yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] ahow628:
Just tested it out and no, this is not a work around (on the 8/14 build anyway). I tried it on auto brightness, minimum brightness, and maximum brightness.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] arrogantbastard:
That's a cool little app. I played around with it in a couple of different lighting conditions. Here's what I observed:

{No case, no screen protector, ever}

EDIT: Any reference to "stock kernel" below means the kernel included with whatever ROM I was testing, not pure stock Sense.

On CM10, Build date Aug 15 02:31:06 PDT 2012, dirty flashed over 8/14:

- In "normally" lit room, with incandescent bulbs: light sensor reports 320 luxes, prox sensor very responsive toggling between 0 and 9.0 cm. Works as expected while in calls.

- Turn off lights (not completely dark, there is a tv on and ambient light from another room): light sensor reports 90 luxes, prox sensor defaults to 0 no matter what. Returns to 9.0 when lights turned on. Can place a call, screen goes dark when I place my hand over the sensor (as expected.) Screen will *not* come back when removing my hand. It will when I turn the lights on.

- Another room lit by fluorescent lights. Subjectively brighter to the eye (more white), but light sensor reports 225 luxes. Prox sensor starts at 9.0 and toggles to 0 when waving a hand over it, but will not toggle back to 9.0 when I remove my hand. Toggles back to 9.0 when I move into first room with incandescent lights. Same in-call behavior described with lights off above.

On Viper4G, Awesomesauce 1.3 kernel:

- Exact same behavior as above in CM10. That was not expected. :eek:

Viper4G, stock kernel:

- Light sensor reports same values as above, prox sensor toggles between 0 and 9.0 in *all* lighting conditions, even with the lights off with very little ambient lighting in the room. Screen turns on and off as expected in calls in *all* conditions.

MeanROM v1.5 (last version I nanded before jumping to Viper), stock kernel:

- Same as Viper/stock kernel.

Conclusions:

- In no case did I see any gradient values as reported by tbird, it always toggled between 0 and 9.0

- In-call behavior correlates well with what Android Sensor Box reports, which makes it a great little testing app

- Sense ROMs/Stock kernel works in *all* lighting conditions

- Sense ROM/Awesomsauce - does not work correctly in all conditions

- CM10 does not work correctly in all conditions

- It appears there is some sensitivity to measured light condition (or a sensitivity to light color/temperature) that is accounted or calibrated for within stock Sense that is not accounted for in CM10.

- Viper/stock kernel works in all conditions. Viper/Awesomesauce kernel does not. That leads me to believe that the kernel plays at least some part in the behavior.

- Anything else?
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] ahow628:
Ok, anyone know how to read logcats? So about 22:20, I started a phone call while standing in a brightly lit room. The screen stayed on, no problem. Moved into a dark room after a few seconds, screen goes out while the phone is still away from my face. Moved back to the bright room and screen comes back on. While in the bright room, I moved my finger near the upper part of my phone and the screen went off. Pulled away and it came back on.

Below I've attached the logcat.

EDIT: Based on what kushdeck said in IRC, it sounds like there is no error being thrown by the proximity sensor. Well, alright then. I guess that would make sense if the proximity sensor is just not working at all.

Also, if anyone can understand what is happening in that logcat and wants to give me the executive summary, I would highly appreciate it.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] zaaye:
are all of you getting process com.android.phone has stopped?
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] LiquidSolstice:
That's not related to the specific issue of this thread, as far as I know.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] 00mred00:
Thank you for this...I have the problem on my current sense Rom
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] zaaye:
Ok, but since I am having that issue as well as the specific issue in this thread I was just curious if they might be related. I don't know anything about developing but just searching, like the rest. Sorry to side track the thread.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] LiquidSolstice:
No worries ;) As far as I know, everyone is having that issue and Deck is looking into it. It'll FC a couple times at boot. That's all I know, but I'm not all that concerned about it right now.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] PsiPhiDan:
LS, thank you for making this thread. This is a REALLY annoying issue; this is almost as annoying as the people saying it's my phone's fault when it isn't. I think all of those people who haven't experienced this are just simply not using their phone in dark settings. That's the only time it happens to me. I really like the analysis going on in here though - it makes me confident that we will get a fix sooner.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] LiquidSolstice:
See, that's the thing, I was trying it out in a fairly well lit office room.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] megazac1:
I think we have a winner here. This would corroborate exactly with my experience in that it is a kernel issue. I've been using Rejuvenated ROM and the issue happens only when I had flashed a custom kernel. If I flash it with the stock kernel the proximity sensor works perfectly.

