[UPDATE FROM HTC - where are we now?] Screen Flicker - A pledge...

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BarryH_GEG

Senior Member
Jan 16, 2009
10,197
5,142
Spokane, Washington
Barry is it ur gut feeling that this is software or hardware fault?
And if it is software then why aren't all phones affected?

Some background. I've done large-scale s/w product management since Windows 2.1. Without h/w to run it, s/w wouldn't exist. So the relationship is inextricible.

The way I'd answer your question post-Asus Prime is different than I would have earlier. The "why aren't all phones affected" is a mystery. All the HT23 One X's were built on the same assembly line, using the same parts, within weeks of each other and are running the same s/w. There's no logical reason why they should perform differently.

There's something funky related to Teg3 that I'm guessing is inconsistency between the chips. Software is developed to expect a range of responses and if the h/w is reacting out of that range it'll cause the s/w to flake out. When the Prime started having similar Teg3 related issues I was firmly convinced s/w wouldn't be able to overcome them. But, updates (it took four) eventually did. If my theory is correct and it was different responses being sent by different Teg3 chips the fix(es) were modifying the s/w to anticipate them. When all's said and done the Prime owners that were unhappy are now happy. Neither Asus nor Nvidia confirmed the cause of the issues and once they went away everyone stopped caring.

So short answer; I think there's a h/w component but the One X's issues can be resolved to users satisfaction via s/w alone. It would be nice if HTC gave more color on the root cause of the issues but they'll probably go the way of Asus. While we bought HTC phones and they're 100% responsible for our satisfaction these issues are almost guaranteed to be with Nvidia h/w, s/w, or a combination of both. After following the Prime so closely I bought the One X Teg3 version anyway. My hope was that lessons learned would make the launch smoother. So much for that. ;)
 

lostunsunghero

Senior Member
Apr 3, 2009
134
44
so ive been thinking of buying this phone for the last month, and 2 days before my upgrade is due, i come accross this thread.

Should i hold off on getting this phone? It seems to me that this has only affected a small number of handsets (going by this thread)

If i do hold off i know ill want the galaxy s3 when it launches next week, but by the time that goes down in price enough for me to be able to afford one, the rumoured htc one x with S4 processor may well be released (UK). Otherwise known as the htc xl in the US.

From what ive read the issue appears to lie with the Teg3 processor not communicating well with HTC's s/w. If this is the case then a snapdragon version of the phone should have no issues at all (or at the least not the same ones)
 
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BarryH_GEG

Senior Member
Jan 16, 2009
10,197
5,142
Spokane, Washington
so ive been thinking of buying this phone for the last month, and 2 days before my upgrade is due, i come accross this thread.

Should i hold off on getting this phone? It seems to me that this has only affected a small number of handsets (going by this thread)

If i do hold off i know ill want the galaxy s3 when it launches next week, but by the time that goes down in price enough for me to be able to afford one, the rumoured htc one x with S4 processor may well be released (UK). Otherwise known as the htc xl in the US.

From what ive read the issue appears to lie with the Teg3 processor not communicating well with HTC's s/w. If this is the case then a snapdragon version of the phone should have no issues at all (or at the least not the same ones)

When the poll threads were going hot and heavy the ratio was about 25%/75% with 75% being issue free. The issue free number's probably even higher since people that are happy spend less time in forums and participating in polls. A 5% or less defect rate is acceptable in electronics. That said, you need to make the call. Holding off a couple of weeks until the issue is resolved seems like a better approach then getting on the exchange treadmill like others have.

As for the SGS3 I read somewhere that while the annoucement's in a couple of days the actual release is sometime in June. It's supposed to launch in the UK first in support of Samsung's Olympics sponsorship. I'm sure there will be a frenzy of people all trying to get it first and carriers might have limited allotments. So it being available and getting your hands on an early one might be two different things.

A couple of people besides me have speculated out-of-spec chips and driver issues but our specultation isn't any more or less valid than yours. Only what comes directly from HTC and/or Nvidia should be considered gospel. The XL (S4) has been out in Canada for over a week. Granted it's been sold in smaller quantities than the X, but you'd think if the issues were common it would have popped up at least once by now. It does have two vendors for the display like the X because the XL runs warm and cool also.

I traveled with the One X for the first time this weekend. It's radio was tested in Portland, LAX, Miami, and Ft. Lauderdale. I've used Wi-fi in multiple airports, hotels and restaurants. I used CoPilot for navigation multiple times. I really like this phone. The battery's been better than I thought but I've topped up a couple of times during the day for insurance even though I most likely wouldn't have needed it. There is nothing it doesn't do significantly better than my i9100 (though I haven't really played with the camera heavilly). I'd be hard pressed to see how the SGS3 is going to surpass the phone in a significant way as the early h/w specs we've seen make them a fairly close match (though the SGS3's likely to bench faster). Sense makes what I do easier where TW3 was less valuable. So in a comparison it comes down to battery life, what TW4 does better than TW3, and what the SGS3's made of and looks like. I might still get one but after this weekend I'm in no rush.

