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New and with a problem already...I think.

Hello, I'm new to this forum. I left the Blackberry (Bold 9900) world and jumped on board here. So far I LOVE my Mytouch 4g Slide!
I could have sworn that my "home" screen and "all apps" screen would rotate when I turned it sideways without having to slide my phone open. Now it doesn't. I first noticed it when I opened up my Netflix app. I turned the phone sideways to search for a movie and the screen would not rotate. It only rotated when the movie played.
Do your phones rotate on the home screen/all apps screen without sliding it open?
Please help, it's bugging the heck out of me.
Thanks

Whoops I thanked you lol.
Some apps allow landscape mode, and some don't.
In addition, auto rotate allows your sensor to make the screen turn when it's on its side. Check the settings. (Settings > Display, I think). Hope this helps.

mine actually rotates when the keyboard is closed and doesn't when the keyboard is open, which is quite logical and the correct behaviour i think

Does your MT4GS do this too???
verne2k said:
mine actually rotates when the keyboard is closed and doesn't when the keyboard is open, which is quite logical and the correct behaviour i think
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's strange. I wonder why that is. So yours rotates the home screen and "all apps" screen when turned sideways?
I am sure that my auto-rotate feature works because when I open certain apps, say, the Gallery where I have all my pictures stored, I can turn it sideways to the left or right and it will rotate accordingly.
It is only when I try to rotate the Home screen and All Apps screen that I could have sworn would rotate too.
Any help on getting this back the way it should would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Doo Wop Mario

ekoee said:
Whoops I thanked you lol.
Some apps allow landscape mode, and some don't.
In addition, auto rotate allows your sensor to make the screen turn when it's on its side. Check the settings. (Settings > Display, I think). Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I checked my Auto Rotate settings and they've always been on. I unchecked it and then rebooted and then checked it again and it still didn't work. Not sure why.

Nope, if you're on the stock ROM (As far as I remember, considering I haven't been on stock since the first ROM came out and I've refused to use the stock launcher anyways) orientation won't change on the "Home" screen unless you slide the keyboard open. Correct me if I'm wrong. Personally, I turn rotation off because it sometimes gets annoying. You could always try a different launcher though, I'm pretty sure ADW and Go Launcher rotate on any keyboard condition.

The app Orientation Control works well if you want your display to stay in a particular orientation all the time. Costs a buck or two in the market, and the main thing it messes up is the camera when you want to take a picture, but you can always switch it back to 'auto rotate' in those cases.

overhauling said:
Nope, if you're on the stock ROM (As far as I remember, considering I haven't been on stock since the first ROM came out and I've refused to use the stock launcher anyways) orientation won't change on the "Home" screen unless you slide the keyboard open. Correct me if I'm wrong. Personally, I turn rotation off because it sometimes gets annoying. You could always try a different launcher though, I'm pretty sure ADW and Go Launcher rotate on any keyboard condition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I'm on stock ROM. I like the rotation feature for now, and was just wondering why it would work on some screens and not on others. I thought that was a default feature.
At least I know I'm not losing my mind. I really did believe it used to rotate the Home screen and All Apps screen without sliding it open.
I guess one thing I can try is going into a T-Mobile store and testing out their phone there to see if it rotates.
Thanks everyone!

doowopmario said:
Yeah, I'm on stock ROM. I like the rotation feature for now, and was just wondering why it would work on some screens and not on others. I thought that was a default feature.
At least I know I'm not losing my mind. I really did believe it used to rotate the Home screen and All Apps screen without sliding it open.
I guess one thing I can try is going into a T-Mobile store and testing out their phone there to see if it rotates.
Thanks everyone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never did for me in the stock Sense launcher on the app drawer or home screens, unless sliding out the keyboard. I made a reference to that in the tv-out thread back when I first got the phone in august.
It works everywhere else, and you could just use another launcher to have it happen on those two screens.
I'd like to enable that functionality in Rosie - i'm not sure why it's like that and it's puzzled me for months.

