Is it possible to disable or re-calibrate the proximity sensor on a Nexus 4, Android 5.1?

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AC Question

The proximity sensor in my Nexus 4 is slightly broken (ever since an unfortunate incident involving rather rapidly dismounting my bicycle and introducing myself and my phone very enthusiastically to the pavement). Namely, it always thinks there is something nearby, even when there isn't. I believe this is because the phone is slightly bent: the problem can be remedied temporarily by applying a small amount of pressure to the screen near the sensor.

I don't find the proximity sensor to be that useful - if one could disable it, so that during calls the screen turns off but can then be brought back up with a hard button, that'd be just fine. As long as I can use automated menus and actually *hang up*.

On the other hand, if the sensor is just misinterpreting the extra reflectance of the slightly wonky screen as something being near, maybe it can be re-calibrated to work again. This assumes it's not a dodgy connection that is being reconnected by pushing on the screen.

I would like to avoid any potential solution that involves opening the phone up, as the damage during its encounter with the ground was more extensive and I suspect it is quite fragile. The phone isn't rooted and I'm not sure I can be bothered to root it instead of pinching the screen during calls.