Good luck with your decision, whatever it is. ;)
 
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lostunsunghero

Senior Member
Apr 3, 2009
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When the poll threads were going hot and heavy the ratio was about 25%/75% with 75% being issue free. The issue free number's probably even higher since people that are happy spend less time in forums and participating in polls. A 5% or less defect rate is acceptable in electronics. That said, you need to make the call. Holding off a couple of weeks until the issue is resolved seems like a better approach then getting on the exchange treadmill like others have.

As for the SGS3 I read somewhere that while the annoucement's in a couple of days the actual release is sometime in June. It's supposed to launch in the UK first in support of Samsung's Olympics sponsorship. I'm sure there will be a frenzy of people all trying to get it first and carriers might have limited allotments. So it being available and getting your hands on an early one might be two different things.

A couple of people besides me have speculated out-of-spec chips and driver issues but our specultation isn't any more or less valid than yours. Only what comes directly from HTC and/or Nvidia should be considered gospel. The XL (S4) has been out in Canada for over a week. Granted it's been sold in smaller quantities than the X, but you'd think if the issues were common it would have popped up at least once by now. It does have two vendors for the display like the X because the XL runs warm and cool also.

I traveled with the One X for the first time this weekend. It's radio was tested in Portland, LAX, Miami, and Ft. Lauderdale. I've used Wi-fi in multiple airports, hotels and restaurants. I used CoPilot for navigation multiple times. I really like this phone. The battery's been better than I thought but I've topped up a couple of times during the day for insurance even though I most likely wouldn't have needed it. There is nothing it doesn't do significantly better than my i9100 (though I haven't really played with the camera heavilly). I'd be hard pressed to see how the SGS3 is going to surpass the phone in a significant way as the early h/w specs we've seen make them a fairly close match (though the SGS3's likely to bench faster). Sense makes what I do easier where TW3 was less valuable. So in a comparison it comes down to battery life, what TW4 does better than TW3, and what the SGS3's made of and looks like. I might still get one but after this weekend I'm in no rush.

Good luck with your decision, whatever it is. ;)

Insightful reply thanks.

I wish i was in a position to go and buy a phone as soon as its released but unfortunatley thats the not case. When im due an upgrade i like to get the best handset availible at the time considering im probably going to be stuck with it for 2 years.

I've used HTC handsets for several years now (legend, desire, and a short stint with the one S) and im really impressed with what ive seen/used. Which is why im so hesitant to jump in and buy a potentially faulty handset.

I really like the sense interface and i have had experiences with the touch wiz interface (my current interim phone) on the galaxy ace i can say i hate it with a passion. To go from sense to tw is like going from silicon to stone in my opinion.

Do you have any information on the UK XL release? i know it was only rumoured a few days ago but i may have missed something (although a quick online search did not yield any results). Im probably guessing it wont be until the end of Q3 or early Q4 to coincide with the 4G spectrum auction at the end of the year and also to pick up HTC sales for the second half of the year. If this is the case than i will probably go with the One X, because i can get it much earlier.

I really cant express how much ive been looking forward to this phone since it was announced at WMC, and got even more excited when i saw the launch date was before my contract upgrade was due.

Like i said earlier my upgrade isnt due for a few days and who knows maybe HTC will have sorted out the issue by then (one hopes).
 
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blairh

Senior Member
Apr 26, 2012
76
8
USA
I traveled with the One X for the first time this weekend. It's radio was tested in Portland, LAX, Miami, and Ft. Lauderdale. I've used Wi-fi in multiple airports, hotels and restaurants. I used CoPilot for navigation multiple times. I really like this phone. The battery's been better than I thought but I've topped up a couple of times during the day for insurance even though I most likely wouldn't have needed it. There is nothing it doesn't do significantly better than my i9100 (though I haven't really played with the camera heavilly). I'd be hard pressed to see how the SGS3 is going to surpass the phone in a significant way as the early h/w specs we've seen make them a fairly close match (though the SGS3's likely to bench faster). Sense makes what I do easier where TW3 was less valuable. So in a comparison it comes down to battery life, what TW4 does better than TW3, and what the SGS3's made of and looks like. I might still get one but after this weekend I'm in no rush.

Thanks for this Barry. Any chance you could compare your current experience with the One X to the iPhone 4 or 4S with respect to battery life? Perhaps you've use the One X/iPhone similarly with respect to usage and know how they compare? I ask because I'm currently using an iPhone 4 with AT&T. I'm happy with the battery life but am very interested in the One X. I don't want to upgrade though unless I'm confident it will get similar to equal battery life compared to my iPhone 4 during roughly the same usage.
 

