Making this thread so that something pops up in google for other people searching for help with these issues.
Was unable to get auto brightness to work on my Galaxy S8 - it stayed dim outdoors and was impossible to see. The light sensor was working perfectly (showed change using the Sensor Box app), it just had no effect on the screen brightness.
In the course of things (including having my local Samsung repair centre replace the phone) I eventually worked out that it was my phone case. Specifically, the MAGNETS in it.
I can't post links yet, but the eBay item id of the case I bought is 162444029744 so you can see the sort of case I'm talking about.
When held up against the magnets, auto brightness doesn't work. As soon as you move the magnets away, the brightness instantly jumps to the right level. If I held the back of the phone up to the side of the case WITHOUT the magnets, auto brightness would work correctly.
The magnets in the case ALSO stop the proximity sensor from turning the screen off when held up to your face during calls. Just checked it then - put my hand in front of the sensor with no case, screen goes off. Put the phone against a magnet, screen stays on.
Same problem
I noticed the same with mine. I received a follow-up call from Samsung after having my phone for about 1 week. I informed them of the screen auto-brightness function not working. They told me it's normal. I had to convince them and their technician it's not.
I then backed up my phone and was about to take it in, in 2 hours time, until I saw your post. And yup, I have the magnetic case too. Same problem.
Didn't have that issue with my S6 though. Same magnetic case.
Thanks for the post.
S8 phone case magnet fix - Auto-brightness [SOLVED]
This has been bugging me for weeks ever since I got my case from Wish. Restart the phone and it all works for a moment, then the sensors fail again. Thanks to this post I took my case off and all is good.
I found my particular case has 6 small magnets in the back cover to hold it in my wallet. I removed the lower right magnet (as you look at the back) and both my phone and case are now working properly.
Hope this helps
Same issue, although mine comes from a magnetic car mount (diy).
I was just thinking of getting a magnetic wireless-charging car mount (with the metal ring that goes into the phone case)...
Apart from the auto-brightness issue, did you notice anything else behaving quirky? Was the phone getting hot, or the screen misbehaving, etc... Also, where were the mount's magnets in relation to the phone; I suppose vertically centered?
I'd call Samsung and ask, they should know best, but since it's not the engineers on the phone, but just tech support people, they'll probably just repeat the "only buy our stuff" nonsense instead of giving any useful reply
Related
Had this phone about 3 weeks now and all of a sudden whenever I make a phone call the screen just goes black until I take the battery out or the other person hangs up. Is there a way to tweak the proximity sensor settings like on the omnia 7 etc?
I'm having the exact same issue. I've only had my Titan for about four days now.
I just firmly pressed on the front and back of the device as if to correctly place put the back case on. This works for a while and 'randomly' quits. I have yet to figure this one out.
I've not had this problem but you could try the other rom from here. I had the .02 but changed it to .06
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1276416
Not had any problems with my titan since I flashed it.
sutt359 said:
I've not had this problem but you could try the other rom from here. I had the .02 but changed it to .06
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1276416
Not had any problems with my titan since I flashed it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I'm gonna' try flashing this. HOPEFULLY, it will work.
I'll post back with my result.
Nothing! Tried the ROM update but no luck. Still having the same problem.
Dam thats a shame, could be a hardware issue
same issue on mine. Had it 2 weeks and it just started going black when calls come in or go out. I have a replacement on the way, I hope its an isolated issue...
Same here. Had mine for 2 months and now I have this issue.
Any ideas on how to solve this yet?
same here...
any hints if its a hardware issue or a software issue
mine also worked a wile and then stopped working...
You may already have tried or been aware of this so forgive my two penneth worth, When I had my HD2 It was the screen protector that tripped out the light sensor and kept the screen dark etc, May be worth a try if you have one fitted as it did the trick.
HTC Titan Prox Sensor
I do hardware repairs on phones, and currently having this issue with an HTC Titan. It seems very likely to be a hardware issue. The back cover feels loose and sloppy in my opinion, yet seems to play a role in properly grounding some of the auxiliary sensors. I'm considering trying to order the part, but it seems to be impossible to find except from a used phone. The proximity sensor is on a small chipboard that snaps directly into a connector on the motherboard. The solution of pressing the screen and back housing together makes sense if that proximity sensor isn't making a good connection to the board (or if it isn't grounding properly).
In my experience, I'd say this phone is a pain in the butt to diagnose and repair.
