Issue with Proximity Sensor during calls

OMG!!!...THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!...I was seriously going CRAZY with this happening all the time...I usually use my earbuds while on the phone...I slip it into my pocket and talk hands free...however, when I would pull the phone out (iPhone 4) of my pocket the screen was of course black...so normally I would push the home button and the screen would come up prompting me to enter in my lock code...my new iPhone 4 however wouldnt do anything...I would have to press the home button 3-5 times before the screen would pop up...this made me miss calls coming in from call waiting, as well as just other calls while I was listening to my ipod on the phone...I was about to try to get a replacement phone...it was driving me crazy...it would also prevent me from going on Twitter, Fbook or any other app while on the phone...I went to Settings>General>Reset>Rest All Settings and the problem seems to be solved...I did have to go in and fix my...I'm so excited that my phone is back to acting like normal...I do not have a reception issue with my iPhone 4...I use a case that covers the edges so that may be why...idk?...from day 1 I noticed the bars going down on my phone but never had a dropped call because of it...it's like I say every year when I get the new iPhone model that comes out on launch day ( I have had them all 2G. 3G, 3GS )...there is no other phone where that many people purchase it on the same day...so OBVIOUSLY you are going to hear alot of complaints from so many diff people because so many were purchased on day 1...I have always been happy with my Apple purchases and remain a loyal fan...all the problems i have ever had have been solved on this forum or through a call to Apple...Thanks again for the link on how to fix the proximity sensor...it's like a brand new phone all over again...

Well maybe apple geniuses are now allowed to aknowledge the issue. I took mine iPhone 4 in on Friday for the proximity sensor issue. He said that his phone did the same thing and that it was a software issue that would be addressed in the next ios update. He then offered to replace my handset, but said not to expect any improvement. I took him up in the offer. Is it better? Maybe a little. Haven't had a decent length phone call yet.

This is by far the worst problem yet with this iPhone 4. Let me start off by saying that I repair phones for a living. There are 2 different problems in this thread. The first problem is the iphone will not light up while in a call so you can press buttons on the screen (the fix for this has been mentioned in this thread and many other threads) the second problem is the real problem and the reason that this thread was started. The phone randomly lights up while you are in a call and mutes the caller or puts the call on speaker phone or goes into facetime or it even ends the call. This is a HUGE problem that needs to be addressed by Apple asap. I bought 2 32gb iphone 4's on launch day. This happens with 90-95% of all of our calls. Apple really dropped the ball this time. We resolved our signal issues with a case but the proximity sensor issue is horrible. You cannot even hold a 5 minute conversation without the phone lighting up and pressing buttons while it's against your face. We noticed this happens 100% of the time if you place the phone on your shoulder to free up your hands. So as of right now there are 160,000 views and over 1500 replies but still no fix for this. I understand there will be bugs with new products and I understand Apple is shipping millions of phones. That is no excuse when you put at $699.00 price tag on a 32gb iphone4. Maybe none of the so called (engineers) experienced any of these problems because they were using iphone 4's made to look like iphone 3g's or in a 3g housings. I'm giving Apple another week on this so called software update that will fix the problems. My 2 iphone 4's maybe going back for a full refund.

For what it is worth, a genius in the Atlanta store told me yesterday he and his staff are well aware of the reports and that he had read the discussion boards. He told me that neither he nor anyone he knows has been able to replicate the problem with their iphone 4s. He sounded as sincere as he could be (and had just replaced my daughter's 3GS with frozen home button at no charge, no hesitation), but acknowledged that "obviously some people are having a big problem."

I've had my iphone 4 for several days and haven't noticed the issue yet -- screen goes dark and doesn't seem to reactivate except when it is supposed to, but I haven't made enough calls to know for sure. Obviously, many people have defective phones, but I'm guessing there are many, many more who don't. I just don't see how Apple could continue its official silence on an issue this important if the problem were as pervasive as many on this thread believe.

I'm wondering if heat aggravates the problem with the proximity sensor? The reason I mention it is that I just made a fairly short (less than three minutes) call to my wife while sitting in a hot car in direct sunlight and the screen didn't turn off once that I saw--even with the phone pressed firmly against my face. Normally, the screen will turn off for the first minute or so I'm in a call and then it will turn on and off at random many times for the duration of the call. If heat does aggravate the sensor, I don't see how a software update can address that.

