MID7042 - No email notifications or alarms during sleep mode

[rsk002]

I recently bought this MID7042 tablet from Frys and settled on the unit I got on the second device exchange. The first had a problem with the screen and wifi (kept getting interruptions and buffering on netflix). The second would not stay connected to wifi unless I stood right next to the router and even then wifi would die after 10 mins or so. The third unit seems to be better by far though the screen is still a bit dim for my taste.

I rooted the tablet (without flashing a custom rom) and installed gapps. All seems to work fine in this regard. However, I don't get email notifications (using standard email app) or alarms when the device is in sleep mode (screen off). The pending notifications all pop-up at the same time when I unlock the screen. On the good side, running apps seem to stay connected (Pandora, Tunein) when I turn the screen off by pressing the power button. But even these eventually die after some time.

Anyone else experienced this behavior? Could it be a hardware issue?

TIA.

 

[bvn]

Me too. I called Coby and confirmed that "sleep & no alarm" is a bug. I have an RMA to return the unit to B&H

It runs NetFlix just fine, especially with the micro HDMI hooked up to a TV.
--- TTFN

 

[leeshor]

Welcome to the forum rsk002

My experience has been that the WiFi problems you are experiencing are frequently due to a communications issue with the router. Some tablets are more sensitive to certain channels that other and some tablets may not work when all the phones and other WiFi devices will. A good start is a power cycle of your router, then you could download WiFi Analyzer to see if the channel you are using may be in conflict with another access point.

 

[Frederuco]

RSK, is your WiFi set to be off during sleep? If so, this could be why you are not receiving notifications when the tablet is sleeping. Turing on WiFi during sleep will also reduce the battery life of your tablet.

Some apps have permissions to override this setting to keep working (like Pandora).

Also, thanks for joining us here.

 

[rsk002]

Welcome to the forum rsk002

My experience has been that the WiFi problems you are experiencing are frequently due to a communications issue with the router. Some tablets are more sensitive to certain channels that other and some tablets may not work when all the phones and other WiFi devices will. A good start is a power cycle of your router, then you could download WiFi Analyzer to see if the channel you are using may be in conflict with another access point.

Thanks for the welcome.

I have confirmed that wifi is not the issue here. It works fine at all times and resumes within 5 secs when coming out of standby. The problem appears to be that the device supports only "deep sleep".

 

[rsk002]

RSK, is your WiFi set to be off during sleep? If so, this could be why you are not receiving notifications when the tablet is sleeping. Turing on WiFi during sleep will also reduce the battery life of your tablet.

Some apps have permissions to override this setting to keep working (like Pandora).

Also, thanks for joining us here.

I have checked the wifi sleep policy. I have set it to "Always" which in ICS appears to mean always on. Changing this does not seem to have any effect at all though. I used one of the Wifi locker apps from market and while it kept the wifi on during sleep (ping test), it did nothing to solve the problem as there were still no notifications, audible or otherwise, during standby/sleep. I called Coby support and received about the same answer as bvn (above) except that I was told not expect features equivalent to the ipad on a coby tablet that costs less than 200 bucks.