I dunno, personally, I turn off auto rotation all the time. If I want to view anything in landscape, I just slide the keyboard open. Just my preference, though.
I really like a free app called auto rotate switch. It gives you a button in the status bar that you can click to turn on and off auto rotation. I've used it since my first android phone, but have never used it with this one.
Sent from my RubiX CubeD XtremE MT4GS using Tapatalk

making the sidekick 4g an exclusively landscape phone- not avg questions

what's up everyone, put smooth maximus on my sidekick about a week ago and it's been treating me great.
i've been interested in making the phone ONLY use landscape mode, which is possible through the "orientation control" app for our devices. only thing that annoys me about using this apk is that the lockscreen will still fall into portrait mode, and every time you slide the screen up to access the keyboard the screen 'reloads' itself.
i'm a little bit particular with the way my phone runs, and i'm wondering if there is any way to mod the phone to prevent it from reloading the screen when it slides open and whether it is possible to force the lockscreen into portrait.
thanks in advance for the help guys

theU1991 said:
what's up everyone, put smooth maximus on my sidekick about a week ago and it's been treating me great.
i've been interested in making the phone ONLY use landscape mode, which is possible through the "orientation control" app for our devices. only thing that annoys me about using this apk is that the lockscreen will still fall into portrait mode, and every time you slide the screen up to access the keyboard the screen 'reloads' itself.
i'm a little bit particular with the way my phone runs, and i'm wondering if there is any way to mod the phone to prevent it from reloading the screen when it slides open and whether it is possible to force the lockscreen into portrait.
thanks in advance for the help guys
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
are you saying that it wont open in landscape even when your holding it that way?

no, it will open in landscape. but the lockscreen is never disabled from portrait mode, and whenever the screen is slid up (even when already in landscape mode) the screen will blink for a second and seemingly reload whatever i'm doing on the phone.

theU1991 said:
no, it will open in landscape. but the lockscreen is never disabled from portrait mode, and whenever the screen is slid up (even when already in landscape mode) the screen will blink for a second and seemingly reload whatever i'm doing on the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's odd, iv never had that happen with the stock lockscreen, only with lockscreen replacement apps.
sent from my....WAIT THIS ISNT MY PHONE?

Go into settings and enable auto rotation after you have enabled landscape mode lock with Orientation Control.
That will resolve the issue.
This question has been answered previously. Try reading next time.

orange808 said:
Go into settings and enable auto rotation after you have enabled landscape mode lock with Orientation Control.
That will resolve the issue.
This question has been answered previously. Try reading next time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
uhhhh, did you read my post? don't tell me to "try reading" when you don't have a grasp of what i'm asking. when did i say anything about not understanding how to use orientation control? i'm asking questions about the lockscreen and about the phone doing this reloading when the keyboard is opened. step off the high horse and learn to read before pompously telling others to...

U can't make it only landscape mode who would want that?
Sent from my SGH-T839 using XDA App

xtrem88 said:
U can't make it only landscape mode who would want that?
Sent from my SGH-T839 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well this phone was made to be nearly always used in landscape.

Android forces the phone the reload the screen resources with a hinge change. This cannot be changed. Additionally, this can be a source of memory leaks if you write quick and dirty code with globals...
I don't know of any version or mod of the Android OS that does not refresh the screen with a hinge change.
This refresh happens everytime you open and close your device. You only notice it on the lockscreen.

xtrem88 said:
U can't make it only landscape mode who would want that?
Sent from my SGH-T839 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ummmm....... me?

orange808 said:
Android forces the phone the reload the screen resources with a hinge change. This cannot be changed. Additionally, this can be a source of memory leaks if you write quick and dirty code with globals...
I don't know of any version or mod of the Android OS that does not refresh the screen with a hinge change.
This refresh happens everytime you open and close your device. You only notice it on the lockscreen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
alright thanks for that info, wasn't sure if there was any code for it to prevent from doing this. guess i'll have to live with it. appreciate it!

[Q] Portrait mode with keyboard attached?

I have a case that holds the tablet and the keyboard, which works pretty good. Occasionally, though, I would like to open the case and NOT use the ATTACHED keyboard while holding the tablet in portrait mode. Usually this is to look up something quickly while standing up and it would be awkward to try and type in the search.
I've searched the forums and found nothing that addresses this. I tried a bunch of rotation apps but none of them work with the keyboard attached.
Ideally I would like a widget that rotates the screen into portrait and the same (or another) widget to rotate it back to landscape.
Anybody have any ideas on how to do this?
Thanks

LeeBv said:
I have a case that holds the tablet and the keyboard, which works pretty good. Occasionally, though, I would like to open the case and NOT use the ATTACHED keyboard while holding the tablet in portrait mode. Usually this is to look up something quickly while standing up and it would be awkward to try and type in the search.
I've searched the forums and found nothing that addresses this. I tried a bunch of rotation apps but none of them work with the keyboard attached.
Ideally I would like a widget that rotates the screen into portrait and the same (or another) widget to rotate it back to landscape.
Anybody have any ideas on how to do this?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I'm using a FREE app called "Screen Orientation Control" by eflow inc. It's a nice one, after installed, it put a control on your notification, where you can access quickly. 3 modes available: portrait, landscape and auto(turn off).

