what feature is this? when i put the phone near my face the screen goes blank and when i move it away from my face the menu lights up, pretty cool. anyone know how it works?
Not sure of the technical aspects, but I've heard it has a sensor - much like a car has headlight sensor. When it gets dark, the headlights go on, when it's daylight, headlights shut off. Phone is the opposite, dark to your face - light off, pulled away from face, lights up. I agree, cool feature - helps to conserve battery a little bit too.
It's a proximity sensor. The screen turns off so that it doesn't accidently register the screen touching your face as a touch input (aka your face touches the 'end call' button while in the middle of talking).
Lol all phones have done this using a proximity sensor for about 4 years now;-). It's nice though! Otherwise your cheek would press all kinds of buttons during a phone call, likely the end button as one of them.
These have been around for about six years now on mobiles.
Yes, this is nothing new on phones. If you're interested, look very closely at the phone's front, to the left of the speaker as you look at it. Opposite side of the camera lens. You may have to tilt it a bit, and bright light will help. You'll see two very small transluscent spots. One is the light sensor, the other is the proximity sensor.
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I'm having trouble with the proximity sensor on my HD2. It works if the phone is pressed up directly on my ear, but if I move it away just the slightest, the screen comes back. Is there somewhere I can access the proximity sensor settings, and give myself a bit more room? Like, say, anything inside an inch shuts off the screen?
ROM info is in the sig, and I'm using the HTC phone dialer, if that makes any difference.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=624206
Aw balls, I hate it when there's a thread for this, and my impatience with searching failed to find it.
Thanks!
Doesn't sound like that app does anything for the sensitivity, unless i missed it. it just makes the screen stay off after the sensor is activated.
However the point of the proximity sensor is to shut off the screen so your ear isn't pressing buttons. If you've got the phone far enough away from your ear to reactivate the screen, then there's no longer a need to turn off the screen to prevent ear dialing.
If you're worried about power savings, the screen should shutoff in a minute or so, depending on your screen timeout options
d0ug said:
Doesn't sound like that app does anything for the sensitivity, unless i missed it. it just makes the screen stay off after the sensor is activated.
However the point of the proximity sensor is to shut off the screen so your ear isn't pressing buttons. If you've got the phone far enough away from your ear to reactivate the screen, then there's no longer a need to turn off the screen to prevent ear dialing.
If you're worried about power savings, the screen should shutoff in a minute or so, depending on your screen timeout options
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correct, I haven't found a way to change the sensitivity for it, just turn it on or off. I believe the way the sensor works like a motion sensor in a store, either you are there or not... Hardware driven on sensitivity, not software.
Nibbley15 said:
correct, I haven't found a way to change the sensitivity for it, just turn it on or off. I believe the way the sensor works like a motion sensor in a store, either you are there or not... Hardware driven on sensitivity, not software.
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I actually posted about the sensor in another post. The sensor is just an IR LED and a photo diode. The photo diode looks for the reflected IR when the phone is near something like your ear.
The IR LED only turns on during a phone call. Try this get a digital camera with a live preview and aim it at the 2 dots where the proximity sensor is, you'll see the IR LED light up when you initiate a call
The same photo diode is used to alter the screen brightness depending on the ambient light that hits it
This might seem like a dumb question, and I just got my MTS 2 days ago, so I'm still learning about it, but at the top of the phone, where the LEDs are, what is the function of the opposite side of where you hear your calls? Is it there for looks or does it have LEDs in there also?
it is the proximity sensor... it is what "locks" the screen so you are not activating it with your cheek while on the phone... it also blacks out the screen when you are on the phone
I've always wondered what this was too... thanks for that information.
it also turns the button lights and keyboard lights on/off at certain light levels...that way when its bright it turns the lights off and when ur in the dark the lights come on...i love it!
