Quick Intro

[AS48]

Hello all -

Glad to find this forum! Fairly new Android user (both tablet and phone - Galaxy Note 10.1 and LG L38C, respectively), in search of a solution to a seemingly impossible problem - the screen lock issue on the LG L38C. I'm about to throw this thing against the wall if I don't find a solution soon. It worked fine when I first purchased it, but now the screen locks within 2 seconds of the start of a call, and won't unlock unless the other party hangs up or I remove the battery from the phone. Keypad is obviously inaccessible when this happens, which makes responding to auto-prompts (press 1, etc) during phone calls impossible - including checking voice mail. Really hoping I don't have to purchase a new phone to eliminate this problem.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

Welcome to the forums AS48. Here's a link to your tablets forum Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 - Android Forums and for your phone LG Optimus L3 - Android Forums. There's an app called screebl in the play store that should keep your screen on during phone calls.

 

[olbriar]

Hello AS48. I'm sorry you are having problems. Sometimes it takes a factory reset to set things right. It's a hassle I know but is likely your course of action. You might think back to see if you might have installed a new app the same time your troubles started. Sometimes an app doesn't play straight. A removal and a new install often fixes that as well. I hope you can find the problem and it's fix. Good luck.

 

[AS48]

@DontPanicBobby - thanks for the suggestion, but Screebl lacks the proximity sensor integration that would make this work. The problem is the proximity sensor settings, and the LG L38C doesn't have an option on the menu to reset or change them, or to recalibrate the sensor. Other models have this option, but mine doesn't. I've tried about 5 different apps now that all claim to either disable or control the sensor, but none have worked.

@olbriar - I hate to go that route, but I'm thinking that's the only option at this point, because the sensor worked as it should when I bought the phone - so there must have been something I did at some point that interfered with it. I gues I'm going to try a factory reset and see what happens. I've tried all the suggestions given in the forum - cleaning the screen, changing the camera settings, etc - none of that works.

 

[AS48]

Editing this ...I was going to ask how to do a factory reset, but you're not going to believe this...I discovered and corrected the problem with a 2-second fix.

It was the screen protector.

Feeling like a bit of an idiot here, but I wonder how many other people have returned their phone, thrown it out the window, downloaded countless apps to try and fix the proximity sensor problem, when the *real* problem was the clear screen protector they put over the phone's touch screen to save it from damage - which also covers the proximity sensor, causing it to malfunction, because it detects the screen protector as a "cover" and thus, disables the screen.

:banghead::banghead:

I'll still put a screen protector on this phone, but will trim it to leave the sensor uncovered. I can't believe I've been complaining about this problem for months now, only to find it was the stupid screen protector...and that no one else suggested this. (No offense to anyone here, of course.) Feeling very stupid....