Live Tiles

[jabtano]

Has anyone else noticed that live tiles have stopped updating. mine have. three apps that I use the most just stopped updating. it all stated with the T-MO pre NoDo.. yesterday when I got NoDo I was hoping that it would have corrected wrong.Clevertodo..smart tile and a stock app. dam it

 

[Duvi]

mine works... i just started using WeatherBug Elite and it's been updating.

 

[TheWeeBear]

Mine are still working fine after the NoDo update too, Weatherbug, Weather Channel, Flickr etc all working and updating as normal.

 

[jabtano]

Yes they do work on mine as well it's just that others all stopped at the same time.Clevertodo..smart tile and a stock app. are currently the ones jammed. even after uninstall and re downloading the apps didn't help.

 

[TheWeeBear]

Perhaps it's something to do with the 15 live tile limit which causes a bottleneck and tiles stop updating. Not sure.

 

[sketchy9]

This is a long but very informative look at live tile implementation on WP7:

The Live Tile Debacle – And A Solution That Works!

The upshot is that live tiles are fundamentally flawed as currently implemented due to the 15 app limit, but there is a fairly straightforward way that Microsoft could fix it IF they choose to. It's anybody's guess when or if they will. Until then I am going to be cautious about what apps I install and hope that I can stay far far away from the limit.

-R

 

[gibbyhome]

mine works... i just started using WeatherBug Elite and it's been updating.

I just looked for the weatherbug elite ? I can't find no Elite ?
are you fooling us

 

[Duvi]

I just looked for the weatherbug elite ? I can't find no Elite ?
are you fooling us

lol... i just have too many devices, sorry.

it's just WeatherBug. i actually just installed Elite on my Atrix as it was free through Amazon a couple days ago.

 

[jabtano]

This 15 app limit is that 15 apps that have live tiles, or is that just 15 apps and or games? this number 15 apps sounds crazy so you only can have 15 apps and the live tiles stop? I don't have 15 live tile apps loaded on start. Guess the only option would be is to reset the device and just load the apps that I need on start which is why I bought this device in the first place.

Looks to me that having just 15 apps is sort of a dumb thing for MS to have put in.

 

[Ivan006]

The weather channel app works fine for me. It's really the only live tile appi have running.

Sent from my LG Quantum using Board Express

 

[Rico]

You can have a maximum of 15 third party live tile apps on your home screen. This doesn't include the first party live tile apps like messaging and email. The vast majority of people aren't going to be hitting that limit any time soon.

Sent from my SGH-i917 using Board Express

 

[jimski]

The problem is with the Endpoints registry key. Once it get cluttered, new live tiles will not work. Problem is that many live tile apps mysteriously disconnect and when they reconnect they write (or try) to write another entry to that key. If the key is full and existing live tile app can't reregister. Some apps (SmartTile) never seem to disconnect so will continue to work. Others like WeatherBug disconnect every few days and when they reconnect (after refreshing, toggling or reinstalling) they add another key till it gets clogged. So your tiles can suddenly stop working with only a few live tiles installed over time. Flixter is the only app I have found so far tha seems to follow the proper process of adding/deleting keys depending on its live tile setting status. Its all a big mess right now.

Sent from my HTC Surround using Board Express

 

[jabtano]

I went and uninstalled a few apps with live tiles to see if it would help. smart tile is one I use a lot that has now stopped working along with clever-to-do and my stock app. I'll just bring it back to factory settings and place the three apps I use the most on only. the point of the live tiles is a big selling factor. I'm not sure if 15 shouldn't be higher. also perhaps rather than have apps push to live tile maybe a pull would be better?

 

[jimski]

BTW, I have 8 "push" live tiles and a total of 46 tiles on my Start screen. So the 15 has nothing to do with static tiles. Also some tiles like Weather Channel and UrbanDictionary are "pull" tiles and have nothing to do with the 15 live tile limit. They should continue to work even after "push live tiles stop due to the clogged registry key.

The 15 "push" live tile limit would theoretically work if all apps adhered to the process of removing registry keys when they disconnected from the live tile channel. But as some apps never delete and continue to add registry keys, the limit is a moot point.

Sent from my HTC Surround using Board Express

 

[jimski]

@jabyano: That is exactly the problem. When live tiles stop working (because the reg key is full of entries not properly deleted) users like you or me will uninstall/reinstall other live tile apps, killing off the ones that were working. Clearing the key (with a dev unlocked device) or hard resetting will clear the problem. As noted SmartTile appears to be stable (but not perfect). Have not used the other two apps you mentioned so can't comment. But you may want to avoid WeatherBug as that will keep adding key entries needlessly every few days till you get plugged up again.

Sent from my HTC Surround using Board Express

 

[jabtano]

@jimski, I took weather bug out. along with a bunch of other apps. I've done everything short of resetting the device I't just a hassle to do that putting everything back in.. But at this point I think that's what it will come down too. Guess it would be best to start off with a clean slate again.

 

[Luisraul924]

Jabtano, you can pin as many tiles on the start screen as you want I'm sure you're aware of that, the 15 live tile limit only applies to actual live tiles that provide notifications of some sort and that's only for 3rd party live tiles too so you can have all the native live tiles pinned along with 15 marketplace downloaded apps that have live tiles (if you can find that many that you actually use, I know I can't)

Sent from my HD7 using Board Express

 

[jimski]

@jabyano.. Problem is that of all the live tile apps I have tested, and that's about 12 so far, only Flixter reliably removes the key from HKLM/Software/Microsoft/PushClient/Endpoints registry key, when you disable the live tile feature and/or delete the app. None of the other apps I have tried disabling or deleting remove this key. Plus as noted, some apps create an additional key when they disconnect and then later reconnect when you open the app. When Endpoints reaches 15 entries any new installs/reconnects will not work any longer.

I hard reset my phone to test this and paid to dev unlock my phone to research the registry. With 8 live tiles, my Endpoints registry key gets up to 15 entries within a week or two because of apps adding additional entries. All I do is delete the Endpoint key and everything starts working again till the next time the contents of the key builds up.

If you don't have a way to dev unlock (using Chevron for example) you can't access the registry, so a hard reset is the only solution to getting your live tiles back. I can tell you MS is looking at this but a fix could take them months. I am trying to find a dev who will create an homebrew app to delete this key. Want to submit it to Marketplace knowing it will be rejected but then call Microsoft out on this. They need to address it now. Sorry the news is not better. Hard reset sucks but my phone is actually working better since then. I have deleted the contents of this key a half dozen times in tests and all my tiles are working. I have a Surround but this has also been done successfully on an HD7 and Focus so far.


Sent from my HTC Surround using Board Express

 

[jimski]

@Luisraul924 - Yes, the limit is 15 live tiles but some apps don't play well and add additional entries to the registry, reducing the actual numbe of slots. And you have to be cautious because some apps, like eBay register a key as soon as you open the app the first time even if you don't enable live tile support. So you have to be careful what you install.

Sent from my HTC Surround using Board Express

 

[Luisraul924]

Well good thing I don't actually use any live tiles lol and they should most definitely release a patch for that asap. I'm sure they'll increase the limit of live tiles but that can wait until Mango, the current fifteen need to be fixed... As for attempting to "submit, reject, callout Microsoft" for this registry issue, I'm inclined to think they'd probably just blame the devs for improper coding... Is this an OS issue or an app issue? I know you can look at it either way but if apps aren't being coded the way they're supposed to by not cleaning up after themselves then... It would technically be an app issue right?