FIXED IT!! Works like a champ. I tried about 8-9 different apps, none of which worked, but this does what I need.
Now only if they had a widget.
Thanks:laugh:

I just installed this one on my TF700 and Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and it works great:
Ultimate Rotation Control
$2.99 after free 7-day trial, but is quite versatile, and should do what you want.

LeeBv said:
FIXED IT!! Works like a champ. I tried about 8-9 different apps, none of which worked, but this does what I need.
Now only if they had a widget.
Thanks:laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why you need a widget, the control is right on the notification same as factory stuff. This is even better than widget, don't you think so?
EDIT: you can set portrait mode with either the dock keyboard to your left or to your right, by hold up your device in your liking, then enable portrait mode.

This app works fine. But, for me, having a widget at a specific spot on the main screen would just make it a tad bit faster.

LeeBv said:
This app works fine. But, for me, having a widget at a specific spot on the main screen would just make it a tad bit faster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I disagree with you on that, have it on the notification is way better, here is why,
1. If you are not on home screen, (you either put the widget on every screen or navigate back to home screen
2. when you in the browser or reading a document etc.. and want to switch to portrait mode, you need to go back to home screen, enable it then navigate back to your app. Here you can access it directly through the notification without leaving the page!
3. One less icon on your home screen and since it blended right into your notification it looks more professional done
4. If you have 5 home screens and you put your widget on all of them, you're wasting memory.
5. Again it's your choice..hehehe...

I use an app called Rotate -- it lets you set up specific rotation preferences per-app. Also, it can re-enable auto-rotation even when the dock is attached for most apps.

I only have one main screen and very few apps/widgets on it. About 95% of the use of this tablet is for Evernote to track one specific project. My usual use in portrait is just to look up a suspense date or task status. However, if I did have multiple screens then I could see the advantage of this app in the notification panel rather than a widget.
Cheers

MartyHulskemper said:
I use an app called Rotate -- it lets you set up specific rotation preferences per-app. Also, it can re-enable auto-rotation even when the dock is attached for most apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll check this out, too. Thanks.

I'm getting good results from eFlow's "Screen Orientation Control."
With no paid or donation versions, I have to wonder what eFlow's getting out of publishing apps. Pure love of coding, I guess?

[APP][2.3+] GMD Smart Rotate

Everyone knows how annoying default Android rotation algorithm can be. So we tried to come up with better solution and this is how GMD Smart Rotate was created. It is co-developed by me and Vitalij (developer of Touch Screen Tune).
Smart screen rotation using front facing camera.
Smart keeping screen on using front facing camera.
This application replaces default Android screen rotation and add smart features:
- Use front facing camera to evaluate your face position and decide if device screen needs to be rotated.
- Automatically keep screen turned on while you are looking at it (Full version only).
- Lock rotation in landscape or portrait.
- Force rotate applications that does not allow rotation by default.
- Set per application rotation preferences (Full version only).
- Easy rotation preference access by pressing default Android lock rotation toggle.
- Rotation preferences widget and launcher shortcuts.
- Clockwise and Counterclockwise rotation shortcuts.
- Integrates with GMD GestureControl and GMD SPen Control using shortcuts.
Development version - may contain bugs!
Tested and working on:
- Samsung Galaxy S
- Samsung Galaxy S2
- Samsung Galaxy S3
- Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
- Samsung Tab 7.7
- Samsung Note1
- Samsung Note2
- Nexus 7
- Xoom
- HTC One X
- Motorola Atrix
- Nexus S
- Galaxy Nexus, Verizon Galaxy Nexus
- Droid Incredible 2
- Sony Xperia
- Sony Xperia Mini Pro

Reserved...

Tried it on a P7500 tab and it doesn't work correctly. I get the correct toast message from the accelerometer (0, 90, 180, 270) but the screen doesn't turn, or, if it rotates, it remains on that position.

ungureanuc said:
Tried it on a P7500 tab and it doesn't work correctly. I get the correct toast message from the accelerometer (0, 90, 180, 270) but the screen doesn't turn, or, if it rotates, it remains on that position.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it in launcher? By default Smart Rotate does not force rotation in applications that do not support rotation (same way like Android default rotation). If you want to force it you have to check 'Force rotate'.

