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Enable Screen Always on When Plugged

Is there a way to enable the screen to always be on when plugged in? I would like the screen on always in the car, and don't want to use a car launcher. I have a generic dock and would like to keep it. I know the Moto phones have a "Stay awake" option in the Developer's Options section, but I don't see something similar in the GS3's.

That option is present in CM10, but I don't recall seeing it on the stock software in the short time that I ran it. Might be worth noting that the screens on these phones do seem to have a quite finite lifespan, so leaving it on for extended periods is likely to cause image persistence on any portions of the screen that have a static image displayed.

I use this app called Custom Auto Brightness that lets you adjust how the auto brightness works. I just happened to see that that app has an option to keep the screen on while charging. Maybe that will help

The software you are looking for is called caffeine. Free on the application store.
Sent from my big red Samsung Galaxy S3 using XDA Premium.

You could also check out Llama. It does quite a bit more than just keep the backlight on so it may be overkill, but it's one of my favorite apps on my phone, and it is possible to set it up so that whenever it is plugged in the backlight is set to always on.

extended controls + tasker
Extended controls has a toggle for screen always on
Tasker will allow you to set when plug in to toggle

Thanks for the responses, folks. I was able to set it to "Never Sleep" through Power Widget lite. I'll try some of your guys' suggestions as well.

lyrictenor1 said:
Thanks for the responses, folks. I was able to set it to "Never Sleep" through Power Widget lite. I'll try some of your guys' suggestions as well.
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Watch for screen burn in as that is why it is not an option.

prdog1 said:
Watch for screen burn in as that is why it is not an option.
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However, the Motorola Android phones I have had in the past have never had this problem; when they sit in the car dock, the screen is always on as part of the car dock mode.

Yea but AMOLED screens are different, hence my warning earlier in the thread. Not all phones are created equal.

Yea, I'd be careful. When I went into the verizon store to get my S3, on display next to it was a Galaxy Nexus which has screen burn in.

Tasker or Screen On (yep) will do it

apacseven said:
Yea but AMOLED screens are different, hence my warning earlier in the thread. Not all phones are created equal.
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Yeah, I see what you guys are saying; However, my Razr Maxx (also Super AMOLED) did not experience any screen burn-in despite have seen many hours of service with the display always on in the car dock.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

I've been fortunate enough to not be able to see any on solid colors with an LCD tester so far too... But man, some people act like the possible screen burn issue is how the devil gets in, thats the only reason I wanted to point it out. YMMV and enjoy your ride.

I just wouldn't do this if I were you. Doesn't seem worth a $300 replacement to me.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app

I think one of the big factors is how long it actually stays on. If it's only on for an hour or two I don't think it'd be that big of a deal, but if you decide to go on a long road trip I would advice having your kids/friends/wife/girlfriend/passenger(s) play with it for a few minutes here and there.

apacseven said:
I've been fortunate enough to not be able to see any on solid colors with an LCD tester so far too... But man, some people act like the possible screen burn issue is how the devil gets in, thats the only reason I wanted to point it out. YMMV and enjoy your ride.
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No worries; I appreciate the tip! Cheers!
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

noingwhat said:
I think one of the big factors is how long it actually stays on. If it's only on for an hour or two I don't think it'd be that big of a deal, but if you decide to go on a long road trip I would advice having your kids/friends/wife/girlfriend/passenger(s) play with it for a few minutes here and there.
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Yeah, mine hardly ever stays on the same screen anyway while it's in the dock...I'm usually switching screens every 5 minutes or so...
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

Doesn't it also have something to do with the screen being OLED? Isn't that a relatively new technology and not long term tested?
Not even just staying on the same screen but the life of the screen in general..
Idk a whole lot about it other than what I read.
I definitely wouldn't leave it on too long, I'd hate to see a GS3 with persistence or even worse, burn in!

