topic Re: Xperia Z bugs / issues noticed in XPERIA archive

Xperia Z bugs / issues noticed

evad — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 22:11:38 GMT

I have Sony Xperia Z for few days now and thought to share few bugs and issues which I've noticed with it so far. I've decided to post them here rather than general forums like xda-devs hoping it will get picked up by relevant people at Sony and actioned if necessary.

Automatic brightness doesn't work as expected

When Automatic Brightness mode is turned on, it is still possible to manually control the brightness using the slider. That's not to say that automatic brightness doesn't work, however the thresholds are too narrow and essentially user is still forced to manually dim the screen in the darkness (as it's too bright) and then max it out oustide in sunlight (because it's too dark) - all despite Automatic mode is selected.

"Automatic Brightness" mode should really be, well, automatic and use full range of brightness available without requiring user to manually tweak it.

Socialife issues

I was really happy to see much better social networking client, a vast improvement over Timescape, however it's still far from perfect. I've noticed several issues around it:

the homescreen widget keeps way too little history, it should allow scrolling down through much more posts;
the widget is really buggy when it comes to refreshing stuff, despite setting Socialife to refresh every 30 minutes, it often fails to reload content even after passing that threshold. Also, tapping on "refresh" icon doesn't provide any feedback indicating reload action, which leads to multiple unnecessary taps (as it takes ages to reload content without any indication of it);
the main app view also isn't very responsive when it comes to loading new content, it seem to take ages to refresh and doing "pull down to refresh" action also often fails.

"Devices" app drains battery

The "Devices" application, which I believe is responsible for DLNA-related activity, does seem to keep device awake in the background unnecessarily. I sometimes display pictures and videos from the phone on my DLNA-capable TV and noticed that each time after using that service, the Devices app starts the battery drain - despite no longer actively used. It also seem to transfer way too much background data without clear reason for it. See few screenshots below:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mjt4khjwp2tsetc/Screenshot_2013-02-25-22-49-09.png

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nttzfcd5tqizvx2/Screenshot_2013-02-25-22-49-18.png (notice how battery usage and "Awake" dramatically changes around the time when DLNA service is used)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fhmpqb87p3y75h1/Screenshot_2013-02-25-22-49-26.png

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1if8ffglctc8wdr/Screenshot_2013-02-25-23-00-46.png (background data attributed to Devices app)

Lockscreen sometimes ignored

Not exactly sure what causes this issue, however noticed that turning screen on using on/off button, it gets straight to the homescreen, omitting lockscreen completely. It happens intermittently and might have something to do with Stamina mode, as it hasn't happened since I switched Stamina mode off. I'll update this thread once I find the way to replicate this issue.

So these are the most prominent problems I've noticed with my new Xperia Z so far. Hoping these will get addressed in future software updates, as all of them are software-related issues anyway. Will update this thread further as soon as I discover any other bugs.

Re: Xperia Z bugs / issues noticed

benchong05 — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 05:02:58 GMT

Just to add on one of the issue noticed on Xperia Z, it happens on Xperia V as well :

When you upload any portrait photo by the following methods :

Method 1 :

1) Go to Album and select the portrait photo

2) Select Share via Facebook app

Method 2 :

1) Go to the Facebook app

2) Select the Photo button and upload the portrait photo

The portrait photo will appear to be in Landscape mode which is very irritating.

The problem can only be overcome when you share via the Facebook Integration instead of the original Facebook app.

This problem happens on the Xperia V as well.

Re: Xperia Z bugs / issues noticed

giocorrado — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 11:42:41 GMT

Another issue is the LED notification light , only working for charging, stamina mode is switched off , but still no light for messages , whats app, mail and calls...

Re: Xperia Z bugs / issues noticed

borncute — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 13:39:54 GMT

i bought xperia z on its launch day and i also noticed that i cannot really see what is on the screen when am outdoor during the day. I had auto brightness on. I have used S3 and Iphone 5 and i have to say, iphone 5 managed the screen brightness the best. The issue i had with xperia z is similar to what i encountered for s3.

Anyway, auto brightness is a minor issue considering what i encountered for my xperia z on the 2nd day since i bought it. i noticed that i cannot hear the person at the other end of the call. Had to on the speaker. After trying different settings, I still cannot hear. So i sent my less than 24 hours old xperia z in to the Sony care centre... and the person confirmed that my phone speaker for calls has issues and needs to be "warded". Quite disappointing... and the person also told me that sony dont do 1 for 1 exchange, and they will just service the phone. Not sure when can i get my phone discharged since it is so new... if they need to replace parts, i wonder if it is even available. have to say... with this experience on a 2 day old handset, i appreciate my iphone 5 more.

