14 DAY TRIAL // The Pre has been in the wild only for a few days, yet it seems that Palm is already determined to offer support for those who might be facing some problems with their devices. The phone maker has made available for download the “webOS Doctor for Palm Pre for Sprint,” a tool meant to offer users the possibility to easily restore their devices in the event that they freeze while performing an update.
And since the first update for the Pre has already been spotted in the wild, the webOS Doctor should really come at hand. According to Palm, the Pre should not normally freeze during a software update, yet this might happen when the battery is removed from the device during the process. At the same time, the company also notes that the tool restores the phone's functionality and “updates it to the latest versions of the operating system and other system software.”
In case the phone freezes, Palm says, the screen will look like in the image attached to this article. In case the Pre does not respond to any taps or key presses, this means that it has bricked, and the webOS Doctor comes in and tries to restore the phone. One thing that should be noted though is the fact that any personal data on the device will be erased, which means that users should back up all files on a computer before performing an update, so that nothing is lost.
The tool runs on the computer, while the handset will be connected to the PC using the USB cable that came with it in the package. After the phone is restored, those who have backed up their files into their Palm account will be able to restore it from there. Other information synced online via different services, such as Google or Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, will also be restored. Those who would like to download the webOS Doctor can find it available on Palm's website.