By Verizon’s come out to publicly acknowledge the screen defects that some of their launch day Droid X units are plagued with. Some people were experiencing extreme levels of screen tearing and banding, while others were faced with a screen that would not stop flickering.
Apparently, .1% of users are affected by the problem – so you shouldn’t be too worried about it if you own one of those yourself – but a quick call to Verizon or Motorola’s technical support and customer care lines will get you on the yellow brick road toward getting a new device.
In related news, Droid X users are savages. No, they’re not hungry for blood, violence, and whatever valuables you have for them to ransack. They’re hungry for pure data. Verizon’s pointed out that – out of any other phone they offer – Droid X users are eating up 5x more data. It’s funny because Sprint claimed the same thing about the HTC EVO 4G. Verizon’s also expressing just how satisfied they are with their Android strategy. Citing their now-retired app store – GetItNow – Verizon’s calling their change from a “walled garden” to open “drastic”, but it’s undoubtedly paid dividends for them.
We’re happy they agree with the open Android strategy (let’s try to keep Droid X bootloader talk to a minimum here) so let’s hope this Droid craze gets even crazier in the coming months as they announce newer, better, and faster phones.
[Engadget, PaidContent via Android Central]
That’s not flickering, that’s a bad Vertical Hold :D
lesson learned from Apple: acknowledge the problem, pledge to fix it quickly, everyody happy. Verizon will get a gold star on their report card for this.
You spelled ransack wrong. ;^)~
The 5 times more data can be attributed to new users to android doing things they have never been done before, ppl downloading and installing fresh software, etc. That or there is a problem with the software requesting data all the time.
xarophti,
Most companies acknowledge issues, but Apple is the only one that tries to discredit competitors even when acknowledging defects on their devices.
If Droid X users are causing this many problems, there’s no way on earth that Verizon is getting the iPhone, unless they do some serious upgrades to their network.
No gold stars to Verizon from me.
I bought the Droid X and had this exact problem. And unfortunately, no matter what you try Verizon will not replace a DOA phone ahead of any new order, so it’s back to waiting several more weeks, hopefully getting one that works this time.
The only good news to share is that if you ask for a supervisor, it seems relatively easy to convince them of their own faults and they at least agreed to shipping FedEx P1 and also giving a 10% discount on my service for the next 6 months. But still, I would much rather they just budgeted for a certain percentage of RMAs and fulfilled those commitments each and every day before sending out new orders. Lame.
@Aeires – where does it say anywhere in this article that Droid X users are causing problems with Verizon’s network? It just simply states they are using 5x more data than the average customer. BFD
Aeires,
AT&T can keep their IPhone for themselves, with data plan rates drastically reduced and IPhones still priced at the same rate, AT&T will soon have a lot of lower paying customers and very soon they will be loss-leaders. Pretty soon AT&T will resemble one of those cut rate chinese manufacturers operating at 5 percent only. Verizon will not like to be that.
@Aeires
Nobody said they were having problems with the network. They just mentioned that data rates were large.
What do you mean causing this issue?? and they won’t get the iphone? I assume you mean the 5x more data usage? HOW is that an issue on verizon? no one has complained about a bandwidth problem? just that they use 5x more bandwidth than others do.. vzn can handle the bandwidth no doubt.. least now.. as for iphone.. well could really care less if it goes onto verizon.. Android is the new flavor of the month.. Apple and there OS is old news. and not something I even care to own/have .. ONLY People who want to see the iphone at verizon are the people who own one now that want to get off AT&T .. NO thank You. we’ll have enough bandwidth with the android phones .. NO need to slow us down with iphones..
Yeah lets just hope verizon doesn’t tier their data plans as badly as At&t did with theirs. If that’s the case, sprint might come out looking pretty good. Either that or lets hope competition gets the better of them and they eventually go back to unlimited data plans or something close to…
@Mark, That after many creative denials that there are even problems at all. And even their acknowledgment was a denial. Props to VZW and Moto for fast action.
Verizon will follow ATT’s new tiered data pricing. It is only a matter of time.
So enjoy that…I’ll stick with Sprint.
iPhone for Verizon????? Who cares now……the Droid portfolio (especially the X) makes my longing for an iPhone on the network a thing of the past.
They are just gripping it wrong! Oops, sorry, that’s the iPhone. I want one of these! Hope it comes to Canada on Rogers (but likely will for Telus instead).
The data usage claim is bullshit in order to justify tiered data and data caps. After the hoopla and the shiny new toy syndrome wears off on these handsets in a few weeks data usage will be back to normal. Just another excuse for AT&T and now Verizon to squeeze its’ customers for more money.
Glad to be with sprint, and not deal with any of this data usage BS.
Hello here is a way to help with the data usage…. Get an app store like apple and download apps over your home internet! Its totally bs that vz charges for the data download of apps on their phones. It forces you to buy the unlimited data plan.