-BMFC
RavenWulf said:
it is the proximity sensor... it is what "locks" the screen so you are not activating it with your cheek while on the phone... it also blacks out the screen when you are on the phone
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that seems to be incorrect because i use the headset and if i lift the phone to a certain angle the phone screen turns off, but when i tilt it back down it turns on again. i will look into this more but from what i have seen it is just there to be a little more symmetrical(would you want a phone with asymmetrical looks to it)
tubaking182 said:
that seems to be incorrect because i use the headset and if i lift the phone to a certain angle the phone screen turns off, but when i tilt it back down it turns on again. i will look into this more but from what i have seen it is just there to be a little more symmetrical(would you want a phone with asymmetrical looks to it)
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no hes right it IS a proximity sensor...go where theres some light and open the keyboard and see if the keylights are on...if so, try to make it brighter...(shine a flashlight at it or something) and the lights will go off...then put your finger over the sensor and the lights will come on...it works, try it...definitely not just for decoration...what you are experiencing is a perfectly normal effect of the proximity sensor doing what it does...no reason to look into it...
or download "Sensor List" from the market and look, it lists the prox. sensor and its data...put your finger over it and watch the output jump...
or run adb logcat and put your finger over it and itll come up with a entry about the light value changing...
-BMFC
tubaking182 said:
that seems to be incorrect because i use the headset and if i lift the phone to a certain angle the phone screen turns off, but when i tilt it back down it turns on again. i will look into this more but from what i have seen it is just there to be a little more symmetrical(would you want a phone with asymmetrical looks to it)
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without the headset try calling your voice-mail in a lit room and hold the phone away from you and move it all around an at different angles, you will see it makes no changes but just by putting your thumb over that spot it kills the screen and as soon as you remove your thumb it comes back on... might want to actually do some reading or testing before saying someone is wrong. not only would a quick 5 second test show that it is the light/proximity sensor, or you could try a quick google search
You can also have the left light flash for missed messages.
i was doing some testing and i am retracting my statement, you were correct wulf and i am sorry that i doubted this.
hey it's kewl we all make mistakes
im running full stock everything for starters.
When i am in a call sometimes up to my ear or speakerphone the screen will go black and i wave my hand in front of the light sensor and nothing works. The screen stays black. I like having the lock button hang the phone up so i want to keep that option on...
Just wondering why it is doing this, thx.
Its a thing to save battery usage,
do you have a case on it?
from my experimentation, the sensor is somewhere at the top, left of the power button when the phone is facing you.
prehaps your hand, hair, or case is covering it causing it to turn off - as it should
it thinks your in a call and you dont need to look at the screen.
Hey!
You know how the g2 locks the screen when u are in the middle of a call, so u wouldn't accidentally push a button with your cheeck/ear? Well sometimes (and quite often too) it stops locking, probably thinking that I moved the phone away from my face.. and the it relocks it the next second.. well most of the times it unlocks, I push the mute button or I hang up alltogether.... its getting rlly frustrating, and I was wondering if anyone is having the same problem..
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
Are you outside or in bright light when this is happening?
The proximity sensor (the thing that controls this function) is in the upper left hand corner of the phone, above the display area. Basically if light hits it, on comes the screen. No light, no screen. Put your phone on a desk/table and make a call to voice mail or something, and then move your finger over the proximity sensor. Then move it away... You should be able to make the screen go on & off by passing your finger over the sensor. If this does not work, then perhaps your sensor is bad.
Some have had problems when making calls outside, because the light gets in between their face and the phone, hits the sensor, activating the screen.
Steve Jobs would tell you to hold the phone in your left hand. (It works better that way.)
Thanks! That's helpful.. I tried the finger test and it seems to work fine... when I'm holding the phone next to my ear with the sensor TOUCHING my ear, ii flickers on and off =S
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
You know the four LEDs that light up along with the keyboard LEDs at the bottom of our phone? It pisses me off that Samsung wired these guys in with the keyboard and literally made it impossible to disable them using software fixes. And I've set it to 3 seconds but that just doesn't cut it. I want them disabled, permanently, until I decide they should be turned back on. Well, I took it to the next level.
Cutting a piece of black electrical tape to just fit over the four, bottom buttons, I place it over the LEDs and BOOM, they were gone. My eyes will no longer tear up when I'm on my phone late at night while laying in bed. No longer will the screen be set to a healthy, dim brightness only to be overpowered the four LEDs at the bottom each time my finger touches the screen.
The capacitive feature still works fine, and I've lost no functionality with this fix. I'd post a picture but I'm having some issues with my digital camera.