[HOW TO] Report Bugs in an App or ROM

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Howdy all,

There is lots of cool development going on around the forum ATM, and i know that everyone LOVES to help the devs by reporting bugs, so i thought i would let you all know (from my point of view others may think differently) how to help the DEVS when you get a FC in a ROM or APP.

So far there are 4 parts ( so far )
Part 1 - Getting Logs without a PC
Part 2 - Using DDMS With a PC
Part 3 - Importance of Full Logs
Part 4 - Random System Crashes

Also this is not a stab at anyone, i am not mad at any one jsut thought i would share!


Bit of info on why i did this post!
Simply putting;

<inset app name here> FC's

isn't very helpfull and 10 outa 10 we wont be able to help cause we dont know how to recreate the FC or what else you were doing at the time.

So, i thought i would put a short guide together to HELP us ALL! it may take you a bit of time but in the long run you are saving us all time.

Part 1
Troubleshooting FC's that dont crash the system!

Tools that you'll Need!
there are a few different tools you can use to capture a log of a FC. but the most simple would have to be aLogCat off the market so i am gonna roll with this.
you will also need a file manager or access to a pc. something like astro or root explorer

What to do!
ok so you have installed alogcat on your phone. great! and you have a file manager AWSOME!
so to report the dreaded FC. you'll need to

1 - Recreate It
make it happen again to make sure it was not a freak occurance.
once you know how to make it happen do it once more then goto straight to step 2

2 - Launch aLogCat
once alogcat is open you will see lots and lots of strange information. this is the system log from the phone.you need to save the log to your SD-Card by simply pressing (menu > save).

it will be save @ sdcard/alogcat/yyyy-mm-dd-hh-mm-ss+####.txt

now there are 3 ways to proceed form here.
you can copy the log data and pm it to the DEV
or you can get a email address and email the text file to the DEV
or you could upload teh text file to a file share / pastebin and pm / email the link to the DEV

you could put the log cat in the thread but unless it is a bug hunt thread then it will start to clutter it up considerably.

3A - Email / PM the dev a Link or File.
This is where alot of ppl get it wrong. if you know what you are reading you could just copy out the area of the crash. but 9 outa 10 you will miss a bit as not all of the crash always happens as an error. i'll explain later.

1. if you are going to email the file to a DEV.
Make sure you inclue,
-What App is crashing,
-How you made it Crash, (launching it is a valid answer here )
-Any extra info about your phone. (if needed what rom you are running + addons ect ect)
-Any processes you tried to make it stop.
-Be sure to attach the log or the link
-and Send it!
and you are done

3B- Copy Loga data and PM to DEV (No PC access)
Again This is where alot of ppl get it wrong. if you know what you are reading you could just copy out the area of the crash. but 9 outa 10 you will miss a bit as not all of the crash always happens as an error. i'll explain later.

1. so to do this open the text file on you phone in edit mode
2. Long pressing on the text will allow you to selct all
3. and longpressinga gain will alow you to copy it all
4. open xda / tapatalk or what ever you use to brouse the forums on your phone
5. start a new pm,
5a. either goto a excisting thread and press the devs image,
5b. just make a new pm and type the devs name in.
6. long pressing in the text area will allow you to paste the error log. almost done
7. Make sure you inclue,
-What App is crashing,
-How you made it Crash, (launching it is a valid answer here )
-Any extra info about your phone. (if needed what rom you are running + addons ect ect)
-Any processes you tried to make it stop.
-Be sure to attach the log or the link (usualy put this data befor the error log but be sure to paste it first so you dont forget.)
8. Hit send and you are DONE!

**Note If you have access to a PC then you can copy and paste the data from the text file into a pm on your pc (much easier IMO)**
[B]

Part 3
Using ADB and DDMS to record logs

DDMS is by far my favourite method! it is fast easy to read and very user friendly!

so what you will need for this is a PC with the SDK setup and working, ADB drivers, your phone, and a usb cable for said phone.
i'm not gonna cover this here as so many ppl have much nicer tuts than mine
eg, Android Dev Site

1.
once you have The SDK running you will need to run DDMS

i have the android platform tools as part of my system path

so all i do is type type "ddms" into command promt and it will load ddms

if you dont want to edit your path variable
you'll have to navigate the the place where DDMS is installed and run the "ddms.bat" file

2.
once DDMS is up and running you will get a screen like this


Now plug in your phone. it should come up in the Blue Square(#1) in the pic above

Click in to start getting logs in Red Box (#4)

Ignor the Purple (#2) and Green (#3) Boxes for now
if people want to know what they are for i will add it later.

4.
Now you have to select all teh log items and output tehm to a file.
luckly DDMS can do this for you too!

1. Click any item within the Log Stream.
2. Select all items by either pressing (ctrl+a) or going to the menu shown.
3. Press the export to file button and save the txt file.