[Q] Camera Flash Stuck On

Hey guys, I just collected my N8020 today, and after some playing with it, I noticed the camera flash led on the back of the tab was stuck on an on state. I tried restarting, enabling/disabling the flash from the camera menu but it never goes off. When taking a picture, or using a flashlight app from the market, the LED does flash brighter, but when turned off it never completely goes off. The light is even on when the tab is powered down. Since I cannot yank the battery out to completely cut the power, I thought of trying to run the battery down until the LED dies. The device has completely run out of power and does not start up anymore, but the flash is still on. Anyone has any suggestions on what I can try, or is it possibly a hardware fault?

did you do a factory reset?

panda-man said:
did you do a factory reset?
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It finally ran out of what little battery and the flash went off. I started charging the device and turn it back on, and the flash comes on again. Ive tried reset to factory defaults but the flash is still on.

Need to get it exchanged. Hardware fault in flash LED circuit.

Personally I'd take it back to the shop as there should be some protection against defects in the 1st week or so, in Oz the shops are suppossed to replace immediately any returned item if it is less than a month since purchase. Yo might need to find out what your countries laws are and hold firm, if the counter staff won't help ask to speak to a manager. Don't surrender the old tablet over until you have a new one in your hands.The old trick they use is it has to be sent away, if you don't want to see your new toy for at least 2 weeks, hand it over.... When it comes back it won't be new anymore....

Silly question- is there any chance the "Assistive Light" widget is on? It does sound like a hardware defect, though.

I've contacted the telco and they will be sending me a replacement tomorrow. Thanks guys for the advise.

kcrudup said:
Silly question- is there any chance the "Assistive Light" widget is on? It does sound like a hardware defect, though.
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Thanks for the reminder. Tried a flashlight app from play store. And reading this topic I almost lost hope, since my tablet has just turned 1y1m, no warranty anymore.
The assistive light widget worked.

leofarage said:
Thanks for the reminder. Tried a flashlight app from play store. And reading this topic I almost lost hope, since my tablet has just turned 1y1m, no warranty anymore.
The assistive light widget worked.
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Glad to see you got the issue fixed.
FYI..............
If I remember correctly Samsung was giving an extra 3 months of warranty if you registered your device online so if you registered online you really may have 2 more months of warranty.

leofarage said:
Thanks for the reminder. Tried a flashlight app from play store. And reading this topic I almost lost hope, since my tablet has just turned 1y1m, no warranty anymore.
The assistive light widget worked.
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Hi,
I have the same problem Leo. What app worked for you and how did you fix it?
Thank you.

Update or bad screen?

Hey people
Got my smart watch about 4 days ago and it was all good until tonight and now for some reason i can't see the clock anymore unless i press the power button :S i could have sworn it had a low light mode and the clock was visable ok but since tonight i can't see the time unless there's a light pointing straight at the watch. I hooked it upto the service centre thing and updated it through that but hasn't helped.
am I going mad here and just seeing things? :S
EDIT: i also noticed when i turn it off i get some weird colours appearing in the clockface some pinks/purples. i don't understand it was ok a couple of hours ago and it's been on my wrist the whole time :S

Did you try to reset the watch? Also our you have any custom clocks installed, remove them. As after reset, Sony smartwatch app will reinstall them on the watch, once the watch and the phone are connected.
On your watch, go to settings and tap reset watch.
Sent from my HTC One SV using Tapatalk

tried that chap loads of times and nothing tried re-installing firmware and nothing swell. no custom watchfaces installed either just the stock ones

Roxas598 said:
Hey people
Got my smart watch about 4 days ago and it was all good until tonight and now for some reason i can't see the clock anymore unless i press the power button :S i could have sworn it had a low light mode and the clock was visable ok but since tonight i can't see the time unless there's a light pointing straight at the watch. I hooked it upto the service centre thing and updated it through that but hasn't helped.
am I going mad here and just seeing things? :S
EDIT: i also noticed when i turn it off i get some weird colours appearing in the clockface some pinks/purples. i don't understand it was ok a couple of hours ago and it's been on my wrist the whole time :S
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Just to make it clear, you are not talking about the low power mode right? No backlight, but can be still seen by people in ambient light??? Maybe you should take a picture of the watch so we can clearly see what is going on.