BarryH_GEG

Senior Member
Jan 16, 2009
10,197
5,142
Spokane, Washington
Thanks for this Barry. Any chance you could compare your current experience with the One X to the iPhone 4 or 4S with respect to battery life? Perhaps you've use the One X/iPhone similarly with respect to usage and know how they compare? I ask because I'm currently using an iPhone 4 with AT&T. I'm happy with the battery life but am very interested in the One X. I don't want to upgrade though unless I'm confident it will get similar to equal battery life compared to my iPhone 4 during roughly the same usage.

First, when you say upgrade, do you mean getting a One X from AT&T directly? If so, the phone they're releasing is actually the One XL which has a different processor than the international One X. The identical phone has been released on Rogers in Canada and some of the early battery life reports have been impressive; even using LTE. There's a battery life thread going in their forum so you can get more info there. It's early but the XL seems to be better on battery than the X. Keep in mind that a 4.7" HD display uses a ton of battery. An iPhone with the same display would get significantly poorer results unless Apple really increased the size of the battery (a'la iPad3). So I'm guessing either X is going to be at a deficit to an iP4 because of the added HP and display size. Someone coming directly from an iP4 could probaly provide specifics. I'm up to about 14 hours on a charge using a lot of push and sync with about 3-3 1/2 hours of display on time. I think that's acceptable.
 

mhbr12742

Senior Member
May 25, 2007
143
12
Barry is it ur gut feeling that this is software or hardware fault?
And if it is software then why aren't all phones affected?

I think Barry is spot on. I do not believe it to be a hardware fault, as the one XL uses same innards other than SoC. HTC would be nuts to use lots of different components

Software would make sense, corruption sounds like a driver issue and flickering sounds like the backlight caused by power issues caused by SoC

I would be interested to know if anyone that has under-clocked their device are getting the screen flicker / backlight issue
 

Eggcake

Senior Member
Apr 5, 2010
723
104
I think Barry is spot on. I do not believe it to be a hardware fault, as the one XL uses same innards other than SoC. HTC would be nuts to use lots of different components

Software would make sense, corruption sounds like a driver issue and flickering sounds like the backlight caused by power issues caused by SoC

I would be interested to know if anyone that has under-clocked their device are getting the screen flicker / backlight issue

Well...erm...what about...the SoC? I mean - how can you say they use the same innards "except the SoC" - that's probably the most important part of the phone. If you said "they use the same innards except for the NFC chip" I would have agreed, but different SoCs could mean huge differences.
 

blairh

Senior Member
Apr 26, 2012
76
8
USA
First, when you say upgrade, do you mean getting a One X from AT&T directly? If so, the phone they're releasing is actually the One XL which has a different processor than the international One X. The identical phone has been released on Rogers in Canada and some of the early battery life reports have been impressive; even using LTE. There's a battery life thread going in their forum so you can get more info there. It's early but the XL seems to be better on battery than the X. Keep in mind that a 4.7" HD display uses a ton of battery. An iPhone with the same display would get significantly poorer results unless Apple really increased the size of the battery (a'la iPad3). So I'm guessing either X is going to be at a deficit to an iP4 because of the added HP and display size. Someone coming directly from an iP4 could probaly provide specifics. I'm up to about 14 hours on a charge using a lot of push and sync with about 3-3 1/2 hours of display on time. I think that's acceptable.

Thanks for your response. I'm aware of the differences between the X and XL. I would be getting the XL. (I'm with AT&T and I live in a town with LTE.)

I think you are correct in stating that your experience with the battery life so far on the XL is satisfactory. I'll try to do my best in deciphering a definitive answer once the professional XL reviews start popping up this upcoming week.

If I can get somewhat equal battery life from the XL compared to my iPhone 4 then I might actually make the jump to Android. If the next iPhone blows me away then I'll just eat the early upgrade fee. (Unless I fall totally in love with the XL.)
 

double_ofour

Retired Recognized Developer
Jul 19, 2004
865
78
The store where i bought my One X called and they said that they will replace my unit because of the complain i made about the flickering screen. And they gave me 3 months to claim my new unit. I am thinking to claim my unit after a month or so, so that the unit that i'm going to have is a newer batch. What do you think? lol..
 

ib3x

Member
Dec 5, 2007
33
4
Beirut
If you, OP, say you are not one to cross, well then i am very sorry to tell you but hey HTC just did it to you twice!!

HTC is taking you for a ride brother sending you from the closet to the wall, although i appreciate your efforts it is very telling that HTC claims:

"Some minor quality fluctuations are not unusual in consumer electronic manufacturing and there have been a few, isolated reports of this issue."

"HTC knows exactly whats causing these issues yet they need to continue to investigate and work to resolve all reported issues."

How should we call it? Like in a lot of empty shallow promises, i just prefer to call it by its name, it is called a SHAM spelled in capitals.

