topic Re: My cheek/ear selects things on touch screen while taking calls. Proximity sensor problem? in Z Series

My cheek/ear selects things on touch screen while taking calls. Proximity sensor problem?

jamieboo — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 15:00:59 GMT

Hello all

Had my X3 Compact for a couple of months now and really liking it.

APART from the fact then when I am on a call the screen still seems to be a little sensitive to touch.

I hear beeps of things being selected. Very often when I finish the call I see the screen is on Notifications or Quick Settings screen, or sometimes the Date and Time screen. Sometimes I notice that my cheek/ear has turned on Bluetooth from the Quick Settings screen.

Sometimes while on a long call (ie more time in which to involuntarily press things) the other person will suddenly not hear me anymore - no doubt due to imprecise cheek/ear selection!

Is there something wrong with the Proximity Sensor? I have tested the Sensor with the available diagnostic and it seems functional. And my peripheral vision tells me that the screen goes black as I raise the phone to my ear.

I've heard that this model can occasionally overheat, but I've never noticed/felt any dramatic peaks in temperature.

But something is clearly wrong.

As I said I have tested the Proximity Sensor.

I have not dropped or damaged my phone.

I do not use any kind of screen protector or case.

My software is up to date.

Any thoughts/ideas would be very welcome!!

(I have contracted the phone the EE in the UK - I have not contacted them yet as I thought it would be best to go straight to the manufacturers.)

Thanks very much

Jamie

Re: My cheek/ear selects things on touch screen while taking calls. Proximity sensor problem?

Hampus — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 15:10:26 GMT

Hi and welcome to the community! Since you're new please be sure that you have checked out our Discussion guidelines.

If you are not using any kind of screen protector or case, I suggest that you boot your phone into safe mode to see if you experience the same behaviour when receiving/placing calls:
/t5/FAQ/How-to-boot-your-phone-into-safe-mode/m-p/348008

Re: My cheek/ear selects things on touch screen while taking calls. Proximity sensor problem?

Rickard — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 15:12:59 GMT

It may also happen if you during the call remove the phone from your ear, tilt it so the display is facing up and then put it back again. If you cover the proximity while display is facing up it will not turn off the display as it thinks you want to use it. Could this be the case? It may perhaps happen if you want to put the phone between your ear and shoulder.

Re: My cheek/ear selects things on touch screen while taking calls. Proximity sensor problem?

jamieboo — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 16:08:35 GMT

Thanks Rickard and Hampus

I'll certainly try booting into safe mode and seeing how it behaves then.

As for the proximity sensor's behaviour while the display is facing up, that's just not how I usually hold the phone when on a call - and I never do the ear-phone-shoulder sandwich thing.

Also what you say seems strange to me, as when I did the proximity sensor diagnostic test the phone was on a flat surface with the display facing up - and the sensor seemed to work perfectly.

Hmm. I don't know.

I'll get back to you after I've tried the safe boot thing.

In the meantime, has anyone else noticed this problem? It's pretty irritating!

Re: My cheek/ear selects things on touch screen while taking calls. Proximity sensor problem?

Rickard — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 16:18:26 GMT

It's usually not an issue as you would need to have an ongoing call and cover the sensor while display is facing up but thought i'd mention it as it may happen. The proximity still works when display is facing up so you will not see any issue when running the diagnostic. It's just that it will not turn off the display during a call in this condition.

Please try Hampus suggestion and keep us updated. Safe mode starts the phone without loading any 3:rd party apps so it will show if the issue may be caused by a downloaded app.

Re: My cheek/ear selects things on touch screen while taking calls. Proximity sensor problem?

Rickard — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 12:50:18 GMT

@HussaMix

The reason why it doesn't turn off the display when the display is facing up is because it thinks you want to use the phone. The proximity is sensitive and and it may hard to use the phone during a call if it was always active (display goes on/off as you unintentionally trigger the sensor when using the display).

The display will still be off if you tilt it during call while proximity is triggered. It's only if you trigger the sensor during a call while the display is facing up that it will not lock the display.

If you see it as an issue you can go to Settings -> Accessibility and disable "Power button ends call". Then turn off the display manually with the on/off button.

Re: My cheek/ear selects things on touch screen while taking calls. Proximity sensor problem?

jamieboo — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 15:16:16 GMT

Right. I've been using my phone for a while now in Safe Mode, and it has made no difference to this particular issue.

I still, at worst, hear bleeps and select things to the point that the call is interrupted; and at best finish a successul call to find that I'm in the Time/Date select screen, and have to press Back several times before I can access the End Call button.

And, to address the other potential cause mentioned, I never flip the orientation of the phone while taking a call.

So if Safe Mode rules out the possibility that some App is responisble for this, does this then mean that there is a fault with my handset?

Any further help would be appreciated, as I don't want to have to put up with a faulty phone.

Thanks.

Re: My cheek/ear selects things on touch screen while taking calls. Proximity sensor problem?

RohitTech — Wed, 11 Feb 2015 07:28:16 GMT

Well I have been facing this issue since the first day itself and this isnt any issue at all!!

What happens is when we answer a call, out phone isnt in lock state and also we arent holding our phone constantly in one position to our ears/cheeks so theres rubbing of the screen (due to our ears/cheek) which eventually swipes down the Status bar Quick settings and then randomly turns on any feature icon our ear.cheek touches. And we keep hearing some beeps.

So what I do is once I answer a call I always make it a point/habit to manually lock the phone via Power button. This way I have found my personal solution to this problem. :smileysmileythumbsup:

And this is the only solution for this nagging issue

Also if you want, you can completely remove all icons which bother you from Quick settings so that even if your phone isnt locked while on call, nothing will get activated in the background.

So follow my steps and enjoy your Z3 without worrying about this issue.

