yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] remics:
Hello all,

To me this whole thing looks like a processor failure. If there are people running the same OS build experiencing such different behavior, all related to the use of the tablet, then it is obvious the Tegra 3 processor is not behaving the same for everyone.

I am starting to think that ICS makes better use of the 4+1 cores + GPU and this is unearthing what seems to be poor design or bad fabrication of the Tegra chip. I would go with the latter on that one. Some of us are lucky and have hit a better chip, others are unlucky and have a rogue chip.

It would be interesting to see what is the distribution of users that are experiencing low to no freezes/reboots vs. those that are seeing this constantly.

Just as someone pointed out before, there is a matter of X-group vs Y-group of Primes. And since we've seen stories of same batch machines performing so differently I would say the motherboard and chips ought to be the same. Also judging from the fact that Gary himself said they are working with Nvidia to figure it out and adding in the fact that Google did not go with Tegra3 as the SoC of choice for ICS I dare say the Tegra 3 manufacturing process is not producing 100% functional chips.

It all points to this, I am waiting for Asus to prove me wrong and fix it for everybody without disabling any of the cores or crippling the functionality.

As for me and my experience... I can't do anything on the tablet without it rebooting every 5 minutes or so. If I just leave it sit idle, it will go on for hours. The moment I pick it up and fire up some application it starts misbehaving.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] arutha1979:
Assuming that X represents all the users that have constant lock-ups and "random" reboots, and that Y represents the users whose prime is functioning normally; isn't there a Z where the prime operates normally UNLESS you do something specific?

I own the prime since 14 january, updated right away to ICS, and I am experiencing "random" lock-ups and reboots. (the prime actually locked up during ICS upgrade...did ALL users with problems experience that?) Anyway, I can trigger lock-ups (and consequently a reboot) by either playing graphic-intensive games or using the stock browser (or any browser for that matter) for some time. Switching off javascript seemed to give me more time before a lockup of the browser (and eventually a reboot). For example, this forum would crash my prime pretty fast with javascript enabled. With javascript disabled, it still happens, but not as fast as before. Maybe other users can confirm this?

In contrast, if I use my prime solely for reading comics (using ComicRack) I still have to see the first lock-up or reboot.

Right before a lock-up and reboot I always notice some lag of android. This makes me think that there is a runaway app/service hogging cpu/gpu-time and/or memory. I'm wondering whether this is in someway related to a browser service and the lack of resources (i.e., cpu/gpu/memory) when android needs them. To Asus/Gary: in what cases should the hardware decide that a reboot should be done?

Is there an app for monitoring apps/services, cpu, gpu, and memory usage? Preferably one with the ability to write to a file log.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] remics:
There are dev settings that will display realtime info on the upper right side corner of the screen. Didn't help me much though.

Settings - Developer Options - Show CPU Usage

Let us know if you see a pattern there.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] drherron:
I can get a reboot every time I transfer a file 1 gig or larger from internal memory to microSD
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] ezzune:
Really? Mine reboots about half way through a 300mb file. I dread the idea of trying to do a whole gb.

Anyways, my prime is subject to the random reboots like many others on this thread, with mine rebooting every 2-3 minutes making its only sole use, a fancy coaster.

I have been very patient with this problem (had it since the prime first arrived and I updated to ICS) much like most others have, but would like to start seeing results and some actual use out of this very expensive coaster.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] seeknom:
At the very least, it would be nice if ASUS were to step up the communication a bit.

If you check the first post in this thread, the update from the 19th says "we still have another patch that is in qualification testing at NVIDIA to fully solve these problems."

I realize these things take time, but that was almost a week ago, and since then there have been no updates from ASUS with any "meat" to them.. they've all boiled down to "coming soon", or "customer hotline".

There's been nothing addressing when/if a fix is coming...ASUS needs to realize that customers typically only have a 14-day window to return a tablet if they are not happy with it.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] arutha1979:
Yeah, I found that option. No clue how it represents the cpu.

I see active (???) processes and some colored bars underneath them. And on top three numbers. Since the prime has 5 cpu's, I would expect five numbers. Also, what are the limits of those numbers? 0-2? 0-5? I expect the width of the bar to indicate how busy the cpu is (which one? does it even indicate cpu usage?) with that particular process? And again, what is the limit? There is no indication of the memory consumption of any process. At least, not that I know of. I also miss logging capabilities (over time) of this information and a file which can show me that information after a crash has happened.