Exact same problem! Was thinking about doing a hard reset, but it seems like that won't fix it. I bought my Titan used, and maybe that's why it was on eBay. Phone works perfectly otherwise, absolutely love it. They sell new covers on Amazon, maybe that will fix it, by applying more pressure on the proximity sensor. Wish there was a simple fix.
I have this issue as well. I have found out that when you press the upper right corner of the screen the display comes back on but as soon as you let go it goes black again.
Also if you slightly open the back cover from the bottom the display comes back on as well but you lose signal because the antenna is disconnected. When you close the back cover the display goes black again.
It happens with outgoing and incoming calls.
This is really annoying and if I would very much like to know if it's a hardware or software issue.
---------- Post added at 05:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:20 PM ----------
Update:
I think I've found a solution.
I believe the the proximity sensor is in the narrow gap above the screen.
I opened the back cover and I slightly scratched the two contacts on the top of the back cover with my fingernail.
My Titan somehow is now working again and when I move my finger close to the narrow gap the display goes black.
I therefore think it's just a matter of a dodgy contact between the proximity sensor and the back cover.
I think I'll order a new back cover fom eBay to see if this improves things. My back cover is damaged anyway.
Possible Solution
i hope this is the solution cuz im tired of messing with this phone (we lost money trying to repair this phone, ie. negative profit, cuz the lcd and digitizer are fused together and it took forever for the parts to be available online). BIG Thanks to everyone who contributed to this forum thread.
The problem is almost certainly hardware and related to the back cover. good news means that it should cost nothing to fix. *warning* as always, you could break your phone if you arent careful. I havent tested this solution but i will tomorrow. On the motherboard are "metal brushes". That means springy metal contacts that are meant to make contacts between parts that arent closely touching. look at the back cover and find those contact plates, then look on the board for the corresponding brushes. gently pull those brushes up away from the motherboard to make them extend further, and see if you can get the back cover to fit more snugly on the phone. be careful with those brushes, metal can only be bent so far before breaking and then youll have to do board-level soldering (pain in the butt, not easy). if you can ensure proper contact between the back cover and the motherboard, then you shouldnt have any more issues with the proximity sensor.
this is my educated guess, let me know if you have any luck.
PS! been using iphone 4 for like a month, and the more i use it the more i hate it. i typed this up with iphone 4. so much hardware power with so little control. id recommend iphone to anyone who doesnt like technology. iOS is a POS
Called HTC and I'm still under warranty. I'm going to be sending in the phone for repairs tomorrow for this problem, we'll see what happens. They said it'd take 14 days to get my phone back.
Flavio said:
II think I'll order a new back cover fom eBay to see if this improves things. My back cover is damaged anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Flavio, have you bought a new cover? Has it fixed your problem?
Have the same problem with the sensor, i´ve tried other roms to, but still the same problem. i dont think, that this problem is a hardware issue of the proximity sensor, becaue sometimes it works sometimes note... very curious...
I just got a new Titan with the same problem. I took the phone to HTC repair center and the repair status on their website shows is that its been fixed, meaning I should get it back early next week. I will report here about the description what they did to it.
And this is clearly a HW issue. Taking off the back cover seems to affect little, but not 100% remove the problem.
Had this issue. When I sent it off to HTC they replaced the screen together with the dusty FFC issue
I had a similar problem that was fixed by turning of "Automatically adjust" in the brightness setting.
After working on this problem for a while now and trying a few roms with black screen on calls, finally found a 100% successful fix for about 10 Atrix i have worked on and so far issue has not returned !!
I know it is a common problem with a lot of roms where when making a call the screen goes black instantly after dialing and the proximity sensor cannot be used to wake the screen nor the volume button and no way to use numbers to choose in call options, meaning literally doing a battery pull to reboot the device.
I tried a few things thinking it helped and for a while did but the issue slowly came back but after some work and patience with the phone got it working properly, here is what i did :-
While making or receiving a call squeezed the whole top end of the phone, in other words squeeze the front and back together clamping relatively hard ( be careful not to crack the screen ) and the screen comes back on enabling in call functions and proximity sensor.
Opened phone up and checked position of proximity sensor and flat cables ( being directly inside where we were clamping in the last section ) and saw that the flat cable with the earphone connector and proximity sensor had moved away from the screen.
