HTC Phone Users in China

[oh davey]

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has the same issue as I have. My phone is a HTC Desire, bought in Ireland.

I know Google Play and different Google services are not available but on my phone it is really limited.

I cannot get emails pushed to my phone even though I am connected to a data plan. I cannot use Google maps, download apps from internet (as Google Play not available), cannot use Viber or Whatsapp.

That is unless, and this is strange, I use my phone as a portable wifi hotspot. Then bizarrely all these features work quite normally. I do also have a L2TP vpn connection which I don’t bother using as everytime the phone restarts (which is very often) I have to type in a credential password and another seriously ridiculous password which cannot be saved.

Phone overheats when using it as a hotspot which is another issue but has anyone had similar experience.. I know it is a very specific problem

[Federico]

Hey David!

I have an HTC wildfire… about application when i use italian SIM card I have a different availability than chinese SIM card…

Maybe you can do a backup and after use a factory reset… or update firmware but is betterif you go to some shop…

[oh davey]

Thanks Fede!!

I have done both but have not gone to a shop. I think there probably is something serious with phone.. it reboots a lot and overheats but I thought maybe the smaller issues there might be a solution.

Think it is a something to do with the processor unfortunately so not much I can do unless I send it home for the warranty. Wouldn’t trust the post;)

Thanks again!!

[Lino]

Hi Davey,

I actually have the same phone bought from Ireland and I am experiencing similar issues.

The phone sometimes turns off automatically and I have a feeling it is related to some apps running on the phone.

I have seen some improvements since i disabled facebook. I’ve read about other people having similar issues especially when running google maps.

I also try to keep mobile data disabled as much as I can.

The weird thing is that when i reboot the phone the battery status drops from i.e. 65% to 4%…

I have not found a pattern or solution to this yet, but what you could try to do is to buy another battery to keep you going in case of emergencies.

[oh davey]

Hi Lino,

Nice to hear from you! Hope you getting on well now that you are over!

I had a similar problem with the battery before and often it was to do with the apps. I think your one as regards the battery is strange. It’s like it is draining quickly and your phone is giving you a false reading.

I think mine has less to do with the battery unfortunately. The battery doesn’t get hot but the phone gets hot where I think the processor is. It can happen in seconds after doing something that involves use of the processor other than making calls such as trying maps, or using internet to open 2-3 pages, magnifying etc.

The other problem is that both our phones in Ireland used a different network, i think it is called HSPA and over here, the phone, well mine can’t really use the WCDMA network so it switches between WCDMA and Edge which probably wastes battery further.

I think you’re right about the apps, including the app killers which are not required for our phones as they already have that feature included in later versions of android.. I think 2.0 upwards.

Sorry, really long message, and not so clear but, thanks!

Maybe, I can bore you to death over a nice bottle of karmeliet;)

[Lino]

It would seem that the Desire was not the best choice in smartphones after all uh?

Exactly.. when i keep the mobile internet off it does waste a lot less battery. Very strange but I got myself a second battery just in case I am stranded in the middle of Chengdu and in desperate need of maps and/or translate.

The karmeliet sounds good, stories are always better told over a karmeliet 🙂

[Chris Ziich]

This is the main issue with Android phones; since there are so many different models, they all have their own little quirks.

First things first. Make sure that your phone has the latest version of Android OS. You might not get updates automatically in China, so you’ll have to do some searching through forums and you may be able to find updates that way.

For your gmail, check your Data Delivery Frequency settings. (They should be set to Push).

Are you on China Mobile or China Unicom? Only China Unicom has WCDMA 3G.

If your battery is draining really fast, you can try disabling Background data (although some apps need background data on to work, like gchat). I usually have my background data off unless I’m on gchat or in the play store. So also, if you can’t access google play store, check that your background data is on.

If you still can’t access the play store you might need to run Market Enabler app. The apk is easy to find online, but you’ll need to root your phone to use it.

I have 2 spare batteries. All smart phones these days will drain the batteries under moderate usage pretty quick. What’s nice is the fake batteries here in China are really cheap and work pretty well.

Anyways, getting an Android phone to work well always takes a bit of work. I had to tinker with mine for months before I was satisfied with it. gMaps, Play store, Whatsapp all work well for me though.

[Brave Chengdu]

Totally agree with CZ’s comments. Carrying a spare battery made life much easier for me. I got a Nohon brand and it’s great.

Did you manage to make progress with any of your issues?

what version of the Desire do you have? HD? Do you know what version of android you’re on? I think HTC has a bad rep for updating right? Also is your phone ‘branded’ to a network?

Google play and most other Google services (inc Maps and push Mail) should work fine on foreign bought Phone’s I think, unless the network operator it’s bought though mucked it up.

that services work in the OK only in hotspot mode is bizarre. and it didn’t behave like this in Ireland?

There’s still quite a few things you can try to try to resolve your smaller issues. As well a a factory reset have you tried reformatting your SD storage?

would you consider flashing a custom rom?

but– the CPU shouldn’t overheat from using maps or the browser (if they work well or not) again this didn’t happen in Ireland?

understand not wanting to post the phone, but could you pass it to someone going back ask them to take it.

otherwise this overheating could be a bad hardware connection, some of the guys on mobile phone street can work miracles, maybe let them take a look.

I don’t know maybe you’ve resolved ur issues?

[Lino]

Hey Davey,

I actually got myself an Iphone now. My HTC desire was really screwing up badly.

The phone shut off at random intervals and after a while even my microphone was not working anymore, meaning i couldnt receive or make calls.

On top of that my internet connection started dropping all the time, so that was the final drop.

Anyway, I sold the phone to the shop but I still have a spare battery and charger lying around which is useless to me now. You can have them for free. Send me a PM if interested.

[oh davey]

Thanks BC and Lino, and Chris

Sorry for late reply! Very grateful.

In answer to BC first as I have been in touch with Chris before. I don’t have the HD version but the model before. I think it must have been the first model, when it was a Google Nexus handset.

Android version 2.2.2. It isn’t branded to a network, it wasn’t network locked.

To be honest, I think the main problem is the handset and then other issues add to it. It just started overheating when I was leaving Ireland on the domestic network there and I returned it under warranty but it wasn’t fixed properly by the time I had to leave. And now in Chengdu, the issues with Google are separate but add to the existing problem of a faulty handset.

I have done a factory reset but never formatted the sd card.

The phone hasn’t been rooted and in order to root it I understand they advise you to use a new sd card so perhaps the sd card could have something to do with the problem.

But, I think it is definitely a hardware problem. I just hadn’t had time at present as I have been busy and keeping a low profile. I will take your advice and try to get it repaired after doing the remainder of the steps you all advised and probably throw my hands up and buy an iphone eventually;)

Many thanks!! I owe you all a drink!

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