[playa_thing]

I have just found the steps to replicate a bug on the Playbook and I am hoping this will save someone else the huge headache I just went through. This morning, I managed to delete my default app icons while doing some organizing (I deleted the file manager, camera, etc.) After reading several sites on the internet I realized that I would have to perform a secure wipe to get them back. I didn't really mind because the Playbook has become a glorified video player and camera since I got my Samsung Galaxy S3. So I proceeded to hard wipe and restore the Playbook.

After it completed, it asked me to update (why did I have to sit through the initial tutorials? give me a skip button please!). So I let the update run, which put me to 2.01. I then proceeded to reorganize my icons again (to get rid of the crap I won't use). Ideally I want to have the following icons only: Camera, Videos, Calculator, File Manager. Here is how you get the bug, WARNING: THIS IS NOT REVERSIBLE!

1. Hold down an icon until it starts to wiggle. Click the trash can on each icon until all icons which have one are gone.
2. Move the icons from page two onto Page One so you have them all together.
3. Now comes the dangerous part, move the icons in the "dock" or "quick launch" area down into the main icon area until you have none left up there.
4. Try to move another icon, like camera up to the dock now, and Poof it disappears. You get a notification that the Sql_array was out of the array or something like that, and your icon is now TOAST. You can't get the camera icon back without wiping and starting over.

I was able to verify this by randomly deleting icon after icon, no matter what you do, you can't get an icon back into the dock area once they have all been removed.
I hope this saves someone else the difficulty because I saw a lot of posts about people losing their default icons and not knowing how they did it?

If this is incorrect, or I have missed something let me know. I have been using my Playbook since the first week it came out (bitterly at having paid so much for something which was going to be slashed in price) but since I had a BB Bold to bridge with, I used it daily. So I am not a newbie at using the Playbook...

[Chrysalis1156]

You are correct. If you remove all icons from the dock and then try to put something on the dock, it disappears and you get an error message. There have been a couple of threads warning people not to do this. They say that you can get your icons back by putting everything on the dock one at a time, and then after it all disappears, reboot your Playbook. Your icons should all be there, however if you should try to add something to the dock, you'll have to go thru it all again because the icons will go poof again. RIM has been notified but from what I've gathered, they can't understand why anyone would remove all their icons from the dock in the first place. Take from that what you will.

[simu31]

It has been posted several times before that you shouldn't clear the dock of all apps.

Your problems started and ended there.

Enjoy your S3.

Si.

[madman0141]

Remove all the icons from the dock then put them back and they disappear. Okay.
I too have found another bug in the OS if you throw the PlayBook from a 3rd floor window as hard as you can at the sidewalk it will break into many pieaces.
Can anyone try this and confirm for me?

[playa_thing]

Man I searched for crazy using "default apps disappear" "default icons disappear". It made no sense to me that you couldn't clear all of the items in your dock and then place the ones you want back...oh well hopefully my post shows up in someone search and saves them. @Simu31 I assume by the tone that you think I should have searched for "don't clear all dock apps" BEFORE I did it? This is the problem with RIM, send an update out to your users admitting their is a bug and warn them not to do it. Otherwise how would anyone know not to?

[playa_thing]

I didn't realize this forum was such an angry place. Sorry to have offended everyone. Thanks for the flames on an innocent post. Hate to be the one to tell you but when your device says sql_array error, then IT IS A BUG!

[meganVee]

Actually, my daughter was on her PlayBook and removed the video app from the dock. There were still 3 other icons on the dock and when she proceeded to put the video icon back on the dock it disappeared. So to say it only happened because the dock was completely empty of icons is a load of BS.
In order to get the video app back I had to remove ALL icons from the pb and restart it. Now her dock is empty as putting any icons there will cause it to disappear but at least she has the video app back as well as everything else.

[diegonei]

I'll let somebody that can actually do something about this know of the issue. With a little luck, should be fixed on the next release.

