I recently bought a Zenfone 2 (ZE551ML) which works exceptionally well however today I've noticed something odd (probably would have noticed it before but the phone was actually a gift so not at all times with me).
During a call the proximity sensor will only turn off the screen when the phone is close but it will not turn the phone on when I move it away. I've gone through many online articles and in the majority of cases it was a problem with the screen protection. However, I do not use any kind of screen protection.
Additionally I've noticed something really odd. Zenfone 2 has an inbuilt testing suite (SMMI Test) which allows testing various parts of the hardware. The proximity sensor test consists of three steps (NEAR, AWAY, NEAR). They should be self-explanatory (NEAR triggers when an object is close, AWAY when its far). In my case the first step (NEAR) always triggers after the test starts but the other two (AWAY, NEAR) simply won't. That's until I use the app switch button (next to the home button) to re-enter the test application again. The other two steps then complete successfully.
Considering the behavior can I rule out a hardware problem and pin the issues to the software?
The proximity sensor issue was successfully resolved by reverting back to the 2.20.40.90 firmware. The 2.40.40.97 version (at least WW) obviously has issues with it.
You can find detailed instructions on how to perform stock recovery in this topic (http://forum.xda-developers.com/zenfone2/help/reverting-to-stock-firmware-t3225632).
Once again props to kanagawaben and all the people which contributed to this topic.
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Screen will not turn back on once phone is put to sleep or if the proximity sensor turns it off during a call. Very annoying, have to soft reset constantly. I currently use Android on my phone cause at least the screen will turn back on when using that.
Right now i have a stock 6.5 t-mobile rom and have tried several other roms as well.
Any suggestions?
Yep, easy fix, I posted this several weeks ago:
With the tilt 2, if the screen does not wakeup, but you can answer the phone, hear music, etc..., it is a malfunctioning light sensor, maybe hardware, or software related (drivers), but it is fixable. Just eliminate all calls for use of the light sensor.
I had this problem and took quite a while to figure it out, as there are several apps that poll the light sensor that cause problems.
First, go to start/settings/system/power/backlight and uncheck the auto adjust backlight option
Second, go to start/settings/personal/buttons/backlight and uncheck the enable keyboard auto backlight sensor.
Last, open advanced config (need to download and install from touchxperience.com, if you do not have it), tab to light sensor and set light sensor polling to disabled.
Now, my phone works normal and will wake up properly from standby like it should. this all seems hardware dependant, as I have in my family 3 of these things and I dropped and broke mine, so bought a new one (4th in the series) and it had the SOD issues, but could restart with softrest. Took me the better part of the day to find a reliable fix, but now all is well again.
Hope this helps other Tilt 2 and similar issues.
There's a lot of reasons for the SOD. The methods above probably worked for some people but never did for me. If they don't work, i'd suggest taking your your micro sd card, running scandisk on it and seeing if there are any errors. I had to switch cards because my card had errors on it. Haven't gotten a SOD since.
Yes, that was the first thing I tried on mine, because I changed the SD card with the new phone, but no errors found, so I kept digging. Stopping the all calls to the light sensor was all that worked for me. There are typically 3 culprits, bad light sensor, bad or overwritten drivers for the light sensor and sd card or ROM errors. All hard to fix and just have to keep trying, or go back for warranty replacement and hope the next one works. For me, only 1 out of 4 in our household has this problem and they essentially all have the same software, ROM and micro SD cards in them. Go figure.
hi, i have the same problem with the sod. i installed the rom from comec. then i deactivated htc sense on my phone an installed spb mobile shell 3.5 and i have no sod
Hi guys,
just came back from me business trip and realized that.. I have posted something totally useless.
So I came back, with the same request, but properly explained.
I have and issue with my Desire HD. There is a strange problem with the magnetometer. I took me a while to find out that is connected to it, because.. sometimes by screen just remains blocked. There is no response from it to touch. After some seconds (between 1 and 20), it works. But, the compass is not working (if I check with some sensor application it says that magnetometer is not present.
Sometimes, the best workaround is to disable screen rotation (that is also somehow strange to me, as I don't really see the connection).
After a factory reset (install new ROM, etc), everything is OK until I use the GPS the first time.
So, the questions now:
1. As the sensor works (sometimes for days), I expect to be a 'software' problem. How do I manually reset the magnetometer? I have read that for Galaxy (for example), you can do that by getting in some hidden factory menu...
2. Is it posible to disable the sensor totally? I would not like to do that, as I would like to have the screen rotation, but it can be handy to be able to enable/disable it.
Thanks for all your answer
hello friends, I need to know, how much energy can be spent, the proximity sensor
using Tap Tap app.
I'm looking for the best option to unlock the screen without touching the power button
T989
Im not quite following. Whats the Tap Tap app have to do with the proximity sensor and are you wanting to keep the screen live with the app open?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk
I think he's referring to the "always on" feature, keeping the proximity sensor always working so that the phone can be unlocked by waving your hand over the phone a set number of times (without even touching the phone physically)
However, battery life would only be a small concern IMO.. I would be more worried about the durability of the sensor being constantly on.. as in, would it cease to function eventually from over usage?
Update: it seems the "always on" setting is being reported as shutting off on it's own despite settings after an extended period of time. Reports vary from ten minutes to several hours/overnight, so the amount of time before it fails to stay active is unclear.