Does anybody have any experience with Watchdog Task Manager? (can be found in the market).
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] ryanlaw.cs:
lockups

Can someone define how the lockup looks like? It is screen suddenly goes dark and shutdown? But you have to press the power button to boot up the tablet. Anyone?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] cotr:
Its more like a lockup (pause and no-response) followed by a black screen then a boot. No button pressing needed.

although one time it locked up on me and just played a high pitched whine until I did the forced reboot button press thing.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] remics:
The whole tablet freezes for about 2 seconds then it reboots itself. No power or any button need be pressed.

At least that's my experience with it.

More details: During the 2 second freeze the image on the display is stuck, no animations move or anything, there is no touch input registered whatsoever, and then it reboots, starts with the Eee Pad screen, then the Asus screen and back to desktop. Interesting thing is many times it will reboot several times in a row, like a boot loop that never gets past the Asus screen.

Very fancy paperweight this. I wouldn't use it as a coaster as it is so pretty, I wouldn't want to stain it.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] ryanlaw.cs:
Well, for my case...i need to press the power button in order to boot up...this is very depressing...

But most of the time,it happen normally i turn on Performance Mode.

Overheat? Hardware defects? Or software? Someone able to help?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] justmart:
My experience is while browsing.. NO matter what browser I use... I have like 5 to keep testing. I have Flash installed and I always use Performance mode. Yesterday it happened with You tube app. It just locked up and then reboot by itselft.

I have a friend that doesn't do much browsing and he always use Balance mode. He said it never happened to him.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] junrider:
My experience was that the whole screen would freeze and after 2 screen the prime would reboot. Then I have instances also when the screen freezes, it stays like that till I do a hard reset.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] ryanlaw.cs:
I really hope Asus able to see this... need to clarify with me before I actually need to send the unit back to the Asus service centre... :(
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] slayer69:
Did you do what I suggested? Watch your battery history often and look for battery spikes. What you described, sounds similar to what happened to my first prime....I just exchanged it.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] d.bobo:
Mine does the following:

1. The screen freezes for like 3 seconds (then i'm starting shouting at the thing)

2. The tablet shuts off (black screen and no activity for 1 sec)

3. Tablet vibrates like the one you get when you turn it on

4. Tablet shows the startup screen

That's the cicle over-and-over :'(
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] arutha1979:
The prime freezes on the screen it is showing at that moment for a couple of seconds (if you were playing music at that moment it will repeat the last tone), then reboot (i.e., black screen, `eee pad' screen, asus screen, android screen)
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] remics:
Oh, this is sad.

Called Asus service center today to complain about this behavior. The guy wouldn't even log a case for me, instead recommended I contact the seller for a refund.

So, the only solution to this issue seems to be: "Buy a different tablet"*

*or maybe my call was picked up by an operator fed up with all the calls and cases logged on this and decided to ease his workload.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] leo221:
sadly there's nothing they could do, I ran hoops with their support, time wasted with no solutions. I'm returning it.

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1462704
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] d.bobo:
Okay movie is fully played, the player stayed stable the whole time in the energy-saving mode. Now I'm gonna play the movie again in balanced mode :)
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] gbh62:
exactly the same for me...
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] cotr:
Incorrect. I am doing an RMA with an engineer tested unit delivered before I send mine back.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] oneandonlyetet:
another reboot last night while playing some games and music. couldn't say if this is the same issue because there was no lockup this time.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] PrimeTimeBro:
ummmm so two weeks knowing of this issue and Asus has made no progress?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Lee1972:
Did anyone send you a log? If so hows it look?

My Prime was OK on Honeycombe and the the first ICS update but when I installed the 9.4.2.11 update I get constant reboots, almost every few minutes. The tab is practically unusable, I only turn it on to see if there is an update.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] sjamesje:
Update - New Official Firmware from.11?

Hi Gary,

Any update on when the next update will be released? This issue has been well documented by now, and people are getting frustrated. I for one, refuse to take my tablet back. This is the one I want, I just want it fixed!
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] a Mandroid:
For those who want to keep your prime until there is an official fix for reboot issues, please try rooting the tablet using vipermod v4 and remove all the asus customizations (eg. com.asus.*) and mobile network (do a backup before you do it). It is quite easy, just follow the development thread, and if you still want to RMA after this, you can just 1-click unroot and restore asus customizations for warranty purposes.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] HOFFERN342:
I am not going to root my device :) I did that with my HTC Desire HD.. it got a hardware malfunction afterwards, and stopped working. Since it was rooted, I couldn't get it replace by warranty either. I am afraid that the tablet suddenly will start rebooting even more, so much that I won't be able to unroot it for example.

I would not recommend that anyone with little or no technical insight follows a Mandroid's example :)
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Bumble-Bee:
Iv looked at some information from some rebooting devices, seems a fix will be a new kernel (seems some hw will react in a strange way when shutting down a core). I'm sure this will be fixed in the next update, probably nvidia will have to check the solution Asus has made before its shipped to the masses.