These meaningless petitions, class actions and HTC fame for making empty promises date back to around the HTC Kaiser Tytn 2 release, and that was 2007.

Very sad that in my humble opinion HTC hasn't learned or changed anything since then.

Why is it you think HTC shares are ever plummeting? It is certainly not because they have such a legendary quality control or after sales and customer support.

"If it walks like a duck quacks like a duck changes are it is a duck."

I am confident you were right on the button with you're statement:
" It is clear to me that HTC are not taking this issue seriously and have no interest in users difficulties. Their email as good as says that we should all return our devices.

This is, in my opinion, a calculated decision to allow the faulty units to continue to be sold as it will be cheaper and easier to repair them once they have worked out the problem than it will be to deal with it in a conscientious and pro-active manor.

So where are we, HTC accept it is a known problem and it is common enough that all the staff at chat AND phone support now seem to know about it but they don't know if it's hardware or software, there is no information about time scale or what they intend to do in the event that it is hardware. I am of the opinion that this is a hardware issue, if something in software were causing the screen to flicker it would be all handsets and we would have seen some kind of pattern by now, I believe the bulbs for the back-light simply flicker intermittently with the effect being more visible on certain colours.

My advice to you all is to return your handsets, not for replacement, but for refund, and to await further news. If not, in my opinion, you face the possibility of being left with one option, repair at some unknown time in the future once they know what is causing it, in a long queue and facing possible shortage of parts. Don't forget, you've all got the new cut down sim cards now which are useless in most other handsets as well so ask your carrier to send you a new one!

I am very sorry people, I have let you all down. I was led to believe by Robert Collins that some meaningful statement would come of this.

I am trying to get some decent UK press coverage of this, they deserve it. I am not one to cross, they would have been better off teling me they were not interested in my list of names from the off and redirected me to support. It's a red rag to a bull now.

I also had a bit of a battle on my hands dealing with T-Mobile. They did not want to accept my handset as a return simply because "this is not a known issue" parrot style, like he was reading it of a screen. What's that got to do with it anyway? I am within my 28 day statutory return period. This leads me to believe it is very much a known issue and they are loathe to accept returns on it because they know they are going to loose a lot of money."

It is funny and ironic what a YES man can do to change your opinion a 180 and back again, he only has to apologize in a pathetic manner and put words in our mouths and vise versa and all is gud, YES sir that will get me my 600 bucks back for sure!

With the SGS3 release breathing down their necks, HTC can not and will not afford massive returns on their flagship model because the admission that it is a faulty device, it would be kind of a death sentence to them and they will see their stock come crashing down on them even harder and faster then they could have ever imagined in a mio years.

Regards,
 
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lostunsunghero

Senior Member
Apr 3, 2009
134
44
Quick question, if I walk into Vodafone and ask to see the phone out of the box (the one I will actually be buying not a display model,

1. Will they let me open a box before purchase.
2. If I check the software and it says 1.28, does that mean its one of the new batch of phones or the same batch, but just updated before distribution?

Thanks
 

vegetaleb

Senior Member
Hardware faults here could mean either:
-CPU is overclocked
-Screen connector defect
-LCD panel defect
In case of CPU it will need a re-clocking but in case of connector and panel they will have to replace the defected part.
Another SW problem can be just the display driver,a file is getting corrupted after a while,entering a vice cycle of corruption.
Though for the display driver,isn't part of a rom? if yes then why when flashing a custom rom it wont reinstall a clean driver and take out flickering?
Unless the driver is in the bootloader...
 

Spl4tt

Senior Member
if we don't get a fix soon, i'm gonna bring my device back for a new one and sell it.
then i can stay with my HD2 some months more, till a real successor appears..

but it's sure for me now, that this is the last HTC phone if this doesn't gets fixed
 

lawrence750

Senior Member
Jul 18, 2008
906
155
Berkshire
Quick question, if I walk into Vodafone and ask to see the phone out of the box (the one I will actually be buying not a display model,

1. Will they let me open a box before purchase.
2. If I check the software and it says 1.28, does that mean its one of the new batch of phones or the same batch, but just updated before distribution?

Thanks

I guess if they don't want to let you try it out, walk away. They'll suddenly change their mind. Remember they're trying to sell contracts and that is their complete aim

Saying that, they likely will let you try it. I remember when Orange did once for me. If they consider it more likely you will get a contract purely because you were aloud to play with the phone, then they will let you open it ;)

And it would just mean that it was updated, rather than it being a new batch, more reliable to go on the phone serial number , HT23 or HT24 etc, the higher the number, meaning it is from a later batch.
 

Mr_Twist

Senior Member
Apr 2, 2012
129
6
When the poll threads were going hot and heavy the ratio was about 25%/75% with 75% being issue free. The issue free number's probably even higher since people that are happy spend less time in forums and participating in polls. A 5% or less defect rate is acceptable in electronics. That said, you need to make the call. Holding off a couple of weeks until the issue is resolved seems like a better approach then getting on the exchange treadmill like others have.

