Nexus 7 Power/Sleep Button problems

[anville]

Hey all,

I have a 2012 Nexus 7 tablet, and have some weird problems related to the power/sleep button.

First, it's running the stock OS, and no special extra apps running (near as I can tell). I actually did a factory reset and re-installed just handful of extra basic apps that I normally use (a few word games, facebook, file manager).

The problem is that it doesn't often respond to the power button when it's on. So if it's active, I can't put it to sleep with the button. If it's asleep, I can't wake it up with the button. I also can't power it down by a short press, but the long press (10 secs) will always reset it.

Some other facts:

• It is normally houses in a folio case with the magnets in the top flap. Opening and closing this will always cause the sleep and wake to work.
• Sometimes, the button does work. I don't see any pattern to when this happens yet.
• When it the tablet is actually powered down, it always powers up with a single short press.

So what the heck is going on? I see some other people posting similar stuff on here, but I didn't see any that had quite the same problem. It almost seems as if there is a software/OS level problem with the button, since the hardware level usage always works. But why isn't everyone seeing this? Is it possible that my magnetic case has somehow messed with the sensors to foul up the "cover detection" software? I've removed the tablet from the case, but haven't noticed any consistent change in behavior.

BONUS QUESTION: Is there any software out there that I can trigger a power down from the touchscreen UI?

Thanks!

 

[mr_nobody]

BONUS QUESTION: Is there any software out there that I can trigger a power down from the touchscreen UI?

Thanks!

Yes there is. The app I'm familiar with is quick shutdown. However all such apps require root.

 

[anville]

thanks, mr_nobody, i'll check it out

 

[TheAler]

I am having the same issue were you able to find a solution?

 

[ruger141]

Holy cow I thought I was the only one with this! My issue is I turn the screen off and then if I try and turn hit back on right away nothing happens. About 10 sec later it reacts and the screen comes on.
Interestingly since I just bought a Poetic Slimline Case with Smart Cover functionality it proved to me that its physically not my Power Button. Even flipping the cover closed(screen goes off) and opening the cover quickly there often is that same delay. Something's up and it sounds software related.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Rehaan13]

The problem is that it doesn't often respond to the power button when it's on. So if it's active, I can't put it to sleep with the button. If it's asleep, I can't wake it up with the button. I also can't power it down by a short press, but the long press (10 secs) will always reset it.

I'm having the EXACT same issue!!

The Device:

• 1st Gen (Jan 2013) Nexus 7
• 100% stock Android 4.3 (JWR66Y / Jun 11th Kernel)
• NO apps installed (i did a factory reset)

The Problem:

• It boots up as normal
• Volume buttons work fine
• Pressing the power button briefly does NOTturn the screen off - nothing happens!
• Sometimes there's a several second (10-30?) delay before it turns the screen on, other times it doesn't turn the screen on
• Other times it flashes the screen on and off on its own, without me pressing any buttons (i have a video of this)
• The very first time it happened, it would flash the screen on and off very quickly whilst i was using the device
• Sometimes the "Power / Airplane mode" etc menu pops up, like the power button had been long pressed when i hadn't even touched it
• Long-pressing (10 seconds) the power button always makes it reboot the tablet

Stop-gap Solutions:

• For turning on the screen without the power button, there's an app called "Gravity screen" (root not required). You can rely on the time-out to switch the screen off. However, i just installed this a day before the problem started - and initially thought the two were related

@anville - did you use the same app by any chance? Have you tried another ROM?

ANY CLUES HERE GUYS??

I found this XDA thread, but he said he just returned his device : [Q] Nexus 7 Faulty Power Button - It works but...it doesn't work - xda-developers

cya
R

PS - I also just remembered that before the problem was first seen i let the N7 completely discharge to a point where just plugging it into the charger didn't do anything. I had to hold the power button and unplug/plug in the charger cable to make the screen show the charging sign. Wonder if that has anything to do with it.

 

[B. Diddy]

Have any of you tried a factory reset? A pain in the rear, I know, but worth a shot if the problem is big enough.

 

[Rehaan13]

Have any of you tried a factory reset? A pain in the rear, I know, but worth a shot if the problem is big enough.

Yes I have (as mentioned in my post above) - but unfortunately the problem still persisted!

 

[B. Diddy]

Yes I have (as mentioned in my post above) - but unfortunately the problem still persisted!

Oops, sorry--didn't read through everyone's posts thoroughly enough!

 

[Rehaan13]

POSSIBLE FIX / UPDATE:

I read in some other threads that this issue is caused by auto-brightness. I turned my auto brightness off (via the quick-settings dropdown). It did not make a difference.

Rebooted into Safe Mode (long-press the "power off" option). No difference.

Played around by setting manual brightness to 100%. No difference. Set it to 40%. No difference.

After a while, i wanted to power off the device. Was finding it impossible to get the long-press "power off" option on screen since the power button was being unresponsive as usual.

Went into the settings menu. Changed screen time-out from 15 sec to 1 minute. Turned auto-brightness back on.

BOOM! My power button is working perfectly now. It turns the screen on and off whenever i request it to do so.

HOWEVER: This just happened 10 minutes ago. I've rebooted into normal mode, and its working fine. Hopefully it will stay this way!

cya
R

 

[Legolas777]

POSSIBLE FIX / UPDATE:

I read in some other threads that this issue is caused by auto-brightness. I turned my auto brightness off (via the quick-settings dropdown). It did not make a difference.

Rebooted into Safe Mode (long-press the "power off" option). No difference.

Played around by setting manual brightness to 100%. No difference. Set it to 40%. No difference.

After a while, i wanted to power off the device. Was finding it impossible to get the long-press "power off" option on screen since the power button was being unresponsive as usual.

Went into the settings menu. Changed screen time-out from 15 sec to 1 minute. Turned auto-brightness back on.

BOOM! My power button is working perfectly now. It turns the screen on and off whenever i request it to do so.

HOWEVER: This just happened 10 minutes ago. I've rebooted into normal mode, and its working fine. Hopefully it will stay this way!

cya
R

How do u get safe mode off? My nexus is stuck in it.