Develop Bugs

Difficult to turn on screen in dark

Has anyone else noticed that when in a dark area, pressing the main button will turn on the screen but it will then automatically and immidiately turn off?
Several times I've gotten into a battle with the phone only to lose, turning it on and it turns off, then turning it on again and so on...
To compound the issue, in these situations it seems that double tap is signifigantly less responsive to activate the screen as well.
I'm pretty sure this phone is using some sort of facial recognition, it has smart stay doesnt it? I think it has gravity/accelerometer to turn on the screen when you pull it out of your pocket. In the back of my mind I'm thinking that since it cant see me it is shutting off but this doesnt seem consistent...
I'm running stock rom, rooted with twrp. Any ideas?

I have not experienced that. Did your G3 do that out of the box?
Sent from my LG-D851 using Tapatalk

Never heard of it. Screen is set to auto off in 30 seconds. Change it to 2 min and you should be good. If u running without a case then maybe the hand is touching the edges of screen this will also shut screen off in double tap.
BAD ASS G3

sublimaze said:
I have not experienced that. Did your G3 do that out of the box?
Sent from my LG-D851 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't notice it until the last week or so. but I kind of feel like that was because I hadn't used the phone that much up until then. I didn't make any major changes to the phone immediately before I started noticing it either, I had already had it rooted for about a week. I feel like the stock rom does have some glitches to it.

The G3 does have a "smart screen" feature that detects your face (Settings > Display). Disable that and see if it helps.

I've not run into this in the dark but have when I try and use my arm band holder when running. The holder covers the ambient light sensor so the phone thinks it was accidentally turned on like in a pocket and shuts right off. Super annoying.

Noticed similar behavior when the phone is in my bike mount at night. Basically it's acting like the proximity sensor is covered. In my bike mount's case, it is covered by a clear screen cover, but normally that doesn't trigger the proximity sensor. But when it's very dark out (not under a street light etc.), it seems to think it's blocked and turns itself off. Annoying.

randyspants said:
I've not run into this in the dark but have when I try and use my arm band holder when running. The holder covers the ambient light sensor so the phone thinks it was accidentally turned on like in a pocket and shuts right off. Super annoying.
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Click to collapse
speedrabbit said:
Noticed similar behavior when the phone is in my bike mount at night. Basically it's acting like the proximity sensor is covered. In my bike mount's case, it is covered by a clear screen cover, but normally that doesn't trigger the proximity sensor. But when it's very dark out (not under a street light etc.), it seems to think it's blocked and turns itself off. Annoying.
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Click to collapse
Have you tried disabling smart stay as sublimaze recommended?

Apache0c said:
Have you tried disabling smart stay as sublimaze recommended?
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Click to collapse
Tried but remains the same... This was the only thread I found concerning this.

Ive had this issue too investigating now

Had that issue when I was using the lock screen face unlock. In the dark it didn't see my face and then it shut off. Setting is in lock screen section
Sent from my G3

gabrielshaste said:
Had that issue when I was using the lock screen face unlock. In the dark it didn't see my face and then it shut off. Setting is in lock screen section
Sent from my G3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol.

I have the same issue EVERY night. Why is that? It's very annoying

Same issue here
it seemed to resolve itself when I factory reset my phone
but after I got my apps reinstalled from my google backup it started again
so it seems like it's a software issue - not sure to which app it is related to
let me know if you find a fix - this is quite annoying

Me too. I've been facing this issue at night, when it's very dark.
Me and my buddy were in the car during a roadtrip and it was very dark, I mean like: No lights outside, no lights inside the car, the double tap feature didn't even work to begin with and whenever I tried to use the "Power Button" It would come on and then suddenly 'boom' Turn off, now this would happen a few times until it stays on. Weird...

I just experienced this myself, first time I've seen it happen in the 30 + G5's that I've sold. If it's in the dark it just doesn't turn on at all. I hope LG is fixing this. I'm about to Factory Reset it right now and hope for the best! Someone else mentioned that this is the only forum that is disccusing this issue. It must be a very few that are effected. I'm testing another one as we speak.

Has this issue been resolved? My friend's G3 also has this issue. Day time no problem. When it is dark the screen wont' stay on.

Same problem, no fix yet
Same problem here - Pointing it at any light and pressing the power button will turn it on. (As will plugging it into power). Tried tinkering with all sorts of settings (face recognition/auto dimming feature/etc) nothing worked. Tried factory reset, that didn't work either.
My issue started after i had my screen replaced (by a shady shop) who probably didn't do a good job of packing it back together....I'm going to see if I can have someone open it up and clean it out a bit..

