[bpierc3672]

Usually the 4 buttons on the bottom of the storm 2 don't work good when you place it on a flat surface. Try plugging in your phone then try pushing the buttons. When mine was plugged in they all worked just fine. Proving more that its a software and maybe the screen needs more power from the battery to operate correctly.

[hydroz_23]

that has been discussed. its not a power issue. ways to make buttons work good while laying flat

1. unplug your charger and plug in your head phones

2. plug usb into phone but not to computer

3. lay flat on top of a piece of foil

4. touch pin under battery door

[TaZ52083]

I say its an OS issue.

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[bpierc3672]

so you think that is hardware or software related.

[hydroz_23]

so you think that is hardware or software related.

This is what i have done the last couple of days. Rim says hardware even tho i still believe it is the os. I did however load os 5.0.0.287 and 3 different hybrids and the problem still existed everytime. If someone has anything older than .287 i would try it on mine.

so i was messing around a little and found that it has something to do with the pin on the back. i took off battery door and layed my phone arcoss to dvd cases. the buttons would not press but as soon as i just touched that pin it worked great. i dunno. its frustrating

i am on the phone now with a tech from rim and they are saying they have never heard of the issue

EDIT: i have now been on the phone with rim tech support for almost 1.5 hours, and we have done a bunch of steps and 2 different techs. We did a clean install which i had already done. Both techs are now telling me that it is for sure a hardware issue. Im still on the phone with them (on hold) they are personally calling verizon to tell them to ship me a new phone

rim basically forced verizon to do a swap. they said it was a hardware issue/ bad batch. Verizon tried 5 s2's and could not duplicate the problem. I didn't really want a swap just a answer if it was hardware/software issue

[SA13]

Someone please correct me if im wrong about this.

When the phone boots you first get the little clock. I think it is loading a bios at this point.

Then you get the Blackberry splash screen with the progress bar at the bottom. So it would stand to reason it is loading the OS now.

As soon as the splash screen appears the screen is clickable but OS hasnt loaded yet. My escape button acts up at this point so it would seem to be a hardware issue.

[Volcom]

I think it's just hardware but a software fix may be able to correct this. I think the bottom buttons are just less sensitive or picks up less on capacitive touch. I bet RIM can change some sensitivity settings to make it more sensitive. Since the touchscreen does work with software also.

It doesn't bother me, but still made a little video with a simple conductive picture wire to show kind of an example of linking capacitive touchscreen with the grounding of the battery cover. Can give you an idea how less sensative the buttons are.

What is capacitive touchscreen?

A capacitive touchscreen panel consists of an insulator such as glass, coated with a transparent conductor such as indium tin oxide (ITO). As the human body is also a conductor, touching the surface of the screen results in a distortion of the local electrostatic field, measurable as a change in capacitance. Different technologies may be used to determine the location of the touch. The location can be passed to a computer running a software application which will calculate how the user's touch relates to the computer software.

[SA13]

Yes i definitely agree they need to let the software adjust for screen variations and personal preference

[Volcom]

What I am worried about is ESD on these phones. I work in Anaheim Hills with some dry weather plus high winds from Santa Ana. If I haven't discharged my electrostatic, can I shock the phone's internals?

I mean the material used are conductive and connect to the hardware. Hopefully RIM remembered that this is a Mobile device and put some safety into the internals, which I'm sure they thought of, right?

[hydroz_23]

hey volcom, just curious. do you have a screen protector on your s2? i just took of my ps like mr. orange did and all my buttons completely work perfect

[Volcom]

hey volcom, just curious. do you have a screen protector on your s2? i just took of my ps like mr. orange did and all my buttons completely work perfect

Yes I do sir. I also have the PS screen protector on. Phantomskinz is great, not only their product but customer service/satisfaction. If you haven't got protection, check em out. Sorry for the advertisement, just had a great experience with them a couple of times, just returning the favor.

Interesting, but the buttons not clicking while lying flat doesn't bother me.

IMHO the trade off between screen protection vs. clickable buttons while lying flat is just not worth it. Great find though, did not know that.

[SA13]

What I am worried about is ESD on these phones. I work in Anaheim Hills with some dry weather plus high winds from Santa Ana. If I haven't discharged my electrostatic, can I shock the phone's internals?

I mean the material used are conductive and connect to the hardware. Hopefully RIM remembered that this is a Mobile device and put some safety into the internals, which I'm sure they thought of, right?

lol I never thought about that. I am a static magnet and glass seems to discharge it as well as metal will. Mabey thats the button problem.

I got half way there removing my screen protector. My BB button work fine now but not the escape key.

