Keyboard Lights Randomly Blinking - Treo Forum

ShY PnOi · 04-26-2008, 02:35 AM

Has anyone else encountered this problem?? is it a common problem? i never noticed it until 2day. Heres one of the areas i notice it a lot, When i access the IM app. the keyboards lights start blinking on and off in a fast pace. hope you guys can help!!

jbg7474 · 04-26-2008, 08:22 AM

If it's temporary, like just for a few seconds, I've definitely seen it.

I believe, and someone please correct me if I'm wrong, that LEDs only have one brightness level. To achieve varying brightnesses, the LEDs in your keyboard and in your screen are flashed very quickly, so fast you normally don't see it. In each cycle, the length of time the LED is on determines how bright it appears to your eye.

I think the Treo accomplishes this with something that depends on the processor, so if the processor gets too busy, it can't make the flashes fast enough, and you end up seeing them. You'll notice that they are at full brightness.

So, if it's only for a few seconds, not a problem.

ShY PnOi · 04-27-2008, 05:14 AM

is there anyway to fix it?? cause it is getting very annoying its doing it a lot now. sending text messages, playing bejeweled, IMing, etc... i just want it to stop.. =( this hasnt been happening when i first bought the phone.

Treo Musketeers · 04-27-2008, 07:44 AM

This behavior is not normal. Unless you have some sort of third party app conflict or data corruption (which I would definitely rule out - start with any apps that use the LED function), then it may be a hardware issue. In the later case, I would take it to the nearest Sprint store and see if they can fix or replace it.

jbg7474 · 04-27-2008, 01:48 PM

My money is on a third party app problem. Does a soft reset change the way it behaves? You might also try disabling the keyguard temporarily to see if that changes anything. The keyguard interrupts and can be interrupted by things running in the background.
You could also try a warm reset, which brings your Treo up in a minimal state. A soft reset after that brings you back to normal, and this sometimes fixes little runaway software issues.
You can try removing third party apps one at a time, or try a hard reset and bring the apps back one at a time from a backup like NVbackup.
Note that if a hard reset doesn't solve the problem, it's definitely hardware.

Good luck, and let us know what the outcome is. If you post a list of your apps you might stumble onto someone who knows what's happening more specifically.

Jason

skoenig · 04-29-2008, 03:29 PM

Agreed. I'd say if it didn't do it when you first got it then you have one or more rouge 3rd party apps. jbg7474 had a good point about the LED cycle time.

You mentioned IM earlier, have you got it set to run in the background i.e when you're running other apps? If so try setting to off.

Alternatively you can try un-installing it and seeing if that improves it.

Regards,

~ Steph

ShY PnOi · 04-30-2008, 03:25 AM

The Apps i currently have are:
1. MiniTones
2. Treo Lnchr
3. Kinoma Upgraded to latest version
4. pTunes Upgraded to latest version
5. HandZipper on my SD Card (Never Used It Before)
6. NVBackup on my SD Card (Never Used It Before)

and thats about it... I went to the Sprint store so i can exchange it for a new one, but they've been out of stock ever since i purchased the last one, a month ago. hopefully they get some more in soon. also, how do you do warm resets, soft resets, and hard resets? BTW, for the IM app i closed it so it wouldnt run in the background and i still have the problem. I appreciate everybody's help. Thank You!

jbg7474 · 04-30-2008, 05:00 AM

The Treo user's guide explains how to do soft, warm, and hard resets. Soft reset is simply pulling the battery and reinserting. Warm and hard resets require you to pull the battery while hitting certain keys in combination. I don't remember the combinations. User's guide has them.

If I were you, I would first use NVbackup so you can undo anything. Then try warm reset, followed by soft reset. If that doesn't do the trick, then do a hard reset, which will wipe out your internal memory (you will be able to restore everything with NVBackup).

I'm betting that the hard reset will cure it. If it does, then you can use NV to selectively restore your info.

Good luck!

04-26-2008, 02:35 AM	#1 (permalink)
ShY PnOi A Few Questions.... Join Date: Mar 2008 My Treo: Treo 755p My Carrier: Sprint My OS: XP Posts: 19 Thanks: 10 Thanked 3 Times in 2 Posts	Keyboard Lights Randomly Blinking Has anyone else encountered this problem?? is it a common problem? i never noticed it until 2day. Heres one of the areas i notice it a lot, When i access the IM app. the keyboards lights start blinking on and off in a fast pace. hope you guys can help!!