5.
Now you have to send the log to the dev by either uploading the log and emailing/pm to the Dev!

Make sure you inclue
-What App is crashing,
-How you made it Crash, (launching it is a valid answer here )
-Any extra info about your phone. (if needed what rom you are running + addons ect ect)
-Any processes you tried to make it stop.
-Be sure to attach the log or the link (usualy put this data befor the error log but be sure to paste it first so you dont forget.)

[SIZE=6][B]

PART 3
Now! Explinations are in order!
why taking just part of the log can be just as usefull as

ok so when i have been doing mods ect ect i get alot of FC's they look a bit like this!
(with all the crap cutout)

08-13 22:38:27.148: WARN/dalvikvm(1273): VFY:  rejecting opcode 0x12 at 0x0001
08-13 22:38:27.177: WARN/dalvikvm(1273): VFY:  rejected  Lcom/android/systemui/statusbar/policy/StatusBarPolicy;.updateBattery  (Landroid/content/Intent;)V
08-13 22:38:27.177: WARN/dalvikvm(1273): Verifier rejected class Lcom/android/systemui/statusbar/policy/StatusBarPolicy;
08-13 22:38:27.188: WARN/dalvikvm(1273): threadid=1: thread exiting with uncaught exception (group=0x4001d560)
08-13 22:38:27.438: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1273): FATAL EXCEPTION: main
08-13 22:38:27.438: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1273): java.lang.VerifyError: com.android.systemui.statusbar.policy.StatusBarPolicy
08-13 22:38:27.438: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1273):     at  com.android.systemui.statusbar.StatusBarService.onCreate(StatusBarService.java:243)
08-13 22:38:27.438: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1273):     at android.app.ActivityThread.handleCreateService(ActivityThread.java:1966)
08-13 22:38:27.438: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1273):     at android.app.ActivityThread.access$2500(ActivityThread.java:121)
08-13 22:38:27.438: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1273):     at android.app.ActivityThread$H.handleMessage(ActivityThread.java:997)
08-13 22:38:27.438: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1273):     at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:99)
08-13 22:38:27.438: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1273):     at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:123)
08-13 22:38:27.438: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1273):     at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:3701)
08-13 22:38:27.438: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1273):     at java.lang.reflect.Method.invokeNative(Native Method)
08-13 22:38:27.438: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1273):     at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:507)
08-13 22:38:27.438: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1273):     at  com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(ZygoteInit.java:862)
08-13 22:38:27.438: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1273):     at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:620)
08-13 22:38:27.438: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1273):     at dalvik.system.NativeStart.main(Native Method)

Note this part

08-13 22:38:27.148: WARN/dalvikvm(1273): VFY:  rejecting opcode 0x12 at 0x0001
08-13 22:38:27.177: WARN/dalvikvm(1273): VFY:  rejected  Lcom/android/systemui/statusbar/policy/StatusBarPolicy;.updateBattery  (Landroid/content/Intent;)V
08-13 22:38:27.177: WARN/dalvikvm(1273): Verifier rejected class Lcom/android/systemui/statusbar/policy/StatusBarPolicy;
08-13 22:38:27.188: WARN/dalvikvm(1273): threadid=1: thread exiting with uncaught exception (group=0x4001d560)

In the actual log this was about 15 or 16 lines above the Errors and all split up and without it i would of had NO CHANCE of knowing what the error was.
so if you are sending a log to a DEV be sure that you are able to 100% have all of the info. if you are at all unsure send the whole thing!

Part 4
Boot Loops or random Crashes
to come later.... but much the same as the DDMS one
just be sure to give it time to record enought info (ie a couple of boot loops)

I hope this helps ppl! and i hope i didn't scare you all off!

Mappy Modding and Happy Reporting!

Pvy.

I think there's an app on the market called "Log Collector" which is more simplified then "aLogCat" as it automatically collects up the device log when you launch it and then just asks you how you want the log sent.

Originally Posted by 28spawn

Lets start.

#1
Buggy App - Timescape addon

ROM - TEAM ROM 2.3

Description - When configuring the accounts there is a problem with transparent background and black letter to include twitter account, the "User Name or E-mail" and "password" are very hard to see.

Logcat - Not catched.

#2
Buggy App - Track ID addon

ROM - TEAM ROM 2.3

Description - On the lists selection, when I try to change the region, all the text are black and with the transparent background its almost unreadable.

Logcat - Not catched.

This way meant to be a record for all bugs for everything. Just a guide for how people can report bugs.

Bugs in roms or apps need to be reported to the dev in there thread or via pm ect.

Can we please keep this thread clean with ways for people to report bugs.

Originally Posted by pyromatic18

I think there's an app on the market called "Log Collector" which is more simplified then "aLogCat" as it automatically collects up the device log when you launch it and then just asks you how you want the log sent.

Thanks I'll look into it.

Pvy

Sent from my TEAM powered x10

I've added how to use DDMS and
reshuffled the OP's hope this helps

Pvy.

Hi pvyParts!!

Log Collector or aLogCat? What's your advice?

Originally Posted by KradEdis

Hi pvyParts!!

Log Collector or aLogCat? What's your advice?

Either they are both good.

Pvy

Sent from my TEAM Powered Arc S