I have the same issue on my G3. Even if you're under the covers in bed, the thing doesn't turn on until it gets light. It basically doesn't turn on in the dark through double tap and actually not even with the power button. It could become a safety hazard for someone in an emergency situation.

Nahdont said:
I have the same issue on my G3. Even if you're under the covers in bed, the thing doesn't turn on until it gets light. It basically doesn't turn on in the dark through double tap and actually not even with the power button. It could become a safety hazard for someone in an emergency situation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have also same problem. No solution yet.

[Q] Dimming Screen with Palm Not Working?

Anybody else having issues when placing your palm over the screen to dim it? It should turn the screen off and vibrate. I think I only saw that happen once, but I can't seem to get that to work.
Can somebody try it and tell me if it works for you all the time, some of the time, or rarely to never?
Thanks.

I got it working if I turn off the ambient screen setting on the device. You can also use the button too.

Ambient Screen Off
kpjimmy said:
I got it working if I turn off the ambient screen setting on the device. You can also use the button too.
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Click to collapse
Yup, I tried with both, ambient screen on and ambient screen off. No luck. Yeah, I guess I'll just have to use the button, seems faster anyway, or wait until it turns itself off. I guess I was just concerned my ambient light sensor might be defective, haven't had the chance to see if auto-brightness works correctly since it has been raining and cloudy outside and light indoors generally keeps it mid-brightness.

DaPhang said:
Yup, I tried with both, ambient screen on and ambient screen off. No luck. Yeah, I guess I'll just have to use the button, seems faster anyway, or wait until it turns itself off. I guess I was just concerned my ambient light sensor might be defective, haven't had the chance to see if auto-brightness works correctly since it has been raining and cloudy outside and light indoors generally keeps it mid-brightness.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you go to the android wear app and turn off ambient screen? I assume so. Mine turns "off" when I either "palm" it or push the button. I left the ambient screen sensor on and it still turned off for me.

Make sure your palm is touching the screen. If you're just cupping your hand over the screen, it won't work. It's not a "oh, it just turned dark" thing, but more of a "oh, my entire surface is being touched at once" thing.

Touch Screen Palm
jt3 said:
Make sure your palm is touching the screen. If you're just cupping your hand over the screen, it won't work. It's not a "oh, it just turned dark" thing, but more of a "oh, my entire surface is being touched at once" thing.
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Thank you very much, that was it. It works now, operator error.

Screen always on in AMBIENT MODE

is there any way to keep screen ALWAYS ON in ambient mode ???

No, but why would you want to. It's on when you look at it.

Faspaiso said:
No, but why would you want to. It's on when you look at it.
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Got the "interactive watchfaces" (LCA44B) update yesterday. Ever since then ambient screen is always on. Which really irritates me. I have to agree, no need to stay on if I'm not looking at it. Anyone with the same issue after the update?

Faspaiso said:
No, but why would you want to. It's on when you look at it.
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I can't tell if people who say this are just really forgiving or liars.

thebobmannh said:
I can't tell if people who say this are just really forgiving or liars.
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Click to collapse
Well explain. If Ambient Screen is on, but watch is ON EVERY time I look at it. A thing I don't understand tho, is that while it's a LCD display, it saves zero power by making half the screen black with digital clock on so many watchfaces.

Faspaiso said:
Well explain. If Ambient Screen is on, but watch is ON EVERY time I look at it. A thing I don't understand tho, is that while it's a LCD display, it saves zero power by making half the screen black with digital clock on so many watchfaces.
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Click to collapse
I've played with ambient mode, and I can conclusively say that my watch face is not "on" EVERY time I look at it. Not even close. I work at a computer all day, if I glance down at my watch while it's in ambient mode, it isn't on. I drive, and I look at my wrist, and my watch is often NOT on. I understand that it turns on more easily and tries to anticipate hwen you're trying to look at your watch, but if you're casually glancing at the watch hoping it's on (rather than moving your wrist), it's often off. That's not ambient, it's just.... more sensitive.
As for your second question, only certain LCD technologies can leverage making "half the screen black" as a power-saving measure. Basically... most LCDs still use a single light source, so regardless of how much of the screen is black, the backlight is fully on. Some LCD technologies have the ability to turn on smaller backlights directly behind certain parts of the screen, so lighting only a small area of the screen is possible and saves a lot of power. I don't know enough about the technologies to know why, aside from cost, one would choose one over the other.

princehpk said:
is there any way to keep screen ALWAYS ON in ambient mode ???
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Click to collapse
Go to android wear and settings/moto 360 and click on ambient screen on and tilt to wake screen to off. This will keep ambient on all the time. The only down side is that you will have to manually click the screen or the power button to go to full screen. I hope that helps
Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk

wuilly said:
Go to android wear and settings/moto 360 and click on ambient screen on and tilt to wake screen to off. This will keep ambient on all the time. The only down side is that you will have to manually click the screen or the power button to go to full screen. I hope that helps
Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk
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I already knew this but decided to give you a thanks since no one else has and you correctly answered the question along with how to activate it.

