Dell Venue 8 Pro Touch Sensitivity

I've just purchased another Venue 8 Pro. The nominal difference between the two devices I now own is that the first one is of the 64GB variety, while the second one has only 32GB storage. - But in reality, there is another, striking difference between the two: The 64GB model's screen, if used with auto-brightness, tends to be on the yellowish side and attempting to adjust screen brightness while auto-brightness is enabled has only a very limited effect. On the 32GB model, the screen tends to be blueish but can very well be adjusted while auto-brightness is active. With regard to touch issues: While the latest touch firmware (Jan. 02) almost fixed things for my 64GB model, it did close to nothing to improve things on my 32GB model. To me, this sounds as if there are (at least) two different hardware revisions being sold ...

Just as a reference I have the 32gb version and the firmware update did make at large difference the touch issue. 

I would not suggest anyone try to calibrate their Venue Pro's unless you have an OTG cable.  I luckily had one when I did it and I have to say that the chance of it causing an issue is very good.  I also did not notice much of a difference once I had a good calibration.  I ended up resetting the calibration because even when I had a good calibration with working charms bar I started having issues swiping down from the top.  If you are in need of a OTG usb cable I saw some at my local Home Depot in the cable/phone section near the HDMI cables.  This may help someone who is stuck and in need of one. 

I used the tablet in the Folio case last night in bed for about two hours, and while I didn't do those specific tests, I'm sure at some point I performed all of those tasks.  

I do not use the desktop version however, I use the metro version of IE, so I'm not sure what kind of difference that makes.  

I think in two hours of constant use I had maybe 2-3 times where it zoomed in inadvertently while I was scrolling.   Absolutely no problems editing text in precise locations, that's much of what I was doing for the time period.  

Videos in youtube at least I didn't have a problem placing the video where I wanted to via touch input.  This is with my finger, no stylus.  

There is only 1 update that you need to be concerned with in regards to the touch issue and it is marked as urgent "panel touch firmware for Dell venue 8 pro 5830" as far as I know.  It is a good idea to update all drivers and then nitrate somewhere the date of your last update so you will know when new updates come in.  I know there should be an easier method, but at this point I haven't found one.   I do not find the analyze tool accurate so I think it's pointless to use.   

Yes, no stylus just finger.

So you got 1 out of the 3 problems, and the one was there, but a few times. It actually didn't happen to me while typing. Since that was most of what you did, I would think it didn't happen often either...except when browsing.

Web browsing is likely 70% or more of what I do with the tablet, so I put that in high priority. If I can't browse without issues, than I might as well not use it when I have the iPad or phone next to me.

I just tried to have the Dell Analyze System detect to see if there are any more updates, because I have the 2 other issues which maybe due to drivers? but the AnalyzeDetect now keeps failing! Hmmm.

Manual driver install works, except I don't know which has already been performed. So doing them all is the only way to be sure.

I've been monitoring this thread since early December and thought I'd chime in and share my experience with the V8P and its flaky & inreliable touch response.

I'm now on my 3rd V8P tablet...

Device #1 arrived from Dell with some dead pixels. I contacted Dell Support and they agreed to replace the device. While waiting for the replacement to arrive, I used my original device (just a few dead pixels, so it was still usable). I quickly noticed that the touch was flaky and the device was pretty difficult to use. The onscreen keyboard was especially painful due to single taps getting interpreted as multiple taps. I figured the device was defective and a replacement was on the way... not a big deal.

Device #2 arrived (after a few delays) and I immediately noticed the touch was no better than Device #1. I installed all available updates/firmware from Dell. This didn't help, so again I contacted Dell Support. The support engineer connected remotely to my device and make it very clear to me that she had no idea what was going on. After 2 hours of watching the engineer tweak random mouse settings in the control panel, she launched the Tablet PC Settings touch screen calibration. I informed her that the issue wasn't due to bad calibration. She disregarded and moved forward. After she incorrectly calibrated the display, I had to break out my OTG cable and use a mouse to reset the display calibration in order to log back into the device. Finally, she decided this device must be defective and informed me that yet another replacement device would be sent to me.

Device #3 arrived the other day... Big surprise, touch is still broken. I'll be contacting Dell once again. This time, however, it will be for a full refund.

Some observations...

1. I have used several Windows 8 touch devices and the V8P is the only device where I've had problems with touch. In fact, I have an Acer Iconia W3 (another 8inch Windows 8 device). While the Acer has it's own shortcomings, touch works flawlessly. I've also used a handful of Lenovo devices, the Microsoft Surface RT, and Surface Pro. No touch issues with any of these devices...
2. I work a lot with my hands and as a result, my skin is a bit dry and my fingertips calloused. I was suspicious that maybe the combination of dry & calloused skin, along with poor design of the V8P's active digitizer might be the culprit. However, I've attempted to use a capacitive stylus (2 different ones, actually) and the results are no better.
3. This is the 1st time I've purchased a Dell product for personal use, and I couldn't be more disappointed. Obviously, I'm not the only one having this problem, yet I haven't seen any statement or response from Dell. If Dell doesn't stand by its products and chooses to neglect an obvious issue that affects multiple customers, I'll take my business elsewhere.

