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User profile for user: Braveninja
Braveninja Author
User level: Level 1
0 points

iPhone 4 screen sensitivity to facial contact

I'm unable to use the phone normally to the face/ear as the skin contact causes one of the following to happen: phone switches to speakerphone, keyboard buttons are heard being pressed, and or the call ENDS. I have met two more owners with the same issues. Upon physically talking with an Apple rep at the store, he told me that he was familiar with the problem, gave me some tech lingo about distance between two points of the phone, and assured me that future software corrections would remedy this. How common is this...anyone have any feedback? I have resorted to using a bluetooth earpiece, and my rubber bumper is a month away now; was not assured that the bumper was a fix or related by the Apple rep. I feel like the phone is useless at this point, and the quality no where near the 3GS. I have to use my Blackberry to ensure solid phone connections until the fix arrives. Everytime I speak in person to an Apple rep about a concern, I notice "deer in headlights" reactions, and it's as if they don't want to talk loud and their eyes dart about to see who's listening.

iPhone 4, iOS 4

Posted on Aug 10, 2010 8:52 PM

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User profile for user: StevenB4
StevenB4
User level: Level 2
485 points

Posted on Aug 10, 2010 8:54 PM

http://discussions.apple.com/search.jspa?threadID=&q=proximity+sensor&objID=f137 8&dateRange=last90days&userID=&numResults=15&rankBy=10001
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User profile for user: Kwopau
Kwopau
User level: Level 4
1,742 points

Aug 11, 2010 9:24 AM in response to Braveninja

the problem that you are indicating is a Proximity Sensor issue, where it fails to detect.

Try rebooting your phone, if that doesn't help then try hard reset (home + sleep/wake button, until you see the apple logo), if that doesn't help then try restoring your iphone.

If that doesn't help, then go see the genius again and ask them to replace your iphone.
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User profile for user: Goflying
Goflying
User level: Level 1
10 points

Aug 11, 2010 9:30 AM in response to Kwopau

Kwopau wrote:
the problem that you are indicating is a Proximity Sensor issue, where it fails to detect.

Try rebooting your phone, if that doesn't help then try hard reset (home + sleep/wake button, until you see the apple logo), if that doesn't help then try restoring your iphone.

If that doesn't help, then go see the genius again and ask them to replace your iphone.


you forgot to mention rinse and repeat ad nauseum til software/hardware fix arrives 🙂
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User profile for user: appledan39
appledan39
User level: Level 1
5 points

Sep 10, 2010 7:00 PM in response to Braveninja

Concerning the Screen over-sensitivity problem, I tried a full reset of my iPhone4, per online support recommendation--it did not work. Instead, the backup and restore process deleted my videos. Then I downloaded Version 4.1--if anything, it made matters worse. My next step is to have the phone replaced, although I am not optimistic about that. Finally, I am considering checking out Android phones or other smart phones.
Other problems with the phone Include increasing dropped calls and poor reception, in spite of a recent letter
from AT&T telling me about all the improvements it is making in the network, mysteriously disappearing phone numbers from my contacts, probably having to do with backup and restore, and failure of the phone contacts to transfer to my car's phone directory via Bluetooth. That is probably the fault of the auto manufacturer not keeping up with the firmware or software, but Apple isn't helping either.
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User profile for user: eboogyman
eboogyman
User level: Level 1
0 points

Sep 28, 2010 4:30 PM in response to appledan39

It doesnt appear that this issue can be rectified, unfortunately. I met with the "geniuses" who claim they never heard of the problem, I showed them the issue, and they told me to hold the phone to my ear differently. Make no mistake, the day that I have to work around a phones shortcomings is the day that I fire this thing into the river. I do lots of business on my phone and I cannot tell you how many times I had to apologize to colleagues and clients becasue of the iphone4. It happens every time I put the phone to my face and am not careful.

The only fix that has worked is to put the calculator on the screen and home my face doesnt hit the return to call bar. The sensitivity fix in 4.1 did not help at all. This issue is simply based on the way your body is designed and if you are comfortable holding it a certain way, it will happen.

IMHO, they rushed it out without enough QA, It looks like deal with it, downggrade, or switch to android.
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User profile for user: AllanL
AllanL
User level: Level 1
0 points

Sep 28, 2010 6:53 PM in response to eboogyman

My wife had the same problem and she talks on it a lot. I had it before I upgraded to 4.1 but my wife still would disconnect calls. Apple replaced her phone yesterday and I had to put the 4.1 on. She has not talked much on it yesterday or today. She was on the phone tonight and disconnected a call. Seems to me that Apple needs to have a setting where you can choose to make it like it is currently or my suggestion make it where when you connect it cuts off the prox switch and to bring up the end call, mute, speaker, and whatever else choices on the menu by pressing the home button to bring those features up. Then she will never disconnect a call again. She sure misses the Blackberries we had. Hopefully, Apple will fix the problem soon. Right now she is ****** and wishes we got the Blackberry 9700 or she might even cancel the contract with AT&T and get a Motorola Droid. She likes the apps but thinks the iPhone4 is the worst phone ever because she get hangs up on people accidently.
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iPhone 4 screen sensitivity to facial contact

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