Ambient Mode/Always On Behavior?

Can anyone help confirm if they see this behavior with their watch? I have always-on screen set to ON in the Android Wear app. (Tilt to wake and gestures are both OFF.) I have noticed that even on the stock Moon Phase face, if I don't touch the face for a while, the watch goes to sleep. By that I mean, the face is completely black, as if I turned off the always-on screen option.
I haven't determined yet if it's always after a specific amount of time. Seems to be at least 30 min, maybe an hour.
Is this normal behavior? I was under the impression that always on means always on, And that time in dim mode would always show.

You are correct.
bailyc said:
Can anyone help confirm if they see this behavior with their watch? I have always-on screen set to ON in the Android Wear app. (Tilt to wake and gestures are both OFF.) I have noticed that even on the stock Moon Phase face, if I don't touch the face for a while, the watch goes to sleep. By that I mean, the face is completely black, as if I turned off the always-on screen option.
I haven't determined yet if it's always after a specific amount of time. Seems to be at least 30 min, maybe an hour.
Is this normal behavior? I was under the impression that always on means always on, And that time in dim mode would always show.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are correct, always on means always on, the only time the watch should sleep, is when you have it on the charger. You may have a bad install or worst case scenario a bad watch.

vvveith said:
You are correct, always on means always on, the only time to watch should sleep, is when you have it on the charger. You may have a bad install or worst case scenario a bad watch.
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Click to collapse
Ok, thanks for confirming! I definitely have something wrong, then. I've factory reset several times and even taken off most apps, and it still happens. Looks like it might be the watch.

I have similar problem - always ON, gestures off, but after about 10 seconds it changes watchface to some dark/black one.

I believe the Always on Feature is not for having your watch face on all the time, but rather it dims your watch face but you still can tell the time with just the darker screen. It's not going to keep your watch face fully lit if that option is turned on.

Well, then I`m selling mine. Why would I want all them beautiful watchfaces if I can`t have them always on?! That`s just stupid.

rbs_uk said:
Well, then I`m selling mine. Why would I want all them beautiful watchfaces if I can`t have them always on?! That`s just stupid.
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Click to collapse
Most of the folks that make the WatchMaker faces either just dim the face, or they make a dimmed mode face that looks like it has phosphorous markings. I personally make custom dimmed modes. My favorite method is to make a blood red version of the face with just the essential features. The moon phase ones can look BAD ASS with the blood red moon phase on a pure black background. This is the only watch I have ever actually gotten comments on in public. When people see it they notice that it ain't no normal watch, and it ain't no Apple watch.

rbs_uk said:
Well, then I`m selling mine. Why would I want all them beautiful watchfaces if I can`t have them always on?! That`s just stupid.
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Click to collapse
I think the battery life would just be too short if you left the face on all the time, all the time meaning the watch never went into dim mode. Just run tilt on, and don't wear the watch to loose. Especially at night if the watch never dimmed that would get annoying as hell it's so bright.

'god guys, really????
rbs_uk said:
I have similar problem - always ON, gestures off, but after about 10 seconds it changes watchface to some dark/black one.
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Click to collapse
Come on guys you do understand ambient mode right? When the main screen of the watch face shuts down it goes into ambient mode, which is simply black and white. Just like any pure android device. (i.e. Nexus 6) If you do not understand of know of this behaviour please stop posting and do some research. 'The watch is acting as it is suppose to in Android Wear. Just like notifications on a Nexus device. Google is your friend.
So is YouTube and understanding the android system as of today. Come on, get a clue.

Yeah I think if it was on all the time you'd be lucky to get even a few hours of battery life out of it....

falcon26 said:
Yeah I think if it was on all the time you'd be lucky to get even a few hours of battery life out of it....
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Click to collapse
Well, I know what I personally thought was confusing is that "always on" isn't actually always on when charging. When on the charger, display turns off completely after a time. That's different behavior from what I'm used to based on the Moto X, which has AMOLED and still displayed ambient information on the screen when charging/docked. I find it a little odd that there is no built-in charging/docked display that uses the ambient (dimmed) display mode.
But to be sure, my watch definitely had something wrong with it. I just received a replacement unit yesterday, so I'll be testing it out today to see if it's able to stay dimmed as it should when off the charger.