Re: Xperia Z bugs / issues noticed

evad — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 09:41:53 GMT

Another problem discovered:

Buggy STAMINA mode

I've started using Stamina mode few days ago and while it does indeed improve battery life (not hugely but every little helps), I've noticed few issues too.

Firstly, it sometimes passes through notifications from apps like Facebook Messenger or Gtalk - despite non of these is whitelisted in Stamina mode and I would expect them to be suppressed while screen is switched off.

Secondly, I've whitelisted Gmail to receive email notifications instantly, yet discovered that often these notifications are delayed, ie. are not as instant as they should be considering Gmail is whitelisted.

Third issue are incoming SIP calls (Internet calling), which simply stop working when screen goes off in Stamina mode. I'm using couple of SIP accounts to receive incoming calls within Settings -> Call settings -> Internet Call Settings and unfortunately that feature is unusable with Stamina mode.

Re: Xperia Z bugs / issues noticed

evad — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 09:21:39 GMT

Notification light doesn't work in STAMINA mode

When Stamina mode is turned on, notification light doesn't work to notify about emails, messages, missed calls etc. It seems to work as expected when Stamina mode is turned off and device rebooted.

Re: Xperia Z bugs / issues noticed

Lemon — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 13:32:54 GMT

@Benchong, using your own words, this is clearly a Facebook app problem, not an Xperia problem;

---------------

Method 1 :

1) Go to Album and select the portrait photo

2) Select Share via Facebook app

Method 2 :

1) Go to the Facebook app

2) Select the Photo button and upload the portrait photo

The portrait photo will appear to be in Landscape mode which is very irritating.

---------------

This is because you're using the APP.

You then go on to say;

---------------

The problem can only be overcome when you share via the Facebook Integration instead of the original Facebook app.

---------------

So clearly, the Xperia picture sharing to facebook functionality, WORKS.

It's the APP that's giving you the problem. NOT a Sony issue.

Re: Xperia Z bugs / issues noticed

Aky1 — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 19:33:16 GMT

I agree there is bug with the stamina mode. When stamina mode was working perfectly after a full charge my phone battery last me for almost 3 days, but now the problem has occur again. I dont want to reset my phone after every 2-3 days it annoys me. Also with the notification LED doesn't work with me even thought phone is not in stamina mode.

Re: Xperia Z bugs / issues noticed

Johan — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 11:56:29 GMT

Automatic brightness: I can forward this as feedback if you like.

Socialife: Some issues has been seen and I believe that a new version of the app will be available on Google Play store soon.

The LED notification during Stamina mode: Has already been acknowledged and it's being looked at. I can't promise anything at the moment but hopefully this will be fixed in next software update.

The Device app and problem with screen lock I haven't noticed myself so please send me your details in a PM, and will forward this for investigation.

Make a relevant topic and include the following.

Name:

Phone nr:

E-mail:

Country:

Operator:

Product(s):

IMEI nr:

Build number:

Re: Xperia Z bugs / issues noticed

evad — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 14:38:42 GMT

I have received the Socialife app update from the Google Play Store today and unfortunately none of the most important issues were addressed.

The most prominent problem is basically refreshing stuff in the timeline. Despite I have set it to refresh automatically every 15 minutes, it just doesn't happen and I need to force refresh manually - which also very often fails for no apparent reason. Also, the homescreen widget timeline is still very limited, holding just few tweets/posts, so I need to get into full app to read more.

Generally speaking it turns out that the ugly Timescape in old Xperias did Just Work, while Socialife is definitely better eye-pleasing, yet... virtually useless. 😕 Not exactly what I would expect from software in the "premium" device...

Re: Xperia Z bugs / issues noticed

Johan — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 11:13:03 GMT

The device app has now been checked by the project and it will be optimized in next software update. So my suggestion is to await the next software release and update.

Unfortunately I have no time line for next software update at the moment.

Re: Xperia Z bugs / issues noticed

xperiago_karuna — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 12:53:28 GMT

Automatic brightness doesn't work in Xperia GO as well

Re: Xperia Z bugs / issues noticed

msung — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 16:20:52 GMT

My Xperia Z Cannot charge after power off.

My Xperia got "DEAD" one time, after I revive my Xperia using HARD RESET button, my Xperia Z cannot charge while device power off, need always power on the device to charge~~~

http://talk.sonymobile.com/thread/124155?start=0&tstart=0

Re: Xperia Z bugs / issues noticed

deejayscorp — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 11:00:30 GMT

Hey Johan thank you for the update!!!

but there are few more bugs that I noticed, i dont know of what gravity they are though, like if they can be resolved or not!

