Stag Hacks

A lot of people seem to be having trouble with the YouTube application in the HTC Droid Eris, specifically after the first update.

All or most videos do not play in the YouTube app shipped with the HTC Droid Eris.

I have tested this and have confirmed that this is a bug.

Here are some things to note:

1) This is not a problem with the phone.

-Do not return your phone because the problem will arise again when you update.

2) This is not a problem with Android.

-Videos in the browser still play. I’ve read one report of videos not playing in the browser, but it was obvious that the person either did not wait long enough, their connection went out or was too slow, or was witness to a different problem [highly unlikely]

3) This problem does not involve video quality, but video quality may be a factor in why people are witnessing the problem.

4) Seeing as no one on other devices seems to be having this problem [Droid, G1, etc] it would appear that it is not likely a problem of Verizon or Android developers, but the possibility exists.

We Blaim:

The bug seems to be in the YouTube app. Using deductive reasoning, we can conclude this is probably HTC’s fault. The Motorola Droid does not have this problem. Both the Droid Eris and Droid are carried by Verizon and run Android. The problem exists in only one device. Unless Verizon has something to do with device updates, the problem isn’t involved with Verizon or Android. It would appear that HTC is the problem. Something to note: The HTC Droid Eris contains many HTC-modded items (Widgets, UI, etc) that supposedly enhance the experience. I don’t doubt the YouTube app could have been modded by HTC as well.

EDIT: Other evidence of HTC as the culprit: This problem has been reported on many other (but not all) HTC Android phones.

Whats Happening:

All things to do with the Internet have time-outs. If a connection is lost, or there is a problem with the stream, the application only waits around for a certain amount of time before it gives up. Usually this time-out period is reasonably long enough to compensate slow connections, slow server response, etc.

What I’ve found is that the time-out period in the YouTube app has been made so short that the app gives up almost before it tries. When someone selects a video, it begins downloading like any normal video would, but the app gives up before waiting long enough for any data to come in.

This explains why:

1. Circumstance: People have noted that lower-quality YouTube videos sometimes play.

Explanation: The video is of smaller size, streams faster, therefore just making it past the time-out.

2. Circumstance: Some people find videos play more often when using a wifi-connection as opposed to a 3G connection.

Explanation: If one’s home Internet is faster than the 3G wireless internet speed, video may download into the device fast enough that the YouTube app doesn’t give up.

3. Circumstance: After repeatedly trying to play a video, the video will sometimes/eventually play.

Explanation: Internet speeds vary over time. If the speed happens to peak at the same time you are trying to play a video, the video might make it past the time-out.

4. Circumstance: Once a video does finally play, it will play again and again.

Explanation: Enough of the video is stored in the devices cache to play the video without downloading it. If you try another video, then go back to the one that played, the one that played will no longer play because the cache was cleared (at least from my experience).

I have personally experienced all of these except 3 (perhaps I didn’t try hard enough) and 2 (My home Internet connection is about as fast as my 3G connection).

Workaround:

I was able to make every video I tried, play. Heres how:

Step 1: Click on a video.
Step 2: Immediately click the menu button.
Step 3: Immediately click the “more” option.
Step 4: The scrolling context menu pops up.

All four of these steps have to occur BEFORE the video error message pops up or your video will not play. For some reason, pulling up the context menu really fast causes the application to ignore its timeout. The loading “circle-like” icon will continue to display behind the menu until the video loads and begins playing.

Step 5: Once the video begins playing, click the back button to close the menu.

It may take a few tries to get this right. However, it is much easier to just use m.youtube.com. Be patient when you see the loading circle, videos sometimes take between 30 seconds to 1 minute to begin streaming (depending on your connection speed).

Actual Solutions:

1) I will be notifying all three possible involved parties [HTC, Verizon, and Android], but I understand that it could be a while before they get an official update fix.

2) I would be nice to see a FREE third-party YouTube app hit the Android Market. As well as thrid-party alternatives for other apps that ship with the phone. That way, when problems like this happen, people have something to turn to. However, we DO have that handy m.youtube.com. On the iphone/ipod touch, I actually prefer the mobile YouTube over the native app. It provides more functionality and options.

3) HACK: I’m going to see if I can somehow grab the Droid’s YouTube app, and install it into the Droid Eris. If I succeed, I will post all findings right here on StagHacks.com.

People Having This Problem:

These are links from the first five pages of the Google search: “youtube videos wont play droid eris”

http://www.google.com/m?hl=en&gl=us&client=ms-android-verizon&source=android-browser-key&q=youtube+videos+wont+play+droid+eris
http://androidforums.com/htc-droid-eris/30729-my-eris-doesnt-play-youtube-other-internet-videos.html
http://forums.verizon.com/t5/Android-Devices/HTC-Droid-Eris-Cannot-Play-YouTube-Videos-Error-Message/m-p/139502
http://forums.verizon.com/t5/Android-Devices/Youtube-not-playing-on-Droid/td-p/134110
http://www.droidforums.net/forum/htc-droid-eris/9635-youtube-com-issues-2.html
http://forum.androidcentral.com/htc-droid-eris/4870-eris-cannot-play-youtube-videos.html
http://androidforums.com/htc-droid-eris/26958-most-youtube-videos-not-working-after-update.html
http://androidforums.com/htc-droid-eris/27472-droid-eris-messing-up-after-update.html
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/youtube/thread?tid=049b6f701bca5a25&hl=en
http://forums.crackberry.com/showthread.php?t=391585
http://community.vzw.com/t5/Android-Devices/Youtube-not-playing-on-Droid/m-p/135774
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/droideris
http://community.vzw.com/t5/Android-Devices/Youtube-not-playing-on-Droid/m-p/134452
http://theurbanblend.com/main/?p=366

Sign The Petition:

I hope all this information sheds some light on the topic and helps as many people as possible.
-PenguinPower247