Current enTourage Tech Support Experiences

Originally Posted by borisb

However, there's a small chance that Ermine actually updated the CPU microcode and/or some system flash ROM that isn't reversed by the downgrade. If the update made to the microcode or ROM was buggy, then it may be permanent until (and if) enTourage releases another update.

This is why cheyennedonna's delightful EE screen-lock-of-death experience today is disquieting. I know it may be a hardware issue that just coincidentally surfaced immediately after the Ermine upgrade -- and nobody else has reported this right after an Ermine upgrade, so far. But if it is an Ermine thing or Ermine exacerbating an existing Dingo weakness, and it's not undone by ye olde golden update . . . ugh.

Have other users who reverted to Dingo had any nasty new problems since?

Originally Posted by JL6161

This is why cheyennedonna's delightful EE screen-lock-of-death experience today is disquieting. I know it may be a hardware issue that just coincidentally surfaced immediately after the Ermine upgrade -- and nobody else has reported this right after an Ermine upgrade, so far. But if it is an Ermine thing or Ermine exacerbating an existing Dingo weakness, and it's not undone by ye olde golden update . . . ugh.

Have other users who reverted to Dingo had any nasty new problems since?

I am almost totally certain this was hardware failure. I noticed that movement of one side, like closing or opening, will cause a menu to pop open. I took it to Best Buy today, as I had an errand there, and the Geek Squad feels a wire burned or cracked, from normal everyday wear and tear. He said having the wiring in the hinge meant stress, especially when hot. He was not trying to obtain a customer, he flat out said it would cost more to fix than to obtain a replacement.

Light-housed PE, Episode n+1

at almost the end of the 48 hours delay, I got news from Tier-3. An email from Larrie, (Level 1 was Susan) ... that asks me to revert from Ermine to Dingo and includes the instruction. (That's the 3rd time I got these instructions from Entourage).
Meanwhile, there has been no much progress with the PE. I see the internal device storage fom my desktop (empty after a factory reset and a downgrade to Dingo. - Huh, anyone nows if there should be any file there (like examples or templates) ? -
I plugged the Pe to the usb ethernet converter this morning, and noticed that there seems to be heavy traffic going through the ethernet hub, but didn't had time to investigate more ( was the device downloading something ? - with no screen I can't setup the wifi and see what's happening -). Quite strange, as if I remember well, the downgrade install the latest dingo version.

From different places on the net, it seems that upgrade to Froyo resulted in this kind of behaviour on different devices (Especially when people tried to upgrade rooted device with "artisanal" recipes). They got rid of it by re-flashing their rom ( on android phones).



Qwill.

Originally Posted by Dr. T

I would be interested in hearing the thoughts of the other forum members, but I think this might be premature. Most of the PEs, even those running Ermine, are functioning exceedingly well, it seems. Or, am I misinterpreting the data? Those of you who are more savvy than I (that is, most anyone on the Forum): are you considering reverting to Dingo?

I agree that Froyo seems to be running much better on the PE but it is hard to ignore the posts here on this forum. The majority of issues right now with the beta appear to be hibernation issues. Many EE owners have reported that they have had to pull the battery in order to get the EE to come out of hibernation. Two PE owners in the past few days (Qwill and Jazzmind) have reported white screens of death (WOSD) after trying to bring their PEs out of hibernation. This may be nothing more than a coincidence but a strange one at that. I too have seen a momentary white screen flash on my PE a couple of times (not every time) when coming out hibernation followed by a blank screen and then the unlock screen. My problem with hibernation is there is NO way to turn it off.

Perhaps it is a little premature for me to say I'm considering going back to Dingo because I like Froyo and I'm leaving it installed for now and keeping my hopes up. But I'm also keeping my eyes on this forum to see if any other PE owners develop problems and what the outcome of the two PE owners who have contacted tech support in regards to their hibernation related issues.

PE travelling back from Snow-land .... to California (*)!!

Just got news from tier-3, agreeing that the PE has to get back to entourage hospital for a health-check and maybe surgery.
Will keep you informed...
(*) We are under heavy snow now, and the return address given by entourage support is located in California.

I also received a tier 3 reply saying return for repair. However, my warranty is expired and they did not include estimated cost of said repairs. I called and asked for clarification of possible costs.

