. Almost like writing with an eraser when I use the stylus. I remember now that it used to be this way when I first received the Axim.

But also, this substance seems very delicate. I am one of those whacky people that can't have any air bubbles in the screen after putting on the protector, and I fear that I may have applied too much pressure over the surface of the screen when applying the screen protector. I never had a problem with my Ipaq 5450 when I put these on, but I fear that maybe a screen with more resolution is much more delicate. Remember, these things are designed to pick up and follow single stylus presses and maybe too much pressure with the screen protector card damaged the unit.

It is a thought anyway!

bjseverns

Originally Posted by cnycompguy

Never used screen protector, no debris in the button-cover at the bottom of the screen, even though that is the part of the screen that the screw-up is manifesting.

Just for my personal kicks, do you ever apply a lot of pressure to the bottom of the screen with your fingers using emulators or games with onscreen controls?

wmm

Originally Posted by bjseverns

I am one of those whacky people that can't have any air bubbles in the screen after putting on the protector, and I fear that I may have applied too much pressure over the surface of the screen when applying the screen protector.

Interesting idea! I fear that I, too, did a lot of squeegie-ing when I installed my screen protector, and it was only a week or so later that I started having digitizer problems. I haven't yet installed a screen protector on the replacement unit I received a couple of days ago; maybe I'll just live with the possibility of scratches in the hope of having a digitizer that works over the long term.

caracal

I found another thing that seems to affect the spikes in the digitizer quite a lot..
CPU Speed.

If I put it on Max Performance, I get lots of spikes, most of the time.
If I put it on Auto. I get barely any spikes.

Any idea how the problem ties in with the CPU?

bjseverns

I am wondering if the material behind the digitizer is heat sensitive. It seems like the Axim runs pretty warm when the processor is max'ed out for extended periods of time. This could account for the decreased stylus detection at higher CPU.

Maybe we should somehow list the commonalities between all of us that have had the alignment problems.

wmm

I'm pretty sure my digitizer problem was heat-sensitive, as well. When I used it immediately after contact with my body heat, it was usually flaky. Letting it cool down to room temperature made it behave better, until it warmed up again from internal heat production.

kam33mitch

Well, Mine started acting up a week ago and last night it locked up and would not turn on. Since I had to do a Hard Reset anyway I went back to A01 just for the hell of it. I'll let you know if it makes a difference - so far it is working great but all I have been doing today is loading software again. I'll keep you posted on how it works out.

As to screen protectors and whether it gets hot or not, I have not been able to isolate this as a cause yet. I have noticed that if it gets jammed under the bezel it will start sending signals to the digitizer that may conflict with the taps.

maninnet

Originally Posted by wmm

I'm pretty sure my digitizer problem was heat-sensitive, as well. When I used it immediately after contact with my body heat, it was usually flaky. Letting it cool down to room temperature made it behave better, until it warmed up again from internal heat production.

i meet same situation with body heat and screen protector.

cnycompguy

I contacted dell support,

the indian support guy had me
1. remove the battery, put the cover back on.
2. plug in the ac adapter.
3. set all hard buttons back to defaults, start->settings->buttons

Then he asked if i was still having problems, i said yes

Then he decided to send out a replacement unit.

No idea what the whole deal he made me go though was about, They prolly need to have it on record that they had you do something before just sending out a replacement.

anyway, he said it'll be here in 2 or 3 days. I'll let you know what happens.

kam33mitch

OK, I've been running for 24 trouble free hours since going back to A01. I have the A01 hardware and maybe it can't take the A02 Rom. I've tried all the things mentioned here to get it to act up since I changed back and it won't do it. I ran the battery low, ran the CPU on high, got it warm by running it in the case, etc.

Weird to be sure but so far effective. You may at least want to try this while you wait for your replacement to show up.

cnycompguy

i'd rather just wait since i'd have to reinstall all the apps anyway.

Warone

Seems like I have to realign my touchpoint/stylus about every other day or so. sometimes it takes four or five goes to get it right. I use a boxwave screen protector. I think it probably makes the screen taps go a bit awry. Realignment only takes about 10-20 seconds.

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