Have both the x and the iPhone and hands down the iPhone wins!!! So until you can test both at the same time, stop hating!!!
@Compubyte, I’m on the same page with you and Bob, AT&T can keep their iPhone. I’m just tired of hearing the rumors of the iPhone coming to Verizon. I know some die hard iPhone users that are chomping at the bit to bail on AT&T and they can stay that way as far as I’m concerned. Can any carrier hold up well if a million users or more open contracts with them over a few months time though? Don’t know. Last time I looked, there were around 52 million iPhones. Let AT&T keep them all.
One reason I see for more Verizon data usage is that the Droid X has some problems staying connected properly to the user’s local Wi-Fi network, so people are turning off Wi-Fi and using 3G.
I’ve experienced this first hand, I am using 3G exclusively now while my Wi-Fi sits idle. The phone is so much fun I can’t put it down, I’m glad VZ still offers unlimited data!
0.1% Did I read that right. I see .1% and just want to make sure it’s not a typo.
It’s being held it at the wrong angle, lol.
I am surprised Motorola didn’t have a press conference telling us all how every screen has this problem but it was only noticed now when this phone came out..
Maybe they just have the math wrong or something.
Oh and nobody mention the locked bootloader..Save that for a real technical site like cnet or something where all the geeks go.
Aeires,
first of all 52 million is a worldwide figure not US alone. Secondly there are companies that sell that number of phones in a quarter. And Nokia sells 100 million phones a quarter. Blackberry has just recently sold their 100 millionth phone. 52 million is not a seriously impressive number. Probably by year end Android will be selling 1 million phones a day as it will be pushed to not just high-end smartphones but also to feature phones.
The 4.3″ screens encourage people (especially those new to android) to stream video, attributing to the increase in data usage. What else would you expect from a phone w a kickstand?
I love my driod x. Only a few issue plague the device for me,
1. extremely slow camera startup and picture taking – although the panaramic pic mode rocks
2. Wifi is very weak compared to other phones
Everything else is awesome.
You haven’t mentioned that the phone’s WIFI radio refuses to work with 802.11n routers!
I like it how people are saying that the “5x as much data” admission by VZW is somehow a harbinger of doom!!! (I wonder if Verizon asked Moto/HTC to only allow youtube videos over wifis only *coughcough*.. I doubt it)
Fact of the matter is that we don’t have any reason to think thats their network can’t handle this – plus with LTE rolling out soon – the phat pipe will be significantly “fatter”.
@swazedahustla
Glad to be with Sprint? Try traveling with a business and having people with Sprint CONSTANTLY have to use your Verizon phone because they have no service, especially 3G or 4G. Its pretty annoying.
@ swazedahustla
Yet. Give it some time, they’ll cave just like all the other carriers.
@Matt
Are you kidding me man? There is a post with 20938420394 comments regarding the bootloader. This post is regarding the screen. And why are you so angry?
The real problem is that you are looking at it wrong. I have a lazy eye. I look at it cross-eyed and it looks just fine on mine.
Well, I believe Sprint that the Evo users used 5 times more data, because there weren’t a lot of great phones on Sprint before hand. But with the Droid, and the Incredible, I am surprised the X is using that much more than the average.
Come to think of it on Droidx launch day my incredible did loose data coverage but not my husbands Env3
@hannah, I believe you’re confusing the Droid X with the EVO 4G…
@JoshUng, As a previous Moment owner, I can say that my increased data usage on th EVO is due to the increased speed over 3G and the screen. Sprint has had several multimedia phones for a while, but the EVO is our jesus phone…
Verizon will soon be facing the problem AT&T has had for a long time now which is smartphones consuming huge amounts of data. Which is why you WILL see Verizon announcing the same data caps as AT&T, 2 GB per month any day now. Even on the iPhone most users don’t use more than that so it will be a non-issue for most. Verizon has had very little impact on their data network until recently because they simply didn’t allow users to overload it by limiting their devices and placing $$$ restrictions on data. Those of you say Verizon won’t start seeing AT&T like issues simply don’t know what they are talking about. LTE will help a lot but you have to have an LTE phone and it won’t be everywhere for years. All the carriers are in the process of going to 4G of some sort anyway.
Verizon still wants the iPhone. They have lost millions of customers due to the iPhone and Android isn’t even close to bringing them all back. I don’t see Android as achieving UI and functionality parity to the iPhone 4 until Gingerbread and maybe not then. They really need to get their media sync and playback act together too. It’s crude at best right now.
I have both a Droid X and an iPhone 4 btw and had an Incredible before that. The much overblown iPhone antenna issue isn’t one for most users, Apple is selling them as fast as they can make them, and that isn’t going to change. Especially now that its really obvious other phones have the same “issue” which most people should already know.