Must be an issue with the CMX kernel.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] htcman12:
I think this could be it because I only get the problem when running CM9 and CMX. I never had the problem with stock sense nor did I have it with viper ROM (used the included kernel, not sure if it's stock).

Are there any alternate kernels that are compatible with CMX that we could try?????
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] LiquidSolstice:
This is an absolutely fantastic dissection of the issue. I've included it in the OP.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] BiNiaRiS:
Just wanna say thanks for starting this thread. CMX has been unusable for me simply because of this issue.

---------- Post added at 12:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:15 AM ----------

so i just tried the newest CMX release and i'm not having the proximity sensor issue anymore. seems to be working as intended now.

when i first booted in i got the phone.android process has stopped. and when i had my friend call me, it rebooted. i'll have to test it more.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] arrogantbastard:
When I said "stock" kernel, I meant whatever kernel was included with the ROM I was testing, which is not necessarily unmodified stock Sense. I'll go back and edit my post to clarify that. I have no clue how kernels are coded, but I'm thinking there has to be a "sensitivity" setting or some sort of sub-routine in Sense kernels that account for different lighting conditions.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] NuttyLemonz:
I have had this problem as well. As a quick fix for it that does work somewhat well I went to settings and the accessibility menu and turned on power button ends calls. You can end the call turn the screen back on whenever you want with that. Although obviously not a great way, thought someone might find it useful.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] 00mred00:
arrogantbastard thank you so much for your troubleshooting.

I didn't even think of it being my kernel (awesomesauce)

I was going to exchange my phone today too.

Thanks again.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] megazac1:
I was thinking of trying that but I couldn't remember how to turn that setting on. Good one.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] MeestaAytch:
worked for me

I actually considered this since I do use auto brightness. I turned it off and set it to 50%... now it works flawlessly. No more prox issue.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] oOflyeyesOo:
I am have similar issues but a bit different. When I make calls it does not ring, just connects me after they pick up, takes awhile for the call to start I think. The screen dims and I don't get stuck, just a bit of a hassle, sometimes the process fails and always stops when I turn my phone on.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] ahow628:
Have you attempted to make a call in a dark room? I had previously attempted this using various backlight settings and it made no difference. Can you please share more information on where you made the calls (light levels, etc). Please test in bright light (outdoors in the daytime) and low light (or darkness, preferably).

---------- Post added at 12:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:06 PM ----------

Alright, I just tried this workaround and it works perfectly. This will be my preferred method for now.

Menu>System settings>Accessibility>Check the box for "Power button ends call". When on a call, press it once to end the call. Press it a second time to turn the screen back on.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] arrogantbastard:
Toggling Auto-Brightness doesn't change the behavior of the sensor for me in low-light. I cannot get it to work in a low light environment in CM10 no matter what.

I have also noticed that the sensor is extremely inconsistent in it's response in a pure flourescent environment (e.g. the cube farm where I work); sometimes it responds slowly, most times not at all. Mix in some natural or incandescent lighting though, and it works.

Again, it always works everywhere when I'm on Mean or Viper with their respective included kernels.

So, in CM10, on my phone: it doesn't work in low light, and is very inconsistent in flourescent environments no matter how bright.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] htc-vene12:
This works all the time! Its a quick fix of the problem, checking the "power button ends call" box is a must.

