S4 screen stays off , please help. - AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin

Hi,
I'm hoping someone can help me determine if I have a defective phone or no. Basically what happens is that when I receive a call and I bring my phone to my ear the screen turns off (as it should ) but when I move the phone away from my ear the screen stays off and I have to press the power to bring it back on. Mind you this started happening 2-3 weeks ago, before it was fine bring phone to face/ear screen turns off , move it away from face the screen would turn back on.
Now logically it seems the proximity sensor might be having issues but it works fine when i bring it to my ear so maybe that's not it?
This is quite annoying whenever I'm on a call and have to press numbers, end calls, go back to what i was doing I have to continuously press the power button. I googled these issue and a few people are reporting the same thing. but i didn't see any solutions or answers.
Thanks for any help.

Ive had the same thing happen. Go to Settings > My device > Call Settings. Look to see if the option to "turn off screen during call" is enabled/disabled.

I feel like you have a a custom rom, or maybe just rooted with some cpu clocking going on. whats usually going on is your phone is going into a deep sleep where it's energy is to low to even force itself to wake up.. but it's still alive not dead, just unresponsive (I feel like I'm talking about malnourished human beings). don't let your phone get too weak, set your minimum cpu speed a little higher than what it is now, and make sure it gets more complex carbs.
Sent from my Galaxy S4 using xda app-developers app

soraxd said:
I feel like you have a a custom rom, or maybe just rooted with some cpu clocking going on. whats usually going on is your phone is going into a deep sleep where it's energy is to low to even force itself to wake up.. but it's still alive not dead, just unresponsive (I feel like I'm talking about malnourished human beings). don't let your phone get too weak, set your minimum cpu speed a little higher than what it is now, and make sure it gets more complex carbs.
Sent from my Galaxy S4 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not changed anything on the phone, it's stock and simply have accepted the carrier's OTA updates and that's it.
And also I should have mentioned that I did check the call settings, I have the "turn off screen during call " enabled, before posting here I had that option disabled but then the screen would stay on during a call, which is worse cause then the phone gets hot near your face and don't want a bright light next to me.
Also I did a hard reset and factory wipe and nada, still doing the same thing .

same
I have the exact problem with my s4. I will post any findings.

Got It
For me, it was dust inside the phone in front of the sensor.
How to fix
1) Remove back of phone along with the battery and GSM and SD cards.
2) Remove 4 screws around the back of the speaker. Then pry out ward from the battery compartment and pop out the speaker housing.
3) Remove 5 screws from the rest of the back. Use your thumb nail and start at the bottom and work around the phone to pry appart.
4) Remove 1 screw from the camera and sensor housing. Pry the metal cover off by starting at the top and pry upward.
5) Take the camera out by on snapping the bottom snap plug with a flat head tweaker. Then remove front facing camera.
6) Lastly take out the sensor snap plug and tilt the sensor out. Blow air inside the housing .
7) reassemble.

