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I trying one of the major issues is the lighting. It happens to me only in certain lighting conditions. When it's bright out, the phone can differentiate between extreme light and dark. If you're on the phone in the dark there is less of a contrast.
 
I'm having the same issues; It's gone from annoying to unbelievably infuriating. I can't carry on a conversation anymore. It's embarrassing and frustrating. I also have few/no options. My contract was re-upped when I bought the new phone, and I sold my 3GS, so I can't very well just return the damn thing. I'm halfway considering just returning it for a new 3GS and sucking it up for 2 more years. I've got a Genius Bar appointment tomorrow night; I'm going to get it replaced and if the new one isn't any better, I may wait for 4.0.1, but after that I may finally jump ship.
 
Hi

Since the first week I have had this issue. If I put it on my shoulder or hold it too close to my face it hangs up the call. I called apple care today and the rep told me that the sensor is in a different spot on iPhone 4 than on previous models. Get this he tells me that he's heard it happens mostly to people who have long hair. I said well that's not my problem as I have short hair and i keep having this problem and never had this issue on the 3 former iphones models I owned. He said it's not a software fix because it had to do with the location on the sensor itself on the phone.

Oh well. Uh like apple had a year to design and test this phone. When they did this do you guys think any of the testers or designers actually used the phone to make calls?? I'm just saying.....
 
Oh also I think this is a reason why so many people are complaining they have dropped calls. I think people blame the dropped calls on AT&T network and they don't realize it's this sensor being too sensitive that causes u to hit the END button and the calls ends.
 
2nd iPhone4 picked up today for the Sensor Issue... It's still the same! :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

First one was week 25 this is week 27.... Not a thing has changed! I am so god damn pissed off at this phone I think its warm in hear cause of the steam coming out of my ears!
 
2nd iPhone4 picked up today for the Sensor Issue... It's still the same! :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

First one was week 25 this is week 27.... Not a thing has changed! I am so god damn pissed off at this phone I think its warm in hear cause of the steam coming out of my ears!
 
Changed

I too have had this proximity sensor problem.

First off contacted Apple here in the UK who told me that hadn't come across this problem before.......:eek:

After two days of talking to them, restoring my phone to factory settings and blah blah blah, they finally agreed to look at the phone!

This was there offer: go to the local apple store see the clever bloke whos paid lots of money, i declined as the nearest apple store is some 60 miles away. There next option was, we will send you a box, post it back to us, we will take a look and "if" it is broke, we will send you a new phone.

Hmm, so the phone less that 2 weeks old, no offer of replacement or loan (without a charge) and we will see...

Finally, I went back into O2, fortunately just as they had had a delivery, who very kindly exchanged the phone on the spot.

New phone seems spot on and in fact seems a touch better.

I'm not sure if the model numbers are different for the two devices, so will take a look and see if I can see anything major in that.

Cheers:D
 
I mentioned this in an earlier post. I think some folks are slow to catch on to this happening to them because perhaps they don't spend longer blocks of time on the phone. It's unlikely to happen in a short conversation because you'll be less likely to adjust the phone's position.

Many more people are going to soon realize this is in fact happening to them. Most users of the phone have no idea about the proximity sensor or how it's supposed to work.

Yup, at first I would notice the "Touch to return to call" instead of the normal call screen when I would move the phone from my head to end a call. I didn't think too much of it. Then I got on a long conversation and it started driving me nuts with three hangups within an hour.
 
You're holding it wrong. No, really. The sensor is higher up. Hold it lower. This happened to me when holding it with my shoulder and I looked in the mirror and saw it was sticking out like 45 degrees from my face and shoulder and thought. No wonder. It's totally exposed. I experimented diff ways of holding it during that conversation and realized the way I had it against my face made a differance.
 
2nd iPhone4 picked up today for the Sensor Issue... It's still the same! :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

First one was week 25 this is week 27.... Not a thing has changed! I am so god damn pissed off at this phone I think its warm in hear cause of the steam coming out of my ears!

Return it and get a Kin One, they are on sale at Amazon for a penny :)
 
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You're holding it wrong. No, really. The sensor is higher up. Hold it lower. This happened to me when holding it with my shoulder and I looked in the mirror and saw it was sticking out like 45 degrees from my face and shoulder and thought. No wonder. It's totally exposed. I experimented diff ways of holding it during that conversation and realized the way I had it against my face made a differance.