Sent from my EVO LTE using CMX
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] MeestaAytch:
@ahow628

It was during while I was at home last night at 1am watching cartoons sooo.. yea it was pretty dark lol. Only tv screen was the lighting in the room. I keep the lights off at home. I do miss auto brightness so heck i can use the power button to end call thing that'll help big time.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] LiquidSolstice:
Stay tuned, guys. It looks like deck is giving it his all right now, and one of his most recent test build (specifically for those who have the prox issue) has dramatically improved the prox. In the same lighting conditions that I was previously testing it in, it would stay black, but on his last test build, it was working well. However, in slightly lower light, it was worse.

He just put out a brand new prox-only test build, I'm trying that out.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] PsiPhiDan:
Oh man, if Deck is working on that now, we're gonna be golden soon. Awesome! :)
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] LiquidSolstice:
Guys. Get yourselves into the IRC. It might be a bit too early to early to say, but I think the latest prox test build is exactly what we needed.

It's consistently working now. Very occasionally, it still does it, and that happens, just simply take a cloth and wipe the top area near the HTC logo. Guys, I think we're good.

Go into the IRC, and ask for Prox test 2.

EDIT: Given permission by deck to post the link here. http://d-h.st/d8A Have at it!
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] megazac1:
Downloading now!
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] arrogantbastard:
Downloading now!

Any word on what exactly he's modifying to fix it? Or what the problem was?

EDIT: 8/16 build did nothing to change the behavior of the prox for me. Still crappy in low light, still crappy in fluorescent environment.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] ahow628:
Same here. No change.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] megazac1:
Hmm. When I first installed it, it was working great. Checked it again a minute ago and prox isn't working at all now. It was in a dimly lit room earlier, and now I'm in a dark room, so that may be it. I think it is more sensitive than it was before though.

A step towards a full fix I guess.

EDIT: I've been messing with it a bit in a fully dark room and I've gotten it to work several times. It's a bit hit and miss, but by enabling the power button to end calls, I feel confident in using this build as a DD.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] MeestaAytch:
deck has been working hard all of yesterday on the prox issue passing out build after build after build. This is because of course hes fixing it blindly due to him not being able to reproduce the issue. He has a newer build marked the 8/17 build that is claimed to fix 99% of the prox issues. So far what I'm seeing from people is that they're extremely happy. Try it out! Get the link in IRC.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] PsiPhiDan:
Is this newer than the one LS posted on the last page?
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] nate735:
I stil get the issue on every call i make/receive with the 8.16 and 8.17 build. I am clean installing using superwipe with no screen protector/or case.

Again it works fine with most Sense roms so not sure if its my hardware ?
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] MeestaAytch:
Yup newer.

Well its fixed a large number of that 1% that was left that couldn't get it working. He's getting closer and closer to perfection. IDK what else I can say about this other than its unfortunate. Setting the power button as a hangup would be a bandage temp fix to the issue for you unless just stay on Sense roms for now?

Like I said in my last post, he is working hard on finding out whats causing these rare prox issues and BlueTooth issues. I myself had prox issues which got fixed by turning off autobrightness...but I hated that so I turned it back on and now trying 8/17 its intermittent problems with the prox...So its def getting there man.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] P.Mobile:
just flashed the new build and the proximity works fine for me :) cant wait to see how good this rom gets.. its so much more smoother than sense!! and faster!!
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] PsiPhiDan:
For sure... This thing makes Sense feel so sluggish and old! :)
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] shymog:
I know it was noticed here earlier, but I've determined which exact conditions are causing the most issues (for me).

Under a standard 60W incandescent bulb (yes, I still have some) the sensor works perfectly. In "Sensor Test" is goes from 0 when covered to 9 when lit.

Under good sunlight, the same behavior is present.

Under fluorescent lights, regardless of brightness, the sensor will not change from 0 unless it is put INCREDIBLY close to the light.