At night my sw2 turns of the screen completely. But when I MOVE the watch it turns on the clock on the display. I think it has an accelerometer that turns off the screen when no movement is detected.
Sent from my GT-N5100 using Tapatalk

severoprisan said:
At night my sw2 turns of the screen completely. But when I MOVE the watch it turns on the clock on the display. I think it has an accelerometer that turns off the screen when no movement is detected.
Sent from my GT-N5100 using Tapatalk
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The same for me. I think that isn't a bug, but accelerometer
Inviato dal mio LG-D802 utilizzando Tapatalk

It is normal.
It is a feature to save battery when it isn't worn.

I am more curious as to the "watch (display) turns on from moving it". Does the SW2 have an accelerometer? My watch display doesn't kick on when I move it. Or was this a feature of the earlier SmartWatches?

Nomad1600 said:
I am more curious as to the "watch (display) turns on from moving it". Does the SW2 have an accelerometer? My watch display doesn't kick on when I move it. Or was this a feature of the earlier SmartWatches?
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I believe SW2 does have an accelerometer. Put your watch on a table, leave it untouched for while, screen completely turns off. Not even the low power watch mode is displayed. But once you move it, low power watch comes back on (without the backlight). I observed it many times when it was charging and when left at the bed side table.
But it is not utilized for backlight function. That is a missing feature people are asking for. But I don't really need it. Just like a regular watch, I press a button to turn the light on when I can't see it in the dark.
Sent from my HTC One SV using Tapatalk

thearif said:
I believe SW2 does have an accelerometer. Put your watch on a table, leave it untouched for while, screen completely turns off. Not even the low power watch mode is displayed. But once you move it, low power watch comes back on (without the backlight). I observed it many times when it was charging and when left at the bed side table.
But it is not utilized for backlight function. That is a missing feature people are asking for. But I don't really need it. Just like a regular watch, I press a button to turn the light on when I can't see it in the dark.
Sent from my HTC One SV using Tapatalk
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Wow... I didn't even notice the screen going completely black after sitting for a while. I am still on watch honeymoon, and either the watch is on my wrist or turned off and on the dresser. But sure enough, it does go into a deeper "sleep" mode and wakes up when I pick it up. Nice!
I do see that having it wake to the backlit mode would be nice but it would seem to kill the battery since when worn it would be in more constant movement. Unless they tuned the accelerometer to only wake when a more significant motion happens.

Nomad1600 said:
Wow... I didn't even notice the screen going completely black after sitting for a while. I am still on watch honeymoon, and either the watch is on my wrist or turned off and on the dresser. But sure enough, it does go into a deeper "sleep" mode and wakes up when I pick it up. Nice!
I do see that having it wake to the backlit mode would be nice but it would seem to kill the battery since when worn it would be in more constant movement. Unless they tuned the accelerometer to only wake when a more significant motion happens.
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Yeah the previous iteration of smartwatch from Sony did not have always on watchface and it was a necessity. And to see the time you had to turn on the display. One way was to double tap on the watch screen to wake it up. Another way was to light up the screen by lifting your arm and turning the watch towards you. But the second way never really worked reliably.
But I don't think SW2 needs that. As we already have always on watch with great readability even in places where there little light.
Sent from my HTC One SV using Tapatalk

thearif said:
Just to make it clear, you are not talking about the low power mode right? No backlight, but can be still seen by people in ambient light??? Maybe you should take a picture of the watch so we can clearly see what is going on.
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Sorry for the delay! yeah seems my watch didn't have the low power mode and now it does it's just near impossible to see unless i have some light directly on the screen

Roxas598 said:
Sorry for the delay! basically sitting here in the dark i can't see the time on the display at all but i could when i first got it now I need to actually press the button to see the time :S dunno if it's just me thinking i could or not is the problem lol
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So there is nothing on the screen not even the low power mode on the watch. I don't know what to tell you boss as you have already done a reset. Maybe one thing to check is to use SUS to reflash the firmware using your pc, if you haven't done it already.
Sent from my HTC One SV using Tapatalk

thearif said:
So there is nothing on the screen not even the low power mode on the watch. I don't know what to tell you boss as you have already done a reset. Maybe one thing to check is to use SUS to reflash the firmware using your pc, if you haven't done it already.
Sent from my HTC One SV using Tapatalk
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sorry chap i updated my post there is something on the screen but it's impossible to see without some sort of light source on it makes it kinda annoying to use could have sworn it wasn't when i first got it but figured i'd ask anyway!

