# Prox Sensor issue



## M00NEY (Aug 2, 2011)

I have been chasing this issue for a little while now, and I am at a loss.

Description of the issue: The Prox Sensor "works" as it shuts the screen off when on a call, but it sporadically does not work to return the screen to on when the phone moves away from my face. Sometimes it does, most of the time it does not.

Environment: I am rooted and unlocked, otherwise stock for the moment (just dotting all my i's and crossing all my t's before I leap in - this phone is quite the departure from the Fascinate which I got VERY comfy flashing). The phone does have the (corrected with the black surround) XGear [white] Tempered Glass Screen Protector, however I seem to have ruled that out... I think.

Steps taken: 
First, I supposed the screen protector was at fault - be it alignment or just getting in the way of itself with reflections, so I shifted the position a touch, tested and all worked well. The problem returned, so I adjusted again and photographed the working position so I would have a comparison to see if the protector was shifting. When the issue returned, I compared - exactly the same position.

So I thought, "dirty". Cleaned, rebooted, tested, everything worked for 2 calls. Third call, the screen would not turn back on. Cleaned again, tested, no dice.

Next I started to research. I did not find a lot of helpful info other than what is in the XGear screen protector thread, which (I believe) I have ruled out. One post I did stumble across made mention of a prox sensor test app, so a quick search on the Play Store led me to the Proximity Sensor Finder app. Installed and ran the test and sure enough, when the app opens it sees nothing and shows 5.0 cm (max supported by the sensor). Wave my hand over it (not touching the screen, and distance does not seem to matter - inside of 1 cm acts the same as 4 cm away) and the distance drops to 0.0 cm and stays there. If I lock the screen and then unlock, the timer has stopped. If I kill the app and reopen, the distance resets.back to 5.0.

Unfortunately, when on a call and wanting to go to speaker or add a call, these reset methods are not available. I'd prefer to not need to turn off the prox sensor for calls, as I really like that feature, just totally at a loss as to the issue.

Any thoughts on this? The other threads that I have seen with relation to this were for other variants of the S3 and were exactly the opposite - where the screen would simply stay on vs stay off.

Is there perhaps a better testing app? The one I am using does seem to be pretty generic...

Any help or suggestions come greatly appreciated.

<edit to add additional info> - I tested with a coworkers VZW S3 using the same app. His works perfectly, and he too has the [blue] XGear screen protector. So I walked outside with both phones to have a smoke and ponder - lo and behold, the sensor (on both phones) works flawlessly when I am outdoors - so it would seem to be lighting related. Odd thing is that when outside, I tested in full sun and in the shade - worked perfectly many many times. As soon as I returned inside, no joy.

Would the next step be to talk to XGear? I am thinking so. My last message to them went to deaf ears, unfortunately.


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## M00NEY (Aug 2, 2011)

The vendor has made this right.

Will update when replacement arrives.


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## M00NEY (Aug 2, 2011)

So the replacement arrived and I tried and tried... My phone apparently does not like having any glass on top of the prox sensor.... Same performance issues. I hope it is better for others.

Faith restored in the vendor, just bummed that I cannot use the product (I really like it).


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