I have never been contacted by Tier 3 but I called a second time on Monday [at 48 hours in business days] and a third time this afternoon - Wednesday [after a second 48 hours]. Support told me she would "escalate" my problem a third time and she gave me an address in Walnup, CA and told me to go ahead and send my PE in marked "for repair"; that I would not receive anything in writing prior to sending it; and, that Tier 3 would then send me an acknowledgement after they receive it.

Although this seems a bit unusual, I accept this as an effort to expedite the repair process. I sent a reply email to the original email from basic support restating the instructions given to me today by "Jem" and will send my PE forthwith.

I guess it would be petty to say that I hope this rather backdoor method of getting my PE into the repair pipeline will result in my receiving it back more quickly than Qwill or Cheyennedonna receive theirs. However I will watch this thread for progress as though I have a frog in a race.

BTW, my tier I rep was named "Larrie" and Qwill's Tier3 rep has the same name....

Originally Posted by JazzMind

Support told me she would "escalate" my problem a third time and she gave me an address in Walnup, CA and told me to go ahead and send my PE in marked "for repair" ...

Nice to hear that there is still product support out there, at least for now. Looks like everything will work out. Just curious, do you plan to give Ermine another try when you get your PE back?

Originally Posted by obsessed2

Nice to hear that there is still product support out there, at least for now. Looks like everything will work out. Just curious, do you plan to give Ermine another try when you get your PE back?

I think Ermine was a significant improvement when my PE was working. Whether to try it again depends in part on what Entourage says caused the problems and on what they suggest.

Originally Posted by JazzMind

I think Ermine was a significant improvement when my PE was working. Whether to try it again depends in part on what Entourage says caused the problems and on what they suggest.

Good call. Maybe it was just a coincidence that you and Qwill had the same problem. I was looking around the web and many mobile users (e.g. Blackberry, iPod, iPad, iPhone, HTC phones, Tom Tom, Creative Zen MP3 player) have reported white screens of death so Ermine might not have any thing to do with it. I have to admit I was a little freaked out at first because I have $400 wrapped up in 2 PEs which are both upgraded to Ermine. Guess I'll stick it out and see what happens. Thanks for the update.

I am glad to read this thread. Been worried about continuing support ever since they stopped cselling accessories.

I wanted to get a replacement stylus. I know they are specially coded. Anyone know where/what I can purchase?

Thanks,

Debbi brighr red PE

Hi Debbi, you will find more information about which pens work in the Accessories forum, more specifically:
http://www.entourageedge.com/forums/...-with-the-eDGe
http://www.entourageedge.com/forums/...ing-implements

You try to buy any of those online wherever they're offered (incl. Amazon), but this thread has more specific sites:
http://www.entourageedge.com/forums/...ge-accessories.

@Obsessed2 - Personnally, I will stick to Dingo. I bought the Pocket Edge primarily to be able to read and comment pdf academic articles on the go. Ermine brings great new features, but most of them concerning the "tablet" side; which are an "add-on" for me. The greatest loss would be the calendar-sync features, as a standalone calendart is yet another calendar to manually sync.
I'll play safe, as I really need the e-ink features.

I regret a little bit not to have chosen the full-size PE, as journal pages are imported as half-sized pages within xournal or OneNotes. an intelligent add-on would be to be able to make "unlimited length" journal pages ....

Qwill

Originally Posted by madamepsi

I wanted to get a replacement stylus. I know they are specially coded. Anyone know where/what I can purchase?...

The thread is good detailed info. In simple terms, you need a WACOM Penabled pen. Note that not all WACOM pens are "penabled". There are good ones on Amazon. Unfortunately, the eDGe does not support the eraser.

Originally Posted by Qwill

@Obsessed2 - Personnally, I will stick to Dingo. I bought the Pocket Edge primarily to be able to read and comment pdf academic articles on the go. Ermine brings great new features, but most of them concerning the "tablet" side; which are an "add-on" for me. The greatest loss would be the calendar-sync features, as a standalone calendart is yet another calendar to manually sync.
I'll play safe, as I really need the e-ink features.

I regret a little bit not to have chosen the full-size PE, as journal pages are imported as half-sized pages within xournal or OneNotes. an intelligent add-on would be to be able to make "unlimited length" journal pages ....

Qwill

Ermine, in my experience, has significantly improved ink side functionality--improved responsiveness, less lag in handwriting, and being able to rotate to landscape. I use my EE primarily to read and annotate journal articles, to take notes in seminars, and to annotate my google calendar. Can you even sync with google calendar using Dingo?