Roxas598 said:
sorry chap i updated my post there is something on the screen but it's impossible to see without some sort of light source on it makes it kinda annoying to use could have sworn it wasn't when i first got it but figured i'd ask anyway!
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No problem. I never considered the low power hard to see. But I guess most of the time I am in well lit places
Sent from my HTC One SV using Tapatalk

Screen Always Awake (Is there no perm method other than an app?) :( for nexus 7

Like the title... Is there absolutely no way via a edit of some kind other than an app to keep the screen on or disable sleep untill you press the power button? :/
Is there a legitimate reason why they only gave 30min max and just did not put a disable option? super curious

AndroidObsession said:
Like the title... Is there absolutely no way via a edit of some kind other than an app to keep the screen on or disable sleep untill you press the power button? :/
Is there a legitimate reason why they only gave 30min max and just did not put a disable option? super curious
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At least there is one such option in developer menu, but you need to be connected with cable (charging).
I think the only reason is battery drain. On some devices, like my galaxy s4, the available options are even more limited - I have 10 minutes maximum instead of plain android's 30 minutes.

frangulyan.dev said:
At least there is one such option in developer menu, but you need to be connected with cable (charging).
I think the only reason is battery drain. On some devices, like my galaxy s4, the available options are even more limited - I have 10 minutes maximum instead of plain android's 30 minutes.
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thats unfortunate :/ im sorry to hear that for most people it doesnt matter because most apps will keep the screen up... its just something that i noticed n it bothered me a bit. thanks for the explination lol

s6 DEAD

My s6 died today out of the blue. I was checking some emails on my laptop and my s6 was right next to me. At some point i grab the phone to check something and the phone was DEAD! I tried to turn it on several times by holding the power button several seconds but nothing happened. I connected it to the charger and still nothing. The charging icon on the screen was not present. I called Samsung and after explaining what happened they told me to do the 30 second power button hold. Still nothing.... Then called the nearest Samsung service centre and they told me to bring the phone there for checking. Probably lost everything in the phone but good thing I got Onedrive activated and I do regular backups.
The phone is unrooted. Complete stock. All I had recently changed was the update to 5.1.1 and used Dark Material Design Theme. thats it. No water damage ever. The phone is completely unscratched and in mint condition.
SM-G920F
CSC: XEF (France)
Any thoughts over this? A workaround? Any help is welcome.
Thanks

Press and hold Volume Down and Power Button for at least 10 seconds to do a Soft reset. Also I've read of some people that somehow gets the Brightness to 0 and basically can't see anything or try to increase it, but that is different because you will notice that the phone is on, plus the led light and sounds are still working.

erasat said:
Press and hold Volume Down and Power Button for at least 10 seconds to do a Soft reset. Also I've read of some people that somehow gets the Brightness to 0 and basically can't see anything or try to increase it, but that is different because you will notice that the phone is on, plus the led light and sounds are still working.
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holy crap is worked!!!!!!!!!! thanks a lot man. i was so desperate.

perikach said:
holy crap is worked!!!!!!!!!! thanks a lot man. i was so desperate.
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You're welcome. The sad part is that you talked to Samsung and they couldn't even tell you how to do that...incredible.

erasat said:
You're welcome. The sad part is that you talked to Samsung and they couldn't even tell you how to do that...incredible.
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True that. I always make a post here for every problem I get with my phone before getting it to samsung service. People here know way more things. Best community ever!

erasat said:
You're welcome. The sad part is that you talked to Samsung and they couldn't even tell you how to do that...incredible.
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There is a reason why they get paid minimum wage.
Sent from my SM-G920T