daniel.schaaaf 177 Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 (edited) Since i got my Pro1, the proximity sensor (light sensor) is one of my biggest sources of irritation. Both on the original Android and on LOS, it prevents me from making phone calls without inadvertently hanging up or changing the screen brightness. The proximity sensor does not always register my ear pressed to the loudspeaker, the screen switches on, and the touchscreen registers touches from my earlobe and cheek. This happens with the phone app as well as with the Signal messenger, but it might be worse with Signal. With the app DevCheck, I found that the proximity sensor (TXC PA22A) only reports two states, "near" and "far" or "0cm" and "5cm". The 5cm actually being 3cm measured. Just for fun, I tested the proximity sensor on my Moto Z Play, and it reports three distances, "100cm", "3cm", and "1cm". The distances measured as >3cm, 3cm, and <3cm. The interesting thing is that the sensor in the Moto Z Play uses hysteresis to prevent the screen from switching on involuntarily. You can move a finger back and forth between "100cm" and "3cm" and the change gets registered immediately. However, once you reach "1cm", you are locked in and have to move your finger to "100cm" to register a proximity change again. You cannot toggle between "1cm" and "3cm". Is it possible to implement hysteresis with the PA22A? Or does the sensor only register two proximity states? If we only have two proximity states, what can be done to prevent the screen to switch on while making a call? According to the manufacturer (http://www.txccorp.com/download/products/sensors/2015TXC_PA22A_120.pdf) the sensor has "<3 steps" for "ALS_Dark". To me this reads as two steps in darkness by using the built-in infrared diode. Even though it seems strange to me to write "2 steps" as "<3 steps". Another interesting thing to look at would be how the screen is turned on or off programmatically. Why does the screen turn back on, even though my ear is covering the sensor? Is a proximity check failing at some time? Does the proximity sensor deliver false information? Should the output of the proximity sensor be checked several times before switching on the screen? If we cannot implement "hardware hysteresis with three proximity states", can we introduce a timeout and an additional proximity check at the end of the timeout? When i want to end a call, the screen usually remains black for 2-3s, which suggests there is a (way too long) timeout implemented already. But it seems to fail during a call? Sorry for all those questions. I would really like this to be sorted out though. Next to the fingerprint sensor, the proximity sensor failing is just not acceptable. After all, the Pro1 is supposed to be a phone and I should be able to use it as such (Btw., I am writing "I" here because I don't know if other people are bothered by the proximity sensor as much ...) Edited October 27, 2020 by daniel.schaaaf 8 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
daniel.schaaaf 177 Posted October 27, 2020 Author Share Posted October 27, 2020 Haha, I just had the opposite problem with the screen not turning on quickly enough. At the end of my previous post, I estimated the screen timeout to be 2-3s. I made a call (with "Simple Mobile Tools Dialer") and was greeted by a calling machine that expected me to press some numbers on the dial pad. In one instance I failed to make an input in time, because the screen stayed off indefinitely. Otherwise, it took between 3-5s for the screen to switch on and allow me to press a number on the dial pad. No idea if this was caused by the dialler app I use, or if it is a general problem. Do others still have the original Android on their Pro1 and use the original dialler app? How can I investigate what is happening? The logcat is not the right tool for this issue. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
raymo 171 Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 Hello, Same here and I'm on LineageOS. This is annoying, and I don't know if it could be a hardware problem or not. One time your screen is totally dark when incoming phonecall and you don't see who is calling you, one time it's the total opposite and your ear press the screen with weird result at the end... This problem and the fingerprint sensor who is randomly working are the two points of improvement I expect to be solved in future, but I don't know what to to in order to help our competent developpers here. Maybe dmesg could help ? I don't know... However I trust in the community and the possibilities of the Pro1, if having a perfect hardware is possible, it will be, I'm pretty sure. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
internationaltraitor 84 Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 yes, i have the same problem. the back and forth with having to input numbers in the dialer while on the phone call, the screen takes foreevvverrr to turn back on... also in the beginning when i got the phone, the screen wouldn't turn off when on my face, next to my ear. so i had a bunch of accidental mute presses and end call presses. but i fixed that because i realized how i was holding my phone , (like a normal person), my thumb would be a centimeter or two onto the screen. so that was a setting in lineageOS to set the margin of the edges of the screen. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Slion 1,200 Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 I've had the screen unlocking during phone calls just a couple times. Then again I don't do traditional phone calls so much. It's been mostly working fine for me. However the sensor is indeed slow to respond and I'm pretty sure that's a software issue. Maybe you need to get close to the sensor without touching the screen for a few seconds before resting your face on it. Pro1 indeed needs much improvement when it comes to call quality. Well let's face it call quality is shit compared to most big brand Android these days. Tricky proximity sensor, mic issues in speakerphone mode and in call volume way too loud all combine to deliver the Pro1 trademark shitty phone call experience 🤣 3 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VaZso 1,997 Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, Slion said: mic issues in speakerphone mode and in call volume way too loud all Microphone issues should have an easy fix in software I think (the voice output should be changed to the speaker at the other side which is not 1.5 cm away from the main microphone). I hope in-call volume should be also fixable in software as it does not overdriven in lower volume levels, but I have to use it at the lowest level. Edited October 28, 2020 by VaZso 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
internationaltraitor 84 Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 with the proximity sensor,,, you can try this app from f-droid, WaveUp. there's some settings in there you can mess around with. On 10/27/2020 at 6:06 AM, daniel.schaaaf said: How can I investigate what is happening? https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.jarsilio.android.waveup 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
daniel.schaaaf 177 Posted October 31, 2020 Author Share Posted October 31, 2020 WaveUp is behaving strangely on the Pro1. On the Moto Z Play, "waving" is registered and the screen is switched on immediately. On the Pro1, the reaction depends on the distance to the sensor. Waving my finger 1-2 cm above the sensor, the screen switches on ... eventually. There is a delay of 1-3 seconds. However, when a wave my finger just 1 mm above the sensor, nothing happens. I replicated the experiment with a piece of paper, to exclude that the touchscreen is interfering. Again, when I wave the piece of paper too close to the sensor, the screen won't turn on. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jjarmasz 81 Posted November 3, 2020 Share Posted November 3, 2020 (edited) I regularly either mute myself or activate some other function by accident on "traditional" phone calls with this phone. And it's also slow to turn the screen on when I move the phone away from my head. There is definitely something weird with this proximity sensor, more so than other phones I've used. Edited November 3, 2020 by jjarmasz 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
brunoais 317 Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 @jjarmasz With the android that comes with the phone? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flo 22 Posted November 5, 2020 Share Posted November 5, 2020 Same here. I mute myself somehow in every other phone call. Since I am left-handed it might be a mix between the sensor and accidentally touching the fingerprint scanner. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
glic 8 Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 (edited) I see this mainly as an Android/lack of f(x)tec UI issue, because I have also ended call with my ear during the cal - it was opposite with Samsung phone and Samsung UI(and I have no previous experience with other Android phones, so I am slightly spoiled for that matter and can't understand how people could endure all of these issues). It does not help that I am trying to manually lock screen after call has been made and then for some reason it awakes after a while, when I thought that I solved that issue - and then it leads to my ear ending the call. Then there is a problem with light making photos, I can't make any picture with flash(I could do that in the beginning, but not anymore). That is minor issue, as I am mainly taking pictures of nature outside with natural light, but sometimes I feel urges to illuminate something darker and get it on a picture I am unable to do that with this phone - apparently there are some settings, that are preventing me to do that, but they are hidden somewhere very deep and I just don't have enough time and energy to look further. Ah, and sometimes phone goes in landscape mode, which is what I expected, but UPSIDE DOWN! Even with camera and I have to physically rotate phone, so I can use it as if it is in landscape mode. So, I am prepared to try this phone in Sailfish mainly to solve these issues. Edited November 6, 2020 by glic Quote Link to post Share on other sites
_DW_ 628 Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 2 hours ago, glic said: So, I am prepared to try this phone in Sailfish mainly to solve these issues. Lineage OS may be better first and v17.1 is out soon (Android 10 based) 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jjarmasz 81 Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 On 11/4/2020 at 3:23 AM, brunoais said: @jjarmasz With the android that comes with the phone? Yes, with stock Android Quote Link to post Share on other sites
brunoais 317 Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 @_DW_Isn't it out already? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
EskeRahn 5,399 Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 42 minutes ago, brunoais said: @_DW_Isn't it out already? I guess you mean the 17.1 LOS, and well the source should be, but the automatic builds seems to fail, so not available directly Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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