It's odd, because this means that it is working well in high-IR pollution lighting (standard bulb and sunlight) and poorly in low-IR pollution lighting. This is the opposite of what would makes sense to me, as the sensor bounces an infrared light off a source.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] LMMT:
Exactly. I was just experimenting, and have drawn the same conclusion. Also, a bright LED light seems to behave the same as fluorescent (compact) bulbs, at least for me.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] nate735:
Yup i'm on Sense Roms for now since making and receiving calls is obviously very important to me. Id rather just wait till the issue gets resolved if it ever does since it looks like im a minority with the last 1% of the proximity issue.

Its really frustrating because coming from a Nexus S 4g where it was so easy to unlock bootloader S-Off and AOSP support, everything just worked.

With the Proximity Sensor issue and then my phone going into temp brick running lazy panda. The EVOlte will defiantly be the last non Nexus phone i buy from now on. I just like the peace of mind of everything just working on Nexus devices.

If you guys need logcat from my evo id be more then happy to provide.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] arrogantbastard:
I made the exact same observations. It's good to know that others are seeing the same thing. It makes sense that the sensor is probably calibrated to respond to a certain broad spectrum that corresponds to most natural conditions. Flourescent light is probably a much narrower band that needs to be compensated for somewhere in software.

I've seen some improvement in the latest builds, but it's still unresponsive in very low light and flourescent as discussed.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] megazac1:
The proximity sensor shouldn't be responding to light at all, correct? It should be responding to the proximity of something close to it. In a full dark room our proximity sensors are supposed to work. Light shouldn't have anything to do with it, regardless of the kind. I don't think we need a solution to calibrate it to better light conditions, we need to not have it sensing light at all. Am I missing something here?
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] arrogantbastard:
I'm not saying it's responding to light. For whatever reason though, it's clearly affected by the ambient quantity/quality of light. I guess I should get smarter on how prox sensors work. All I know is what I've observed myself, and what others have reported.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] shymog:
It responds by measuring an infrared "bounce" from the IR light that's right near it to a surface. The problem is, right now, it's sort of working better when there's tons of stray IR (sunlight/incandescent bulbs) versus fluorescent which put off much less of their energy in the IR spectrum.

My guess is the people who aren't seeing this either have wider-spectrum CFLs than a lot of us, or they are utilizing lots of incandescent bulbs and sunlight. :(
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] megazac1:
So theoretically why proximity sensors can work in total darkness is because there is light reflecting off of a surface (i. e. your face) back to the sensor?
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] shymog:
Yes. There is actually a small LED by the sensor to provide enough infrared to work even in darkness.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] megazac1:
So that's what that small red light is for?
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] TorxT3D:
wow! i hope this turns out to be a solid fix and can be implemented in other roms.

because this irritates the piss out of me! :D
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] MeestaAytch:
Yea it is irritating and I thought I had it fixed.. I was wrong lol. You know what I noticed this is an age old issue since the phones release even on this forum with people still on pure stock sense. A lot of the reports and findings had to do with the screen protector. The majority of people especially with this issue, had a ZAGG InvisiSHIELD HD... the same as me. I read so many posts about this on so many different websites and the majority that fixed it, did so by cutting out a portion of the screen protector that was covering the sensor (the glowing red light). I'm a very curious person and always ready to try something so I was like "hmm my screen protector covers that red light too... let me try it!" Sure enough... cutting out that portion of my screen protector helped. Now proximity works exactly as it should and I'm in a dark room. I'm going to try it in a well lighted room and in sunlight in a minute.....

So....tried it out in all lighting conditions. I can confirm for sure after 35 calls made in succession (so glad no ones at my office to answer my phone lmao), I had zero issues with my proximity. I'm keeping a close eye on this one for a few days and will report any future issues.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] newfireorange:
I have The Zagg HD screen protector. To the left of the HTC logo, on the top of the phone screen, I have a factory cutout.