On the second flat cable ( the one with the touch pad ) is a sponge sticker ( placed directly on the back of the touch pad connector ) which presses directly onto the back of the proximity sensor and holds it close to the screen, which was pretty flattened, so i put on a new piece of sticky sponge on top of the old one making it thicker, to hold the proximity sensor tight to the screen.
I reassembled the phone ( put the back on and screwed it in tight ) and tried with the calls again, so far everything is great.[/COLOR]
There was also the same problem with some poorly fitted touchscreens, either where it has not been stuck into the frame well enough or the original adhesive become worn out and not sticky enough any more, so i refitted the screens with extra strong double sided adhesive and again 100% of phones with the problem still good !!
If there is a slight gap between the screen and frame it can mis-align the proximity sensor with the holes in the frame and the clear section of the screen needed for light inlet !!
Also as we all know, there are roms / kernels which produce a lot of heat in the handset, this is also a contributing factor, due to the adhesive used in fitting the touchscreen losing strength and the screen slowly moving away fromn the internal frame !!
PLEASE DO NOT TAKE MY WORD FOR GRANTED, I AM ONLY STATING WHAT HAS HELPED ME AND REMEMBER ALL DEVICES ACT AND REACT DIFFERENTLY !
I really hopes this helps you all, if it did please let me know or if you found something different it is equally important that i can try this too and we can really get to the root of the issue together !!!
i know i can stop blaming the roms now and say it's a hardware issue !!
Thanks again to the developers here for the hard work on the roms , keep it up !!! :good:
After I updated my Nokia Lumia 920. the screen turns off when im dialing someone, and the only way to get it back is to restart it or if the person on the other end hangs up.
Could it be the light sensor? or is it just the phone update that messed it up?
http://discussions.nokia.com/t5/Nok...n-t-switch-off-Lumia-920/td-p/1606440/page/10
Thanks!
I will return it tomorrow, since im not ready to open it after 20 days of use
now its REALLY FIXED but need to open the phone (only two screws )
Symptoms:
Experience screen and touch sensor switch off during a call, Notifications (the screen stays off, like if it was in a pocket) which doesn't turn on as usual.
Try:
If during a call you press and hold the upper left corner of the glass -just between the speaker and the upper left corner- you will notice that the sensor works as expected.
I think :
Because of the layered nature of the phone internals design and the heavy use of ribbon connectors it had to be tight to connect the board with the sensor.
My Solution:
I just added a peace of sponge (W:4mm/H:5mm/L:15mm) (all weather door and window sealant) -that comes self adheasive from one side- and sticked a small peace on the board on the opposite side of the phonejack/secondary mic connectors (Pictures attached) this will add pressure on the board to be more tight tried it and working as normal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cbadk said:
Thanks!
I will return it tomorrow, since im not ready to open it after 20 days of use
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine is suffering the same issue. In the Nokia forums one user recommended to "blow air" across the top of the phone where the display meets the case right above the Nokia logo. I did this and now my proximity sensor is working. It's got to be dust getting on the sensor. I'm going to take mine apart and see if I can come up with a seal for the FFC and proximity sensor.
For anyone who is interested, here is my method for fixing the black unresponsive screen during a call.
Like most of you reading this message I had the dreaded black screen during a phone call, which makes it impossible to end the call or dial numbers for automated systems. A lot of suggestions and fixes included blowing into the upper right corner of the phone or into the ear piece. This doesn't work (or it didn't for me) because the proximity sensor which you are allegedly blowing dust off of is pretty well sealed against the outside world. I'm on firmware 1314, which is supposed to have fixed the issue, but did not.
What did work every time was to pinch the phone front to back at the upper right corner right around where the proximity sensor was. I actually later found out you could pinch the phone anywhere in the upper half and the screen would light up.
I opened up the phone, saw that the proximity sensor just kind of flaps freely with a metal back that touches what i think is a grounding plate on the frame. When you pinch the phone it shorts this circuit and makes the proximity sensor behave properly. To make the contact better I cut a piece of aluminum foil, folded it up a couple of times, and wedged it behind the proximity sensor. Put the phone back together, made a call, and voila - screen on away from my face, off when sensor is covered.
Here is a picture of what the proximity sensor looks like on the pcb. I just wedged the foil behind the circled piece and replaced everything.
http://imgur.com/dAqCBGd
This absolutely works for me, but YMMV. I used the youtube video from le55ons for disassembly instructions. It's fantastic.