PS

Removing Asus apps should not effect this.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Lee1972:
The sooner we get the bootloader unlock tool the better! Then we can have some proper devs work on kernels and roms unlike the Asus devs!
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Bumble-Bee:
Asus probably have a very good set of devs working on this. Issue is any fix they have will have to be verified. And a new os build needs to go though Google and maybe nvidia. This explains the delay ..... I'm guessing there will be an update soon
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] remics:
My Prime has been nicely packed back into original box with all the plastic wraps and all and awaiting confirmation from the seller as to the exact steps to get a refund.

I know I said I would wait 14 days but this is... again... ridiculous. I did not spend this much on a device only to have it sitting idle next to me while I frantically hit refresh on every forum covering this topic, hoping there is a ray of light for my case. These last 3 days, all I did was hit F5 on my browser tabs. Couldn't concentrate properly on my job, couldn't enjoy my usual habits at home, couldn't sleep well at night... all because my shiny, expensive, new device is really just a glorified paper weight.

As a recap of my experience:

1. Bought device with Honeycomb 3.2 preinstalled.

2. Booted it up after properly charging the battery and used it for a couple of hours, mostly setting it up and downloading items from the market. Didn't see many issues then.

3. Hit the About Tablet section in the Settings and was notified of updated firmware.

4. Allowed it to upgrade, update camera firmware and all.

5. All hell breaks loose. Tablet is completely unstable and completely unusable.

6. Tested GPS, just to confirm what was being written in the forums. Completely missing in action. I have left the tablet on GPS Test with the screen on for half an hour under the clear sky (maybe just a bit cloudy) and it never saw ONE sattelite. Minor issue though.

7. Called support and they told me to send it back to the seller for a refund.

8. At some point my frustration got to a point where I would either smash the damn thing to a million pieces or just send it back and save my money.

I will consider buying this or another Transformer tablet when such threads are no longer necessary.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] dabbill:
Gary updated the first post saying they have another update just about ready to be pushed out.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] krash:
Back on Jan 16 (10 days ago) I got an RMA# from Asus to return my Prime. The number is good for 30 days. I have been trying to wait as long as possible to see if there would be a software fix, before sending it in.

The rebooting problem seems to have actually gotten worse, which I do recall reading from several other users. I'm thinking about giving it another week or so and if there still isn't an update, I'm afraid I'm going to have to send it in.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] HOFFERN342:
I have also just gotten my RMA number from Asus, so that I can fill out the form and send it in.. but I will await a few more days to see if a fix is coming. I refuse to give up on the tablet, so if I am not getting a fix, Asus will take in my tablet and try to fix it or give me a new one running Honeycomb while i wait for ICS to become stable enough.

I do not want to wait half a year for a new good Android tablet showing up.. and if a worst case scenario happen.. I will have to buy the iPad 3 in Mars. Even tho it will not be able to fulfill all my needs.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Xiaoxion:
Lock Ups

What I have noticed is that changing the Mode (i.e. Power saving mode) seems to make the device less stable. From my testing, it appears that I can actually use the device about 1 hours longer than in balanced mode (which is 30mins to an hour), whereas in high performance is almost guaranteed to shut down within 5 mins.

Personally I believe it may be a mis-communication within the cores. I am not an expert, but I do play around with technology quite a bit in my field and my device seems to heat up (very minor heat expulsion for 1-2 secs) when the lock up happens and then shuts off(cools of just as quick).

Also, low power mode has a bit of a lag on more resource intensive application (almost unnoticeable until you use the device it in high performance mode which, may I say, is near flawless. Until it locks up...)
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] lonesomecowboy:
Thanks a lot this really help me. I guess xda should give you an award for being so stupid.

I don't get it at all?? let me laugh! Since when are you a representative of Asus?? what did you not understand when I wrote "Gary wake up please"?? Your name is gary perhaps...

So to answer your stupid post here are the facts :

I pre-order this device on December 19th expecting to get it for christmas.

I finally get it on January 17th and updated immediately to ICS.

Since then I can not use it because of reboots every 5 minutes.

I call the Asus support center on january 18th and guess what?? They don't know what's the issue!! So I got an RMA number and decided to look on Internet to have a better idea of possible issues.

Asus website?? no info. Asus support?? No info. (if this is not a lack of communication you have to explain me what communication means)!

Then I went on xda which as far as I know is a forum quite essentially made for tech geeks who have a quite good understanding of IT. How many owner of a TFP are logged on xda today?? How can you tell me that most people don't have issue? You have the statistics provided by the support center of Asus to say that for sure.

This forum is updated by Asus on a daily basis?? When was the last update?? One more time explain me what daily means cause I do not get it neither in that case.

