X10 Community Forum

X10 AirPad Android Tablet => AirPad General Discussions => Problems and Troubleshooting => Topic started by: famousfather on November 05, 2011, 02:49:36 AM

Title: Black Screen Of Death???
Post by: famousfather on November 05, 2011, 02:49:36 AM
First off, the AP is my first Android device and I'm not a geek or tech type like you knowledgeable people. I basically don't know anything about tablets other than what I read in the AP instruction manual I downloaded from the 'net. (http://www.x10.com/support/airpad-om.pdf)

Now, a little background on my AirPad 7.  Unpacked the AirPad, read the manual and charged it up. Took nearly 4 hours to for the charge light to go out.

Turned the AirPad on and began looking at the various screens. Did this for about an hour when I noticed the battery symbol was only half way.

Checked the charge which was at 31%. Recharged for 2 hours, charge light went out and figured I check the battery level again before doing more exploring. It was at 31% again.

Turned off AP replugged the charger and turned on device and began exploring the screens while plugged in. Left Pad plugged in all night with Pad shut down properly, no wifi (at this point, 3 days in, I still hadn't turned on wifi) or anything else "on." Battery check still shows 31%. Long story short, took a little more than a week of normal use/recharge, use/recharge after each 1 to 2 hour session to show 100% on battery level.

Days later, figured I'd try out turning on wifi and began trying to download Amazon apps. Did this for about 2 hours with AP lying on desk, picked Pad up and it was very hot, about 10 minutes later the screen went black and nothing worked. Tried to recharge and nothing. Left Pad on desk and checked about 2 hours later, unit was cool to the touch and screen came on when I rebooted. Connected to charger and charged for about 2.5 hours and charge light went off. Turned unit on and had 100% battery.

Another week goes by, using Pad for 1 to 2 hours a day, shutting down and recharging all night. Had downloaded some apps and all O.K. Pad sat for nearly 3 days, properly turned off including wifi and plugged in. On 3rd day, turned on Pad. Checked email, Facebook and was looking at the 2 built-in movies (Race car and Panda). Pad was on lap and felt very warm/hot again...had Pad on for about 2.5 hrs or so then battery icon turned orange/red. I checked battery level before preparing to recharge and battery was at 18%. Went to get charger and screen turned black like before. I thought it was overheated and would cool down and reset itself like it did the last time.

I hooked up the charger and charged all night. Turned on next day and screen came on, flashed and "loading" came on like normal, then went to black. I did this 3 or 4 times with the same result. Boot sequence would not complete. Connected the charger again and heard a "hissing/static" type noise coming from the rear speaker opening which I hadn't heard the night before when I connected the charger after the overheating incident.

Now the AP won't charge, no red charging light and the AP starts to boot but won't complete the sequence, screen goes to black and it keeps 'hissing."

What to do? Tried the paper clip in the reset port, screen comes on for a second but won't complete the start-up.

Read something about a reset to factory settings (I know I'd lose the apps I downloaded, etc.) or reflashing (?) the AP but I don't know how to do that.

Sorry for the long post but I wanted to give as much info. as possible in hopes of gaining some help in repairing the AP.  I like the Pad, when it works!

Should I return the unit for repair or refund?

Thanks for any and all help.

Title: Re: Black Screen Of Death???
Post by: everydayflyer on November 05, 2011, 07:33:35 AM
Concerning the battery and battery life.  I have conducted numerious test and posted several here on this forum and 2 to 2-1/2 Hr. is normal while doing much of anything with the AP.

Yes it gets very warm while being charged and used and should really never be left laying on its' back while charging as this just makes overheating worse. Others have reported lock ups due to overheating.

IMO it should never be left on charge overnight or whle unattended either but most others will disagree but then they most likely have never seen a LiPoly battery fire first hand.

It is not necessary to wait till it is fullyy charged,fact is the LiPly battery will have a longer life if  not charged over 90% or discharged below 20% but then most pad ,tablet,book and laptop owners do not worry much about battery management but complain when they have to replace expensive batteries.

Title: Re: Black Screen Of Death???
Post by: famousfather on November 06, 2011, 04:24:20 AM

Thank you for the "heads up" on proper battery etiquette.

If I ever get my AP to again work properly, I'll certainly follow your 90%/20% charge/discharge battery management protocol.