StupidIdea said:
Is it in launcher? By default Smart Rotate does not force rotation in applications that do not support rotation (same way like Android default rotation). If you want to force it you have to check 'Force rotate'.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, is not in an app, I just installed the apk and I've found that "issue" on the default screen, using Apex Pro. But I have started Maxthon browser and had same issue. As I aid, toast indicates correct rotation message, but it doesn't rotate accordingly.
Thanks for quick reply and if there's anything else, I'd be glad to be considered a "tester".. :good:

I cannot install the app on my N7. But somehow the key to unlock it
But all I can say. Nice app. Keep on developing i like your other apps as well.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium

greivel2 said:
I cannot install the app on my N7. But somehow the key to unlock it
But all I can say. Nice app. Keep on developing i like your other apps as well.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats strange, I developed in on N7 but havent tried to download from market yet. I will upload apk to XDA when I'm home.
Same key will work, if anything.
ungureanuc said:
No, is not in an app, I just installed the apk and I've found that "issue" on the default screen, using Apex Pro. But I have started Maxthon browser and had same issue. As I aid, toast indicates correct rotation message, but it doesn't rotate accordingly.
Thanks for quick reply and if there's anything else, I'd be glad to be considered a "tester".. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you try unchecking 'Smart Rotate use camera". I'm wondering if camera fails to get image. There are some technical difficulties acquiring image without keeping camera locked, but we solved it on every device we had available for testing. I will try to get my hands on P7500 and check what is going on. What ROM you use?

StupidIdea said:
Thats strange, I developed in on N7 but havent tried to download from market yet. I will upload apk to XDA when I'm home.
Same key will work, if anything.
Could you try unchecking 'Smart Rotate use camera". I'm wondering if camera fails to get image. There are some technical difficulties acquiring image without keeping camera locked, but we solved it on every device we had available for testing. I will try to get my hands on P7500 and check what is going on. What ROM you use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Using Toldo's v7. (ICS). I'll try your suggestion and report back.
LE With "smart rotate using camera" off, it rotates normally, except the position 180° (upside down); here it turns to normal position (0*°). As said, the toast message display correct position of the rotation.
The same in maxthon browser.
L. L. E.g. forgot to mention, with "smart rotate using camera" enabled, the tab freezes and had to reset by button.

I too am using a galaxy tab 10.1 (P7500) on the CM10 nightlies
and the screen sticks when Smart rotate using camera is checked
can you add an auto landscape/portrait(only landscape or only portrait)
and it doesn't rotate 180

DHM47 said:
I too am using a galaxy tan 10.1 (P7500) on the CM10 nightlies
and the screen sticks when Smart rotate using camera is checked
can you add an auto landscape/portrait(only landscape or only portrait)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Click notification to open rotation dialog.
You can choose auto rotate, portrait or landscape. If you check 'Force" it will rotate even apps that do not support rotation.
If you check 'Default for this app" it will remember this setting for current application only.
Is this what you were looking for?
I have an idea what might be wrong with camera I will upload test version when I'm home.

Nice, really appreciate you porting the few (only?) Samsung features I actually like: do you need a hand with app translation (Italian over here)? Maybe you opened a getlocalization.org project already?

teorouge said:
Nice, really appreciate you porting the few (only?) Samsung features I actually like: do you need a hand with app translation (Italian over here)? Maybe you opened a getlocalization.org project already?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great idea, I will open a project there and post it here. Thanks.

ungureanuc said:
Tried it on a P7500 tab and it doesn't work correctly. I get the correct toast message from the accelerometer (0, 90, 180, 270) but the screen doesn't turn, or, if it rotates, it remains on that position.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same problem. When smart rotate using camera is on apps don't rotate. Or if they do, they remain in the same position.
When smart rotate using camera is switched off apps rotate. But it also rotates the home, while force rotate is unchecked in options. And I have not set defaults for any app yet.
One more question: when you open default settings a small dialog appears with 4 buttons. What's the last one on the right for?
Thanks for another smart idea!
Sent from my EndeavorU using xda premium

tiho5 said:
I have the same problem. When smart rotate using camera is on apps don't rotate. Or if they do, they remain in the same position.
When smart rotate using camera is switched off apps rotate. But it also rotates the home, while force rotate is unchecked in options. And I have not set defaults for any app yet.
One more question: when you open default settings a small dialog appears with 4 buttons. What's the last one on the right for?
Thanks for another smart idea!
Sent from my EndeavorU using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your launcher supports rotation then it does rotate even without "force". You can still set per app setting for launcher. Last button opens application preferences. This is mostly useful if you want to manage per app settings for all apps.

