On your Android, when you make a call, the screen immediately goes blank and turns black? If so, then the problem is most likely with the proximity sensor on the phone. By the way, you can easily check this. Here are the instructions.
This problem can appear in any phone, for example, sony xperia, mi xiaomi, lumia, compact, samsung, asus, xiaomi xiaomi, but it has been noticed that most often the screen goes blank on sony z3.
Moreover, it happens that it goes out and does not turn on - this is no longer a joke. If this happens when answering a call or making an outgoing call, then most often the culprit is the proximity sensor.
What is a sensor and how does it work in Android? The proximity sensor has several functions, but the most important task is to automatically dim and illuminate the display during a voice call.
This is done by detecting what is near your face and your phone. When the phone gets close to your ear, the sensor detects your head and the screen turns off to avoid draining the battery and to prevent you from accidentally disconnecting your call.
In turn, when you remove the phone from your ear, the screen lights up so you can mute the call or use other functions (numeric keypad, switch the conversation to speaker, etc.).
When it comes to damage to the proximity sensor, the mechanism described above stops working, so there is no way for the phone to infer whether it is currently near a person.
The problem with the proximity sensor usually manifests itself in the fact that the screen immediately turns off during a call and lights up only after a call, or vice versa - the screen does not turn off even if you put it to your face during a call.
How to set up a screen lock during a call on Honor 20?
How to set up screen lock during a call?
- enter the “calls” menu;
- open the settings
; - switch to the subsection mentioning incoming calls;
- find an item in it that suggests using a proximity sensor;
- activate it by moving the slider next to the inscription to the “on” position.
Interesting materials:
Can I add coconut milk to tea? Can I add oat milk to coffee? Can I add coconut milk powder to coffee? Is it possible to add fruit puree to baby porridge? Can I add coconut milk to coffee? Is it possible to finish cooking the tongue? Is it possible to crush a stone in the ureter? Is it possible to travel to Crimea without a passport? Can you eat bananas with milk? Is it possible to eat hot peppers?
What is a proximity sensor and what is it for?
In this case, we are talking about a small contactless device that recognizes the approach of any object to the smartphone. As a result of the correct operation of this function, the gadget’s display will turn off automatically when you bring the phone to your ear. This will prevent you from accidentally pressing touch buttons during a call (for example, with your ear, finger or cheek).
In addition, the proximity sensor on Android allows you to significantly save battery power, since when the screen is turned on while communicating with another subscriber, the battery power is intensively consumed.
Other reasons why the screen suddenly turns off
The display may also go dark due to more serious reasons, such as a failure of the mobile device’s firmware or hardware malfunctions, in particular the screen or processor, which can happen as a result of falls and damage to the device.
If the nature of the problem that has arisen remains unknown or serious problems are identified, it is still better to contact the service, where specialists will help to correctly diagnose and “cure” the device.
Why does the screen on Android Xiaomi go blank when making a call: reasons
Often, when using Xiaomi phones, an unpleasant bug occurs during a conversation. For example, when you separate the phone from your ear, the screen does not light up and goes out when you make a call.
On a note!
Problems of this kind most often disappear when the device is rebooted. If this does not happen, they try to correct the situation on their own.
More complex reasons could be device failure, reset calibration, or poor-quality firmware. Very often, problems with the sensor are caused by the following factors:
- Manufacturing defects. In this case, the screen does not go dark during the first conversation. The new device should be taken to a warranty workshop. Do-it-yourself repairs are not allowed.
- Failure of the sensor over time. In this case, it is better to show the device to a specialist for an accurate diagnosis.
- Conflict. Sometimes after major repairs, for example, replacing the screen or other elements, problems with the proximity sensor are observed. Flashing the software helps correct the situation.
It is not worth repairing a smartphone by disassembling the case and replacing important components on your own if you do not have special tools, experience and knowledge. Such repairs are left to professionals.
The screen goes blank while playing a game or watching a video
An unexpected shutdown of the screen, for example, in any program, when watching a video in a browser or in a player, when the smartphone stops responding to any user actions other than restarting the mobile device, can be caused by the application freezing. In this case, it is better to wait a little and after a short period of time the problem will resolve on its own. Application failures often occur due to errors in the program itself or lack of RAM, so it is better to deactivate programs running in the background.
If the phone screen often turns off in a particular application and the failure has already become permanent, when watching a movie or performing other tasks, this may be a bug. This should be reported to the developer.
The display does not turn on, but the phone works
In such cases, the smartphone can even receive incoming calls. This malfunction also occurs for many reasons, but it is unlikely that you can fix it at home on your own. The fact is that such symptoms indicate serious and deep problems.
One possible reason is problems with the display cable. The cable is a flexible strip with conductive tracks that connect the display to the screen control chip. Sometimes, due to a fall or impact, the cable simply becomes detached - in this case, it is enough to return it to its place. Often moisture or dirt gets under the contacts of the cable - cleaning the contacts can solve this problem. If the cable is damaged, it must be replaced.
How to properly calibrate the proximity sensor
If after making the settings the problem does not disappear, try calibrating. But first make sure it works:
- In the phone, instead of the number, dial the command *#*#6484#*#*, a special menu will open.
- Select “Single item Test” from the list of items.
- Next, go to “Proximity Sensor”.
- The word “Far” or a number will appear on the screen.
- Cover the sensor with your palm, the word “far” should transform into “close”, and the number will become zero. If numbers and words change, then everything works, then proceed to calibration.
On a note!
In some models, instead of the code *#*#6484#*#* you need to dial *#*#4636#*#*.