Excellent work. Subscribing in case I get this issue in the future
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Do you have a screen protector installed. I did and it covered the proximity sensor, which gave me issues, took it off, no issues
mikeschevelle said:
Do you have a screen protector installed. I did and it covered the proximity sensor, which gave me issues, took it off, no issues
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't have a screen protector on, but i can see how it would cause a problem if it covered the sensor. Now that it's working properly I can see how sensitive it is. If i hover my finger an inch over the sensor, the screen will go dark.
Sometimes if my G5 has not been used for an hour or so, it is refusing to wake up from double tap, power button or volume button quick shortcut. Only plugging it in has seemed to wake it up on these occasions.
Has anyone else had this issue?
Not yet.
I am chocking this up to poor software implementation using the ambient sensor. I found similar issues that the OP was describing, and in my testing, was able to verify something is wonky with how the phone "thinks" it is being looked at or not.
Simply put, if you cover the ambient sensor and the camera (on my device) with your finger, while the phone is asleep/screen off, no matter how many times you press the power button on the back/fingerprint scan, the screen will fail to come up. The moment I introduce some light into the room (open up the sensor), I am able to get response back on the phone.
Ran into this issue last night and for the life of me couldn't figure it out until daylight hit . Also, my case might be obstructing the sensor (lifeproof fre), but I also noticed the issue with no case on.
Logically, I imagine LG was trying to limit power consumption with accidental presses, etc. If the phone knows it is in a dark place, it won't respond (because it thinks it is in a pocket or a bag of some sort). My rebuttle for this is how do they anticipate planning for night-time use of the phone, or are we limited to a daywalker only device?
I am heading down to an AT&T store and seeing if I can replicate this on demo units as well. In which case, we know the issue is inherent in the device (and hopefully addressed in a software update). If I am not able to replicate this at the store, then I bet OP and I got bad units.
Thanks for looking. If anyone has any feedback, or can repro or not repro this issue, please chime back .
mikeythedude said:
I am chocking this up to poor software implementation using the ambient sensor. I found similar issues that the OP was describing, and in my testing, was able to verify something is wonky with how the phone "thinks" it is being looked at or not.
Simply put, if you cover the ambient sensor and the camera (on my device) with your finger, while the phone is asleep/screen off, no matter how many times you press the power button on the back/fingerprint scan, the screen will fail to come up. The moment I introduce some light into the room (open up the sensor), I am able to get response back on the phone.
Ran into this issue last night and for the life of me couldn't figure it out until daylight hit . Also, my case might be obstructing the sensor (lifeproof fre), but I also noticed the issue with no case on.
Logically, I imagine LG was trying to limit power consumption with accidental presses, etc. If the phone knows it is in a dark place, it won't respond (because it thinks it is in a pocket or a bag of some sort). My rebuttle for this is how do they anticipate planning for night-time use of the phone, or are we limited to a daywalker only device?
I am heading down to an AT&T store and seeing if I can replicate this on demo units as well. In which case, we know the issue is inherent in the device (and hopefully addressed in a software update). If I am not able to replicate this at the store, then I bet OP and I got bad units.
Thanks for looking. If anyone has any feedback, or can repro or not repro this issue, please chime back .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have also experienced this issue (opened a thread a week ago). I have the exact same lifeproof case and my problem occured at night as well. Phone did not want to wake up at all until I either restarted it or had some light in the room.
Same problem, same case.
What I have found is if you pull the phone out of the case it wakes up. Thinking proximity sensor.
Sent from my LG-H830 using XDA-Developers mobile app
Yup. It really doesn't take much extra coding for them to allow the power button to "Always Wake" the device... I imagine there will be an update in the near future.
As for me... jumping ship to the S7 edge. I really liked the G3, and was hoping this phone could have been that for me... Well, not like I really swap batteries out often anyway
Same case. Same issue. Take the phone out of the case and throw a blanket over yourself and the phone. (Simulating night) and my screen unlocks easy peasy. Something about this lifeproof case. You would think this issue would have been caught in testing and QC.
Yes the phone has a built prox. override. But it only becomes an issue at night. Outside of the case I have no issues with prox. sensor.
I have experuenced this exact same issue with my g5. Whenever its in the dark the power button nor the double tap will wake the screen when in the lifeproof fre case. When out of the case the phone works just fine.