Nothing major just few bugs with my xperia z

A common problem that I face with my xperia z is the wifi connectivity (A general problem I suppose with ICS & Jelly Bean android phones). It fails to connect the router at times and disconnects and reconnects automatically the other times. Most of the time it says authentication problem. (Wi-Fi sleep policy is off).

It gets really hot very quickly, specially when I am surfing the internet or playing games like Real Racing 3.

The battery on normal use is really good even with 3g on, it would last the whole day with continuous texting and facebook. But when connected to wi-fi network or playing a game it drops quickly.

In the notification bar, the battery percentage icon and aswell as the alarm icon disappear most of the times.

The widgets like recent calls and weather widget sometimes take sometime (like 6-8 seconds) to load when swiping around the screen.

While sometimes downloading image files with *.jpg extension using stock chrome browser it would automatically rename it with *.jpg.jpeg, though the image would open in the album but you you wont be able to use it as wallpaper or for any other purpose. Also some of my image files (not downloaded but transferred from PC) which were view able before on the phone when i started using it, now are being shown as damaged files.

A problem that i faced with data management is when you disable few apps from using background data like play store and when you enable them again, they wont work unless and until you don't restart the phone.

One major problem is the vibration: It does not work when you keep the whatsapp on default vibration (you have to change it to short or long) and similarly with hotmail app the vibration will not work when set on default vibration and with hotmail app you cannot change the vibration mode except for switching it off (remember: the default vibration mode for the phone is switched on).

These are minor bugs which i think can be sorted/resolved in the next update. Apart from these I am really happy with my Xperia z xperiance!!

Re: Xperia Z bugs / issues noticed

el_bolto — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 21:19:32 GMT

Hi all

Problems for me: Camera app completely stopped working, attempts to load then comes up with a message saying "Sorry Camera not available"

When using a Sat nav app or something likr strava which uses gprs. WiFi will become completely unavailable,

Typing into address bar is sometimes impossible-cant tap to place cursor in field.

Overall real slugish performance.

Been searching for updates but it seems like the UK has not got one yet?

Moan over!

Re: Xperia Z bugs / issues noticed

Supersaiyan_IV — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 01:56:26 GMT

BUG 1: Wrap-select in Chrome address bar doesn't work. Works in Vanilla Android. There are more cases where wrap-select doesn't work, but this is the only one I remember at the moment.

BUG 2:

Go to developer options.
Set Window Animation, Transition Animation, and Animator Duration to off.
Now tapping any launcher icon doesn't start any application. Or simply - the GUI is completely broken. Refactorise?
Go to settings and reset the same options to 1x again. Reboot.
Now you're back to the forcefully animated environment.

Re: Xperia Z bugs / issues noticed

GeoffH — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 03:23:20 GMT

you may need to kill the app - settings apps

I wonder how many of you guy piled a load of apps on your phones as soon as you had them out of the box - I ran mine for a few days to check stability before installing anything

I have the normal bugs - like low volume - gmail app - notification led - camera quality etc but very little else, so I'm extemely happy with my EZ - a lovely piece of hardware

Re: Xperia Z bugs / issues noticed

GeoffH — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 08:00:39 GMT

To the OP

I don't agree or experience half of what you have written in there - sorry, a lot of what you describe is down to personal preferences and not actually bugs as such

from another thread http://talk.sonymobile.com/thread/124759?tstart=0

I would prefer that they concentrate on some of the minor bugs that people are experiencing with 4.1.2 although in saying that here is what I think is going on T

I think Sony are working on a new release of FW (including 4.2.2) with several fixes for the various issues being reported here (excluding HW issues obviously)

Tweaks to the camera - improve quality - reduce sensitivity to colours especially in low light

user interface

stamina mode (interuption of downloads wifi disconnect and notification led)

gmail crashes on certain mail content

general volume levels

wifi tweaks maybe but reception IMO is a hardware issue and is what it is

social network issues FB etc

if they manage to get all that sorted in the next 2 months I'll be very pleased - bold items should be fixed in 4.1.2 in IMO

Re: Xperia Z bugs / issues noticed

cowjl18 — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:00:12 GMT

Hi Johan,

re The LED notification during Stamina mode:

Do you have any further information on this? I've tried contacting Sony a couple of times about this, and they keep telling me that it is an intentional feature and that it will not be fixed.

Many Thanks,

Wendy

Re: Xperia Z bugs / issues noticed

GeoffH — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 01:28:34 GMT

what do you tell the people that want to turn the notifications off in certain situations

Stamina turns off wifi BT and mobile data when the screen is off - it is not impacting your battery usage as much as you think - and if you want any of these to remain on in standby then what's the point of even enableing stamina

I don't use stamina - my BT is rarely on and mobile data is off always - my wifi is on 100% of the time and accounts for less than 1% of my battery usage