Avast WEBforum

Consumer Products => Avast Mobile Apps => Avast Anti-Theft for Android => Topic started by: REDACTED on April 14, 2015, 02:12:24 AM

Title: "We are unable to contact your device"
Post by: REDACTED on April 14, 2015, 02:12:24 AM
I am attempting to setup anti-theft free on a Galaxy S4... just updated with lollipop.  It looks like everything is correct, the web portal says it is installed on the device and has obviously communicated with it... however, if I click LOCATE (the button says "off" but it is clickable so I assume that it should work), the page pops up a message saying "trying to contact your device"... then, after awhile says "We are unable to contact your device"...
- I tried CONTACT DEVICE to send a message to the phone... same result.
- I Tried switching off wireless in case there is a firewall issue and maybe only DATA will work... still no luck.
- I refreshed the page and the battery state changed and it says "last communication two minutes ago"... but still no action

SO, what's up?  I saw another post a month ago with a similar question and no response.  Some folks obviously must have it working.

Not impressed.
Title: Re: "We are unable to contact your device"
Post by: REDACTED on April 14, 2015, 10:31:45 AM
Hi I had this problem - I just kept fiddling and it eventually cam =e back ok - but this must be an issue since many have it.
Title: Re: "We are unable to contact your device"
Post by: REDACTED on April 14, 2015, 10:43:09 AM
Hi
I have just lost contact with my phone again! trying a locate option
does not seem very reliable!
Title: Re: "We are unable to contact your device"
Post by: REDACTED on April 14, 2015, 06:43:03 PM
If you find out what "fiddling" does the trick, PLEASE post it, so I can try it.  Good/Bad to know I'm not alone, but it would be better to find the solution.  The other thread from March was:

https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=166118.msg1200101 (https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=166118.msg1200101)

I hesitate to purchase the premium version to see if it fixes the problem.  If I KNEW it would do it, I'd probably pay for the functionality.

Thanks,
- jack
Title: Re: "We are unable to contact your device"
Post by: REDACTED on April 14, 2015, 09:27:49 PM
Sorry have given up and deleted avast.  But did find if you go into phone admin (dial avast pin) and scroll thru menus you should find test connection or similar.

Sorry cant help more but my version of avast seems to have become unstable setting itself off with no trigger.

Bye
Title: Re: "We are unable to contact your device"
Post by: REDACTED on April 14, 2015, 11:58:36 PM
thanks! I did test the connection from the phone and that worked fine, just not from the web.

what other anti-theft solution are you trying??  and does it actually work?
Title: Re: "We are unable to contact your device"
Post by: REDACTED on April 23, 2015, 01:13:02 AM
I've tried a million times, no support, no contact. I've been paying for premium for a long time now too
Title: Re: "We are unable to contact your device"
Post by: REDACTED on May 08, 2015, 06:55:49 PM
Same problem for me.

Samsung Galaxy S4
KitKat 4.4.2
avast! 4.0.7884

I've tried from the web interface to locate of to send a message.
My device is found (avast! reports ip address, battery status, etc...)
But locating or sending ends with "We are unable to contact ..."

Regards.
Francis
Title: Re: "We are unable to contact your device"
Post by: REDACTED on May 10, 2015, 06:12:27 PM
Same problem for me.

Samsung Galaxy S4
KitKat 4.4.2
avast! 4.0.7884

I've tried from the web interface to locate of to send a message.
My device is found (avast! reports ip address, battery status, etc...)
But locating or sending ends with "We are unable to contact ..."

Regards.
Francis

Thank you very much for this comment.  I was about to try to downgrade my phone from Lollipop back to KitKat
http://www.androidpit.com/how-to-downgrade-galaxy-s5-from-lollipop-to-kitkat (http://www.androidpit.com/how-to-downgrade-galaxy-s5-from-lollipop-to-kitkat)
in the hope that Anti-Theft would then work properly for me.  It appears that it is NOT just the new Android version that causes the problem.  You have saved me a lot of useless effort!
Title: Re: "We are unable to contact your device"
Post by: REDACTED on May 22, 2015, 09:00:52 AM
Hi,
can anyone help a new user with a similar problem to the above. I have purchased premium and installed on an unrooted Galaxy Ace2 with 4.4.1. I can always send a message to the phone; location and tracking are working fine with no delay. However "Get Data" and "Take Picture" always present the "We are unable to contact device" message. Most frustrating as these two items were the main reason for me to purchase. Clearly, Avast is able to contact the phone but not for these two menu items. does anyone have a solution to this?
Kabe
Title: Re: "We are unable to contact your device"
Post by: REDACTED on June 10, 2015, 11:03:34 PM
I have the same issue. Galaxy S4 on lollipop. Connects from phone but not from web. Tried using every option to contact my phone but none works. Any help would be nice.
thanks
Title: Re: "We are unable to contact your device"
Post by: REDACTED on June 14, 2015, 09:28:40 PM
Have the same problem w/premium.  Contacted support: after standard runaround (i.e., what version Avast? what version Anti-Theft; uninstall / reinstall) they sent me a new version of anti-theft to install.  It worked for a day but now doesn't.  Avast's server is clearly communicating with the phone -- it knows battery level, for example -- but times out when I request location, saying that it cannot contact phone.  This is clearly Avast's problem and if you're considering premium I'd hold off until it is reported fixed.
Title: Re: "We are unable to contact your device"
Post by: REDACTED on June 15, 2015, 06:05:06 PM
Same problem.

