HTC One M9
HTC One M9 battery drain, connectivity issues and other common problems: How to fix EE

HTC One M9 users have been plagued with a spate of inherent bugs and performance issues, despite its power-packed hardware configuration that justifies its high-end smartphone tag.

IBTimes UK explores some of the most common problems being faced by the HTC One M9 users in the recent past:

Vibration motor not working

Several One M9 users have been reportedly complaining about the vibration motor not working with notification alerts, although the option is enabled in the device's settings menu.

Although it is ascertained that a gentle tap on the right edge of the device on the back temporarily fixes the issue, the issue seems to return after some time.

Potential fixes

  • Try running a vibration motor test via your phone dialer by calling up *#*#3424#*#* and then tap the accept button.
  • Check if the vibration motor is now functional. If yes, then let the test run for about an hour and this should fix all potential issues.
  • If the vibration motor still doesn't work, then you need to submit the phone for repair or replacement depending on the device's warranty status.

Double Tap to Wake not working

The Double Tap to Wake feature is reportedly not working on some phones as intended and in some cases the device requires double press of the Power button to wake it from sleep.

Here are a few quick-fixes to overcome this issue:

  • Ensure that the G-sensor is working right with the pre-installed Help application. Go to Hardware Misbehaving > Hardware Diagnostics and run the G-Sensor Test, to ascertain whether it is working, and also calibrate the G-Sensor.
  • Verify that the double tap to wake feature is enabled under Settings > Display and Gestures > Motion Launch.
  • Alternatively, try downloading an application like Gravity Screen from the Google Play Store, which gives enhanced control with the display on/off functionality, without needing to press any buttons or tapping on the screen.

Excessive battery drain problem

Some users have reportedly complained about rapid battery drain issues with the phone running out of juice in less than nine hours, despite using it for just about an hour.

Check out a few potential fixes to address this issue:

  • The root cause of any battery drain issue could be linked to apps running in the background. So, it is safe to disable such offending apps via Settings > Accounts and Sync.
  • Boot the device in Safe Mode and check if the issue persists. If yes you can either perform a Factory Reset or uninstall apps one by one and check if the issue disappears.
  • As a last resort, try turning off location services as they can drain the battery quickly. Alternatively, try reducing the brightness of the display and fiddle with various power saving modes such as Extreme Power Saving Mode, which severely limits functionality.

Auto-rotate not working

Numerous users have reported that their One M9's Auto-rotate feature is failing to switch from portrait to landscape orientation, regardless of the app under use.

Quick-fixes

  • As this seems to be an issue with the Gyroscope, it is imperative to ensure there are no issues with the G-sensor using the pre-installed Help application. Navigate to Hardware Misbehaving? > Hardware Diagnostics > G-Sensor Test, and run the app to check if it is working fine.
  • Also try calibrating the sensor by going to Settings > Display and Gestures > G-Sensor Calibration.
  • As a temporary respite from this issue, you may try a soft reset.
  • If the issue still persists, then the only remaining option is to submit the device for repair or replacement.

Cracks on Sapphire glass covering the camera unit

Reports of spotting cracks on the Sapphire glass covering the camera unit are making waves on the internet, even as users have confirmed that the device is not subjected to accidental bumps or drops.

Potential fixes

  • It seems replacement is the only viable solution for this issue, as several reports suggest that these cracks do tend to appear along the sides, while not showing up in the captured photos.
  • US users of the phone can get a replacement easily under the "Uh-Oh Protection Plan," an extended warranty programme. Users in other markets such as the UK and India have reportedly been able to get replacements directly from HTC or the network carrier for free, as long as it is within the regular warranty period.

Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity issues

Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity issues are a common scenario with newly purchased devices and affected users can follow the troubleshooting steps provided below:

Potential fixes for Wi-Fi issues

  • Turn off the Wi-Fi router as well as the phone, and wait for a few minutes before turning them back on.
  • Forget the preferred network via Wi-Fi settings on the device, before entering the details again.
  • Verify the activity level on your current channel with the Wi-Fi Analyzer application and if deemed necessary, try switching to a different channel.
  • Disable Power Saving Mode via Settings.
  • Find your phone's MAC address by going into Settings > About Phone and ensure it is detected by your router.

Potential fixes for Bluetooth issues

  • Make sure that No Power Saving Mode is enabled.
  • Try switching off and on the Bluetooth feature on your device.
  • If the problem persists, clear the Bluetooth cache via Bluetooth Settings.
  • Reboot the phone after clearing the data and cache.
  • If you are using multiple profiles on the same Bluetooth device, you might have reached the number limit for the profiles it can save. Try setting up the connection once again from scratch, after deleting old and unused profiles.

Slow charging issues

If you find that your One M9 is charging slower than usual, then try the following steps:

  • It must be noted that though the One M9 comes with Qualcomm QuickCharge 2.0 fast-charging capabilities, the default charger shipped with the device does not support this feature. This could make you feel that the device is charging slower than expected. Nevertheless, you can purchase an official fast charger from HTC, while Amazon also has some good options.
  • Alternatively, try disabling any unwanted applications that may be draining battery resources in the background, while syncing data with the device.
  • Hit the back button twice when closing an application, instead of just tapping "Home". This terminates the app from the background and prevents excessive battery drain.
  • It is recommended that you avoid playing games, or using the phone much, when the device is charging, as this will consume battery power while reducing the charging speed of the device.
  • Eliminate a bad charging cable by checking if another charger cable makes any difference, or charge a different device with the same cable.
  • Check if a malfunctioning app could be causing the problem by booting the phone into safe mode and see if it charges faster. If yes, then the issue is due to a faulty app and you can try performing a factory reset and reinstalling apps selectively.

Overheating issues

Some users have reportedly been complaining that their device gets extremely warm even while not running any processor intensive tasks such as video-gaming or watching HD movies.

If you are among the affected users, you may try out a few quick-fixes that are outlined below:

  • Try updating the device with the latest software, as a recent update tweaks the power and temperature management systems that significantly reduce the overheating issues. However, this could sometimes lead to performance issues when the device does heat up.
  • Switch to a Power Saver mode when the device is overheating and this helps to cool it down faster.
  • Try removing the external case or back cover before doing anything processor-intensive, such as gaming.
  • Allow the device to cool down periodically, whenever it gets unusually warm, before continuing to work on it.

[Source: Android Authority]

More about HTC One M9