[peter9477]

I kept seeing so many variations on the instructions about what to do if your PlayBook locks up or won't turn off that I had to try to sort it out.

After some investigation, here's what I think is the truth of the matter.

1. Pressing the Power button alone continuously for > 4s will initiate a controlled (normal) shutdown if your PlayBook is still responding, same as if you tapped on the Turn Off button.

2. Pressing the Power button alone continuously for 10s will force the power off, under all circumstances, even if it's already trying to do the controlled shutdown above.

3. Pressing the Power button with both the Volume Up and Down buttons will do a "hardware reset" at the 4s mark.

In all cases, after about 1.5s of holding down the Power button, you should see a dialog with three buttons labelled Turn Off, Standby, and Restart. If you're trying to "force power off" or do a "hardware reset" you should not release any of the buttons at yet.

There are only three differences I can think of between the "Power button 10s press" and the "Power+Volume Up+Volume Down 4s press". One is that the latter sequence acts faster.

The second is that either one or the other may be easier for you, depending on whether your power button is flush, and how long you can manage to hold the buttons down for. I find it about equally hard to hold a flush power button for 10s as to hold all three buttons for 4s.

The last is obvious: the power button alone will leave you with a tablet that's turned off... It won't reboot until you then press the power button again briefly (about two seconds after which, you should see the LED turn RED for a short time, and then it boots up).

For purposes of what we've generally been telling people to do here, either approach should always give the same end result once you've powered back on. Neither does some mysterious "factory reconfiguration".

The two approaches are equivalent to using either the power button or the reset button on a typical desktop PC (on those which still have a reset button).

[SSc129]

Thanks for clearing that up Peter. I've had trouble with the three button reset and usually end up powering it down.

[Hgouck]

I agree with Peter. The only difference between the two is power button shuts down PB and it stays off. Three button reset shuts down PB than restarts it automatically.

[DD1968]

Spot on from my observations... I always use the 10s power button option as I find the vulcan death grip a little fiddly.

[jafobabe]

OP, it would be great if you would post that in the Newbie Sticky!

Please??? *BattingEyeLashes*

[rotorwrench]

Unless some PBs react different than others, say based on which update you have, I'm sorry but some of the above information needs a little correction.

1-Tapping the power button places the PB in standby, not power off. Try it. Tap the power button, screen goes black. Tap again and you are wherever you left off at. No apps close, screen remains the same. You can also swipe it back on, because the PB is in standby.

2-The hard reset procedure does have different results than a soft reset or turning off. RIM told our IT guy during the setup of our PBs that a hard reset clears the temporary registers. Only a hard reset will do this. You will know if you've performed a successful hard reset by noting that during the reset, you"ll not get the "Playbook is shutting down" notice with the BB logo. All other power downs or off procedures will give you this notice. Try it. Every time I power off by power button for 10 seconds, I get the notice. Same for using power off with the battery icon. Every power off method gives the notice except for a hard reset. We were made to perform these procedures on all 5 of the PBs at work and all results were identical.

If there are different experiences from other members, it would be interesting to know and try to replicate. Apparently the guy doing our set ups was one of their PB gurus.

Sorry for the wrench, but our information and results are a little different than the OPs.

[peter9477]

Unless some PBs react different than others, say based on which update you have, I'm sorry but some of the above information needs a little correction.

1-Tapping the power button places the PB in standby, not power off. Try it. Tap the power button, screen goes black.

You've misinterpreted my description. A "tap" is quite different from a "press continuously for 10s". It doesn't mean "tap continually over a 10s period". That would, as you say, merely put it into standby, and take it out, repeatedly. It means "press it down and hold it there until 10s has passed, then finally release it".

I'll be sure to note that distinction more clearly when I copy this to the Tips & Tricks thread.

2-The hard reset procedure does have different results than a soft reset or turning off. RIM told our IT guy during the setup of our PBs that a hard reset clears the temporary registers. Only a hard reset will do this. You will know if you've performed a successful hard reset by noting that during the reset, you"ll not get the "Playbook is shutting down" notice with the BB logo. All other power downs or off procedures will give you this notice. Try it. Every time I power off by power button for 10 seconds, I get the notice.

Actually removing power will absolutely "clear the temporary registers". Besides, to the extent that a hard reset does this, I have to point out a power-on reset does as well... Put it this way: "hard reset" is the beginning of a process... anything that's going on is instantly terminated and the chip's reset sequence is initiated. Powering off the tablet just powers it off, but when you power it back on again later, it starts the chip's reset sequence, exactly the same way...

The 10s power button press, by the way, does actually truncate the "shutting down" operation early, at the 10s mark, whereas it can take >12s normally before the screen is actually disabled.