Related

[Q] HTC HD2 weak wifi signal

Hey i installed gingerbread android 2.3.7 on my phone again but this time im getting really weak wifi signals... i'm only 5 feet away from router. It was not like this before so i do not know whats going on ( i only dropped my phone twice)
can you guys help me? is it a software issues or hardware?
happy thanksgiving
I would recommend installing a few different roms (that are known to work with wifi) and see if anything changes/improves.
If nothing improves, maybe flash back to winmo 6.5 and see if wifi improves.
If nothing improves then, you may have damaged your wifi antennae when you dropped it then hit up T-mobile!
Best of luck mate.
Possibly knocked the wifi coax loose from the mainboard. It's pretty easy to open up an HD2 and reattach that cable, I've had mine come loose before and that's what I had to do.
I'd definitely try the steps in the above post first just to make sure it's not a rom or kernel specific issue. And if it's still under warranty, don't bother taking it apart and ruining your warranty, obviously just return it to t-Mobile.
hey can you explain in more detail how to push back the wifi coax cable your talking about
Remove the battery cover, battery, sim card, and sd card.
Remove the 4 torx screws that are under little round stickers under the battery cover.
Using an old credit card or a plastic knife, slide between the screen and the housing to release the little plastic clips one by one which hold the housing to the phone's chassis.
Take your time and be careful not to scratch the housing or stick the card/knife in too far, damaging the fragile stuff inside,
It helps to put a little pressure on the back side of the screen wth your thumb while orying with the credit card (back of screen under battery)
The wifi coaxial cable runs from one corner of the mainboard, up along one side of the chassis, is taped together with some other wires, and leads to another small board up near the top of the phone.
Check the connections at both ends, making sure they are connected firmly and are in straight.
You might want to unplug them, just to be sure and hear/feel them click into place.
Take your time, set yourself aside a nice little workspace, and if you are unsure of anything, don't hesitate to come back here and ask.
There is a disassembly video here in the HD2 section somewhere, I think it's in HD2 General. It'd be worth it to search for it and watch at least the first part of the video, just to get an idea what you're dealing with. It's not a very hard job, it should take you like maybe an hour/hour and a half start to finish.
This will void your warranty permanently though.
Thank you sir i just followed the steps you did and it fixed the problem my wifi works fine but now i have another issue....
i dont know if i touched something or disconnected something in the process but my sound, vibration and volume button does not work. External speaker is not playing any sound (no music or key button taps) and no sound is made when placing a phone call BUT the other person on the end can hear me just fine so i'm guessing i might of disconnected like the speaker. ( my assumption)
thanks again for your help
Oh and when a call is being placed or recieved the screen automatically turns off and it becomes non responsive i.e if i take my phone off the ear and want to put it on hold the screen is still black instead of turning back on
The screen going black during a call is a pretty common problem with the HD2, and is likely not related to disassembling your phone as long as the screen functions normally otherwise. Since you didn't take your phone far enough apart to affect the light/proximity sensor, I can't imagine how disassembly would have affected it. You would have to take the mainboard and screen out from the chassis to get to that sensor.
The volume problem on the other hand, is probably due to either your volume rocker not being placed correctly during re-assembly, or the speaker contacts not being aligned properly. You'll have to take it back apart and ivestigate what went wrong.
Try going into Settings/Sound, and checking that the volume is not turned all the way down. If the volume is not all the way down, then you should be able to hear sound, so your speaker is probably not aligned properly.
Does your volume rocker feel different than before? If it doesn't make a definite 'click' when you press it, then it is probably slightly out of place. Also look for any wires that could have been pinched and damaged when you snapped your phone back together.
What is a volume rocker? When i start the phone it usually vibrates once then goes through the starting procoess. Now it doesn't vibrate at all. Phone turns on and i click the volume button up and nothing happens. I checked settings and everything is up
I have the phone opened as we speak and the reciever cable is connected and the vibrator cable is connected too. I tried to use tweezers to see if i can unhook it but their on too tight so thats a good thing. The two orange dots on the volume thing.. the bottom on was slightly off so i put i centered it
Still nothing works. no vibrating no sound ( the person on the other line can hear me but i can't hear anything) but the phone works great.
Im so confused
The volume rocker is the button that 'rocks' back and forth to control the volume.
It has to be positioned right in order to push the contacts that lie beneath it.
Since your phone's apart right now, what happens when you hold the battery in it with one hand, boot it up, and press the volume button contacts manually? If they buttons themselves do nothing, then it must be that they lost their connection somewhere, you'd have to trace the wires and figure out where they're not connected. If they do work, then the volume rocker was just misaligned.
As for the speaker, it has to be that it is not contacting the two little contacts correctly. Look at the speaker and make sure it is sitting correctly in the housing, and look ffor any obstructions near the vibrator motor.
No i can't press down on the volume button ever since i opened it it hasn't fit back right. Doesn't make a click sound
and what contacts on the speaker should i be looking for? are they under the speaker itself? should i remove the speaker? Theres no destruction on the vibrator its looks though like its sitting kinda tight between that camera flash being there..the metal spinning thing on the end of it can spin 360 so nothing its preventing it from moving.
I also can use my headset and the sound and call works fine besides the going to the black screen and not responding. i also noticed my camera does not load up either. but that could probably be solved with a clean install of gingerbread nand rom

Proximity Sensor Problem?