04-29-2008, 03:29 PM	#6 (permalink)
skoenig Administrator Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Los Angeles My Treo: Treo 700p My Carrier: Sprint My OS: XP Posts: 1,729 Thanks: 101 Thanked 140 Times in 93 Posts	Agreed. I'd say if it didn't do it when you first got it then you have one or more rouge 3rd party apps. jbg7474 had a good point about the LED cycle time. You mentioned IM earlier, have you got it set to run in the background i.e when you're running other apps? If so try setting to off. Alternatively you can try un-installing it and seeing if that improves it. Regards, ~ Steph __________________ IIIe > V > [wilderness] > 650 > 700p \| Sprint \| Subscribe to the newsletters!

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04-26-2008, 08:22 AM	#2 (permalink)
jbg7474 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 My Treo: Treo 755p My Carrier: Sprint My OS: Vista Posts: 94 Thanks: 19 Thanked 37 Times in 32 Posts	If it's temporary, like just for a few seconds, I've definitely seen it. I believe, and someone please correct me if I'm wrong, that LEDs only have one brightness level. To achieve varying brightnesses, the LEDs in your keyboard and in your screen are flashed very quickly, so fast you normally don't see it. In each cycle, the length of time the LED is on determines how bright it appears to your eye. I think the Treo accomplishes this with something that depends on the processor, so if the processor gets too busy, it can't make the flashes fast enough, and you end up seeing them. You'll notice that they are at full brightness. So, if it's only for a few seconds, not a problem.

04-27-2008, 05:14 AM	#3 (permalink)
ShY PnOi A Few Questions.... Join Date: Mar 2008 My Treo: Treo 755p My Carrier: Sprint My OS: XP Posts: 19 Thanks: 10 Thanked 3 Times in 2 Posts	is there anyway to fix it?? cause it is getting very annoying its doing it a lot now. sending text messages, playing bejeweled, IMing, etc... i just want it to stop.. =( this hasnt been happening when i first bought the phone.

04-27-2008, 07:44 AM	#4 (permalink)
Treo Musketeers Moderator At Your Service Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Cincinnati, OH My Treo: Treo 755p My Carrier: Sprint My OS: Vista Posts: 1,733 Thanks: 319 Thanked 644 Times in 436 Posts	This behavior is not normal. Unless you have some sort of third party app conflict or data corruption (which I would definitely rule out - start with any apps that use the LED function), then it may be a hardware issue. In the later case, I would take it to the nearest Sprint store and see if they can fix or replace it.

04-27-2008, 01:48 PM	#5 (permalink)
jbg7474 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 My Treo: Treo 755p My Carrier: Sprint My OS: Vista Posts: 94 Thanks: 19 Thanked 37 Times in 32 Posts	My money is on a third party app problem. Does a soft reset change the way it behaves? You might also try disabling the keyguard temporarily to see if that changes anything. The keyguard interrupts and can be interrupted by things running in the background. You could also try a warm reset, which brings your Treo up in a minimal state. A soft reset after that brings you back to normal, and this sometimes fixes little runaway software issues. You can try removing third party apps one at a time, or try a hard reset and bring the apps back one at a time from a backup like NVbackup. Note that if a hard reset doesn't solve the problem, it's definitely hardware. Good luck, and let us know what the outcome is. If you post a list of your apps you might stumble onto someone who knows what's happening more specifically. Jason

04-30-2008, 03:25 AM	#7 (permalink)
ShY PnOi A Few Questions.... Join Date: Mar 2008 My Treo: Treo 755p My Carrier: Sprint My OS: XP Posts: 19 Thanks: 10 Thanked 3 Times in 2 Posts	The Apps i currently have are: 1. MiniTones 2. Treo Lnchr 3. Kinoma Upgraded to latest version 4. pTunes Upgraded to latest version 5. HandZipper on my SD Card (Never Used It Before) 6. NVBackup on my SD Card (Never Used It Before) and thats about it... I went to the Sprint store so i can exchange it for a new one, but they've been out of stock ever since i purchased the last one, a month ago. hopefully they get some more in soon. also, how do you do warm resets, soft resets, and hard resets? BTW, for the IM app i closed it so it wouldnt run in the background and i still have the problem. I appreciate everybody's help. Thank You!

04-30-2008, 05:00 AM	#8 (permalink)
jbg7474 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 My Treo: Treo 755p My Carrier: Sprint My OS: Vista Posts: 94 Thanks: 19 Thanked 37 Times in 32 Posts	The Treo user's guide explains how to do soft, warm, and hard resets. Soft reset is simply pulling the battery and reinserting. Warm and hard resets require you to pull the battery while hitting certain keys in combination. I don't remember the combinations. User's guide has them. If I were you, I would first use NVbackup so you can undo anything. Then try warm reset, followed by soft reset. If that doesn't do the trick, then do a hard reset, which will wipe out your internal memory (you will be able to restore everything with NVBackup). I'm betting that the hard reset will cure it. If it does, then you can use NV to selectively restore your info. Good luck!