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Level 1

4 points

Proximity Sensor....Otterbox the Cause?

I am on my second iphone4. My first was having the proximity sensor issue. Took it to the apple store, and the phone was definitely defective--sans the case. Got my new phone left the store and it seemed fine, but then noticed the same problem again. I went back to the apple store where they removed the case and we could not get the phone to malfunction after many calls. Put the otterbox back on voila...problem started immediately! Anyone else noticed this? I contacted otterbox and though officially the company has yet to acknowledge this problem, the csr and her boss both said they agreed that it was something with the case.

iphone, iOS 4

Posted on Nov 20, 2010 7:12 AM

58 replies

Jan 16, 2011 4:14 PM in response to emergencydog

It worked for me. I colored the inside of the part which covers the proximity sensor and viola... No more issues. Oh I have the white case. Good luck

km519

Level 1

0 points

Feb 11, 2011 7:23 PM in response to emergencydog

I have a red defender and my proximity sensor doesn't work at all. It works fine out of the case. I've tried cleaning it but haven't tried the sharpie trick. I contacted customer service and they told me I needed to take my phone back to Apple.

Feb 12, 2011 6:00 PM in response to emergencydog

I have the blue Defender case with the black silicone. I was going crazy with this issue! Got the runaround from both Apple and Otterbox. Tried the Sharpie trick--it works like a dream! Thank you!

Feb 25, 2011 10:52 AM in response to laurieapg

I have the Blue Defender case as well. I was having the proximity issue badly while in the Otterbox and it worked fime out of the case. My ear and cheek kept dialing, and muting during a call while in the otterbox.

I tried the Sharpie Marker trick and IT WORKED! THANK YOU! Simply pull your otter box apart. On the inside of the case, draw a black line completely around the oval window that is over the proximity sensor. Let it dry for a minute and put it back together!

It Worked for me!

Message was edited by: The Balloon Guy

Message was edited by: The Balloon Guy

Audara2

Level 1

0 points

Mar 5, 2011 12:43 PM in response to twinkleeyez89

I had the same problem and got a sharpie and it worked immediately! I also have the white otterbox case! Thank you so much! This has been driving me crazy all week!

Mar 5, 2011 1:44 PM in response to emergencydog

I have the Verizon iPhone 4 with the white Otterbox case and the sharpie trick did not work as described here at first, but I took it one step further and it did work. Here is what I did:

1. Take the Otterbox case off the phone
2. Carefully remove the plastic piece covering the proximity hole (I put it back on later)
3. With a black sharpie - carefully and completely color the inside of the oval proximity whole on the white Otterbox case. Now the black starts flush with the front surface of the Ottebox case.
4. Now trace around the proximity hole on the inside of the case with the black sharpie
5. Replace the plastic piece covering the proximity hole

Now my proximity sensor works every time!!

BTW - When I called Otterbox they acknowledged the issue and actually suggested that I use the Sharpie trick and if it didn't work they would let me return it. That is when I figured I would give the extra step of coloring the entire inside of the oval whole a try since they were going to swap it out anyway with a black one. Glad I did.

phrog123

Level 1

0 points

Mar 11, 2011 6:46 AM in response to sn4p2k

SN4P2K,

Thanks for the tip. I've formally decided this morning that I was going to wait for the 4.3 upgrade, reset my network settings and;

a) test whether the sensor was defective
b) test whether it was my Otter Box Defender4 case giving me trouble.
c) test whether the Otter Box Defender4 case was going to remain giving me trouble with the plastic cover over the proximity sensor and the camera

The bottom line was

a) nope - tested with the free App called PushUp Counter
b) with the plastic protecting the camera and the proximity sensor, the PushUp Counter was not increasing
c) After disassembling the case, and removing the plastic cover, taking care to also remove the glue holding it in place so it does not dirty up the phone, I was back in business

So now I have my 4.3 updated IPhone4 inside an Otterbox Defender4 case, which will hopefully not get me to drop or mute calls because of the proximity not working and my ears acting as blinded fingers...