Howdy.
On the Model: SM-N900W8" Bell Galaxy Note 3
Basically when in call, Here is a problem that is reoccuring for the past few weeks ever since a couple over the air (ota?) updates I have received compliments of google.
Enabled right now, via "call settings" = "Turn off screen during calls" is CHECKED with Green checkmark.
Just handset call, moving handset to ear to talk. Handset goes black. When removing handset from ear to click hangup, or press buttons, ie to "see" the screen... screen is continually black. - Fix = PRESS HOME BUTTON... brings screen up...
When on speaker phone call, screen is lit. Move hand to the first of 2 sensor circles by the main earpiece part, screen goes black, but does not return on.
I have tried *#0*#. = "Connection problem or invalid MMI Code". - However try again, and I get red green blue receiver etc etc.
I clicked "sensor hub test" and it went BLACK.
I had to click home button, unlock screen, and I get a white with black text stating that..
INT Check: OK
FirmwareCheck
MCU Firm Version : ST0113090300
Bin Firm Version : ST0113090300
MCU Name: STM32F401CCY6B
"blue letters" PASS
I don't see how it passed, a screen went black, did not return, just went black..
Hit the back button. Tried "TSP HOVERING". That works fancy, drawing green squares everywhere...
Under "SENSOR"
I move the hand over proxmimity sensor - ACD goes to 1000+ when I put my finger over it and the screen goes green with black fonts of the prox, acceler, barometer, lights, etc...
Prox is native when sitting still anywhere from 80-95 averages for ACD
Proximity is 0.0 and TSP Color ID: 00
The different tests are rather cool to try, but not helpful in solving my issue...
What I have done: Use a lcd led plasma tv screen cleaner from nexxtech for non streaking. A cloth that came to clean my glasses I have to clean the screen. It is streak free. I have used compressed air to thoroughly blow the area around the upper speaker / sensors and even had the battery out / cover off, etc and blown every hole around the phone.
I still cannot solve this issue of black screening.
The only resolution which leads my ear to "hang up calls accidentally" is to "un check" ie single box, no checkmark, the "turn off screen during calls" option.... ie disable that sensor thing...
I have hard booted, rebooted, cleaned, etc...
Suggestions?
I have the same problem, hoping I won't have to send my device to the service because it's a pain in my country and I will be without a phone for more than a week.
Anyone know any fix for this?
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
Does anyone have an idea on this yet?
See here:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/sa...-sensor-issue-during-calls-3.html#post3233866
And here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=47329433&postcount=22
I plan on trying to return mine before re-calibrating via the above technique. Though I would like to hear peoples opinion on if its a calibration issue (i.e they didn't calibrate it from factory properly) or a hardware defect and the sensor it self is bad. My ADC value's when not covered sit at about 70 (clean screen after blowing with air at ear piece) My screen was solid green, wouldn't go white until I blew it out, I didn't check the value beforehand.
Went to Bell today and they will let me exchange it (backing it up now) I checked out the new phone they have for me and its ADC value is 30 with nothing close. From the link above it shows the "normal" value with nothing close to the proximity is around 10, not sure if I should be concerned with the new phone and try and find another if they are willing? Either way its better then my ADC 90 I'm getting today (blew with air yesterday to get it down to 70)
Thoughts? I would love to know a few more peoples ADC values.
bnevets27 said:
See here:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/sa...-sensor-issue-during-calls-3.html#post3233866
And here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=47329433&postcount=22
I plan on trying to return mine before re-calibrating via the above technique. Though I would like to hear peoples opinion on if its a calibration issue (i.e they didn't calibrate it from factory properly) or a hardware defect and the sensor it self is bad. My ADC value's when not covered sit at about 70 (clean screen after blowing with air at ear piece) My screen was solid green, wouldn't go white until I blew it out, I didn't check the value beforehand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't install superuser as i'm on a different model then the 2 common series out there... Unless you have some way to install root to correct...
It's more then likely difficult to complete without this...
well, I've had this exact same issue, but I read somewhere that if I blow into the earpiece (no air spray, I mean by my mouth, normally blow air into earpiece) it might get fixed. so I did and it is ok now it seems there might be getting dust under the glass through the speaker
jmaciak said:
well, I've had this exact same issue, but I read somewhere that if I blow into the earpiece (no air spray, I mean by my mouth, normally blow air into earpiece) it might get fixed. so I did and it is ok now it seems there might be getting dust under the glass through the speaker
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used a can of compressed air... and ADC went form 120 and non working proximity sensor to 10-15 with a good working proximity sensor.
I've contacted the seller where I bought my device (Omegacell somewhere in Alberta... for a SM-N900 imported from some other country)... they told me that if I can reproduce the problem, they will replace my device since I bought the exchange warranty at the same time. So now I'm back to square one... because I got it working with the air through the speaker "trick". Hoping that this fix will last for ever... but if it ever comes back, I hope that it will be within my 1 year exchange warranty.
Deep cleaning
I had the same problem with my proximity sensor. First it wouldn't work at all. Then ,after wiping the screen and blowing (with compressed air and mouth), it would work somewhat. The screen would go black when I put it to my ear but would not come back on after I took it down.
I tested it by dialing *#0*# and using the "Sensor" button. It would sense my hand approaching the sensor but not my hand going away.
I disassembled the phone following the instructions from GalaxyNote3Root.com (Sorry I can't post a link, not enough posts yet).
I wiped the sensor and the inside of the glass with a clean cloth, reassembled and the phone is now good as new.
This might obviously void your warranty, but on my AT&T SM-N900A there are no seals or tapes of any kind that has to be broken to get access. So no warranty voidage. At least no way anyone can tell you the phone was opened as long as you are carefull.
The whole operations takes about 15 mins.