To calibrate, turn off the mobile phone. Press and hold the volume up and power buttons at the same time. After a light vibration signal, only the sound is pressed. A menu will appear on the screen. If necessary, change the language to English. Open the PCBA test menu item, then select Proximity Sensor.
For successful calibration, it is important that several conditions be met:
- the procedure is carried out on a flat horizontal surface;
- the surface is cleaned of dirt, dust, protective films and glass are removed;
- remove bright light sources.
To start calibration, press the Calibration button. To complete, click on Successfully. Exit the program, start the smartphone in normal mode and check its functionality. Calibration will also help fix a bug when the screen goes dark during a call and does not light up until the other person hangs up, even if the phone is removed from the ear.
How to prevent your phone screen from turning off while reading
With a small timeout set by default, when the display starts to dim too early, it is inconvenient to read on a mobile device. Since the keys are not pressed while reading, the device regards this as inaction. You can correct the situation in the device settings by selecting the desired time for the backlight to be active, or using utilities.
Using the system
The menu is different for different phone models, and the required item may be called differently, but the algorithm of actions will be the same:
- Let's go to the smartphone settings.
- Here we find the “Screen” section (it may also be called “Screen and Brightness” or “Display”; sometimes the function can also be located in the “Battery” section, depending on the device’s firmware).
- Select the “Auto-lock” option (“Screen timeout” or “Sleep mode”). Going to it, we set the preferred value. Some firmware allows you to never turn off the screen.
- If you need the display to be active at all times, including while charging, in the developer section (appears after several clicks on the build number) you can activate the “Keep the screen on” function. If you want the touch buttons and screen to respond to touches when the screen dims, you must also activate the “Screen active when dimmed” option.
Using apps
Another solution to the problem involves choosing software, when used, the screen should not turn off even if there is no direct action on the part of the user for a long time. There are many apps on Google Play that offer sleep management capabilities. They are installed as standard, like any software from the market, and are easy to use.
Causes of problems with the proximity sensor
Sensor malfunctions can occur either due to software failures or due to purely mechanical damage. If the problem is software related, you can often fix it yourself, for example, by recalibrating the sensor, using a factory reset, or reinstalling the Android firmware.
But if the malfunction occurred, for example, as a result of the phone falling, then mechanical damage to the sensor probably occurred. It often occurs when the cord comes to the point of peeling off the upper part of the case from the base of the phone (especially in Sony Xperia devices). This can be detected when the proximity sensor starts working when you tap on the top of the screen.
Of course, if purely mechanical breakdowns occur, it is better to contact a service center, since the solution is to replace the sensor or repair the upper part of the housing. But, if we are talking about software errors, then you can try to fix it yourself. See what needs to be done before calling the service center. There are several solutions that allow you to fix the problem without repairing the proximity sensor.
Enable or disable proximity sensor on Android
Typically, the sensor on the device is active by default. If in your case this is not the case, or this function was somehow disabled by accident, then enabling it will not be difficult. This is done as follows: go to “Settings”, find the “System applications” section, select the “Phone” item:
Then click “Incoming calls” and move the slider in the “Proximity sensor” line to the active position (on some gadgets you will need to check the box):
Depending on the smartphone model, activating the sensor will look slightly different, for example, by immediately opening the dialing field, we call up the call settings menu either with the “Settings” button, or by pressing and holding the hardware options button. And after that, as was written above, in “Incoming calls” we turn on the sensor:
If the question is about how to turn off the proximity sensor, then, accordingly, we go the same way and deactivate the function (uncheck it).
How to calibrate a smartphone?
You'll have to go to recovery . By default, the interface is in Chinese. Select "中文". This is a language changer switch.
Quick repair of a Xiaomi smartphone, there are panoramas and photos of the place!
Further:
- Open PCBA .
- We put the device on the table.
- Click on calibration.
After the calibration procedure is completed, a corresponding message will appear. Ready .
If the screen goes blank during a call and you can't unlock it
Mobile devices have a useful function of disabling touch keys and display backlighting to save energy and eliminate the possibility of accidental presses during a call.
Lock buttons and turn off backlight during a call
The implementation of the option is provided by a proximity sensor that responds to the darkening of part of the screen when the smartphone is brought to the ear. When you remove the device from your head, the display will light up again, giving you the opportunity to end a call, switch to the speaker, call up the keyboard, or perform other actions.
But it also happens that the device’s sensor is triggered by mistake, for example, while dialing a number, during a communication session using speakerphone, waiting for an answer, etc. In addition to the fact that the screen goes dark, the touch keys are also blocked, which creates a lot of problems inconvenience to the user. In such situations, you should find out why the phone screen goes blank during a call and, having determined the reason, take measures to eliminate it.
Reasons for false positives
Incorrect activation of the proximity sensor, as a result of which the backlight on the phone turns off, can be caused by various reasons. The sensitive sensor can even react to a shadow, so the device’s reaction to foreign objects is considered normal. If you remove all objects from the screen, it will be unlocked, and the lock will also be removed when the call ends.
Frequent false alarms of the proximity sensor may indicate its malfunction. The problem may manifest itself as the backlight turning off during a call and the inability to unlock the phone, or, on the contrary, the mobile device may not be blocked. Malfunction of the sensor can be due to both software and hardware reasons.
In some cases, the problem can be solved on your own. For example, the proximity sensor often fails due to the use of low-quality protective glass on the smartphone. In the event of a software failure, in order to correct the situation, you can recalibrate the sensor, which is done using the system or using special programs. An alternative option is to reset to factory settings. Well, in the case of mechanical damage, we recommend seeking professional help.