Four more days 'till I return the iPhone 4 if this problem still has not been addressed by Apple.

For me, any call that lasts more than a couple of minutes is plagued by this proximity problem. I now tell people when I call that I just got a new phone and it is having problems so they will understand when I invariably mute myself or lose the call.

If apple has not effectively addressed this issue within 12 days, this puppy is going back to Best Buy!

For those of you on the fence, I strongly suggest you wait and see how apple deals with this problem.

My brother preordered his ihpone 4g and was having problems with sensor right 1 week later me and another one of my brothers bought 4g and noticed we had same problem. The one that preordered called apple and they said do restore to like new etc... all the above mentioned things in this thread, and nothing solved it. He called em back told them nothing fixed it and they said they would send another which they put the 600.00 charge on his card till they recieved his other one back. He still had same exact problem and actually said his reception was even worse.

Apple is ignoring all complaints and trying to keep it hush hush so it doesnt affect there release sales data because it would hurt there stock if they had to do a recall, and Steves arrogance that he cant except that there is a problem. I personally dont think there is any iphone 4g without these problems. What really bothers me I have this awesome looking phone or should I say pocket Ipad, that really doesnt have any use except for playing games atm.

Jobs had issued a statement about being stunned they had formula wrong for the signal bars reading there was no signal when there was, is a bunch of bs and they would be releasing a software fix in 3 weeks or so for it. Well anyone that is a programmer knows this is bs because no way would it take them that long to patch that. Even more frustrating is that all of us know the signal issue is real its not a misreading on the bars, if your in a game like godfinger for example or we rule, u lose connection to the server when the bars bottom out and it proves that it has lost reception. Sorry Mr. Jobs everyone that bought a iphone 4g is just a total idiot. We did not realize that we were just imagining there was a problem, its just a illusion the signal is fine.

Which after the update all its gonna do is artificially boost the signal up to make u think u have signal when u actually dont. Now the problem shifts to at&t for the dropped calls cause signal is good on the iphone right?

The part about delaying the release of the update for the jailbreakers is kinda crazy in itself because thats one reason the jailbreakers are not releasing it yet, so they dont get patched right away.

Hello pberk:

I may be totally out in some unknown land in my thoughts. I have been wrong many times before. I just find this issue very interesting and aggravating at once. Apple should have found this problem in their beta testing and have resolved it. It makes me wonder if they made some kind of programming change or etc at the last minute, did not test it or how much beta testing by real users they did. We have internal Engineers at my company that only do beta testing of the products we design. They find most of the problems, report them back to Engineering and they are reolved before the product or update is released. However, Engineers can never figure out the many different ways a user will use a product. Users always find things. This is why my company always does beta testing with a few of our end users before we actually release a product or update to market. They always find things that have to be resolved. We are able to resove them before the product or update is actually released. I just wonder how much end user testing Apple did!

This reminds me of an early lession I learned many years ago. I visited a customer once and they told me that if they push two buttons at once, then our equipment and network would crash. I was very concerned, because this was a major bug found by a customer. I called our Engineering Mangaer at once and explained that we had a major bug that had to be resolved at once. I explained the bug to him and have never forgotten his answer to me. He said that the resolution was simple. He said "tell the customers not to push those buttons at the same time and the problem is solved". My point is that Engineers (I am one) can have a very narrow focus on things. It is a very good practice to always do testing with users before the release of a product. I guess we are those end users (beta testers) for Apple. I have never forgotten the story above and the lession I learned from it. Some of the best Engineers start out as technicians or end users, because they actually know how to use a product. Engineers can design a product, but not know how to use it in the end. They are simply designing based upon some engineering specification sheet or etc that they have been given.

If the trigger (your face, paper, etc) ever moves past the 1.75" range or so, then the sensor will reset itself. For example, if you place a piece of paper directly on the screen during a call or etc, move the paper out past 1.75 inches and then back again, then the sensor will reset itself and trip (turn off) at around 1.75 inches +/- each time.

