Category Archives: Motorola Photon 4G

Potential Fix Found For Motorola Photon 4G “Sleep of Death” Issue [Forum Talk]

Posted by on September 8, 2011 No comments

This image has no alt text

Quite a few Motorola Photon owners have been experiencing an issue with their device in what they are calling “The Sleep of Death.” Apparently, the device will shut down at random times without warning forcing users to power back on and check for important missed calls and/or texts. MoPho users took to our very own Android Forums to address the issue though it seems nobody could figure out exactly what was going on and if this was a software issue or a hardware one. This ultimately lead many users back to their Sprint stores for hardware replacements.

As it turns out, AF member 408SandShark seems to have found a possible fix. Apparently, the battery isn’t secure inside the phone and when the device is moved, this causes the battery to lose a connection with the terminals on the device, making the device shut off. The fix? Well, placing some kind of cushioned tape or folded piece of paper in between the battery cover and battery seems to hold everything in place. 408SandShark claims this has remedied “The Sleep of Death” issue for him. Give it a try and let us know if it works for you. Good luck!

[AndroidForums]

Sprint Issues Update for Motorola Photon 4G, Fixes Muted Call Bug

Posted by on August 24, 2011 No comments

This image has no alt text

Sprint has issued a small bugfix update for the Motorola Photon 4G While the tweaks and enhancements are few, the expected result should be welcome by users experiencing a nagging problem with voice calls defaulting to mute. Phone stability and improved Bluetooth support round out the software update to version  4.5.1A-1_SUN-154_5. Head over to the Sprint link below for more on the update.

[via Sprint]

Motorola Photon 4G Bootloader Unlocked

Posted by on August 15, 2011 1 comment

This image has no alt text

All of the news lately about unlocked bootloaders is just lovely. The latest to get one is the Motorola Photon 4G The unlock has come courtesy of XDA member Yay 4 Juggs. All it requires are two files (a third one if you’re counting the extra step to regain root) and an ability to follow easy directions – no expensive $100 multimedia dock to free your device from its chains. Once unlocked, flash the included system.img file to gain root and get going. Don’t try to flash this file until you have confirmed that your bootloader is unlocked. Full downloads and instructions are available at XDA. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Motorola Photon 4G Now Only $99 at RadioShack Wireless

Posted by on August 11, 2011 No comments

This image has no alt text

I was alerted by the fellas over at AndroidPolice on a pretty sweet deal for the Motorola Photon 4G on Sprint. RadioShack Wireless is offering the Tegra 2 powered handset for only $100 with a new 2-year agreement and they’ll even ship it to you for free. So, if you were looking for a reason to jump onto Sprint or if you know any friends or family who’s term just ended on another carrier, you might want to let them know of this awesome deal.

[Via RadioShack]

Motorola Lightening Hour Contest Could Net You a Photon 4G

Posted by on August 8, 2011 No comments

This image has no alt text

Motorola has a new promotion starting today and running through the end of August. Each day via their Facebook and Twitter accounts a “Lightening Hour” will be announced along with instructions for a task to be completed within that time frame. The contest began today at 5PM, so you still have a few minutes to complete today’s task. Simply go watch a video on Moto’s Facebook page and fill in your info, and you could be one of 32 winners to score a the Photon 4G. If you miss today’s chance just check back tomorrow for another chance.

[via DroidLife]

Motorola Photon 4G Receives Leaked SBF (System Boot File) – Brings Bricked Devices Back From The Grave

Posted by on August 5, 2011 No comments

This image has no alt text

If you’re a Photon 4G user and fancy yourself an Android modder you may be able to rest easy now that the “system boot file” for the device has been leaked onto XDA. This will essentially let users bring back to life hard bricked devices and give a gentle push to would be rooters now that they they have a way to jump start a bricked Photon. Here are the directions on how to apply from XDA:

http://www.multiupload.com/HPIO6K8XIK download and extract this file to somewhere you will not lose it…

to flash this you need rsdlite and drivers
64bit drivers…
Steps to flashing…

1. DL and install RSDLite and Driver package from link above
2. Power down your phone
3. On your phone hold vol up and power till you see RSD at the top of the screen
4. Launch RSDLite from your program menu on your pc/laptop
5. Press the ". . ." button next to the box labeled "Filename"
6. Load up the SBF file you extracted from the MR download
7. Plug your device into your computer RSDLite should recognize your phone right away if you installed the drivers from this link i provided
8. Press the "Start" button
9. Be patient…takes a while…will reboot a couple times so grab a beverage of choice…use the restroom…take out the dogs…whatever…
10. may require activation again…mine did so be sure you have a means in which to do so…web…phone to call sprint for programming…OTA…
11. Enjoy and hit thanks!!!

Don’t bother attempting this process unless you know well what you are doing ahead of time but I think that goes without saying. I’m curious to know if this new SBF will help any of our readers make the jump into rooting their Photon 4G’s?

[Via BriefMobile]

Motorola Photon 4G Root Method Requires Expensive $100 HD Dock

Posted by on August 2, 2011 No comments

This image has no alt text

Wanting to root your brand new Motorola Photon 4G It didn’t take long for its root method to come about, but it’s perhaps one of the most unorthodox methods we’ve seen. You’ll need an expensive $100 HD Station (an HD multimedia dock), an HDMI cable (should have come with the dock) and a TV with an open HDMI port.

You’ll also need a WiFi connection and an internet link to your phone. SSHDroid is another piece of the puzzle needed to get root going. Yea, this isn’t quite as simple as a lot of other root methods have been but it’s something. And if you are good at following instructions, you shouldn’t have too much of an issue.

This is said to be permanent so the trouble will be worth it before a better method or a different exploit (or a less-expensive exploit) is found. If you want to take your chances, full instructions can be had at XDA (we prefer to link there in case the instructions end up being revised). Get to it! [XDA, thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Sprint’s Motorola Photon 4G is Now Available

Posted by on August 1, 2011 No comments

This image has no alt text

In case you’ve forgotten, Sprint was scheduled to launch the Motorola Photon 4G on July 31st. It’s August 1st now, so that can only mean that you’re allowed to walk into your local Sprint store get your hands on one. It’s Sprint’s first high-end device by Motorola and their first with an NVIDIA dual-core Tegra 2 processor.

What you’re getting is a 4.3 inch qHD beast. Alongside from sheer processing power, you’ll be happy to find 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, HDMI-out, WebTop functionality, 4G and a whole lot more. Android 2.3 Gingerbread with the latest version of BLUR is awaiting you on the software side.

All of this comes to those willing to sign a new two-year agreement for $199.99 at Sprint. It’s not Sprint’s first dual-core phone, but we feel it may be able to hold its own up against the HTC EVO 3D Take a good hard look at the device and pick one up if it woos you. And if you need more convincing, look no further than the blossoming Photon 4G community at AndroidForums.com. Any of you picking this one up?

You Will be Able to Download and Use Netflix on Your Photon 4G When It Launches July 31st

Posted by on July 29, 2011 No comments

This image has no alt text

Wondering if the Photon 4G will have Netflix support when you go to snap it up on July 31st? The folks at Android Central says to expect to be able to find the Netflix app in the market. You’ll be able to use it just as you would on any other phone. Sure, it’s not on the official list but the way Netflix has been adding devices lately we only imagine they were just waiting until the phone launches to update the listing. Or maybe it was just an oversight by them, in which case I apologize in advance if it suddenly disappears.