Author Topic: Tablet jumps out of Bridgepal program  (Read 4304 times)

JohnB

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Tablet jumps out of Bridgepal program
« on: October 19, 2018, 20:16:15 »
We have used Bridgescore/Bridgepal very successfully for some time. However I now have a problem. We use Lenovo 7 inch tablets and these are completely trouble-free. However we also have some older Sumvision Voyager 7 inch tablets which really now operate only as backup devices. However it appears that these no longer behave with Bridgepal. Bridgepal can be opened but there is a high probability that the program closes for no apparent reason; when it is opened again there is again a high probabilty of it closing, either immediately or after few operations. This does not happen with the Lenovos. Because we have not used the Sumvisions for some time it is only now that the problem has arisen. When used perhaps a year ago they were fine. Any ideas?

johng

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Re: Tablet jumps out of Bridgepal program
« Reply #1 on: October 19, 2018, 20:44:55 »
I can't think of any reason why this should have started to occur, but have a few questions.

1. Does it only happen when you touch the screen, or does it sometimes occur when nothing is going on ?
2. Have you tried all the Sumvision tablets and does the problem occur on all of them ?
3. Does it occur in the same way on all the Sumvision tablets, or are some worse than others (i.e. more frequent app crashes)?
4. Do you get a message on screen when the BridgePal app closes ?
5. Which version of the BridgePal app are you running. Is it the same version as on the Lenovo devices ? Has the BridgePal app been updated on the Sumvision tablets since you uses them last year ?
6. Have the Sumvision tablets been connected to internet since they were used last year ? (i.e. could they have received any updates of apps or system software)

Can I also ask which version of BridgePal Server you are using ? (but note, this should not cause a problem, because older versions of the BridgePal app are compatible with later version of BridgePal Server).
« Last Edit: October 19, 2018, 20:50:32 by johng »

JohnB

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Re: Tablet jumps out of Bridgepal program
« Reply #2 on: October 20, 2018, 01:36:28 »
Hi John

Just when screen is touched

It happens with all 6 Sumvision tablets

The frequency is variable

No message

Latest versions of all software

They have been connected to the internet and the Bridgepal app is the latest version.

Could I have an old version of the PC software to see if they behave with that?

We would like to use the Sumvisions at the golf club with the program in its simplest form.

John



JohnB

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Re: Tablet jumps out of Bridgepal program
« Reply #3 on: October 20, 2018, 09:32:03 »
Hi John

The Android version is 4.1.1. Is this likely to be significant?

John

johng

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Re: Tablet jumps out of Bridgepal program
« Reply #4 on: October 20, 2018, 19:14:26 »
Hi John,

The version of android is quite old, but that should not be a problem. Is it possible that there is an android 4.2 update available ? If so, might be worth upgrading to that to see if it fixes the issue.

The only issue I've ever encountered which is remotely similar to what you describe was on one particular type of device (I forget which) during testing. I found that tapping the screen and holding the finger down for more than 5 seconds on an unused part of the app display (i.e. the part at the bottom of the screen below all the buttons) caused the app to vanish without trace ! This turned out to be due to a bug in the android system "webview" component. Earlier and later versions of the component did not exhibit this issue, and no BridgePal user ever reported it. I was able to work around it with an update which is now incorporated in BridgePal Server. However, it doesn't sound exactly the same as the problem you describe, because I get the impression that on your devices the problem occurs immediately on tapping the screen. In any case, you say you are now using the latest version of all the BridgePal components.

I think the only way I could diagnose the problem, and even then I can't promise, is if you were able to loan me one of your SumVision tablets to test with. If I had the device and was able to reproduce the problem I might be able to tell something by extracting the internal system log that is maintained by android. If you want to pursue this, I can email you my address and you could post the tablet to me.

 Do you know which version of the PC software components you were using a year ago when the SumVision tablets were working ? We have made quite a few software releases in the last year, and some of them have mutual dependencies. For example, if you were to regress to an earlier version of BridgePal Server you would also need to revert to an earlier version of BridgeScore.

John

JohnB

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Re: Tablet jumps out of Bridgepal program
« Reply #5 on: October 20, 2018, 21:48:12 »
Hi John

Thanks for the offer  but I feel this is my problem. I will only take up your offer if I get desperate. I will take some advice on updating my Android version - the normal updating system does not seem to work with these. I don't think that they are very good - the Lenovos are far superior.

JohnB

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Re: Tablet jumps out of Bridgepal program
« Reply #6 on: October 23, 2018, 10:55:35 »
Hi John

I have talked to my son who is an IT professional an he has an unproven hypothesis.

He thinks (no evidence) that the most likely explanation is that the latest versions of the app are more demanding on memory and that the program crashes when memory becomes inadequate.

I am not really bothered by the situation and it is not worth the investment of more time in pursuing it.

He say it is unlikely to be the OS and I can't upgrade beyond 4.1 anyway.

The Lenovos all run Android 5.0.1

John

Alaric

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Re: Tablet jumps out of Bridgepal program
« Reply #7 on: November 18, 2018, 16:16:55 »
Hi John (and John)
If the problem is a shortage of memory, have you tried uninstalling / disabling whatever superfluous apps that you can? Android won't let you uninstall useless system-supplied apps but you can uninstall anything that has been manually installed, and you can disable quite a lot else, such as the camera. Also, are you able to check whether there are any miscellaneous apps running? I think 4.1.1 is new enough to include the feature that allows you to view all running apps in a set of cascading tiles, and to close anything that doesn't need to be running. Look for a 'Square' icon at the bottom of the screen, press it, and see what it reveals.

Alaric

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Peter W

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Re: Tablet jumps out of Bridgepal program
« Reply #8 on: November 18, 2018, 22:44:37 »
Hi all, Just a few thoughts. Do other apps close unexpectedly in a similar way? Have your tablets been connected to the internet since they worked, and are they set to auto-update apps? If so I've seen reports of this kind of behaviour being associated with a component app named Android System Webview for which the original factory version was OK but a later update causes this problem (but I'm not sure if this relates to your version of Android). The blog posts I saw said that uninstalling the updates, back to the factory installed version, fixed things. Also then make sure you disable auto-updates!

johng

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Re: Tablet jumps out of Bridgepal program
« Reply #9 on: November 19, 2018, 09:51:55 »
If it's a memory issue I think it's unlikely to be due to the BridgePal app, as it has a very small memory footprint and this would not have changed significantly in later releases. I think Peter's suggestion of uninstalling updates and restoring the unit to factory settings is a good one. I also concur with the suggestion to disable auto-updates. Updates are unlikely to be beneficial if the device is already stable and working to your satisfaction, and there is always the possibility that they could cause problems.