Galaxy S4: Proximity sensors activates, but doesn't turn off

[STARGATE]

Re: Proximity sensors activates, but doesn't turn off

Bearda, you da man.
Was driving me crazy, thought it was due to an update.
Another registered user only to say thanks-- and to add one key bit of info!

using the *#0*# test, i kept trying the air blowing trick with no success, I also would go "green" with proximity =1.0 but it wouldn't shut off- exactly like what happened during phone calls....
BUT! I kept noticing the ADC baseline value kept dropping. 250's when i was really close, then down to baseline in the 70's. Then more air, down to the 60's, more air down to the 50's... more air--- down to 46, 47.... still solid green after i got close and didn't shut off.

one last time and a bit more air.... down to 42, 43.... and VOILA! It worked. green when close, off when far.

I blew through a straw a few more times to get it even lower in the low 30's just to have some cushion.

It seems to me the threshold is around a baseline ADC of 45 you need to 'blow down' to.
So for all those for whom this trick didn't work the first time, keep on blowing....

Welcome to the forums!
Thanks for sharing this info.

Sent From Inside The TARDIS in a Galaxy S4 Away!

 

[Henno Taht]

Had exactly the same symptoms as the OP.

Tried blowing as powerfully as I could into the speaker grill - no effect.

Took my vacuum cleaner, installed the flat nose nozzle, set the vacuum cleaner to maximum suction level and pressed the nozzle hard against the speaker grill - worked perfectly.

Good luck, guys!

 

[STARGATE]

Had exactly the same symptoms as the OP.

Tried blowing as powerfully as I could into the speaker grill - no effect.

Took my vacuum cleaner, installed the flat nose nozzle, set the vacuum cleaner to maximum suction level and pressed the nozzle hard against the speaker grill - worked perfectly.

Good luck, guys!

Welcome to the forums!
Glad you got it working. ☺

Sent From The Pegassus Galaxy With My GS4

 

[Ahman_dux]

Wooooowwwww.. u guys are so amaizing, hade same issue but doing that now evrythngs is okay.... thanx alot

 

[STARGATE]

Wooooowwwww.. u guys are so amaizing, hade same issue but doing that now evrythngs is okay.... thanx alot

Welcome to the forums!
Glad it worked out for you. Hopefully there aren't any more hiccups.

Sent From Inside The TARDIS in a Galaxy S4 Away!

 

[cliffy223]

Re: Proximity sensors activates, but doesn't turn off

Greatest fix ever. I was about to factory reset my phone b/c of this issue. After using a can of air on the ear piece it worked like a charm. I was so impressed that I didn't believe this easy fix worked so I had to call *#0*# three more times just to believe it. I am going to post this on the thread so Bearda get tons of credit.

 

[Sarah Rekosh]

Holy hell thank you for this my phone works now i was ready to throw it in the garbage i was getting so frustrated

 

[ddibb]

Just registered to add that using the vacuum did the trick for me as well.

 

[STARGATE]

Holy hell thank you for this my phone works now i was ready to throw it in the garbage i was getting so frustrated

Welcome to the forums!
Glad it worked out for you too.

Sent From Another Galaxy

 

[STARGATE]

Just registered to add that using the vacuum did the trick for me as well.

Welcome to the forums!
We're glad that trick also worked for you.

Sent From Another Galaxy

 

[gvacca]

Re: Proximity sensors activates, but doesn't turn off

I didn't think this had any chance of working, but I seemed to have fixed it. On another forum someone mentioned the proximity sensor could act funny if dust made its way in the earpiece grill and that he had luck blowing into the earpiece and loosening the dust. I picked up a can of compressed air and got the thing pretty good. Sure enough the proximity sensor works perfectly now. The phone app reacts correctly, and the test mode shows proximity deactivation as soon as I move my hand away.

I really didn't think it would make a difference, but I'm glad I gave it a try. A $5 can of compressed air beats having to transfer everything over to another phone any day.

Posted via Android Central App

Thank you so much for the tip!!! I had gone to two different T-Mobile stores for help (with no luck), upgraded the firmware (which made the sensor work one way--turning the screen off--but not the other), and I was about to have the store do a factory reset, possibly followed by an in-warranty phone swap. During my wait at the store I decided to look for solutions online, and I found this. Not having canned air nearby, I tried blowing air into the earpiece as hard as I could. I did that about three times. And it WORKED! The proximity sensor now "finds" my ear, "knows" when I pull the phone away from it, and does it again and again as many times as I want during the call. Before I had experienced similar situations as others in the thread, including one call where the phone was frozen on the black screen and I could do nothing to get out of it.

Seems like a design flaw. A software fix might improve the situation, but frankly it's hard to argue with such an easy and quick fix (once you know about it). It's a bit of a shame that no one at the stores knew about this.

G

 

[manjutiptur]

Hi,
When I do *#0*#, for sensor test...I ma grtting value as 7.
Let me knw wat should i do further to resolve for proximity getting off

 

[Sharjeel Memon]

I am facing same problem regarding sensor please help me...what can i do ???

 

[Akash Amin]

man this worked..Thank u so much...

 

[freddyjuliantoyap]

Re: Proximity sensors activates, but doesn't turn off

Thank you so much! It worked for me using vacuum cleaner! You saved my phone! Thank you, Bearda!!

 

[Steven Palvi]

Whaaaat, my maat jy is awesome! I had this problem for too long with a brand spanking new phone. I used nitrogyn, and couldn't believe the results. I did the *#0*# before and after, before there was nothing going on, my prox sensor was not responding to anything. So I registered just to say thanks to the beard!

 

[Faisal Rehman Choudary]

Sorry for my bad English.
I just blow from my mouth into the earpiece and it worked for me.
Try to blow it dry. Do not mix your spit with it.

 

[Kochi]

Thank you very much Bearda. At first it also made me think the problem was in software update. But after your comments, and viewing other's comment, I blew air through head piece vent and it it didn't worked for me, then I rememberd that I had changed my broken screen. So I decided to open it again hoping to find some solution regarding the problem. And after cleaning the proximity sensor with a cloth the my problem is solved. I took the help of google on how to find the proximity sensor. Thanks again.

 

[alexchf_fyp]

Re: Proximity sensors activates, but doesn't turn off

I tried to blow with a straw for few time but it doesn't improved. The proximity value remains at around 52-55 and screen keeping green. I then used a small keyboard vacuum pump to suck for few second, it fell to 47!!!! 47 is a safe value but I cant make it even lower. Anyway, thank you so much for the trick. The Samsung online support just sucks that always ask me to factory reset!

 

[Osama Khan1]

Have Registered just to say Thank You. Just blow with my mouth and it worked for me.