[FF22]

I have just found the steps to replicate a bug on the Playbook and I am hoping this will save someone else the huge headache I just went through. This morning, I managed to delete my default app icons while doing some organizing (I deleted the file manager, camera, etc.) After reading several sites on the internet I realized that I would have to perform a secure wipe to get them back. I didn't really mind because the Playbook has become a glorified video player and camera since I got my Samsung Galaxy S3. So I proceeded to hard wipe and restore the Playbook.

After it completed, it asked me to update (why did I have to sit through the initial tutorials? give me a skip button please!). So I let the update run, which put me to 2.01. I then proceeded to reorganize my icons again (to get rid of the crap I won't use). Ideally I want to have the following icons only: Camera, Videos, Calculator, File Manager. Here is how you get the bug, WARNING: THIS IS NOT REVERSIBLE!

1. Hold down an icon until it starts to wiggle. Click the trash can on each icon until all icons which have one are gone.
2. Move the icons from page two onto Page One so you have them all together.
3. Now comes the dangerous part, move the icons in the "dock" or "quick launch" area down into the main icon area until you have none left up there.
4. Try to move another icon, like camera up to the dock now, and Poof it disappears. You get a notification that the Sql_array was out of the array or something like that, and your icon is now TOAST. You can't get the camera icon back without wiping and starting over.

I was able to verify this by randomly deleting icon after icon, no matter what you do, you can't get an icon back into the dock area once they have all been removed.
I hope this saves someone else the difficulty because I saw a lot of posts about people losing their default icons and not knowing how they did it?

If this is incorrect, or I have missed something let me know. I have been using my Playbook since the first week it came out (bitterly at having paid so much for something which was going to be slashed in price) but since I had a BB Bold to bridge with, I used it daily. So I am not a newbie at using the Playbook...

Ignore the naysayer. Any, yes, another POST about this stupid bug is not too much. So thanks for sharing.

Some Rim bigwig with an Empty Dock for brains expressed an opinion that no one should do this. There is no reason why removing all icons from the dock should permanently affect putting a new series of icons on the dock.

[jamesharmeling]

I love my Playbook, bugs and all. I also really love my Bold. And when I get my hands around my future BB10, the love affair will continue. I just got my son a Galaxy s2. Nice phone, but it's not a BlackBerry and I'm a BlackBerryaholic.

*I am really surprised that RIM hasn't fixed that dock bug. It was in the 2.1 beta.

[oilgeo10]

I'll let somebody that can actually do something about this know of the issue. With a little luck, should be fixed on the next release.

A quick fix should be easy if re-coding to allow all apps removed from the dock is difficult: RIM just needs to add a popup warning when people move an app from the dock. This was done with the usb cable to pc, now telling users that this will not charge the tablet. Many people must have had the "dead battery issue - won't turn on" and been thinking the usb to pc connection was a charging option.

Alternatively, they could also prevent one of the apps such as the browser from being moved, along with a popup warning. This would make it impossible for kids to mess up a PB.

[Sonic-NKT]

even tho its not likely you do this by mistake several people have done it accedentily...
What my problem is that rim is aware of the problem and still hasnt fixed it yet even tho several OS updates have been released...
thats just silly...

[SoUnCool]

Here is work around. When you see that putting icons on dock make them disappear don't stop keep moving them to dock until all icons from all pages are gone, restart tablet all icons will be back

[kbz1960]

Here is work around. When you see that putting icons on dock make them disappear don't stop keep moving them to dock until all icons from all pages are gone, restart tablet all icons will be back

How many times have you tried this? And pretty cool and Thanks if it works!

[FF22]

Here is work around. When you see that putting icons on dock make them disappear don't stop keep moving them to dock until all icons from all pages are gone, restart tablet all icons will be back

Does it work "completely?" I thought someone posted that while all the icons reappear on reboot, you still canNOT place any icons on the Dock. The dock remains a broken "black hole" swallowing any icons moved to it after the reboot? True or False (or make it modified true/false - explain your answer!