Steps for a test:

1) Start a call or play a voice mail.
2) Place a piece of paper .5 (x) inches away for the display. Place the paper in this position quickly from the side or etc so that the display is quickly turned off at that distance.
3) Move the paper slowly between .5 (x) inches and 1 (y) inch away from the display. Always keep the paper between .5 (x)inches and 1 (y) inch.
4) Repeat step 3 a couple of times. Moving the paper between 1 inch and .5 inches away from the display.
5) Now slowly move the paper past 1 (y) inch until the display turns on. Do not move the paper past the proximity sensor limit of 1.75 inches or so.
6) Now slowly move the paper toward the display and observe the point that the display turns off again. It will be inbetween .5 and 1 inch.

This test works for any x and Y measurements as long as you do not exceed the detection limits of the proximity sensor. You may just notice that the trigger distance is not always at around 1.75 inches. It is much less at times. Also, the distance that you have to move away from the display to reactivate the screen is much less than 1.75 inches. This distance seems to change as well. Also, it is much much shorter than with a 3GS. The 3GS will require much more distance away from the display before it turns on.

Did you move your face or paper past the 1.75 inch mark each time? Or did you keep it within a certain range for your test? This is similar to what a face would do. Most of the time we would never move our face past two inches away from the screen. I say two inches just to be safe. We would usually move our face slightly within some range (proximity of the display). This is area that the proximity sensor seems to average the distance for the next trigger point. The moving trigger point and the much shorter distance (movement away from the display) to reactivate the screen could be causing the problem.

Older Iphones have a much longer detection distance versus the Iphone 4. Also, they seem to require more distance away from the display before the display is reactivated again. I beleive that the previous Iphones (at least the 3GS) has a similar average method setup. However two things are working for the 3GS. It is not as trigger happy and requires more distance away from the screen before it is reactivated from movement. I feel that two inches of detection range is fine with the Iphone 4. I feel that they have made it much more sensitive in the way it reacts to movement. All of this comes down to design. If they only use an electronic circuit to detactivate the display, then we all may be returning our phones very very soon or getting replacements. If they use a hardware and software method, then they can fix it via an IOS update. I think that the most likely design is a combination of software and hardware.

I have tried this on several Iphone 4's and so far all of them have worked this exact way.

Glad to see that this seems to be a wider problem as I was beginning to think it was just me!

I'm also having a problem with the proximity sensor in that during a call, the phone automatically decides to move to a facetime call or finds it better to move to loudspeaker and on the odd occasion even mute the call.

It's nothing drastic, but not what you want from a phone during a phone call!

Hopefully this is something which can be fixed on an iOS update?

I'm experiencing proximity sensor problems too. This did not happen with my iPhone 3G and is particularly likely to happen in the middle of the day when the sun is high in the sky. I suspect a firmware tweak is needed to behave more like that of the older models.

My now irrationally talented, tactile ear wants to send messages and turn on the speaker. I have enough problems controlling my limbs and I sense that controlling my ear is not going to be time well spent.

TrentP wrote:
Hello pberk:


If the trigger (your face, paper, etc) ever moves past the 1.75" range or so, then the sensor will reset itself. For example, if you place a piece of paper directly on the screen during a call or etc, move the paper out past 1.75 inches and then back again, then the sensor will reset itself and trip (turn off) at around 1.75 inches +/- each time.

Steps for a test:

1) Start a call or play a voice mail.
2) Place a piece of paper .5 (x) inches away for the display. Place the paper in this position quickly from the side or etc so that the display is quickly turned off at that distance.
3) Move the paper slowly between .5 (x) inches and 1 (y) inch away from the display. Always keep the paper between .5 (x)inches and 1 (y) inch.
4) Repeat step 3 a couple of times. Moving the paper between 1 inch and .5 inches away from the display.
5) Now slowly move the paper past 1 (y) inch until the display turns on. Do not move the paper past the proximity sensor limit of 1.75 inches or so.
6) Now slowly move the paper toward the display and observe the point that the display turns off again. It will be inbetween .5 and 1 inch.

This test works for any x and Y measurements as long as you do not exceed the detection limits of the proximity sensor. You may just notice that the trigger distance is not always at around 1.75 inches. It is much less at times.