[hydroz_23]

Yes I do sir. I also have the PS screen protector on. Phantomskinz is great, not only their product but customer service/satisfaction. If you haven't got protection, check em out. Sorry for the advertisement, just had a great experience with them a couple of times, just returning the favor.

Interesting, but the buttons not clicking while lying flat doesn't bother me.

IMHO the trade off between screen protection vs. clickable buttons while lying flat is just not worth it. Great find though, did not know that.

I do have a full body phantom skinz and after i peeled it off i know that it is not a hardware issue. I will be putting the screen back on tomorrow. I agree phantom skinz is the best and i will gladly have the button issue with the ps on.

[tghockey07]

that has been discussed. its not a power issue. ways to make buttons work good while laying flat

1. unplug your charger and plug in your head phones

2. plug usb into phone but not to computer

3. lay flat on top of a piece of foil

4. touch pin under battery door

5. Touch your nose and turn around 5 and a half times, then snap your fingers 348 times.

6. Return it for a Droid, which the 4 buttons actually work on.

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[r.santa1]

the screen design is flawed and will end up being a total failure...

[davids331]

Buttons work great on a hard surface, but not on flexing surfaces. When I put it on a hard oak surface, or a slate (stone) table, all 4 buttons work every time. When I put it on a desk mat with give in it, they act up a bit. Not a big deal to me. I think we all need to focus on the important stuff and stop looking for perfection. There is NO perfection in manufactured goods any more...

[petworks97]

My phone worked great until last night. I went to verizon and purchased a silicone case for my storm from verizon. Now I notice that sometimes the bottom buttons don't work. I find that this is the case when my finger touches the silicone and the phone at the same time. If i only touch the screen the buttons work fine. Will learn to deal with it.

[petworks97]

I spoke to soon. I was sitting at my desk with my storm in my pocket. I felt some short vibrations coming from my pocket. I thought it was a text or something. When i looked at my phone it said that the screen was locked(i locked it). I unlocked the phone and my bottom buttons stopped working. I think there was pressure being put on the screen while in my pocket. The case did not let the phone slide around in my pocket and created pressure on the screen. Just came from verizon and got a new phone. I'm not going to be using this case anymore.

[solracnx]

mine works great

[cloud92]

I only have an issue with my clear button..I have a hard case on it and when I hold it in landscape o have my hands holding ot like a game controller. The clear button seems to work if I stop pressing on it and wait... An press or if I press it slightly in a different location. But on the clear button. Almost like some button is sliding around inside as u press it and every so often it isn't right under the button. Well that's how it feels..
I was told (though questionable) that a new s/w is coming out to fix several .320 issues. Whether that will include the buttons... I don't know. I'm living with it but it IS annoying. I had my clear button not work for 3 minutes unless I hitmenu then clear.. I think its because its connected. I also noticed phones without the dreaded upper left downward slope don't have this issue. It may be a bad hardware batch... Mine says made in mexico 5.. Anyone want to give their info and cross compare?

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[bxtzd3]

both mine and my wifes are tilted and were made in mexico. my buttons i found freeze when i dont hit them in the center. i am very bad with using the side of my thumb to push things.

[Omakskio]

My Storm2 is made in Hungary!! ????

[ethant]

While I agree that this is possibly a software issue, some of the other points mentioned in this thread make me think it may also be a ground reference issue with the capacitive sensor. When you are holding the phone the sensor has an ok ground reference, but when the phone is sitting on a surface it does not and may have more difficulty. If I sit my S2 down and move my finger around the keyboard it doesn't seem to have any trouble tracking it though...

[The Gift]

My Storm2 is made in Hungary!! ????

and, do you have the problems listed in ths thread?

[.143Beth]

I noticed this problem minutes after putting an otterbox defender case on my storm 2. After performing a series of tests with the case on and off I have come to the conclusion that the storm 2 bottom buttons prefer if you are touching the steel battery door when trying to press the bottom buttons. It is a pretty clever design idea because it attempts to prevent the back light from turning in while in a pocket, but the developers didn't take into account the people who would want to put a silicone case on their phone. A new software update could fix this problem if there was the ability to disable the requirement of touching the back while trying to press the bottom buttons, but in the meantime, I just drilled a pretty clean hole in the back of the otterbox exactly how the iPhone otterbox case is designed so when I need ti press the bottom buttons with a 100% certainty that the bottom buttons will work I just slide my finger to the hole ( it actually is in the position my fingers lay naturally) and press away. There you go. For those with silicone cases, just use a high speed drill with a .75" spade drill bit and drill in a spot on the back where you fingers lay naturally and drill away. Make sure you take your phone out first