Can anyone recommend a different app that actually works?

Anyone else notice that none of the problems brought up on this forum are actually adressed by Avast?
Title: Re: "We are unable to contact your device"
Post by: REDACTED on June 22, 2015, 01:43:11 AM
Mine was the gps was off on my s4.
Title: Re: "We are unable to contact your device"
Post by: REDACTED on July 06, 2015, 02:21:33 AM
I never got this message, but only because I was unable to get this program to work (or even complete setup). All I can recommend is uninstallation (or submit a support ticket).
Title: Re: "We are unable to contact your device"
Post by: REDACTED on August 03, 2015, 05:24:55 AM
I too facing the below issue.

 just updated with Android lollipop.  It looks like everything is correct, the web portal says it is installed on the device and has obviously communicated with it... however, if I click LOCATE (the button says "off" but it is clickable so I assume that it should work), the page pops up a message saying "trying to contact your device"... then, after awhile says "We are unable to contact your device"...
- I tried CONTACT DEVICE to send a message to the phone... same result.
- I Tried switching off wireless in case there is a firewall issue and maybe only DATA will work... still no luck.
- I refreshed the page and the battery state changed and it says "last communication two minutes ago"... but still no action when we perform Locate.

Please help.

Thanks,
--Vijay
Title: Re: "We are unable to contact your device"
Post by: REDACTED on August 12, 2015, 12:23:32 AM
I am having the same problem on my rooted Samsung Note 3 - from the web it says I can't contact my phone - from my phone in Avast Count / Fix Connection Problems it has problems and none of the proposed solutions work.

This used to work. It sees the position of my phone from 1 week ago, but not any more.

Anybody made any progress on this?
Title: Re: "We are unable to contact your device"
Post by: REDACTED on August 31, 2015, 03:51:54 PM
I have same problem. Avast support told me to remove my devices from my.avast and re add them. It helped....for a day or two and again same problem!
Title: Re: "We are unable to contact your device"
Post by: REDACTED on September 04, 2015, 06:28:45 AM
This has been an issue for a long time.
I believe the problem is that when the device goes to "sleep", Web commands aren't coming through.

What I found that helps SOMETIMES is when you call the device or send an sms which wakes the device up, and if you send the web command right then, it goes through most of the time.

I think there maybe no easy fix for this as if antitheft mobile keeps the device awake all the time to be able to receive Web commands it would just drain the device's battery. On the other hand there are lots of various messaging apps that are able to receive messages even when the device is sleeping, so maybe there is a fix.
On the other hand the send commands expire way too soon on my.avast portal, I think it should keep trying for a while longer.

In any case I'm very disappointed that these essential commands don't work and I've been paying premium for a year now or maybe longer.
Title: Re: "We are unable to contact your device"
Post by: REDACTED on September 04, 2015, 07:09:51 AM
Taking my previous comment back. The little trick I described used to work before, but I just tried to send some Web commands to my device from browser running on my device! It didn't work! The phone was as awake as it can be, I was holding it in my hand trying to send some commands. It didn't work.

It might be a time to look for the alternative solution as these are the functions that I need in case my and/or my wife's mobiles are lost or stolen, and that is why I've been paying for premium!
Title: Re: "We are unable to contact your device"
Post by: REDACTED on September 07, 2015, 06:09:26 PM
got also this sort of problem, just that i tryed to turn on the "alert" or something, wich worked, but now i am unable to turn it off again! wich basicly means that my phone keeps telling me that it's "lost or stolen" with a nasty alert sound all the time and i just can't figure out how to turn it off again. my wireless doesn't work, even though it get's shown as working, and i'm also unable to connect to it through the phone network.. i just don't know what to do anymore. in fact i always liked avast products, but this sucks!
Title: Re: "We are unable to contact your device"
Post by: REDACTED on September 08, 2015, 10:38:13 AM
ok, i certainly won't use antitheft anymore, cause i could actually remove it as "device-admin" and after i could UNINSTALL it! sorry, but this shouldn't have been possible at all! at least now the problem with the alert is solved  :o
Title: Re: "We are unable to contact your device"
Post by: REDACTED on September 12, 2015, 03:35:08 AM
ok, i certainly won't use antitheft anymore, cause i could actually remove it as "device-admin" and after i could UNINSTALL it! sorry, but this shouldn't have been possible at all! at least now the problem with the alert is solved  :o
Yes it's that easy if your phone isn't rooted. On rooted phones with rooted installations it's not that simple.
Title: Re: "We are unable to contact your device"
Post by: REDACTED on November 20, 2015, 08:22:13 AM
So this isn't fixed and Avast just keeps quiet and does sh*t? Not a single reply from them?
Not cool.