Smart Andro World: How To Fix Common HTC One M8 Problems and Errors [Part 4]

How To Fix Common HTC One M8 Problems and Errors [Part 4]

Welcome to the fourth installment in our series of troubleshooting articles dedicated to the HTC One M8. We’ve been concentrating our efforts lately on Samsung products and have neglected other brands. This is partly due to the volume of emails we receive concerning Samsung related devices. Right now we will set aside Samsung and concentrate on the HTC One M8.

We have compiled a list of emails concerning this device from our readers which we will tackle in this post. If you own an M8 or any other Android device for that matter feel free to contact us through our Facebook and Google+social media accounts.

M8 Spotty Data Connectivity

Problem: Hi, I just upgraded to the HTC One M8. With the New HTC One M8 I cannot keep a constant data connection not even the super slow 3G will stay connected. I have tried soft reset, battery pull reset, and switching to CDMA only. I also turned off the connection optimizer. This is very frustrating that i have brand new phone, but my old phone works better.

Solution: There could be a problem with the cellular reception in your area. Are you experiencing this issue in just one area or in other areas as well? If you are only experiencing this issue in one particular area then there is a possibility that the coverage from the cellular tower is spotty. Here’s what you need to do, try going to another place that uses a different cellular tower and check your data connection. If you are experiencing this problem in your home then try driving a couple of miles away and see if your data connectivity improves.

If you are still experiencing the same issue in another area then perform the following troubleshooting steps.

Check for any new software updates available for your device. A new update comes with various improvements and fixes which may improve the data connectivity feature of your device.

Perform a soft reset by pressing and holding the Power key and Volume Up key for 10 seconds.

If you are still having issue then try to contact the customer support number of your carrier to check on the signal coverage in your area.

M8 Constantly Reboots

Problem: I recently got a new HTC One M8 and I love the device. The only problem I have with it is that it constantly reboots. It happens anytime of the day and without warning. Sometimes when I’m browsing the web or listening to music it just shuts down and reboots. Is there some way I can fix this?

Solution: When you got the device dis it already reboot constantly or did this issue occur when you installed apps in your device? The reason I’m asking this is that this issue may be caused by certain apps that you have installed in your device. Follow the troubleshooting steps below to fix the issue.

Check for any software updates that may be available for your device. A new update contains improvements and fixes that may resolve this rebooting issue.

Restart your device in Safe Mode. This places your device in a diagnostic state and disables the loading of any third party applications.

Press and hold the Power button (located on the top edge of the device) until the ‘Phone options’ prompt appears then release.
Tap and hold Power off until the ‘Reboot to safe mode’ prompt appears then release.
From the ‘Reboot to safe mode’ prompt, tap RESTART to confirm.
Allow approximately 1 minute for the process to complete.
Upon reboot, ‘Safe mode’ appears in the lower left of the unlock/home screen.

If the issue does not occur in Safe Mode then it’s most likely caused by a third party app. You need to find out what that app is and uninstall it.

If the problem still occurs in Safe Mode then perform a factory reset. Make sure to back up your data first and that the Fast boot option in Settings > Power must not be selected.

Press and hold the VOLUME DOWN button, and then press and hold the POWER button.
Wait for the screen with the three Android images to appear, and then release the POWER and VOLUME DOWN buttons.
Press VOLUME DOWN to select FACTORY RESET, and then press the POWER button.

The issue should be gone by now however if it still exists then you might want to bring your phone back to where you bought it. Since it is new you might be able to replace it or have it repaired.

M8 Wi-Fi Keeps Turning On

Problem: I keep unlocking my phone and seeing the WiFi networks is available in my notification panel even tho I have WiFi turned off. It goes away after about 3 seconds but my battery drains like 5-6% per hour without use. What could be turning my WiFi on?

Solution: You might have installed an app that activates your Wi-Fi without your permission. To check if this issue is caused by an app try booting your device in Safe Mode.

Press and hold the Power button (located on the top edge of the device) until the ‘Phone options’ prompt appears then release.
Tap and hold Power off until the ‘Reboot to safe mode’ prompt appears then release.
From the ‘Reboot to safe mode’ prompt, tap RESTART to confirm.
Allow approximately 1 minute for the process to complete.
Upon reboot, ‘Safe mode’ appears in the lower left of the unlock/home screen.

Once in Safe Mode observe your phone if it still tries to activate its Wi-Fi. If not then this problem is caused by an app. Try finding out what app this is and uninstall it.