Be attencion with "always on" mode, this is screen after four days (contrast on level 3).

I've had the "Ranger" watch face on with a full colour ambient mode and not experiencing any burn-in. Every minute it shifts the image somewhat in order to reduce any burn in effect. See https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.smartwatchface.watch.face.ranger.military .

Just to cease any confusion. Always On means the screen is always on. After a few seconds, the screen will dim and go into a black/white ambient mode to reserve power.
The OP says his screen is turning completely off. So it seems there is a problem there. Every Watch face has a different ambient mode. Perhaps the one you are using has a broken ambient mode and not displaying data.
I found the best way to make a watch face is to build one yourself. Purje Black is awesome for this (truely amazing app). I am not going to do a full review but the transition between full on and ambient mode is animated, looks fantastic, has lots of Hotspots to launch various apps like weather, Google Fit data, etc, and displays it in a awesome format.
But the best feature is that you can customize the ambient mode separately from the actual face. They also support community made themes, so just browse their Google Plus theme page, find one you like, customize it to how you want it and save it.
Just be careful with your AMOLED screen that you don't have any information that is static in ambient mode, like numbers, hour marks, etc. I prefer a Digital clock/Calendar date on my Amoled, but have a nice looking analog with various information on my full face.

The device going to sleep is normal. It will go from full on to ambient mode and from there if the watch isn't moved for 30 minutes it will shut the screen off. See below from Google.
"You can set the display to show the time or turn off completely when you're not using the watch. If set to turn off, the screen will turn on when you turn your wrist or touch the screen.*
Tip: Letting your screen turn off when you're not using the watch will help improve battery life. If the watch hasn't moved for 30 minutes, the screen will turn off even if you have it set to remain always on. To wake your watch, tilt it or press the power button."
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Hi
I'm trying to find an App for my watch that will keep the Watchface in Ambient mode for as long as i like (more than 24Hrs) even when it's not on my hand (not being moved).
Any ideas would be appretiated.

ausi said:
Hi
I'm trying to find an App for my watch that will keep the Watchface in Ambient mode for as long as i like (more than 24Hrs) even when it's not on my hand (not being moved).
Any ideas would be appretiated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First off between the battery hit and possible screen damage I wouldn't recommend that. But I haven't seen any faces or apps that would accomplish this. And since that feature is inherent to wear it would probably take root to accomplish it anyway.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

crawrj said:
First off between the battery hit and possible screen damage I wouldn't recommend that. But I haven't seen any faces or apps that would accomplish this. And since that feature is inherent to wear it would probably take root to accomplish it anyway.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
Thanks, i have root..........but still cannot find an App to do this, i still would like to try.

Ho about limiting brightness to lower level than level 1. While I,m not using watch, just before it goes to ambient, I can See brightness dimmed to lower than minimum and after, ambient turns on, whitch is brighter. What can i do to use lowest levels all the time?

Stay Lit Wear
In case you haven't found it yet, search Google Play for "Stay Lit Wear."

[APP][Android 6+] Ambi-Turner - wake up ambient display

I've created an app that wakes ambient display when you take the phone out of your pocket or if you have the phone face down and turn it over. The app is in addition to Google's ambient display and does not change your lock screen in anyway.
I added a few other paid features for lift to unlock, wave to unlock, pulsing at an interval, and battery percentage display on the ambient display.
I have a thread going on the Pixel XL forums and a number of people have been testing it out. I think it's stable enough to start spreading the word.
Please let me know if you have any suggestions or run into any problems. Thank you!
Check it out: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.compass.ambiturner

I'm interested, but it appears your link is dead.
Edit: found it in play store. Went ahead and got pro for lift to wake.

Atemi1337 said:
I'm interested, but it appears your link is dead.
Edit: found it in play store. Went ahead and got pro for lift to wake.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you! I fixed the link...cut and paste truncated the link.

I'm testing it since four days and can absolutely recommend it.
No battery drain here at all. Proper functionality and even more options with every new version.
Keep up the great work.
Edit: do you have PayPal? I'm gonna hook you up with a beer.

Melecatius said:
I'm testing it since four days and can absolutely recommend it.
No battery drain here at all. Proper functionality and even more options with every new version.
Keep up the great work.
Edit: do you have PayPal? I'm gonna hook you up with a beer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, thank you. The app support is more than enough thanks!