As for the SGS3 I read somewhere that while the annoucement's in a couple of days the actual release is sometime in June. It's supposed to launch in the UK first in support of Samsung's Olympics sponsorship. I'm sure there will be a frenzy of people all trying to get it first and carriers might have limited allotments. So it being available and getting your hands on an early one might be two different things.

A couple of people besides me have speculated out-of-spec chips and driver issues but our specultation isn't any more or less valid than yours. Only what comes directly from HTC and/or Nvidia should be considered gospel. The XL (S4) has been out in Canada for over a week. Granted it's been sold in smaller quantities than the X, but you'd think if the issues were common it would have popped up at least once by now. It does have two vendors for the display like the X because the XL runs warm and cool also.

I traveled with the One X for the first time this weekend. It's radio was tested in Portland, LAX, Miami, and Ft. Lauderdale. I've used Wi-fi in multiple airports, hotels and restaurants. I used CoPilot for navigation multiple times. I really like this phone. The battery's been better than I thought but I've topped up a couple of times during the day for insurance even though I most likely wouldn't have needed it. There is nothing it doesn't do significantly better than my i9100 (though I haven't really played with the camera heavilly). I'd be hard pressed to see how the SGS3 is going to surpass the phone in a significant way as the early h/w specs we've seen make them a fairly close match (though the SGS3's likely to bench faster). Sense makes what I do easier where TW3 was less valuable. So in a comparison it comes down to battery life, what TW4 does better than TW3, and what the SGS3's made of and looks like. I might still get one but after this weekend I'm in no rush.

Good luck with your decision, whatever it is. ;)

I totally agree with you 100%.

Even people who had the problems and were fixed by an update or by any other trick half of them don't even bother to say its fixed because they are now stress free.

The different will not be huge between ONE X and GS3 in my opinion so its also a matter of preference as well.

For anyone who feels Sense isn't as good as ice cream sandwich try apex launcher specially the paid version because in my opinion is Ice Cream Sandwich with more options.

Good luck ppl :)
 

The-Last-Hylian

Senior Member
Feb 14, 2012
2,208
694
www.ivaninsurance.co.uk
My girlfriend's brother has a HOX, he had to get his replaced.
He was watching a video from his Gallery and when he went back to home screens the audio continued, he killed the process and the audio continued, then the phne froze, so he tried to do a hard reset and it didn't work, after trying 4 times it reset and now it wont turn back on...

So he got it replaced. So far the new HOX is okay.

I need to take mine into the CPW to get a replacement as mines flickering... but I'm concerned I'll get a worse handset and then I'll get sucked into repeatedly trying to get a better one...
 

pastey

Senior Member
Jul 29, 2008
144
13
Devon
Had some issues getting a replacement from Vodafone (administrative error) so after talking to 4 different advisors got a very helpful english one. He asked me about my issue...

He informed me that HTC had contacted them last Thursday informing them that the initial few batches did have issues (we were talking about the flickering specifically) and that they were working on a software fix to rectify the issue. (making it sound like a software issue)

He also said that it had been identified and the newer batches do not suffer from the same issues. (meaning hardware in my book). I obviously requested one of those newer batches :)

Tegra 3 issue that will be compensated with by a software update.? Sounds like it....

Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
 
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    IMPORANT NOTE: (Placed at top of this post because with the progress we are now seeing I feel the purpose and use of this thread has changed and this is now an important point to clarify).

    Back-light flickering Vs Screen corruption

    The fact is, I think these two issues have been getting confused by people since launch.

    I am 100% confident that the screen corruption will be software and will be fixed. The flickering back-light issue however, I believe is likely to be hartudware.

    In the interest of separating these two issues, and for clear conversation about them I suggest the old vhs player effect be referred to as corruption and the flickering back-light be referred to as flickering. If everyone who reads this sticks to that convention we have our first step towards separation of the two issues.

    I have described both to HTC in great detail and hope that they understand the two separate issues and will communicate we me about both.

    ----------------------------------------History of this thread------------------------------------------->>>


    I am a proponent of HTC and have faith in their intention to resolve the screen flicker issue. I have been worried about this screen flicker situation however. The main issue I have is that all communication from HTC thus far has been that they are looking into the problem and have no answers yet. That is perfectly reasonable, I'm sure they're making every effort.

    The worry is that after 28 days a user is no longer entitled to a replacement, just a repair. This seems very unfair given the circumstances, i.e. We are being asked to wait for a resolution but have no indication of how long that will take and may all be looking at lengthy repair time rather than replacement.

    With the advent of HTCdev, many users want to (or already have) root their phones but have to agree to void their warranty to do so, this just adds to the urgency in getting a resolve.