That's not the point though... what matters is that it works even if the PlayBook has been frozen and you never get that "shutting down" notice at all. It will kill it at the 10s mark, period, no questions asked. You need to be in dim lighting to notice all this, however, since the screen is black (but still lit) for much of that period.

[pmccartney]

...The last is obvious: the power button alone will leave you with a tablet that's turned off... It won't reboot until you then press the power button again briefly (about two seconds after which, you should see the LED turn RED for a short time, and then it boots up).

Thanks Peter, I am sure this will clear up the shutdown/reboot process for many.

There is one slight difference I have noticed with regards to turning the PB on. It's not important but I feel worth mentioning.
You (and many others) have said that to turn it back on, press and hold the power button for about 2 seconds. (Some have even suggested that you need to press the power button until the red light comes on).
I find that I only need to do a (quick as possible) press and release of the power button and then the red light comes on about 2 seconds later and the PB boots up.

My PB power button is raised. Maybe it has something to do with the tactile response we get if the button is raised. I can easily feel the button move in/out. Maybe with it flush, users feel the need to press and hold because they don't have the sensation the button is actually moving.

[zorecati]

Thanks for the clarification. I have never used the power button plus volume buttons so I thought it just did the same thing as hitting the power button for 10 seconds and people didn't realize it.

[peter9477]

There is one slight difference I have noticed with regards to turning the PB on. It's not important but I feel worth mentioning.

You (and many others) have said that to turn it back on, press and hold the power button for about 2 seconds. (Some have even suggested that you need to press the power button until the red light comes on).
I find that I only need to do a (quick as possible) press and release of the power button and then the red light comes on about 2 seconds later and the PB boots up.

No, you're quite right about that. I didn't actually mean you have to hold it down for 2s. A single short press is enough, provided it actually makes contact.

I just meant that after you press (or let's say "tap") the power button briefly, it will be about 2 seconds before you'll first see that red LED come on.

I'll factor that into my Tips and Tricks post.

[rotorwrench]

You've misinterpreted my description. A "tap" is quite different from a "press continuously for 10s". It doesn't mean "tap continually over a 10s period". That would, as you say, merely put it into standby, and take it out, repeatedly. It means "press it down and hold it there until 10s has passed, then finally release it".

I'll be sure to note that distinction more clearly when I copy this to the Tips & Tricks thread.



Actually removing power will absolutely "clear the temporary registers". Besides, to the extent that a hard reset does this, I have to point out a power-on reset does as well... Put it this way: "hard reset" is the beginning of a process... anything that's going on is instantly terminated and the chip's reset sequence is initiated. Powering off the tablet just powers it off, but when you power it back on again later, it starts the chip's reset sequence, exactly the same way...

The 10s power button press, by the way, does actually truncate the "shutting down" operation early, at the 10s mark, whereas it can take >12s normally before the screen is actually disabled.

That's not the point though... what matters is that it works even if the PlayBook has been frozen and you never get that "shutting down" notice at all. It will kill it at the 10s mark, period, no questions asked. You need to be in dim lighting to notice all this, however, since the screen is black (but still lit) for much of that period.

I agree, and understand what you're saying, but I'm just relaying what RIM told us when setting up our PBs. That a hard reset was the only process that cleared the temporary registers. He equated it to the battery pull for the phones. Apparently they came up with that method due to the inability to pull the PB battery. Thats why the only instance the shut down notice is not displayed, being that the hard reset simulates pulling the battery.
We experienced the difference during the install of an app. We we getting an erratic cursor event that no power off/on or soft resets would clear. After a hard reset it was stable again with no recurrence.

As for complete shutdown, as you said, it's not complete until the screen is completely black. The slight glow you refer to is still visible in a well lit room if held at an angle.

I'm not disagreeing with you, and not discounting your experiences, just repeating what RIM stated, that the hard reset is a different process with different results, which we experienced.

[rotorwrench]

Thanks Peter, I am sure this will clear up the shutdown/reboot process for many.

There is one slight difference I have noticed with regards to turning the PB on. It's not important but I feel worth mentioning.
You (and many others) have said that to turn it back on, press and hold the power button for about 2 seconds. (Some have even suggested that you need to press the power button until the red light comes on).
I find that I only need to do a (quick as possible) press and release of the power button and then the red light comes on about 2 seconds later and the PB boots up.

My PB power button is raised. Maybe it has something to do with the tactile response we get if the button is raised. I can easily feel the button move in/out. Maybe with it flush, users feel the need to press and hold because they don't have the sensation the button is actually moving.

Thats our method also.