Called Otter Box this morning and they said they were not aware of the Defender4 plastic cover doing this and are sending me a new case by FedEx no questions asked. So at least they are taking some ownership in the issue, but in the end, I am suspecting a design flaw in a plastic layer covering the proximity sensor.

F.

Mar 15, 2011 9:11 AM in response to emergencydog

I have 2 iPhone 4s w/ the Otterbox IPHONE 4 DEFENDER SERIES CASE. My iPhone has the black/black case and the proximity sensor works fine. My wife's iPhone has the black/pink(interior) case and the proximity sensor doesn't work. Remove this case, it's fine. Use my black/black case on her iphone, it's fine. Issue is w/ the Case. I need to call them and get a replacement. Otherwise I'll try removing that small transparent piece of plastic covering the proximity sensor on her pink case.

Mar 15, 2011 7:08 PM in response to emergencydog

Iphone 4 White Otterbox Defender....
When I tried the phone without the case it works fine, tried the phone with the face cover on, it worked fine, but when I put the back cover on, it would not work. I tried shimming the back to push it tighter to the face with no luck.

It took a bit more coverage than this thread would lead me to believe but the sharpie trick did indeed work on my wife's white case. My black case had no issue from day one. She was face muting, etc for almost 3 weeks before I noticed the problem when I took her phone to speak to someone. She just thought that was normal for the phone. 🙂

brchrdt

Level 1

0 points

Mar 25, 2011 2:58 PM in response to emergencydog

My wife and I each have an iphone 4. I have a black/black Otterbox Defender case and she had the pink/black Otterbox Defender case. My proximity sensor worked perfectly. Hers did not. At first I thought it was the iphone so I started searching this forum and ended up here. I took the Otterbox case off her phone and the proximity sensor worked perfectly. I tried the Sharpie trick described above, put the case back on her phone, and at first it did not work. Then I rebooted her phone and then proximity sensor worked perfectly. Whoda thunk it? Thanks to the genius with the Sharpie. What an easy fix! I will be letting Otterbox know they have an issue even though I love the Defender case. It adds a lot of bulk but it saved my phone twice so far. Well worth the added bulk - to me anyway.

Apr 27, 2011 10:33 PM in response to emergencydog

The Sharpie tricked worked for me on a white OtterBox Defender Series Case (with purple rubber outer protection). The only problem is that I could not find a image or diagram on the Internet that explained exactly where the iPhone 4 proximity sensor was, thus which oval opening to blacken with the Sharpie. Also, no one answered that in this thread. So here you go... The top (smaller) oval opening on the white OtterBox Defender Series Case is the one you need to blacken with the Sharpie.

May 5, 2011 12:26 PM in response to ArkansasMark

I am on my 2nd Otterbox Defender for iPhone 4. The first one I had was blue w/black rubber. I bought it at the time I got the phone, and I was anware that my "proximity issue" was actually an issue. I just thought I had a phone setting wrong or something. Well I realized when the case was off it worked fine. I contacted Otterbox and they shipped me a new case, white w/purple rubber. This case does the same thing, my proximity sensor doesn't work at all when the case is on, again its fine when the case is off. I attempted the sharpie trick and it still doesn't work. Can someone please post a pic of exactly where you colored in? I believe I did it right, but it didn't help. Thank you.

May 5, 2011 10:33 PM in response to emergencydog

Found out the reason for the proximity sensor not working well with the defender case. It's the clear plastic that covers the proximity sensor. This cover reflects back some of the IR light and fools the sensor into thinking its covered. Then it doesn't respond anymore. I confirmed this by placing a call with the screen cover over the sensor. (same plastic covering the proximity sensor) and it would not respond to being covered by my finger.

I cut out the clear plastic cover around the proximity sensor and the phone responds perfectly.

May 6, 2011 7:16 AM in response to Macgyver1

I just removed the clear plastic from my proximity sensor and it did not fix my problem 😟

May 6, 2011 9:11 AM in response to dewdrop52002

Lets make sure you have the same situation as me.

I have the verizon white iphone 4 and the black and blue defender case.

Check out video if this helps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtQvE2yUmME

Proximity Sensor....Otterbox the Cause?