Management of failures in wireless field devices

Abstract

A fault remediation system for fielded wireless mobile devices addresses field failure data collection, consolidation of field failure data, and an information services platform so that the players in a wireless/mobile broadcast/broadband application/service value chain to respond to field failure problems in a consistent and automated manner from wireless/mobile devices over wireless multicast and or wireless broadband networks. An elegant and extremely flexible mechanism enables the failure data collection from a targeted set of wireless/mobile devices. In addition, sophisticated mechanisms identify targeted set of devices that should participate in field failure data collection based on user specified operational requirements (e.g., selected OEM, device configuration type, subscribers to a specific wireless broadband serve, failure occurrence certain time limits, etc.). The fault data logging on the mobile device is vertically integrated to allow diagnosis and assignment to a responsible party for fixing, testing, and release with subsequent certification and deployment.

Description

technical field [0001] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to communication systems for selectively collecting and analyzing fault data from a large number of mobile communication devices, and more particularly, to specific software and hardware components. Background technique [0002] Advances in technology have resulted in smaller and more powerful personal computing devices. For example, there currently exist a variety of portable personal computing devices including wireless computing devices, such as portable wireless telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and paging devices, each of which are small, lightweight, and easily carried by users. Consumers are increasingly provided with many types of electronic devices equipped with an array of software applications. Different functions such as e-mail, Internet browsing, playing games, address book, calendar, media player, e-book reading, voice communication, directory services, etc. An optional application...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

This results in shorter time-to-market and enhanced expectations for service, application and device reliability

The testing process to ensure the reliability and quality of various mobile / wireless devices, services and / or applications before they go to market has become very complex

Furthermore, simulating all types of field failure conditions in a laboratory environment, besides consuming time and resources, does not provide an adequate infrastructure for discovering potential defects that cause failures in hardware and software systems

However, this ecosystem partner is often faced with critical decisions for which there is not enough critical testing or data to establish hardware and software reliability

[0006] After activation of a mobile device or application or service, latent defects manifested in on-site conditions often result in: (a) increased call volume due to customer complaints; (b) insufficient information to replicate conditions leading to failure , so the actual defect cannot be troubleshooted and isolated; (c) increased time to isolate the defect and assign ownership; (d) lost revenue due to increased user turnover; (e) re-calling a large number of devices causes all loss of revenue to participants; and (f) poor customer satisfaction

[0007] However, wireless / mobile devices and the communication networks that serve them are still constrained by the capabilities available to deal with the problem

Excessive emphasis on isolating defects can come at the expense of the ability of these devices to perform their intended functions, resulting in reduced quality of service and performance, and therefore customer satisfaction with fault-free devices

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