Whooo finally you are true on one point, I was absolutely not forced to test the beta! But since this was the only way to try to make things going on I did it!

Am I honored? Do I think I have to be?? On what planet are you born?? (Reminder : I can not use my device since I have it)

If my post was the most ridiculous things you've ever read on a forum look at your two last post my friend...

I don't care that most people have no issue, I paid 600 dollars for my device and expect it to work without having to send it back at my expense to "hope" having one working back a few weeks later (reminder : I waited 1 month to have it). In addition I still do not now if it's an hardware issue that really need an RMA or if it's software and can be fixed.

And finally thank you for improving that forum by giving people a good idea of what can be the real problem on those device. Because I think now this is all that we want to know.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] PrimeTimeBro:
Not really sure why you or people in this situation are still putzing around here.... the solution is Very very simple..... return it to the store you bought it from for a full refund or exchange if they have them in stock and you want another one. This is what I did almost two weeks ago and now I have been happily using a good Prime and haven't looked back.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Spaz007:
+1 my new prime has worked for two days straight with no reboots. Only a few minor bugs now but that should be expected for the first ICS release.

Sent from my Thunderbolt
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] MrDreigon:
I'm not sure if my problem is the same as every else's, because the op doesn't go into to too much detail about the problems, so I will just tell you all what is happening with my device.

My screen will not turn on, even when the device is turned on. The touch screen still responds to touch and I can use the tablet exactly like normal, as though I was blind. I've tried plugging it in to my computer and using ddms to get screen captures to slowly navigate. I also tried the hdmi out and got the screen in real time (still pretty hard to navigate). Reseting, factory reseting, pinhole reseting fail to fix the problem.

Is this what half of you are experiencing, or in mine a new error?

I'd send mine back for a replacement, but the store I bought it from is out of stock, in America (I'm from Australia).
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] ezzune:
Anyone care to highlight this for me? I'm not seeing it....
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] junrider:
Hehe.. I did both.. I got 2 exchanges on one of the primes and when my wife's started the lock ups, reboots, lags, and such after the last update. We returned both for a full refund and never looked back. So happy I dont have to deal with buying faulty primes, I suggest it for anyone who are having constant problem with their primes to return it before its too late.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] clockwork58:
If I'm reading Gary's 1/25 update correctly, we can revert to HC by just putting the last HC version on a SD Card?

I only get a reboot once a day or once every few days.

I'll give it a shot tomorrow.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] darkphaux:
As of this news I am disappointed to say the least. I'm probably going to revert to make that nagging itch as to whether this is a software or hardware issue and I need to RMA.

Though my issues with ICS have been less extreme than many people's I'm still plaugedby infrequent reboots and various glitches, I am happy Asus took the plunge and offered us a way back.

Because not all ICS installs failed could we simply play ICS install roulette? Simply install and revert until it works?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] robstitt:
Interesting reading the directions things are taking...and my speculation.

If the hardware design doesn't properly cool the CPU, heavy loads could overheat it...that would cause problems to recur more frequently as the chip is more severely damaged. And, unfortunately, would take a significant engineering fix to avoid the issue.

Some software workarounds could be developed for that kind of situation, but those would most likely cause a significant reduction in the acclaimed speed as workload was artificially suppressed to keep the chip below "overheating" thresholds.

Even if the overheating was largely due to some faulty software causing a loop, etc., it still would point to a chip-cooling issue. A CPU really needs adequate cooling for its maximum rated workload.

I'm now quite glad that I got mine returned to my retailer while I could...since I'm seeing indications that this could be a more difficult fix than I was initially hoping for.

I just hope that they get it nailed down before the new tablets come out...I wonder how much of a delay there will be now?

In any case, if my thoughts are on target, it would be very wise to back off to Honeycomb ASAP--to prevent any more damage than has already occurred.

I was (and am) excited about this tablet and hope the issues get resolved soon!
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Lee1972:
I tried, doesnt see anything on the sd card, maybe doesnt let you downgrade or im doing something wrong!

Edit: yep, cant downgrade. I have firmware version 9.4.2.11 the latest on Asus site is 9.4.2.7.

I renamed it to 9.4.2.11 and it sees it as an update but doesnt install.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] jeffplourde:
So the interim solution is to revert back to honeycomb by downloading and flashing the latest ICS build? Does that make sense in some way that's evading me? And there's only a *chance* it will cure anything ... if I'm gutsy enough to try it? What?

Do try to have this sorted before MWC... it's going to be sad to see a bevy of shiny new tegra3 devices coming out .. when all my $600 bought me was a flaky (if beautiful) prototype.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Lee1972:
You cant downgrade, you can only install the firmware you already have on the Prime or newer firmware.