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Pixel 2 interferes with IR Remote, cannot control Verizon Set Top Box

B

Baumbach

Lurker
You cannot use your Verizon IR remote to change TV channels on your Verizon FiOS Set Top Box if you point the front of the Pixel 2 towards the set top box.

My Verizon IR remote stopped working, I did everything to get it to work, I changed the battery's, I power cycled the the set top box, I got anther remote, etc. It turns out when I placed the Pixel 2 on the stand next to my bed to charge over night, I faced it towards the Verizon FiOS Set Top Box, when I placed the phone face-down, or in anther direction away from the Set Top Box, I was then able to use the remote to control the Set Top Box.

I even tested this with anther Set Top Box in anther room, Facing the Pixel 2 in the direction of any Set Top Box, prevents the IR remote from controlling the Set Top Box.

I do not know what the Pixel 2 is doing to prevent the STB remote from working, I disabled WiFi and Bluetooth, and the phone still keeps the remote from working.

So, if your Pixel 2 is in the same room as your STB, be sure not to face it towards your STB, it will prevent you from using your IR remote to power the STB off or on, or change channels, etc.
 
That's bizarre! Wifi or Bluetooth wouldn't have any effect on your set top box, but if the Pixel screen was pulsing IR wavelengths from the screen, it would disrupt your remote.

Anybody have an ir camera they could point at a Pixel 2? Now, if it is doing that, the next question is why?
 
That would be very wierd, because the red led in an amoled display should emit very little above 700nm, while an IR remote is typically around 940nm. The difference in wavelength between a typical red led and a typical remote is larger than the width of the entire visible spectrum.
 
I ran across something on xda where they are talking about the Pixel 2 using ir to focus the camera in dark settings. So how's this for a theory? The front facing camera has an ir blaster for focus and the camera is set on continuous focus so it's always pulsing ir???
 
The focus sensor is plausible. That operates outside the human visual range (I've tested), and IR sounds more likely than UV. When the OP talks about pointing the phone at the STB it isn't clear what was meant (pointing the screen at it, the camera, the end of the device, or what), so we'd need clarification there. I would be surprised if the focus sensor was active unless the camera was (utter waste of power, and this thing doesn't seem to waste energy), but we don't know what the phone was doing at the time and this is the one thing that I can imagine could be transmitting at overlapping frequencies.

Edit: mind you, I was thinking of the rear camera when I wrote that. I'm not sure it has a rangefinder or focus illuminator on the front. I'd have thought that a Samsung iris scanner would be more likely to do that type of thing, but the Pixel doesn't have that.
 
Hadron said:
The focus sensor is plausible. That operates outside the human visual range (I've tested), and IR sounds more likely than UV. When the OP talks about pointing the phone at the STB it isn't clear what was meant (pointing the screen at it, the camera, the end of the device, or what), so we'd need clarification there. I would be surprised if the focus sensor was active unless the camera was (utter waste of power, and this thing doesn't seem to waste energy), but we don't know what the phone was doing at the time and this is the one thing that I can imagine could be transmitting at overlapping frequencies.

Edit: mind you, I was thinking of the rear camera when I wrote that. I'm not sure it has a rangefinder or focus illuminator on the front. I'd have thought that a Samsung iris scanner would be more likely to do that type of thing, but the Pixel doesn't have that.
Click to expand...
Isn't there some creepy new Google thing where the camera is always on looking for known faces to capture moments? I can't remember if it was on Pixel or was another thingy announced at the same time.
 
As far as I can tell, the front camera on the Pixel 2 does not have any sort of IR/laser assist for the autofocus - though the proximity sensor does emit bursts of IR under certain circumstances (actually, constantly while the screen is off if the Always On ambient mode is enabled).

@Baumbach could you check to see if disabling Settings > Display > Advanced > Ambient display > Always on has any effect on the interference you are experiencing?
 
Interesting. Actually I think you may have to turn the ambient display off to stop that: I just did a few experiments and neither double tap to wake nor lift to wake work if you cover the proximity sensor, suggesting it is active in both of those modes.