Just bought the pro version. Coming from a note 7 and missing that ambient display, this great app will do.

Looks great.

Thank you very much sir

Trying it on a Nexus 6p. So far i'm loving it.

Bought pro, thanks!

So I've done some limited testing with the app white listed from doze and so far it improves the responsiveness significantly. I don't know the battery impacts yet, but if it's not noticeable I'll add code to prompt users to white list it.
Other upcoming changes:
Advanced settings to adjust wait times for how long the phone has to be in your pocket or laying flat before a wake can occur.
A pulse option that initially pulses faster when a notification comes in, and progressively shows down until the timeout.
Possibly change in lock screen battery indicator appearance.
Filter on laying flat thresholds. I suspect the accelerometer incorrectly reports the phone tilted while it is laying flat on occasion.

Just bought the Pro version, thanks for the nice app.
Unfortunately the ambient display doesn't light up on my Pixel if the phone is unlocked, e.g. by SmartLock. Typically, I have the phone lying next to me on the desk at work or at home und the phone is unlocked by location based SmartLock. This is where I would like to see incoming notifications without touching the phone. Do you think this is possible to implement?

Wrapp said:
Just bought the Pro version, thanks for the nice app.
Unfortunately the ambient display doesn't light up on my Pixel if the phone is unlocked, e.g. by SmartLock. Typically, I have the phone lying next to me on the desk at work or at home und the phone is unlocked by location based SmartLock. This is where I would like to see incoming notifications without touching the phone. Do you think this is possible to implement?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll look into that. I've got an idea that may work.

grokus said:
I'll look into that. I've got an idea that may work.
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Click to collapse
For me wave to wake works with smart lock in my home.

Taebom said:
For me wave to wake works with smart lock in my home.
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Click to collapse
Doesn't work for me.
More important (maybe only for me): the screen doesn't light up without interaction if the phone is unlocked by smartlock. That's the same behavior as with the ROM build in ambient display feature. It only lights up the screen when the phone is locked.
Thanks a lot for looking into that. This would overcome the disappointing original Google ambient display implementation!
If i can help somehow (testing,...) please let me know.

Wrapp said:
Doesn't work for me.
More important (maybe only for me): the screen doesn't light up without interaction if the phone is unlocked by smartlock. That's the same behavior as with the ROM build in ambient display feature. It only lights up the screen when the phone is locked.
Thanks a lot for looking into that. This would overcome the disappointing original Google ambient display implementation!
If i can help somehow (testing,...) please let me know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you still have ambient display enabled in settings? Mine is working with the location smart lock turned on and ambient display enabled.

grokus said:
Do you still have ambient display enabled in settings? Mine is working with the location smart lock turned on and ambient display enabled.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tested again..
Ambi-turner enabled.
In display settings
Ambient display : on
Display timeout : 15sec
Security settings:
Pin lock screen after 10min
On/off button locks immediately
(I'm not on an English version, hope the translations are understandable)
The phone is in an area where is unlocked by location based smartlock.
Test 1: wait for 15sec until the screen switches off, wait another minute, send me an WhatsApp from 2nd phone: i hear the notification sound, screen doesn't turn on. If i turn on the display using the on/off button i am on the home screen.
Test 2: switch off the screen by on\off button, (i can hear the lockscreen notification) and send me a WhatsApp from another phone. I hear the notification sound, screen turns on and shows the message. If i turn on the phone by on/off button I'm on the lock screen.
Pixel, version NDE63H

Just bought pro - nice job!

I' ve just tested it on my Nexus 5 with PureNexus 6.0.1 rom. PN has ambient display function in settings but it doesn't work because Nexus 5 doesn't have pick up sensors or pocket sensors. Therefore I've been looking for some solution how to wake it, for example cmactions-wave to wake or similar. For the previous period I've been using GravityBox but it's battery hungry.
I see now that ambi-turner works also, so testing it ATM...
nice work...

jazzh said:
I' ve just tested it on my Nexus 5 with PureNexus 6.0.1 rom. PN has ambient display function in settings but it doesn't work because Nexus 5 doesn't have pick up sensors or pocket sensors. Therefore I've been looking for some solution how to wake it, for example cmactions-wave to wake or similar. For the previous period I've been using GravityBox but it's battery hungry.
I see now that ambi-turner works also, so testing it ATM...
nice work...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. I'm posting an update soon. I'm testing a new mechanism that is waking the screen up much more reliably than the current version.