The other phone and cell companies have had ads and made disparaging statements about the iPhone antenna in order to sell their phones or service. No wonder Apple decided to post videos showing how full of it they are as well as all over You Tube seeing users show how their phones do the same thing.
You mess with the Bull you get the Horns and Apple is the Bull.
http://dontholditwrong.tumblr.com/
I called Verizon a little bit ago because my Droid X battery was draining so fast compared to my Droid (X has a bigger battery)and my screen has begun to suddenly dim for no reason them come back on.
The rep did the usual process of questions about my use. At the end she said either she would ship me a new batter or I could go to the store to get one. Apparently this high data use / battery issue is a possible reason for the screen dimming. Anyway, she was really nice and definitely wanted to help. I figured I’d drop by the store and get things taken care of.
Surprisingly, she just left me a voice mail letting me know that since the X’s are back-ordered it’s likely the store couldn’t help me out. She also said she’d be glad to overnight a replacement if I’d like.
Just that a rep gave a damn enough to call me back with more info and two offers for resolution is mind boggling in these days where customer service usually isn’t.
This sort of attempt to provide a problem resolution goes a long way – JOBS, take a hint.
My advice for people renewing contracts if/when your data plans are tiered: STICK WITH THE UNLIMITED! LOL Especially if you plan on being able to root – and you can always go down to a lower one if you consistently are not using up the next level of the plan’s cap ;) So yeah, AT&T tiering their data hasn’t affected anyone who had a plan with them before, tbh! New people coming to them either are doing it to jump onto the iPhone/iPad bandwagon (a bit late, I might add), or because they’re forced to due to job/location… So yeah, not much of an issue for most people, I would imagine :)
After taking possession, I found out that emails were not going out, just stuck permanently in the outbox. Incoming e-mails worked fine, and the phone was fine.
After numerous calls with Verizon and Cox reps on figuring out many phone settings, including POP and SMTP settings, I was told that I would have to setup an appointment to talk with Moto phone rep or expert. At that point, with over 6 hours on the phone , I gave up and returned the phone to the store and suffered the repacking cost.
Another issue I noted was transferring my contacts from a Blackberry Curve/MS Outlook to the Droid. With help from Verizon, the Verizon backup system was not able to effect the transfer. Finally got it trough gmail, but only to find out that the information was transferred as “Notes” including labels, such home no., emails, etc., such that the resulting info was in essence text with no ability to use any of it for making calls or sending emails. I had to start retyping or copying/pasting the info in their proper places.
The Droid X gmail system controls too many features. For example, the calendar is linked to gmail and I was not able to link it to my Cox email account. If one unchecks the gmail account, the system prevents you from adding another one even though there is a mean to do that. The same thing happens with Contacts, again no way of decoupling the gmail account from it. The only option is to setup a separate email account and compose emails from that account and import email addresses that way. One cannot unselect and replace the gmail account from Contacts either. Verizon told me to go to gmail and elect the provision in gmail to identify my primary email service as “pass-through.” I did that, but still I was not able to change that feature in the Droid.
Bottom line, getting and setting up a phone, even a smart phone, should not be as complex and an overwhelming experience. Too bad, it’s a gorgeous phone otherwise, and I almost liked it during my short ownership period. Too bad that Blackberry does not have an equivalent version of the Droid OS phones.
I received a phone with the defective screen. I had to wait weeks for a backordered phone, not to mention spending lots of wasted hours on the phone with service and in the local store trying to 1) show sales techs in store my defective phone 2) deal with miscommunications between store personnel and customer service via phone 3) get my account reprogrammed to use my old blackberry. This was such a hassle. No discounts offered for my wasted time and inconvenience. I have to imagine there are more than just 1% of these defective phones.
Happened to me this morning, and I had NEVER heard about it happening before. I took it to the VZW store, and the guy had never heard of it either, but didn’t ask twice and just ordered me a new one, so I am not too mad. I went in expecting a fight haha.
Wow, the increased data usage is because when you first get the droid they tether all your accounts (facebook,myspace,twitter, etc) all those account running at the same time will increase data. since the accounts has to be constantly refreshed. Also new Android users DLing Apps.
USE WIFI GUYS. yes DROID X also has WIFI.
I have a dead pixel on my Droid X, or it may be a stuck pixel. Nonetheless it is annoying and I see it everytime I have a colored back ground or a white background and when I text. I can’t see it on a black background..which I don’t understand. It’s like the pixel is super bright at all times and it won’t go away no matter what I do. Called VZW, I will have my new Droid X on Wednesday.
I love that I am the .1% affected by this. I purchased this phone aug 2010 and one week later it stopped working so I got it replaced. Now this problem, this is my 3rd replacement in 2 months. I am glad Verizon is quick to send out replacements so easily but its still a pain to have to go through the process of downloading all the apps and all that mojo.