I've had the sensor DIRECTLY in my ear and it still comes on!

And I'm on my SECOND friggin phone! These things suck so bad.
 
Return it and get a Kin One, they are on sale at Amazon for a penny :)

A Kin is superior to these things.... they may not have made it but at least they didn't have so many problems like this piece of crap!
 
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A Kin is superior to these things.... they may not have made it but at least they didn't have so many problems like this piece of crap!

I love my iPhone 4. My wife is demanding that I replace her 3GS because she loves my iPhone 4.

If all you need is a phone, but like to pay the extra expense of a data plan, then the Kin is a good choice. The price for the phone certainly is right.
 
You're holding it wrong. No, really. The sensor is higher up. Hold it lower. This happened to me when holding it with my shoulder and I looked in the mirror and saw it was sticking out like 45 degrees from my face and shoulder and thought. No wonder. It's totally exposed. I experimented diff ways of holding it during that conversation and realized the way I had it against my face made a differance.

There's more to it than this.
 
You're holding it wrong. No, really. The sensor is higher up. Hold it lower. This happened to me when holding it with my shoulder and I looked in the mirror and saw it was sticking out like 45 degrees from my face and shoulder and thought. No wonder. It's totally exposed. I experimented diff ways of holding it during that conversation and realized the way I had it against my face made a differance.

So far I need to hold it low and with my right hand to get this phone to work...the GoPhone I had the day before I got my iPhone was a better phone.
 
I mentioned this in an earlier post. I think some folks are slow to catch on to this happening to them because perhaps they don't spend longer blocks of time on the phone. It's unlikely to happen in a short conversation because you'll be less likely to adjust the phone's position.

Many more people are going to soon realize this is in fact happening to them. Most users of the phone have no idea about the proximity sensor or how it's supposed to work.

Yeah, I didn't think I had it either, but this morning I was talking to my wife and I noticed my screen flickering on and off. I don't spend much time on the phone and holding the phone lower against my ear seems to work ok. Why did they put the sensor above the earpiece instead of below? So now I have a bumper to deal with the reception, I winder if I will have to buy another accessory to deal with this issue. If it wasn't for all the money I have already spent on apps and accessories I would be taking this thing back.
 
Rather than the screen not turning off, i have a different issue:
The screen stays off when the phone is held up to my ear and so far I haven't had a single issue with inadvertently pushing buttons.
However, when i pull the phone away from my ear to hang up, it takes a good second or two for the screen to come back on, as opposed to happening instantly as it did with my 3gs. Anybody else?

Same thing's been happening to me.

ETA: I also have the proximity sensor problem, though I hadn't heard the "reset network settings" fix till now. I just did that, so we'll see how it goes. FTR, I do not have a screen protector, and pretty much the only time I have problems is when I try to hold the phone between my shoulder and ear. That really sucks for someone who's constantly multitasking, like me.
 
Are all the people experiencing this issue caucasian? I read on Mashable that this may have to do with reflections from the inner ear confusing the proximity sensor. I figure white people have more reflective ear canals than those of us with more ethnic persuasions. If the black iPhone discriminates against white ear canals, which ethnic group do you think the white iPhone will find issue with?

:p
 
I have been hesitant to exchange my iP4 since I am fairly confident that the replacement will still have this issue. It is my hope that if this is a hardware issue, and I wait a little longer, future builds may address this.

The only problem is that once I pass the 30 day mark, there is no going back. I guess at that point, I will just keep returning my phones until they get it right.
 
My wife is suffering from this as well. She's about ready to return the phone.

I was talking to an apple store employee who seemed fairly knowledgeable and honest, i.e., antenna issue is hardware not software. He had not heard of the this proximity sensor issue. I directed him to the apple discussions board where a huge thread is there.

I think my wife's case is excerbating the situation, so she's trying it w/o the case - only time will tell if this will help matters. I do have to say she's tempted for the droid because she see how easy my Nexus is and how everything just works. Sadly this was a comment that I frequently made for the iPhone, but it does not seem to be the case with the IP4.
 
I pre-ordered and received the phone one day before the official launch. If there is no fix, or even an acknowledgment from Apple regarding the proximity issue by this Friday 7/16/10, I will be returning the phone.

Who else is returning before the 30-day grace period is up?
 
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