    As an owner of several UK businesses I have been able to gather a number of names of people willing to embark on a class action in order to obtain a court order forcing HTC to make a pledge to replace all handsets that are outside the 28 day replacement period in the event that it does turn out to be a hardware fault. None of these people is legally obliged to be included in this class action. By agreeing, they are simply stating an intention.

    I have not posted this here as I wanted to get enough people on board to embark on this project before bringing it to the wider community.

    I decided today that it was time to take things to the next step and contact HTC UK Ltd and ask for such a pledge.

    Today I have spoken with Robert Collins, the Customer Experience Manager for HTC Europe. Robert seems to be a reasonable man, he has agreed to look in to this for me. Robert was driving when I spoke to him so he got a member of HTC staff to call me back and take the details of the situation from me. This has happened and I am now waiting for a response.

    The idea is not to become aggressive with HTC or demand any action to resolve the fault, the aim is simply to get them to pledge to replace the handsets that are outside the 28 day period if, AND ONLY IF, the issue turns out to be a hardware problem.

    This feels like a reasonable request since we are currently being asked to wait until they have identified the problem.

    So why am I posting? Well, I would like to invite any EU members here to add their names to the list. Please just state that you are an interested party and would consider joining a class action. Please don't discuss the merits of this thread, the legal implications or anything else other than your interest. Please also state what EU country you are in as I have not yet taken any official legal advice so it may only be possible for UK members to become involved.

    I expect the outcome of this to be that HTC UK Ltd, and hopefully other international branches of HTC, will make such a pledge but I am, in principle, willing to embark on a legal recourse if necessary.

    The most important point for me to get across here is that the intention is NOT to start a fight with HTC unnecessarily, the best outcome for everyone would be to obtain the pledge as described and go on enjoying our devices while they work on the problem.

    This has also been posted over at MoDaCo - Please DON'T put your name in both threads

    UPDATE: I have had another call from Robert Collins. He assures me they are taking the situation in hand and are eager to make sure their flagship device remains among the best on the market. He stopped short of saying a pledge would be made but indicated that he understood the issue with the 28 day return/refund/replace period and wanted to ensure sales etc are not effected by the issue. He asked me if I was in direct contact with all signators and I responded that I wasn't but that if a written pledge was provided to me that I would pass it on to all concerned via the same networks through which I obtained the names. I also told him about this thread and the one on MoDaCo.

    I have to say Robert Collins and HTC have been incredibly responsive to my communications and in my opinion, the pledge I have asked for will probably be made. Let's hope so!

    IMPORTANT: Please copy and paste the list and add your name to it.


    UPDATE: 25 Apr

    I have just had a call from Robert Collins at HTC. He is preparing a statement to send to me. It seems like the goal may have been achieved although I don't know what the statement says yet and wouldn't want to speculate unduly.

    UPDATE: 26 Apr

    I have just called Robert Collins again. He is just about to go into a meeting to discuss this very point and will have something to me by late morning/early afternoon. He said he will call me to confirm I have received it.

    UPDATE 26 Apr - left up as it feels dishonest to remove it but now surpassed by another update below

    HTC are pathetic, It's time to get serious over this.

    The statement emailed to me was...


    Dear Charlie,

    Good Afternoon,

    HTC is committed to delivering a high quality product and great experience for all our customers. Some minor quality fluctuations are not unusual in consumer electronic manufacturing and there have been a few, isolated reports of this issue. However, HTC will address each reported issue. It is HTC's policy in Europe to provide in-warranty repair and support for device defects and malfunctions for two years and HTC is committed to delivering a quality experience without exception. We would encourage customers to contact our Call Centre for individual support. For details of opening hours please see our website at www. HTC.com



    Regards
    HTC



    Furthermore, Robert Collins had said he would call me to ensure I had received his statement, he didn't, neither would I, given the lack of any meaning and my likely reaction. In stead, he has, in my opinion, hidden behind a protective barrier by asking someone else to send me this meaningless paragraph of text. Because he didn't call I actually thought the above was an email coming a result of my communication with HTC support until I called him to chase the email. This is staggering, he may as well have simply said "contact support" when I first spoke with him rather than feigning interest.

    It is clear to me that HTC are not taking this issue seriously and have no interest in users difficulties. Their email as good as says that we should all return our devices.

    This is, in my opinion, a calculated decision to allow the faulty units to continue to be sold as it will be cheaper and easier to repair them once they have worked out the problem than it will be to deal with it in a conscientious and pro-active manor.

    So where are we, HTC accept it is a known problem and it is common enough that all the staff at chat AND phone support now seem to know about it but they don't know if it's hardware or software, there is no information about time scale or what they intend to do in the event that it is hardware. I am of the opinion that this is a hardware issue, if something in software were causing the screen to flicker it would be all handsets and we would have seen some kind of pattern by now, I believe the bulbs for the back-light simply flicker intermittently with the effect being more visible on certain colours.