M8 Texting Issues

Problem: I am having issues with txt not sending or delayed sending. I receive txt ok but have repeated issues with sending. One out of every 5 to 10 will completely fail to send no matter where I am. My network can not figure it out. Is anyone else having any issues with txt.

Solution: The first thing that needs to be done is to verify if there are no issues with your carrier in your particular area. There may be an outage or improvements being done with the cellular tower in your area causing this texting issue to occur. Try calling your network regarding this first.

If the network is normal in your area then it’s time to troubleshoot your device. Follow the troubleshooting steps below.

Perform a soft reboot by pressing and holding the Power key and Volume Up key for 10 seconds. Try sending a text message and see if it immediately sends.

If that doesn’t work try doing the same procedure but this time take out the SIM and reinsert it.

One final option is to get a new SIM and see if the problem still occurs. If it doesn’t then it’s most likely caused by the SIM itself.

M8 Camera Issues

Problem: I bought this phone 2 months ago and everything was fine, night pictures were great and i really enjoyed it. I don’t take many night pictures but it’s cool to know that u can use your phone when u need it and take a good pic. So last night i was taking some pics and something was strange to me, when a take a picture there is no details, auto focus do it’s job but when flash come and picture is taken it becomes little blurry and i lose details. The last second of autofocus – picture is good, but when it takes picture it’s blurry. Day pictures are fine. I didn’t install any aps except Kitkat update 4.4.3. Any help please ?

Solution: There are various reasons why this is happening from dirt accumulating in your camera lens to the camera settings itself. First try to check on the camera lens and see if there are any dirt or a layer of oil over it. Clean it with a soft cotton. Try to check if there are any scratches present in your camera lens.

Once you have verified that the lens covering doesn’t have a problem then try checking your camera settings. If possible try to set everything to default.

One final step that you could do is to perform a factory reset on your device. Make sure to back up your data before performing this procedure.

Press and hold the VOLUME DOWN button, and then press and hold the POWER button.
Wait for the screen with the three Android images to appear, and then release the POWER and VOLUME DOWN buttons.
Press VOLUME DOWN to select FACTORY RESET, and then press the POWER button.

M8 Home Button Question

Problem: Ok I have had the M8 for a day now and I love it. My only question is about the home button and if you can add shortcuts to it other than google now. What I mean is, when you long press it, a big circle pops up with the google symbol at the top. Now, the circle is fairly large and when you swipe in either direction, the little sparkly looking things hover over it as if you could place some other app such as settings or calculator or what have you into that circle to access by long pressing the home button, but I haven’t seen a way to do this. Is this possible? Or am I just making wishes pretty much? Thank you very much for any replies.

Solution: Right now there is no setting that allows for the placing of another shortcut in this circle. If you are interested in changing the way your home screen looks you might want to consider downloading a launcher app. These apps change the way your home screen looks and adds several new features and customizations to it.

M8 Installing Apps On USB Or SD

Problem: Can I install apps on external USB flash stick? (connected via cable) Can I install Apps on SD card (in the phone slot)? And how? What are the effects of apps on SD and USB in terms of speed, will apps being on SD/USB perform slower then on internal storage?

Solution: The answer to this is simply no. You can’t install apps on an external USB flash disk or SD card.

M8 Does Not Turn On

Problem: I was texting and the phone just turned off, I tried to wake him up again but it didn’t. I connected it to the charger to see what happened and a charging icon appeared while the led light was blinking in orange, but it was not the normal charging icon that appears when you’re charging the phone it was just an empty battery with the lightning icon inside. I thought it had no battery left and I wasn’t realizing it so I left it there to charge but nothing happened. I contacted support from HTC through their live chat feature and they told me to try a battery calibration but it didn’t work (I think it was because i had the fast boot mode turned on). I told them that it didn’t work and they told me that they could not help me anymore and that i had to send my device to their repair department for free or that I could swap it for a used one. If I send it to repair it I would be 10 days without my phone and if I swap it I would have to pay $30 and if they find some scratches or damages in my phone, which it has, they will charge me more money. I was trying to fix the problem on my own but I couldn’t do anything. If someone could help me I would appreciate that!

Solution: Try using another battery on your device. When charging make sure to use the wall charger instead of just connecting the USB cord to your PC.

Here are the troubleshooting steps that you can perform.

Charge your battery

Plug device into the provided HTC wall charger that came with the device.
Charge the device until the LED indicator glows solid red.
Attempt to power the device on as usual. If it will not power on, press and hold the Power and Volume up keys for 10 seconds while still on the charger.

Force device to turn on