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iPhone 4 Proximity Sensor not working

Add me to the list. I haven't been able to get through a single phone call without pressing something with my cheek. To make matters worse, by having to hold the phone in a different location because of the reception problem, the phone is not pressed as tightly so the screen is flickering on and off.

I called Apple and they had me try reducing the brightness which did nothing, as well as soft resetting, which also did nothing. I have a Genius Bar appt. for today at 6:30 and will hopefully get some answers.
 
Happens everytime I use my shoulder to hold the phone, it activates speakerphone, FaceTime, and even hangs up.

If I hold the phone with my hand I do not have the problem.

My 2g, 3G, and 3G-S did not have this issue at all.
 
Ditto that

I've been experiencing this issue as well. I've hung up on two or 3 people because of this.
 
I just noticed this on my IP4 as well. My prox sensor does work, however if I have it on my shoulder and tilt my head away a little bit, the screen turns back on. I NEVER had this issue with my 3GS...what gives!? Are those of you returning your phone for this issue experiencing the same thing with a new phone?
 
curious how many of you guys have a shield or cover on the screen? I had an invisible shield on, and took it off and the proximity sensor appears to be improved.
 
No shield or bumper. I have restored my phone and continue to have proximity sensor issues and reception issues with almost every call. Apple is sending me a new unit and I really hope this helps. I also have issues when deleting photos from the gallery.
 
No shield, though I do have a case on the phone. I tried without the case just to see if I still had Prox issues, and they do in fact remain. If we don't get some sort of software patch soon (assuming that's even going to fix it), I'll be going to have a chat with the Geniuses...:(
 
I had this problem the first couple of days as well. The first day, my cheek was calling random people from my contacts during calls. The second day, cheek constantly constantly muted and put the call on hold. I did a soft reset and turned the phone on and off and it actually worked (so far, it's been 2 days now). It was incredibly annoying, but the problem seems to have disappeared. Hope this helps.

btw, i don't have a shield or case on my phone.
 
I have found I can not hold the phone on my left side. Does not matter how careful I am, I will always activate one of the buttons interrupting my call. The longer the call goes for the more likely my signal will drop to nothing. The phone is very unusable for me right now.
 
I have the same problem with face dialing, mute, etc. I took the original iPhone 4 back and they gave me a new one. Unfortunately I'm still having the same problem. I just tried the reset all settings. Hopefully that makes things better.
 
Called Apple yday regarding this problem. Made a genius appointment for today. Have now had phone replaced.

So far so good.
 
I just upgraded my 3G to iOS 4 and now I am having the same problem. Seems like it isn't the hardware's fault, it's the software. I can't believe no other upgraders have noticed this.
 
There's a 25+ page thread on Apple's site about this

Thread on discussions.apple.com about this issue

Count me in as someone who is having this same issue with my iPhone 4.

My 3G never had any problems at all. My wife is now using that 3G now and I reverted the phone back to running 3.1.3 due to the fact that iOS 4 severely slowed down the phone. I wish I'd checked to see if that phone had proximity sensor issues while it was running iOS 4.

So far, I have muted several calls, hung up on several more, and initiated a conference call with someone I haven't spoken to in years while I was in another call. This seems to happen pretty much exclusively when I cradle the phone between my face and my shoulder. I'm waiting out the 30-day return period and if this issue is not resolved to my satisfaction by then, I will be returning the phone.

Steve Jobs is a successful businessman and a genius at marketing. However, he has no right to tell consumers what the "right" and "wrong" way to hold a phone are. Granted, he hasn't come out and told us that we're holding the phone the wrong way with regard to the proximity sensor (as he did regarding the antennas); but if he tells me I'm doing something wrong by cradling his company's phone on my shoulder, I'll take my business elsewhere -- simple as that.
 
Same problem here too - 15 minute phone call and I put my gf on mute 5 times!