    My advice to you all is to return your handsets, not for replacement, but for refund, and to await further news. If not, in my opinion, you face the possibility of being left with one option, repair at some unknown time in the future once they know what is causing it, in a long queue and facing possible shortage of parts. Don't forget, you've all got the new cut down sim cards now which are useless in most other handsets as well so ask your carrier to send you a new one!

    I am very sorry people, I have let you all down. I was led to believe by Robert Collins that some meaningful statement would come of this.

    I am trying to get some decent UK press coverage of this, they deserve it. I am not one to cross, they would have been better off teling me they were not interested in my list of names from the off and redirected me to support. It's a red rag to a bull now.

    I also had a bit of a battle on my hands dealing with T-Mobile. They did not want to accept my handset as a return simply because "this is not a known issue" parrot style, like he was reading it of a screen. What's that got to do with it anyway? I am within my 28 day statutory return period. This leads me to believe it is very much a known issue and they are loathe to accept returns on it because they know they are going to loose a lot of money.

    UPDATE AGAIN - 26 Apr - A U-TURN on my part

    I have just had a call. This is a game changer. The head of customer service for HTC just called me from Denmark, it's 9.30pm there! He was very apologetic about the email that was sent to me and explained that from their perspective a statement for distribution to everyone couldn't be very personable or individual. He also agreed that it wasn't informative and regretted that. He told me they DO KNOW WHAT IS CAUSING IT and they are working on it night and day. He was extremely humble and pleasant to talk to. I explained my exacerbation over waiting 2 days for someone to write 2 lines saying contact support and told him I had ranted on the internet and told all the signators to return their devices and he said that's exactly what he would have said, no one should have a sub standard device from HTC. However...

    And This is the good bit. He is going to get proper info from Taiwan for me with updates on progress and information about the fault, he assures me they now know what it is too. I made sure he understood that there are 2 faults, I called them screen flickering and screen corruption and described them both as at one point he was talking about the corruption on the task bar and then subsequently in the camera and video's etc and I was talking about a flickering back-light bulb so we should get info on both.

    I know we've been here before and I ended up looking a pillock but this really feels different. He rang me and suggested sending me out information which is specifically about this issue and not just canned responses that mean nothing. He said it would be great if I would post that information online but that it was up to me, I think he was worried I'd feel like I had to stand up for them or become an evangelist but I know what he meant, I really believe he just honestly wants to pass on information to help his customers. We'll see what comes of this, I have his mobile number and he said I could text him any time. He said he hoped he could get some info tomorrow but clearly didn't want to commit to that at 9.30pm, I can't argue with that.

    This feels like the HTC I know and love again.

    UPDATE AGAIN - 27 Apr

    Message received just now: approx. 1700 British Summer Time (GMT+1). The two issues he mentions are the screen corruption and back-light flickering.

    First of all thank you for your reply earlier today. The content and descriptions were very valuable and I have taken the liberty to share your findings with my colleagues in Taiwan.

    It remains a priority for HTC to continue to investigate and work to resolve all reported issues, including any potential hardware or software updates related to your case and to those of any other customers who experience problems. Currently, we are not in a position to provide you with a final conclusion regarding the two issues that you have reported, however we are taking your feedback seriously and have a dedicated team of people investigating the root cause of those issues. We are more than happy to provide you with further updates when we have them however, before we do this, it is critical that we have all of the facts. HTC remains laser focused on delivering a high quality experience to our customers without exception and we appreciate your continued patience whilst we work quickly to address this issue. We anticipate being able to provide a more detailed update early next week. In the interim we encourage any customer who believes that they have a faulty device to contact HTC directly for resolution.


    I like "laser focused" and "dedicated team"...

    I think we're getting somewhere here, very promising.



    Update - 2 May...

    Just had a call from Robert Collins at HTC. Apparently they know what's causing it and are working on a fix. 1.29 is not an attempt at fixing the flicker but another update is coming soon. I let them know about the Mandarin or Cantonese text in the French locale in 1.29 yesterday (posted by Simone on here) and they have passed this on for correction. I also mentioned the rapid fluctuation in CPU frequency when the ONDEMAND governor is used and they ate looking at that too.

    They will let me know when there is more to tell.

    As far as updates go, I have returned my branded Tmo device and gone for an unbranded device. Tmo said to me to expect 1.28 by the end of May, where that leaves Tmo branded owners for 1.29 and beyond I don't know but it seems pretty hopeless for Tmo owners right now. I would personally return any device eligible for return to Tmo, then walk into carphone warehouse and they'll match what ever deal you were on with Tmo and give you an unbranded phone. I should add that this last part is my advice and is not something HTC have said.

    Update(ish) 15 May...

    Not really an update...

    In the interests f fairness, I did get a heads up about the 1:29 update but by the time I'd noticed the message it was old news. Just to reassure you guys that this source hasn't dried up, just nothing new to say on flickering. I think some interesting news will come in the not too distant future.

