Latest OTA update on HTC EVO 3D (2.95.651.5) breaks Swype, causes headaches
Earlier this month, Sprint started rolling out an OTA update for the HTC EVO 3D, bumping the software up to version 2.95.651.5. This was supposedly a minor update over 2.95.651.4, with an almost-identical changelog, presumably just fixing a few bugs that the previous version had missed. Unfortunately, with this update came some massive headaches, the most annoying of which is that Swype no longer works.
This was first brought to our attention by reader Jeff, who explained the problem in depth:
Basically, the Swype keyboard shows the traceline of what you were trying to type, and nothing shows up in the text area you were typing in. In the area where Swype usually suggests a word, it says, “Please Try Again”
If you go to Settings > Language and Keyboard, the checkboxes for Swype and Touch input are checked, but they are disabled from updating. From there, if you click on Default, change it to Touch Input, and go back to a text area to type in, obviously now you’re using the standard keyboard. But go back to Settings > Language and Keyboard and switch to Swype, the next time you go to a text area, the following error is displayed: This version of Swype has an invalid license and will operate with limited functionality. Beta users please run the installer again. All others contact Swype about this issue.
That error is only displayed once, unless you switch back to Touch Input and back to Swype again.
This information was confirmed by a quick search in the Sprint Community forums. I was able to find at least two threads (here and here) in which users were experiencing the same issue. Apparently, a hard reset doesn’t fix the issue, and one person even claimed that a Sprint rep simply advised him to upgrade to a new phone!
Perhaps the most infuriating aspect of all this is that the main reason updates take so long in the first place is the supposedly stringent carrier approval process that each new update must go through before rolling out. How could such an obvious mistake be missed?
Hopefully, Sprint and HTC will get their acts together and figure out what’s up. In the meantime, if you’re lucky enough to have avoided the update, we recommend waiting a bit longer until a fix comes along. If you have updated, there are two fixes:
- Root and install a custom ROM that uses the 2.95.651.4 base. Lots of users are reporting better luck with this software, anyway.
- Remain unrooted and install the Swype Beta – you can install it alongside your preinstalled version of Swype, and you’ll get the added benefit of getting updates quickly and more frequently.
Thanks, Jeff!