This is similar to the test i did at the request of a another user... my sensor stays put at 1.75" no matter what... I have moved it back and forth at least 6 or 7 times and nothing changes...it turns off at that distance and I can''t get it to turn on again until I'm further away.. and then it turns off again at that distance... I cannot get the screen to turn on again at a shorter distance at all... we've tested this on all 3 phones...

vatkins1906 wrote:
@Jesse Diaz; iPhone Return Policy

If you are not satisfied with your iPhone purchase, please visit online Order Status or call 1-800-676-2775 to request a return. The iPhone must be returned to our warehouse within 30 calendar days from shipment to avoid an $175 early termination fee. The iPhone must be returned in the original packaging, including any accessories, manuals, and documentation.

Why are you telling me this...I know this already

edpkp81 wrote:
I stand corrected. Skype working with iOS 4. I made call via Skype. I'll have to see if the proximity sensor problem still exists.

4.1??? Did I miss an update that APple put out?!?!?!?

chandon wrote:
OMG!!!...THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!...I was seriously going CRAZY with this happening all the time...I usually use my earbuds while on the phone...I slip it into my pocket and talk hands free...however, when I would pull the phone out (iPhone 4) of my pocket the screen was of course black...so normally I would push the home button and the screen would come up prompting me to enter in my lock code...my new iPhone 4 however wouldnt do anything...I would have to press the home button 3-5 times before the screen would pop up...this made me miss calls coming in from call waiting, as well as just other calls while I was listening to my ipod on the phone...I was about to try to get a replacement phone...it was driving me crazy...it would also prevent me from going on Twitter, Fbook or any other app while on the phone...I went to Settings>General>Reset>Rest All Settings and the problem seems to be solved...I did have to go in and fix my...I'm so excited that my phone is back to acting like normal...I do not have a reception issue with my iPhone 4...I use a case that covers the edges so that may be why...idk?...from day 1 I noticed the bars going down on my phone but never had a dropped call because of it...it's like I say every year when I get the new iPhone model that comes out on launch day ( I have had them all 2G. 3G, 3GS )...there is no other phone where that many people purchase it on the same day...so OBVIOUSLY you are going to hear alot of complaints from so many diff people because so many were purchased on day 1...I have always been happy with my Apple purchases and remain a loyal fan...all the problems i have ever had have been solved on this forum or through a call to Apple...Thanks again for the link on how to fix the proximity sensor...it's like a brand new phone all over again...

Are you saying your phone is STILL working fine??? No hang ups...nothing?

I've had enough... (proximity sensor) returning it tomorrow!!!
Some history: I bought the IPhone4 from a local ATT store. Went back to store his Friday to see if they could exchange it because of the proximity sensor. Got there at 7:59PM (they close at 8:00PM), they closed the door in my face!!!! (Keep in mind I'm new to this Apple/ATT experience, I've had Sprint/Blackberry for the past 8 yrs with no issues). Figured out that the local Apple Store was open untill 9PM so I raced there, got there at about 8:45PM and apparently you have to make an appontment for "technical" support issues. However, they were very nice and helpful and slotted me in, ok so at least Apple cares about their customers, ATT could give a S_IT. Long story short, I got a new Iphone4 and was told by the Apple Rep that the rumor is that they'll be coming up with a software fix in about a week. I was crossing my fingers and hoping the new phone wouldn't have this proximity issue. Unfortunately, it acts exactly the same. My father-in-law just called as I was feeding our baby. Wife was putting the other kids down, I had bottle in one hand and IPhone4 against my shoulder/ear. We had some fun - I bet him $100 that I would either disconnect/mute/conference call/or face call at least 3 times in 5 minutes. Winner!!!! It actually happened 4 times in the 5 minute span!!! To be fair, I called him back on my wife's 3GS and exact same baby feeding talking technique and no problems!!!

IPhone 4 "phone part" is AWEFULL!!!! Otherwise it's a pretty cool phone, definetly some nicer features than my blackberry, unfortunately I have to be able to make phone calls on it. So, I'm returning it because ATT customer service is a joke and IPhone 4 team put all their resources/money into marketing the product and not testing it.

Goodby Apple - you lost a potential convert.