Is that the proximity sensor?
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] MeestaAytch:
Not quite, its actually the light sensor. If you look a bit further to the left in dim light you'll see a "red glowy light"... Thats the proximity sensor. You'll notice the Zagg HD is kinda covering it up. I took some nail clippers and raised it off the phone a tad and cut off that piece so that "red glowy light" isn't covered. Now the light is off and the proximity works as it is supposed to. I've made calls all day and have had ZERO proximity issues. Yea I'm gonna stop using Zagg HD now lol. I actually heard from others the Steinheil Ultra Crystal screen protectors are better than Zagg HD and they're also oil resistant on top of it (prevents smudges better from your dirty fingers lol)
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] to0:
I'm on the 8/20 CM10 build and only have this issue at my office under fluorescent lighting. Using the proximity sensor app, I can see that the sensor thinks it's covered pretty much at all times, even though it isn't. However, if I rub my thumb over the sensor quickly, it'll register, and will show up as uncovered. If I'm in a call and can't get back to the scree, I just swipe my finger over the sensor and the screen pops back on. Not completely ideal, but I like it better than ending calls with the power button or not being able to navigate through touch tone menus.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] kenpen:
Kwel
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] shymog:
I still have the same issues, it's quite frustrating. I'm running my phone naked, and my sensor area is clean.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] arrogantbastard:
Same here. I can't even get mine to work by rubbing my finger over the sensor as mentioned earlier.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] PsiPhiDan:
Did you try the 3.5mm jack insertion workaround?
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] arrogantbastard:
The 3.5mm jack insertion workaround works. As well as the power button ends calls workaround. I'm saying that I can't get it to work as it should without workarounds.

The fact is that I don't spend a whole lot of time on my phone actually using it as a phone, and I know exactly when and where it won't work as well as workarounds to get it to work, so I can tolerate it for now. I just hope a fix can be found for everyone, not just "almost" everyone.

And I appreciate the work done to date and understand there are bigger fish to fry at this point.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] BiNiaRiS:
this is still the one thing that is keeping me from switching to CMX. i thought it was fixed but it's still happening.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] drob311:
There is a flashable zip in paranoid android thread that fixes the proximity sensor issue for cm10 as well... Search my friend. :) :beer:

Edit: In the o.p. of this thread.

Sent from my EVO LTE
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] seven_dev:
Same thing on Defy

Well, thank for the information. You guys really saved me from thinking that it's my phone hardware problem. However I found a way to end the call instead of waiting for it to end.

There an option in setting that allow to end the call with the power button, and it works for me. How about you guys?
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] ss2pheonix:
simple partial workaround

I have this problem also.

I found that turning on "power button ends calls" in accessibility which allows me to end outgoing calls but I'm still screwed on any other use of the touchscreen most notably the dial pass for touchtone menus.

also the flashable zip from 2 posts earlier did not work for me
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] templeton:
Low Tech Partial Workaround

I find if I shade the sensor by holding my hand really close to it when I initiate the call, it disables the screen-off functionality for the duration of the call. That is, I can remove my hand once the call begins and the screen will not turn off even if I put the phone close to my face. Not ideal, but useful if I know I am going to have to use the dialpad to navigate an automated menu. Between this and the power button I get by fine.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] Letitflow:
I did have the same Problem and got it fixed with the fix found here: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1882725
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] chlywily:
Another Temororary Fix for issue

Just wanted to let everyone know that another simple "temporary fix" is to just turn speaker phone on. It seems to disable the prox, and allow you to access the dialer, as well as the other apps and screens on the phone while on a call. Let me know if you guys have success with this. Also, after being told by Sprint today that they would NOT replace the phone, I just spoke to HTC (today) and they have stated that they still do not have a fix, but are working on it. Very frustrating. This whole phone has been frustrating. Promised LTE by end of 2012, BZZZZT. Doesn't look like Seattle will get LTE until late 2013. Would have NEVER upgraded if the truth had been known. They should give everyone that paid full price a $100 credit.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note I717] sweetboy02125:
Fun app to have

DL from Play store:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teamviewer.quicksupport.market.samsung&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS50ZWFtdmlld2VyLnF1aWNrc3VwcG9ydC5tYXJrZXQuc2Ftc3VuZyJd

Then the client for your computer

http://www.teamviewer.com/en/index.aspx