Re: My cheek/ear selects things on touch screen while taking calls. Proximity sensor problem?

Rickard — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 07:43:04 GMT

I'm afraid it sounds like there's something wrong with your phone in that case.

From what i can see here, you already have the latest software version in your phone but you may want to try to reinstall the phone software using PC Companion but please note that this will reset your phone and delete all your data.

If the issue should still remain I think that this needs to be examined and fixed at a repair center. For more information about how to submit your phone for repair and where, contact your local support team.

Re: My cheek/ear selects things on touch screen while taking calls. Proximity sensor problem?

HussaMix — Sat, 14 Feb 2015 22:38:28 GMT

The problem is still there even when holding the phone vertically during the call and in direct contact with the ear.

I have found an 8 pages thread on Xeria Z2 forum since May 2014 talking about the same problem, and it's still unsolved even in a the newer Z3 !!!

What's the point of having a supersmart phone water resistant and with two days battery life if it can't do the very basic function of amobile phone; making a successful Phone call !

It keeps pressing keys/ muting/hanging up when contacted with cheeks during calls, sometimes even if the screen is off, and sometimes the screen switches on suddenly even with the phone unmoved during the call, i guess the light sensor overrides the proximity sensor and wakes the screen up again maybe when it senses light at certain angles !? I dunno.

Same situation is in safe mode, "tap to wake up" is off.

Re: My cheek/ear selects things on touch screen while taking calls. Proximity sensor problem?

Sonrisa — Sun, 15 Feb 2015 18:10:19 GMT

Couldn't agree more with your post, this issue has been around for a very very long time with ALL devices....Z1, Z1c, Z2, Z3, Z3c

To suggest to get your phone to a repair centre is totally ridiculous.....

They can't fix it anyway, I have the same issue.........it is a very irritating problem, especially on important calls.

Re: My cheek/ear selects things on touch screen while taking calls. Proximity sensor problem?

RohitTech — Sun, 15 Feb 2015 18:23:34 GMT

I again say try my solution I posted previously.

Re: My cheek/ear selects things on touch screen while taking calls. Proximity sensor problem?

HussaMix — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 11:49:42 GMT

Guys I have found an amazing app on google play gives u a relaiable solution..
Check out "Call Screen Lock" By duckbone apps,

It locks the touch during any call automatically and u have to longpress an icon on the screen to unlock it during the call.of course after hanging up it will automatically unlock the screen.

Check it out and tell me what do you think.
I hope Sony meanwhile finds a permanent solution for this everlasting issue !! :@

Re: My cheek/ear selects things on touch screen while taking calls. Proximity sensor problem?

jamieboo — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 12:09:24 GMT

RohitTech, your previous post detailed what is at best a workaround. That's not really satisfactory when it is becoming clear that there is a fairly fundamental flaw with much of the xperia line.

Be interested to hear from the Support team on this issue. And to understand what 'repair' they have in mind for a series-wide problem that seems to have been popping up for several generations now.

However, since it does look like 'workaround' solutions are the best we're going to get for now, then I'll definitely look into the app you mentioned HussaMix. I see there are several apps like this - I wonder which is the best. Perhaps there is an 'unofficially recommended for xperia users' app out there!

Thanks folks!

More thoughts on this very welcome!

Re: My cheek/ear selects things on touch screen while taking calls. Proximity sensor problem?

Rickard — Tue, 17 Feb 2015 14:08:51 GMT

I recommend that you follow my previous suggestion. There's no general issue with the proximity sensor and from what you are describing we need to repair/replace your phone.

Re: My cheek/ear selects things on touch screen while taking calls. Proximity sensor problem?

jamieboo — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 17:51:42 GMT

Thanks Rickard.

I certainly would be interested in getting it repaired if I knew that there was a good chance it could be repaired. I wouldn't want to be without a phone for a week or so and then not have the problem solved.

Also, would this be the best channel to seek repair? I Haven't spoken to EE (my provider) about this yet. I have no idea whether the best channel for repair/replacement is here or EE.

Thoughts welcome folks.

Re: My cheek/ear selects things on touch screen while taking calls. Proximity sensor problem?

jamieboo — Wed, 25 Feb 2015 23:03:40 GMT

Just to ask again gang - what do you all reckon would be my best avenue for getting my phone repaired: Here directly with Sony? Or via my provider EE?

Any thoughts most welcome.

Re: My cheek/ear selects things on touch screen while taking calls. Proximity sensor problem?

Rickard — Thu, 26 Feb 2015 13:01:31 GMT

I would recommend that you contact your local support team to check what option is best for having it repaired or replaced. Depending on your country, you may be able to order a service directlly from www.sonymobile.com -> Support -> My support.

Regarding the issue, i'm sure that a service location can fix it for you. There's no general issue with the proximity sensor in Z3 Compact, i use one myself.

But perhaps you should mention to them that the proximity switch is not entirely defect and appears to be working in the diagnostic app so it may perhaps be something with the calibration.

Re: My cheek/ear selects things on touch screen while taking calls. Proximity sensor problem?

rickibarnes — Thu, 01 Oct 2015 03:57:33 GMT

"There's no general issue with the proximity filter in Z3 Compact" ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Yeah, right.

Right from day one, I have had exactly this problem - and as others have mentioned, it's across multiple generations. Yep, no issue at all.

Re: My cheek/ear selects things on touch screen while taking calls. Proximity sensor problem?

haavarl — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 20:43:07 GMT

Hi,

After the latest Xperia software update I have now this problem as well on my Z1.

Actually I discovered two problematic issues that I never have encountered before.

1) When making calls, the screen isn't insensitive any longer

2) The quick choice for 'silent mode' is gone

I suspect both of these are .... "features" with the newest software update.