[Q] Proximity Sensor Driving me nuts

Hey
My proximity sensor keeps stuffing up. When I make a call, and put the phone to my ear , it turns off the screen but when I release the phone from my ear, the phone screens remains off and I cannot access the phone untill the other party hangs up
This is a real pain when they do not answer and their voicemail comes on and I need to leave a message. I have to turn off my phone when this happens
I have fixed this but it only remains fixed for about a day
I have cleaned it, blown in the area where the proximity sensor sits with a straw ( did not have air compressor can) worked for about a couple of days then it stuffs up again
Not sure what the hell I can do to fix it now.. Buy a new sensor? I have a screen protector but there is a cut out where the ear goes
Go into settings, accessibility, then tick 'The power key ends calls' It won't turn off the screen.
I had that problem, I took the sensor out and wiped it, seems to be fine now. I saw a video online to help me, not got the link readily at hand though

Proximity sensor doing weird stuff since installing SlimKat on my Samsung Galaxy S3.

I searched, and didn't find any other posts about this, but the search engine here seemed a bit flaky.
I installed SlimKat 4.4.4.build.8.0 on my Samsung Galaxy S3, um, last year I think it was. I had previously been using SlimBean, having dumped the original Samsung ROM fairly shortly after I bought it. Since then there has been weirdness that relates to the proximity sensor.
I used E-Robot to disable the screen when anything is close to the proximity sensor. So put it face down, screen off; put it in my shirt pocket face inwards, screen off; leave it on the desk face up so I can see the screen, screen on. Naturally - hold it to your ear on a phone call, screen off, though that's a basic function of the proximity sensor, it did that anyway. On the flip side, if it was blanked and you uncover the sensor, the screen would come back on, but it would be the Lightning Launcher lock screen that I prefer. I got used to Lightning Launcher from SlimBean.
After installing SlimKat, when covering the sensor, first the volume controls show for a few seconds, THEN the screen goes off. Coming out again, the Lightning Launcher lock screen would not show. This got a bit awkward before I figured it out. I usually put my phone in my shirt pocket screen inward, so that the sensor triggers the screen disable. But now, since the volume control is showing for a few seconds first, I discovered that my chest would brush against the screen, randomly adjusting one of the volumes as it went in my pocket. Since I usually have the volume turned all the way up, the only way was down. I missed a few phone calls that way before figuring out why my phone wasn't ringing.
So I have disabled that E-Robot thing now. BTW, there's no way to turn the SlimKat screen blanker off? I would have tried that first, but could only find how to set the timeout, not how to turn it off.
More recently, though this may be a new hardware problem, but it's a big coincidence ... now the proximity sensor refuses to work at all. It always thinks it's covered. This is a really big pain, since as mentioned above, the proximity sensor is designed to disable the screen when you hold it to your ear, only now it disables it the moment the phone call starts, AND refuses to enable it after the phone call is over. The sensor still thinks it's being held to your ear, the screen stubbornly refuses to switch on, no matter what buttons I press. Only way I can get out of that state is to pull the battery. This is not good. (On the other hand, this sort of thing is why I always get phones with swappable batteries, as a very experienced computer dude, I know that sometimes you just have to kill the power.) So anyone I call gets to hear my swearing as I rip the case open and pull the battery out, before I can end the phone call. Though pulling the battery naturally ends the call. lol
About the same time I noticed the proximity sensor no longer working, I noticed the up volume button also isn't working. That could have been broken for awhile, I rarely use either volume control. Part of the reason for doing this entire proximity sensor disabling the screen thing is so I could avoid wearing out the physical buttons. The S3 is old, but I like to keep my computer hardware running for a long time.