Personally I'm not sure of that's a bug or intentional. There are a couple of logical reasons to force the auto shut off after some time
1. Security - If you're not using your phone for an extended period of time, then it should lock back up, because frankly some people are idiots. Also who would want their phone easily accessed because they took a nap or ran to the store and forgot their phone? If you're not near it, you don't need to show off the feature (which let's be honest, that's the coolest thing about it. Who wants to constantly wave their hand over their phone like a weirdo with no one watching? You're not a wizard bro no matter how many RPG's you play)
2. Sensor Durability - the app won't last long if there's people in the play store leaving ratings like "proximity sensor doesn't work anymore, even after uninstalling. Factory reset didn't fix, I'm suing you ****er!". Plus if the Dev's worth supporting he's already tested and knows that's an issue, then he or she's protecting their customers
All of this information comes from user reports in the Google Play store and various threads. I have not installed the app and do not plan to until I see consistent commenting that issues have been addressed or resolved by the Dev (and yes I will be watching)
Seems like a "show off" app and I'd like to give it a shot when I'm sure it's functional. Typically in this case I'd just install, see what happens then email the Dev. However when it comes to hardware (proximity sensor) I'm a little more cautious since my phone is running like a champ with a flawless screen..I can't risk an exchange.
Sent from my T989 hunting for Siri Connor
Just thought I would point out that, when using an AT&T Skyrocket UCLA3-based ROM, the proximity sensor turns itself off if you leave the Phone app so that the screen doesn't keep turning off if you try to pull down the notification tray
Thought I'd share my experience about this. I was running Paranoid Android 0.9, no issues at all. One day I was talking on the phone and noticed the screen flickered quickly... then it just stayed on. I hung up the phone a minute later not thinking much of it.
Well today I made some phone calls and the screen never turned off.. I had to manually turn it off via power button. I installed Paranoid 1.1, no changes. I flashed Trinity kernel, no changes. Just a bit ago I fully wiped the device and flashed the latest 6/4/2012 CM9 Nightly and the issue is still present.
At this point I'm guessing there is definitely a hardware issue. I have never dropped this phone and it's in mint condition aesthetically. It's the GSM version bought via Expansys.. and I won't waste my time with warranty through them I'll just bare with using the power button to turn the screen off/on during calls.
Another note, I noticed if I tap or press firmly on the proximity sensor area during a call it will trigger the screen to momentarily turn off.
Could this possibly be a CM9 issue (Paranoid is built from CM9)? I may try flashing a rom not built from CM9. I've searched high and low on the internet and NO ONE has had this issue which is leading me to believe that there's no way this is hardware related.
All roms are based off of AOSP.
I guess I'm the only one.
There are some apps that can test your Proximity sensor, though I can't remeber the app name.
/Edit: Link to the app.
Have you tried franco kernel to check if this happens aswell? You can then pin down the possible kernel related issues.
Firmware again plays a major factor? What firmware are you on? Mines came as an OTB 4.0.2 and I too had this similar issue where I had to manually swipe my finger against it, Upgraded to 4.0.4 and the issue went away. Weird.
Misledz said:
Have you tried franco kernel to check if this happens aswell? You can then pin down the possible kernel related issues.
Firmware again plays a major factor? What firmware are you on? Mines came as an OTB 4.0.2 and I too had this similar issue where I had to manually swipe my finger against it, Upgraded to 4.0.4 and the issue went away. Weird.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on 4.0.4. I just flashed Android Revolution (4.0.4 based rom with the stock kernel) and the problem still persists. It's very intermittent. Sometimes the proximity sensor detects an object close thus turning the screen off, but it only turns it off for 2-3 seconds or sometimes not at all. I wonder if a piece of dirt/dust is sitting right on the sensor?
I tried a couple proximity sensor testing apps out there but none of them work and say "If your reading displays nothing or the maximum value then your device does not support reading of proximity sensor values".
The apps display a max of 5cm with a resolution of 5.. and the current value is ALWAYS a 5.
I just find this hard to belive I'm THE ONLY ONE on the interwebz, out of MILLIONS sold, who has reported this problem.
Ok, I'm a complete idiot....
Turns out the Galaxy Nexus proximity sensor ONLY works when the phone is in the upright position!!! I kept testing it with it flat on the table and, by design, it's SUPPOSED to keep the screen lit.
I've searched around and so far I haven't found anyone else who has this issue, so I thought I'd throw it out here:
I noticed that the compass was never working, in google maps, gps tools, or Ingress, so I downloaded "Phone Tester", and it shows the compass as almost completely static when I rotate the tablet on a flat surface. The pitch and roll change just fine. The other odd thing is that when I tilt my device up or down, which should only change the pitch, the compass shows different angles, as if the reading for the compass was coming from the pitch instead of the magnetic pull.... odd.
Here are some things I've tried:
1. Complete wipe of rom, system, data, etc.
2. Stock roms and CM11
3. The built in kernels for the stock rom and CM11, as well as blackhawk's kernel (v1 & v1.3)
4. Calibrating the compass via "GPS Status" app (multiple times)
5. In an act of semi-desperation I tried a suggestion to take a weak magnet and run it around the top corners of the tablet to "unstick" the magnetic sensor. Interestingly enough, that changed the sensor reading, which confused things even more for why it would be connected with the pitch instead of magnet compass pull.
6. Removing it from it's case. Using a different case. Tapping it gently, again to "unstick" the sensor?
I would be grateful for any ideas and/or collaboration if anyone has had the same issue.
EDIT: It seems that the sensor was simply stuck. I took it out of the case again and ran a kitchen magnet along the edge. This time it released it to work properly, though the magnets in both of my tablet cases seem to be pulling it in wrong directions.