If I hold the phone by my shoulder it happens loads, but also if I am holding it "normally" (ie: as you are supposed to according to sjobs and his team) and move it slightly. I thought it was just me but then I saw a post on engadget about it..surprised its not been on MR front page yet.

Very frustrating, but at least this is something that should be easily fixable via a software update, right?

I will give applecare a call in the morning..they won't be able to do anything i am sure but its worth logging each of these issues so they know how many they are getting.

I didn't restore from my 3GS for the record - just a fresh iphone 4 setup. Going to try a reset all settings to see if that makes a difference..don't hold out much hope though to be honest.

This launch really really stinks of being rushed out without proper testing and development..wonder if the iphone leak had some sort of effect there...
 
I have exchanged my phone, done all the resets, talked to my friends that have the phone and DO NOT have the issue but their phone screen shutoff still only activates at a range of around 1 inch or less. The older models activate at a range of around 2 inches and so do other smartphones I have checked.


Seems like the real problem is the default activation range of about 3/4 to 1 inch. It was changed from the default of around 2 inches. If anybody else has an iPhone 4 with a shut off range at 2 inches or more, I would like to know about it. That is what all the older iPhones range was.


my email is edfdev@gmail.com
 
proximity workaround!

-just wanted to post this workaround that somebody suggested from another forum.


I think I may have found a temporary solution to our problem while we wait for a real fix from Apple.

Once you start a call, hit the home button and pull something else up on the screen like a photo so that if the screen comes back on it doesn't have options like END CALL or FACE TIME on the screen to accidentally hit. The calculator may be another good choice as the only way to get it off the screen is to hit the home button.


Just wanted to add to this. As soon as you initiate a call you can double click the home button to bring up recent items and then just hit the photos or whatever you were using as a quick shortcut. It will take you right back to whatever the last photo you had up and you can go to your call.

You can actually use the double home button to view recents and then toggle between the active call and the photo app if you need to get back to the call screen.

Definitely shouldn't have to do this but for people that absolutely need their phone without headphones etc.. this was a great suggestion.

This is working for me so far at least as a work around.
 
Hmmmmm strange one here with me, if I press the iPhone very hard up to my ear when in a call the screen turns off and stays off like it should, if I just rest it against my ear (Like you normally would when using it to call someone) I can see the screen activite, as soon as I press it VERY hard up against my ear again though it turns off...I'm not sure weather or not to have this phone replaced, I'd rather not as everything is else is fine, I have no dead pixels, I didn't have the yellow dots on the screen and all the buttons feel solid, I wouldn't want to exchange it and end up with one with all/any of those problems but then again I can't go on using it if the proximity sensor doesnt work properly
 
Update: I actually removed the screen protector that I had on it (I didn't want to do this as I don't have another one to put on it) and tested the proximity sensor again while on a call and it appears to be working fine now! Even when I very lightly rest the phone upon my ear, the screen stays black, maybe this is why Apple stopped selling screen protectors for their products?

Anyway I'm in a but of a predicament now as there is no way I'm using my iPhone without a screen protector but if I put one on then I have the proximity sensor problems...hmmmmm

Edit: So I found a Bodyguardz screen protector which I bought for my old 3GS when I had one, I just trimmed the top of it down a bit so that the top of the screen protector end just where the actual LCD screen ends, meaning that the whole speaker, front facing camera and proximity sensor area is just bare (No screen protector covering this part) and it appears to be working fine now :) The actual screen is protected and my proximity sensor works properly
 
I don't believe it has anything to do with screen protectors. I've never used a screen protector and I'm seeing this issue both with my iPhone 4 and my old 3GS which has been restored and updated to iOS 4.

I believe this is an iOS 4 issue.
 
I have all of these issues...

-Face dialing/hanging up during calls
-Call dropping due to sudden signal degregation
-Extremely poor performance on the 3G network

These issues combined make the phone almost unusable. I never had any of these problems with my iPhone 3g.
 
I have an iphone 3G and recently upgraded from 3.0 to 4.0 and I am not seeing this issue. I use a case and a screen protector.
 
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