Sooooo, proximity sensor and volume controls interact in odd ways, then both fail. That's a pretty big coincidence. Though having just written that, I have come up with a new theory. Maybe some common part of the physical circuitry for the sensor and the button was going flaky, such that the sensor triggering sent noise through the up volume control, triggering the on screen volume controls before blanking. Still, a coincidence that it only happened after installing SlimKat. Also, wouldn't this trigger both volume controls and screen disable at the same time, rather than within a few seconds? No idea how Lightning Launcher fits into this new theory.
So I'm still not sure what's causing this, or how to fix it. Other than going back to SlimBean to see if that fixes anything. It doesn't look like I can go forward, 4.4.4 looks like the last SlimRom made for the S3. At least according to OTA.
Anyone got any ideas? "Buy a new phone" isn't a good answer for me right now, can't afford it.
onefang,
I have a S3 that I ran the Slimkat 4.4.4 build 9 on for a while (9 months). There is a known issue with the CM package (used in SlimKat) that causes the volume button not to work correctly. When you are on a call, the call volume can not be raised or lowered. There may be other issues. I am currently running the CyanogenModCM12.1-20151117-SNAPSHOT-YOG7DAO1K6-d2att rom and the performance is much better than Slimkat.

Please help! How can I keep screen on during call?

So I broke the screen. replaced it and it worked fine. However i noticed the adhesive wasnt holding it tight enough. so after a few days I pulled the glass up as munch as I could and used some superglue on the top and then clamped down to hold in place. Now no more light is coming through but.. When I make a call as soon as a i press dial the screen turns back regardless of my distance to prox sensor. I'm assuming I got glue on it or broke it.
Eventually I will replace LCD but in the meantime is there any way to simply have the screen stay on during callsly ap?
I tried a few apps which did nothing. I looked for settings but nothing jumped out at me. I swear I have done this before on either an iphone or a much older android device.
Any suggestions would be great appreciated. Right now by using switches under accessibility im able to hang up at last but I cant turn on speaker and not sure how to set that up. So if there isnt a way to keep the display on any suggestions on how to set up so I can hang up and turn on speaker phone in the most effiecient way?
Its gotta be built in the system to keep the display on during calls but maybe not.
Again thanks!
mdrbase said:
So I broke the screen. replaced it and it worked fine. However i noticed the adhesive wasnt holding it tight enough. so after a few days I pulled the glass up as munch as I could and used some superglue on the top and then clamped down to hold in place. Now no more light is coming through but.. When I make a call as soon as a i press dial the screen turns back regardless of my distance to prox sensor. I'm assuming I got glue on it or broke it.
Eventually I will replace LCD but in the meantime is there any way to simply have the screen stay on during callsly ap?
I tried a few apps which did nothing. I looked for settings but nothing jumped out at me. I swear I have done this before on either an iphone or a much older android device.
Any suggestions would be great appreciated. Right now by using switches under accessibility im able to hang up at last but I cant turn on speaker and not sure how to set that up. So if there isnt a way to keep the display on any suggestions on how to set up so I can hang up and turn on speaker phone in the most effiecient way?
Its gotta be built in the system to keep the display on during calls but maybe not.
Again thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There used to be an Xposed module to disable the proximity sensor on some SoC... But it is VERY SoC dependent from what I understand... And it may not be supported anymore...
Your other alternative would be to disable the proximity sensor in the kernel... I know it CAN be done... But I have no idea how

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