Auto Rotation / Proximity Sensor not working after screen replacement

[Brett Hemphill]

I recently broke the screen on my nexus 4 so I ordered a replacement off ebay and switched the screen out. After firing it up for the first time after the fix everything seemed to be working fine until I noticed the the auto rotation was not working. I have checked the settings and it is set to autorotate. After making a phone call I noticed the screen was not turning off when i put the phone to my head. I have downloaded android sensor box and it looks like the proximity sensor and the gyro are not working at all. I have taken apart the phone multiple times to ensure all things are connected correctly and they seem to be correct. I am hoping this is a software issue but I am worried it is probably a hardware issue. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[bosshaug12]

These are definitely hardware issues. The gyro is a small chip on the board, if the auto-rotate is not functioning then that chip was damaged in someway during the repair and this chip isn't easily replaceable.

The prox not working could be caused a couple of things like the screen not sitting flush, the lens over the prox, or the sensor itself could have been damaged.
First test it when in a call, try pushing down on the screen where the prox lens is and see if it works. If it works then light is getting to the prox from somewhere else like maybe a gap between the screen and the bezel. To try to fix it disassemble the phone and take off the new screen. Make sure that you removed all adhesive that has glass in it or even remove all the old adhesive as long as you have some new adhesive to apply. You want the screen to be as flush as possible to the bezel.
You can also try to use some thin adhesive and making a gasket to put around the prox under the screen, if that makes sense. Just take a strip of adhesive, roll it, and do it 4 more times to make a square and put it around the prox under the screen. That usually fixes prox issues on any phone.

Also, compare the color of the lens to the lens on the old screen. You generally want the lens to be a dark purple so if the new screen has a lens that is a light purple try taking a sharpie and darkening the prox lens.
Luckily though, if none of these work the prox can be replaced it if it is damaged.

Good luck.

 

[bsmithphoto13]

how hard was it to swap out the screen? I am looking into getting one with a cracked screen and will want to swap it out in the near future

 

[Brett Hemphill]

I was pretty easy to replace the screen probably took about 30 minutes. There are multiple places online for teardown instructions. I say it was easy but I apparently broke something during the process.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Ken Rossman]

auto rotate stopped working a few months after upgrading my google nexus 7 32gb 2012 to android 4.3 - no hardware was ever changed etc. set orientation (free app) allows seamless change between portrait and landscape - even with apps that don't auto rotate. didn't fix whatever is wrong with the gyro? but works for me.