How to stop iPhone going dark while playing game

You know when you put your ear up to the phone during a call and the screen goes dark? That’s happening now, while using every app, and on the home screen, its happening everywhere, whenever my left hand comes anywhere near the front top speaker. But I never used to have this problem. The directional pad for the game I’m playing is underneath the ear speaker, to the left side of the screen (or the bottom when the phone is lateral, like when playing the game) and my left hand can no longer use the directional pad without the screen going dark, (and then I can’t do anything) I have remove my left hand, and only use my right hand to control everything. Which ruins the game.


I think this started after I tried playing recorded voice memos today, and not knowing which speaker they would play out of, I put my ear to the front speaker, and bottom speaker to listen for them. (They came out the bottom) and while my ear was to the top front speaker, the screen went dark, like it should, its just now, as I said, doing that EVERYWHERE.


What can I do?

Posted on Jun 8, 2018 7:37 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jun 8, 2018 7:41 PM

It sounds like your Proximity Sensor is constantly on, which it shouldn't be. You don't say which model phone you have, but for someone else today, who had the same issue, simply rebooting their phone solved it. If you don't know how to reboot, this will tell you:


  • On an iPhone X, iPhone 8, or iPhone 8 Plus: Press and quickly release the Volume Up button. Press and quickly release the Volume Down button. Then, press and hold the Side button until you see the recovery-mode screen.
  • On an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus: Press and hold the Side and Volume Down buttons at the same time. Keep holding them until you see the recovery-mode screen.
  • On an iPhone 6s and earlier, iPad, or iPod touch: Press and hold both the Home and the Top (or Side) buttons at the same time. Keep holding them until you see the recovery-mode screen.
3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 8, 2018 7:41 PM in response to nadiargesz

It sounds like your Proximity Sensor is constantly on, which it shouldn't be. You don't say which model phone you have, but for someone else today, who had the same issue, simply rebooting their phone solved it. If you don't know how to reboot, this will tell you:


  • On an iPhone X, iPhone 8, or iPhone 8 Plus: Press and quickly release the Volume Up button. Press and quickly release the Volume Down button. Then, press and hold the Side button until you see the recovery-mode screen.
  • On an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus: Press and hold the Side and Volume Down buttons at the same time. Keep holding them until you see the recovery-mode screen.
  • On an iPhone 6s and earlier, iPad, or iPod touch: Press and hold both the Home and the Top (or Side) buttons at the same time. Keep holding them until you see the recovery-mode screen.

Jun 8, 2018 8:08 PM in response to lobsterghost1

Hi


Thanks for your response. Apologies, I have an iPhone 7. I’ve browsed a little about recovery mode, and I’m a little concerned. My only computer is a rather old Gateway laptop, with an old edition of iTunes, updating which has been troublesome in the past.


Would forced restart be enough, or will it have to be an interplay with a computer in getting out of recovery mode?

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How to stop iPhone going dark while playing game

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