Now that makes sense as a "pocket detection" method. But the question that raises is why you would need it if you have the ambient display set to "always on"? That's the one case (apart from "off") when covering the proximity sensor makes no difference, which makes sense if it's supposed to be always on (covering the light sensor turns it off after about 20 seconds). So I don't see the point in the proximity sensor being active in that mode.

(I haven't been able to make mine interfere with my remotes, but will have another go based on this. I normally have ambient display off with double tap to wake, so that's a mode where it seems it is active).
 
Hadron said:
Interesting. Actually I think you may have to turn the ambient display off to stop that: I just did a few experiments and neither double tap to wake nor lift to wake work if you cover the proximity sensor, suggesting it is active in both of those modes.
Click to expand...
Actually now that you mention it, the sensor is still active even with Always On, Double-Tap, Lift, and New Notifications all disabled. (Verified by pointing another phone's camera at it - you can see the little purplish light directly above the top speaker.)
 
Hadron said:
(I haven't been able to make mine interfere with my remotes, but will have another go based on this. I normally have ambient display off with double tap to wake, so that's a mode where it seems it is active).
Click to expand...

The OP specifically stated that it was changing the channels on a VZW set top box that stopped working when the phone faced the box. My guess would be that the set top box is overly sensitive to the pulse pattern on the Pixel and reads it like extra data, sort of like idiots less experienced people who put borders on barcodes.
 
lunatic59 said:
The OP specifically stated that it was changing the channels on a VZW set top box that stopped working when the phone faced the box. My guess would be that the set top box is overly sensitive to the pulse pattern on the Pixel and reads it like extra data, sort of like idiots less experienced people who put borders on barcodes.
Click to expand...
What about serifs?
 
codesplice said:
Actually now that you mention it, the sensor is still active even with Always On, Double-Tap, Lift, and New Notifications all disabled. (Verified by pointing another phone's camera at it - you can see the little purplish light directly above the top speaker.)
Click to expand...
Even with the whole lot off? So this pocket detection (I assume) is independent of the ambient display.

If I were designing such a system I'd only turn it on when some event was going to wake the screen, rather than have it active any time the screen was locked (I tested myself, and the sensor goes off when you unlock the screen rather than when you turn it on). I just experimented with my old phone, which has a pocket detection mode for the ring volume, and that definitely doesn't activate any time the screen is off (I couldn't test whether it activated when a call came in because no SIM, but it must do). Not tried it with a phone that has a tap to wake system, which I guess is more likely to have the proximity sensor turned on routinely. Makes me curious about how common this is?
 
I haven't tried rebooting or anything to see if that would clear up the screen-off proximity detection. Not sure if that would make a difference. *shrug*

I know that the sensor is used for ambient mode though since the screen goes completely black if I put the phone face down on my desk (I can see it blink on when I pick it up) but not if I just hold the phone face down above my head.
 
I don't think a reboot would make a difference, since a glitch like that would presumably only affect one phone, whereas both of ours behave the same. And yeah, I'm sure this is what's behind the OP's problem.

It's definitely using proximity rather than light level to suppress turning on the ambient display: holding my hand a few cm above the sensor still prevents the double tap from waking it (the mode I usually use, rather than "always on"). But that wouldn't explain why it's on even if the ambient display is completely off. So I assume there is some other reason why they do this, but I've not yet worked out what it is (though lazy coding is of course a possibility - if the power draw is negligible maybe someone just didn't think it important to optimise).
 
Hello,

I have noticed similar situation with my pixel 2.

I have a power saving adaptor at home with an IR sensor. Basically, how it works is when I go to turn the TV on I need to press the remote twice. First to turn on the power point second to turn on the tv. (Note. The first press can be any button on the remote as long as it is pointed at the it sensor)

What I have noticed is when I face the screen of my pixel 2 to the it sensor it's little green light starts flashing as if it is receiving a signal. I have also noted that it occurs whether the phone in unlocked or locked. (I will see if turning off the always on display has any impact)
 
That's really odd because mine definitely isn't emitting IR from the front sensor when the screen is unlocked (screen on but still locked, yes, but once I unlock the screen it stops - the fact that phone cameras are IR-sensitive makes this really easy to test, just look at it through a different phone's camera).
 
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