[samab]

even tho its not likely you do this by mistake several people have done it accedentily...
What my problem is that rim is aware of the problem and still hasnt fixed it yet even tho several OS updates have been released...
thats just silly...

Why spend the time and energy on fixing a GUI issue when the whole GUI is going to be obsolete in a few months?

It's just silly to throw man hours on this bug fix.

[Sonic-NKT]

well until bb10 hits the bp it will be arround for over a year (unless the fix it in a future update of course), thats imo just silly.... because its a bug that could be fixed in minutes..
BB10 being the main priority is i silly excuse for not fixing bugs on the pb imo, but well many people arround here think thats fine...

[kbz1960]

Does it work "completely?" I thought someone posted that while all the icons reappear on reboot, you still canNOT place any icons on the Dock. The dock remains a broken "black hole" swallowing any icons moved to it after the reboot? True or False (or make it modified true/false - explain your answer!

I agree and love the "black hole" reference

[twstd.reality]

A quick fix should be easy if re-coding to allow all apps removed from the dock is difficult: RIM just needs to add a popup warning when people move an app from the dock. This was done with the usb cable to pc, now telling users that this will not charge the tablet. Many people must have had the "dead battery issue - won't turn on" and been thinking the usb to pc connection was a charging option.

Alternatively, they could also prevent one of the apps such as the browser from being moved, along with a popup warning. This would make it impossible for kids to mess up a PB.

An easier fix would be just to increase the array index variable by 1, so that it never ends up being a null pointer. But, I've never seen the code so I'm just assuming based on what the error message says.

[Fuzzballz]

It always amuses me when someone points out a bug and fanboys here flame him for doing so. Really strange, pathological behavior, which I've never understood.

For example:

I too have found another bug in the OS if you throw the PlayBook from a 3rd floor window as hard as you can at the sidewalk it will break into many pieaces.

As if rearranging icons on a tablet is the same as throwing it out the window. Weird. Who are these people? They must be kids or something, right?

[diegonei]

Issue reported. Let's patiently wait for a fix.

[Zildjian71]

Every OS in the consumer sphere is experimental and subject to endless versions and upgrades, which is why Bill Gates got into software and not hardware.

In other words its not profitable to release a complete OS unless its on a Mars rover.

I agree/hope BB10 will be better but in no way will it be complete or these sites will go out of business.

So keep the party going and post some more and well all chime in one way or another.

Also I think all devs should watch Tom Hanks in "Big" and see the scene where he's in the back of a limo fiddling and trying every gadget in the back seat. And yes we will do that with your apps and OS so be fore warned!

[312Lorden]

[QUOTE=playa_thing;7708662]Man I searched for crazy using "default apps disappear" "default icons disappear". It made no sense to me that you couldn't clear all of the items in your dock and then place the ones you want back..
_______

Do I understand you correctly? Why would you want to clear all icons from the dock? Why not clear them one at a time and leave those you want to save unearned?

[FF22]

312Lorden:

Folks have different ways of going about the way they organize stuff. Obviously, some might move one or two icons off the dock and put two others up there. Someone might remove them all as they contemplate which ones are truly important. Someone else might just have wanted a better view of more wallpaper. The point is - contrary to Rim's assertions or thoughts on this matter, obviously this guy/gal was not the first to run into this - meaning folks experiment and nothing prepares them for this BUG. It should have been fixed since it has been known for a while. At this point I don't expect rim to address it - that is unfortunate.

But the warning is appropriate.

[BlazorBoy]

It always amuses me when someone points out a bug and fanboys here flame him for doing so. Really strange, pathological behavior, which I've never understood.

For example:



As if rearranging icons on a tablet is the same as throwing it out the window. Weird. Who are these people? They must be kids or something, right?

I hope the OP was not hurt by the original (that now seems to have been removed) stupid reply post. If not a kid that needs to grow up, then a sad or ill person. OP thanks for your post for it was good to be once again reminded of RIM's shortcomings.