Word to the wise though if you have a zagg glass screen protector and drop your phone both the screen protector and the screen with shatter even if in the lifeproof case. I just experienced this and now have a replacement phone. Just a heads up.
soninja8 said:
I have also experienced this issue (opened a thread a week ago). I have the exact same lifeproof case and my problem occured at night as well. Phone did not want to wake up at all until I either restarted it or had some light in the room.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the rs988 variant and I have noticed this behavior when screen is in always on mode: if I suddenly change from light to dark by covering sensors, the always on clock goes out and nothing I do will allow it to wake up, until I allow brighter light again and the clock reappears. and I can use the double tap and power button again to see the screen. I also notice that the always on clock seems to have an auto brightness independent of the screen settings - I leave screen at 50% no auto brightness, yet I still see clock light levels dim in low light, One other thing - I notice that when I answer a call the screen blanks out (the way it is supposed to ) but does not reappear until I press the power button, just taking away from my ear does not bring display back; I also have the lifeproof case. and just removed it and verified my display now works when I take away from my ear; I just took some spray lens cleaner and cleaned all the surfaces of the phone and case with a microfiber cloth and put it back together and has vastly improved the issue, maybe gone, not sure yet. Update: seems like no matter how clean it is there is still a problem with the case doing something to the proximity detector, cleaning made it better. I can always wake up with the power button for the calling screen(sometimes swiping across top sensor too), wonder if the sensor is a passive light sensor or active (rf/infrared emission)
Same issue here same life proof case however it's getting worse as I am a mechanic and this phone goes through greasy hell. The plastic lenses on the lifeproof case are getting scratched and it's getting worse. It is also having a hard time autofocusing through this case. When you pull it out the phone is gorgeous and looks brand new. Good case but it has some downsides. Still better than a broken phone.
daniel3016 said:
Same issue here same life proof case however it's getting worse as I am a mechanic and this phone goes through greasy hell. The plastic lenses on the lifeproof case are getting scratched and it's getting worse. It is also having a hard time autofocusing through this case. When you pull it out the phone is gorgeous and looks brand new. Good case but it has some downsides. Still better than a broken phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are allot of other cases you can use but not waterproof. That really sucks good thing for this thread I was going to buy a lifeproof case. Using a otterbox defender right now. Thanks for the post guys saved me some grief.
still under warranty?
daniel3016 said:
Same issue here same life proof case however it's getting worse as I am a mechanic and this phone goes through greasy hell. The plastic lenses on the lifeproof case are getting scratched and it's getting worse. It is also having a hard time autofocusing through this case. When you pull it out the phone is gorgeous and looks brand new. Good case but it has some downsides. Still better than a broken phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if still under warranty, see if they will honor it. They did with mine but that was right at the beginning when these problems were linked to the case; mine was in the first 3 months, but the new one worked well for a while, now a little flakey again but not enough to bother me...too bad, a great case otherwise
mikeythedude said:
I am chocking this up to poor software implementation using the ambient sensor. I found similar issues that the OP was describing, and in my testing, was able to verify something is wonky with how the phone "thinks" it is being looked at or not.
Simply put, if you cover the ambient sensor and the camera (on my device) with your finger, while the phone is asleep/screen off, no matter how many times you press the power button on the back/fingerprint scan, the screen will fail to come up. The moment I introduce some light into the room (open up the sensor), I am able to get response back on the phone.
Ran into this issue last night and for the life of me couldn't figure it out until daylight hit . Also, my case might be obstructing the sensor (lifeproof fre), but I also noticed the issue with no case on.
Logically, I imagine LG was trying to limit power consumption with accidental presses, etc. If the phone knows it is in a dark place, it won't respond (because it thinks it is in a pocket or a bag of some sort). My rebuttle for this is how do they anticipate planning for night-time use of the phone, or are we limited to a daywalker only device?
I am heading down to an AT&T store and seeing if I can replicate this on demo units as well. In which case, we know the issue is inherent in the device (and hopefully addressed in a software update). If I am not able to replicate this at the store, then I bet OP and I got bad units.
Thanks for looking. If anyone has any feedback, or can repro or not repro this issue, please chime back .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not a bug and not poor implementation. Its not light for "dark rooms" lol.. As far as I know it's the proximity sensor. When it is blocked it means the phone is in a pocket or bag and should not register taps. It really makes sense. If you dont xover the sensor and double tap doesn't work ..well.. Well, eother you have defective device or sensor , or the sensor is blocked (maybe bad screen protector?). This didnt happen with my G5 even once. It works 100% (assuming I tapped the same place)
Are the problems as described in this thread still manifesting on current firmware?