    (Final?) update - 21 May

    I know that it has been said many times already but I just had a reply from my contact at HTC (he's been off for a few days) confirming that 1.29.xxx.11 will recalibrate the screen over the course of a few days. I had no reason to disbelieve anyone else's info but to hear it from the horses mouth (from my perspective) is more final.

    Let's face it... 3 updates in quick succession, so many positive changes, all promises kept, HTC F****in' nailed it. Eat your heart out Samsung!

    Update 14 june

    So where are with with this. I have seen little to no improvement and have today asked HTC for more info. I am reading that some who did not have flicker now have. I am not reading from anyone that it is fixed but people might just not be saying so.

    Let's hear from some if you what your experience is.

    Thanks
    10
    Update - 2 May...

    Just had a call from Robert Collins at HTC. Apparently they know what's causing it and are working on a fix. 1.29 is not an attempt at fixing the flicker but another update is coming soon. I let them know about the Mandarin or Cantonese text in the French locale in 1.29 yesterday (posted by someone on herend they have passed this on for correction. I also mentioned the rapid fluctuation in CPU frequency when the ONDEMAND governor is used and they're looking at that too.

    They will let me know when there is more to tell.

    As far as updates go, I have returned my branded Tmo device and gone for an unbranded device. Tmo said to me to expect 1.28 by the end of May, where that leaves Tmo branded owners for 1.29 and beyond I don't know but it seems pretty hopeless for Tmo owners right now. I would personally return any device eligible for return to Tmo, then walk into carphone warehouse and they'll match what ever deal you were on with Tmo and give you an unbranded phone. I should add that this last part is my advice and is not something HTC have said.
    9
    UPDATE AGAIN - 26 Apr - A U-TURN

    I have just had a call.

    This is a game changer. The head of customer service for HTC just called me from Denmark, it's 9.30pm there! He was very apologetic about the email that was sent to me and explained that from their perspective a statement for distribution to everyone couldn't be very personable or individual. He also agreed that it wasn't informative and regretted that. He told me they DO KNOW WHAT IS CAUSING IT and they are working on it night and day. He was extremely humble and pleasant to talk to. I explained my exacerbation over waiting 2 days for someone to write 2 lines saying contact support and told him I had ranted on the internet and told all the signators to return their devices and he said that's exactly what he would have said, no one should have a sub standard device from HTC. However...

    And This is the good bit... He is going to get proper info from Taiwan for me with updates on progress and information about the fault, he assures me they now know what it is too. I made sure he understood that there are 2 faults, I called them screen flickering and screen corruption and described them both as at one point he was talking about the corruption on the task bar and then subsequently in the camera and video's etc and I was talking about a flickering back-light bulb so we should get info on both.

    I know we've been here before and I ended up looking a pillock but this really feels different. He rang me and suggested sending me out information which is specifically about this issue and not just canned responses that mean nothing. He said it would be great if I would post that information online but that it was up to me, I think he was worried I'd feel like I had to stand up for them or become an evangelist but I know what he meant, I really believe he just honestly wants to pass on information to help his customers. We'll see what comes of this, I have his mobile number and he said I could text him any time. He said he hoped he could get some info tomorrow but clearly didn't want to commit to that at 9.30pm, I can't argue with that.

    This feels like the HTC I know and love again.
    8
    Just been chatting to HTC support about the flicker issue and they seem to know more information than ever before in my experience. Looks like we may hopefully be getting a resolution soon.

    Luke: Hi Craig, thank you for contacting HTC Support, I am looking in to your query now.
    Craig Buck: thanks Luke
    Luke: We are aware of this issue and have identified that it is a software issue,
    Craig Buck: cool. I assume we are talking about the backlight flicker and not the image distortion on the camera
    Luke: We are working on this update at the moment
    Craig Buck: any idea when this will be fixed? Are we talking weeks or months?
    Luke: that is correct, we are talking about the screen flicker
    Craig Buck: excellent. Are we close to a fix?
    Luke: Indeed we are, the update is in testing now
    Luke: no current specific release date but we are working to release asap
    Craig Buck: Brilliant news. It appears the 1.29 software release has not hit the UK yet, will this be part of it or a seperate relase?
    Luke: This is the one
    Luke: Oh no sorry
    Luke: this is not the one, that was the last update. There will be another software number, we are unsure what it will be at this time
    Craig Buck: No problem, I understand. Thanks for your help, it has been extremely useful


    Fingers crossed this isnt another false hope.
    7
    UPDATE: 26 Apr

    I have just called Robert Collins again. He is just about to go into a meeting to discuss this very point and will have something to me by late morning/early afternoon. He said he will call me to confirm I have received it.

    There is some tidying up needs doing with the names here but I am very short on time so I will wait until I hear something in the next 3-4 hours or so.