I also have the same issues. I have 2 venues 8, and the Asus T100A, the Asus works perfect, did all  the updates without issues.

The Dell's on the other hand is tricky. You can't install all the updates as your WiFi will break and have to do a restore. Then upgraded the bios and lost the advanced menus in bios and my SD card went to 1/2 speed.  So I figured out how to downgrade the bios and fixed that. Now my touchscreen is crazy. 

Well the touch issues started when I put the screen protector on. I have no issues on the Asus with the same brand protector though.  Looks like i'll have to throw away my $10 screen protector to type normal again. 

Dell give us a tool to adjust screen sensitivity please. I do love my venue, and mainly use with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse so not to big of a deal right now.  Also fix the updates stuff, why after I install the Dell updates does it still show them even if installed? Little stuff goes a long way with your customers.

Chris

My 2 cents...

1) There's no reason that one shouldn't be able to use this device with a screen protector. I've used screen protectors on several touch devices and never had any issue. If the touch response of the device is so severely degraded when a screen protector is applied, then why is Dell advertising and selling the 3M protector for the V8P? Sorry, Dell, but this is unacceptable.

2) The screen surface on the V8P is more susceptible to scratching than any other touch device I've owned or used. On my 1st V8P device (which has since been replaced by Dell due to dead pixels) I noticed a few light surface scratches after one day of very light use and absolutely no abuse whatsoever. The device was never subjected to anything sharp or abrasive. It was simply unboxed, used for a few hours, then powered off and slipped into a soft/cushioned tablet case. I noticed a few light scratches when I removed it from the case the next day. That's when I started to wonder about the glass. A quick search on the web revealed that others have inquired about this. I recall a thread on one forum where someone had asked 3 different Dell reps what glass was used for the screen on the V8P and got 3 different answers...

• Answer #1: Scratch Resistant Gorilla Glass
• Answer #2: Scratch resistant (but not Corning brand Gorilla Glass).
• Answer #3: Non-scratch resistant.

Based on my experience, I tend to believe Answer 3. If this is true and the screen has no scratch resistant properties, then folks should be able to apply a protective film without experiencing degraded touch response (like every other touch device I've ever used).

Yea, I wasted like 30 bucks already just to test out different screen protectors including 3M protector from Dell, and all get problem with multiple characters.

I was going to peel off the protector and use it, but if it's not scratch resistant, oh well, i don't want to take risk scratching without protector.  or should I get refund and get new Asus vivotab note 8 with wacom?

There is no way Dell used a regular glass on these tablets. That would be a total disregard to their company reputation as people will find if these screens are so easily scratched. 

I'm betting these are some sort of hardened glass (maybe not Gorilla glass).

I too wasted $$ buying SP for my DV11Pro and promptly pulled it off as the double tapping issue was unbearable. It still happens occasionally with bare screen but it's much better than before. Still really disappointed a reputable company like Dell can't get the MOST FUNDAMENTAL feature of a tablet such as touch operation right. Kinda sad.

I was trying to look up the Dell Rep who posted in this topic about the firmware update and I find it odd that all his posts/replies are now removed...

It's likely because Dell is refusing to officially acknowledge this problem. If they don't respond to this thread or any others (and just delete their old posts), they can still claim they are unaware of this issue. I've been told numerous times by their customer support that they are unaware of it. There is no way in hell that's possible, I'm pretty sure EVERY SINGLE V8P has this problem at least to some extent. I have been going back and forth with their customer service both over the phone and on Facebook and have gotten absolutely nowhere. I have Amazon sending me a replacement tablet but I expect it to have the same problem. If it does, then I am just returning it altogether. Between their faulty tablet , their failure to acknowledge and fix it, and pretty much the worst customer service I have ever dealt with, I will NEVER buy another Dell product again. I will also do my damndest to make sure none of my friends or colleagues buy from Dell as well. I am the one everybody listens to so if I say don't buy it, they won't. I was hyping this thing to everybody at first, but Dell really dropped the ball. Not only did they just lose a customer, but they lost an advocate as well. 

Yeah. I gotta say that it's one of the most baffling things that I've seen in a long time from a PR perspective.

I've been using mine without a screen protector and I have very few issues since I "reset" the calibration. I really like it a lot. However, there are some issues and I'm wondering if there's a comparable Win 8 tablet out there for the price. The Asus T100, perhaps? Either that or go all the way up to a Surface 2 Pro, but really don't want to spend that type of scratch on a consumption tablet. Open to ideas - have any of you settled on something else that you really like??

Wow, 6 pages and Dell support can't acknowledge anything, maybe that were looking at the issue?  The only feedback I seem to see is when someone post in the threads saying they talked to Dell support and said "dkdkdkdk" and they post it here or that they were on the phone for 3hrs and nothing...:(  Cmon Dell get to work, it's not to hard to quote these threads and send these to some important dell people and get the attention we deserve.  

Chris