StupidIdea said:
If your launcher supports rotation then it does rotate even without "force". You can still set per app setting for launcher. Last button opens application preferences. This is mostly useful if you want to manage per app settings for all apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, my launcher is not supporting rotation but is rotated.
Sent from my EndeavorU using xda premium

tiho5 said:
No, my launcher is not supporting rotation but is rotated.
Sent from my EndeavorU using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank I already know why it is happening. Will fix it later today

StupidIdea said:
Click notification to open rotation dialog.
You can choose auto rotate, portrait or landscape. If you check 'Force" it will rotate even apps that do not support rotation.
If you check 'Default for this app" it will remember this setting for current application only.
Is this what you were looking for?
I have an idea what might be wrong with camera I will upload test version when I'm home.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry what i meant was the 180 rotation (reverse landscape )

DHM47 said:
Sorry what i meant was the 180 rotation (reverse landscape )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you set for example Portrait then application will automatically rotate by 180 degree to inverse Portrait and back according to accelerometer. However if your device does not support inverse or application does not support rotation you have to check 'Force'. Same for Landscape.
Is that what you were looking for?

Update to 1.1
Update:
1.1
- Fixed: camera detection was not working on some devices.
- Do not rotate Home screen if it does not support rotation and "force" is not checked.
Uploaded APK in first post. Suspended market application till issues are solved.

StupidIdea said:
Update:
1.1
- Fixed: camera detection was not working on some devices.
- Do not rotate Home screen if it does not support rotation and "force" is not checked.
Updated Play Store and attached APK in first post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now it works with "smart rotate use camera", except for 180°, it stays on 0° (accelerometer and camera toast messages shows 180°).
L.E. Found something else... When I want to type something, even it is a mail, in browser or sms the tab is freezing with swype and the SmartRotate shuts down. Switched to default Samsung keyboard, the app doesn't freeze the tab, but now i cannot switch to other input method (from the status bar quick icon).
I also tried to force rotate the app "Awesome On Off" which is by default in portrait mode, the app is not switching to landscape and the SmartRotate app is shutting down...

Screen Rotation Bug? / EMUI 4.0 / NXT-L09C636B170 / Android 6.0

Just got a new Mate 8 this week, and after not having a smart phone to use since 2010, I'm really liking what I'm seeing so far with my limited exposure . . . even fine with the stock EMUI interface too.
One thing I noticed right away was the phone's inability to rotate a full 360°. Left and right horizontal rotation is fine, as well as the normal vertical, but try to go inverted, and the screen did not rotate at all for the home screen or for any app I tried. Funny, because I actually had a Chinese phone back in 2008 called an i9, which had the same rotation issue for only the inverted position.
I tried turning auto rotation On and Off, rebooting, etc., but no help. I did not try any hard reset on the phone, but I did go to Google Play and installed a rotation app called Set Orientation. When running, using the app's Automatic (full) rotation setting, the phone now rotates properly to the inverted position on the home screen as well as the few apps I tried so far. This made me happy that the hardware doesn't seem to be the issue with it not rotating inverted.
I did a forum search for rotation issues, and did not see any threads for this specific issue.
So has anyone else had this partial rotation issue and maybe an easy fix for it?
Also, I was wondering if there might be any downsides to having to always rely on an app like this, as maybe it won't always be compatible with other apps which may need to have the screen rotate to the inverted position?
Thanks,
~ Craig ~

If I seem to remember correctly, even the 6p didn't rotate a full 360 degrees. I actually think it is app dependant. I use this rotation control.. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pranavpandey.rotation
Sent from my HUAWEI NXT-L29 using Tapatalk

tdamocles said:
If I seem to remember correctly, even the 6p didn't rotate a full 360 degrees. I actually think it is app dependant. I use this rotation control.. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pranavpandey.rotation
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I'm already using a rotation control app that has worked to allow inverted vertical rotation too, but I'm wondering why you believe it's not a bug, but possibly only about app dependency if it does full 360° rotation ?
I have to admit I haven't been too well up to date on Android devices and apps for at least 4 years now, and I know some apps want to prevent certain screen orientation settings, forcing the view in certain modes. However, it seems like some software setting is out of kilter, or even a bug to me for this particular partial rotation issue, not just about app dependency.
For instance, why would the home screen, with auto rotation turned on in the settings, allow for rotation to both horizontal positions, the normal portrait position, but not allow for an inverted portrait rotation?
Also, for even the internet browser apps, which from what I recall for several other Android tablets I owned years ago, they would all allow rotation to all screen positions for 360° when rotation was turned on, with this phone it wouldn't allow inverted portrait rotation, that is, not until I installed the Set Orientation app and used it. Do Chrome and Firefox for Android typically not allow for inverted portrait viewing unless forced by an orientation app or rooting the device to change system settings?
I did find that using the Set Orientation app it interferes with the factory installed camera app display when using the phone in either horizontal position, so I need to disable it when using the camera to take landscape images.
It isn't a huge issue, just a minor inconvenience (along with a couple others) which I came across but can certainly live with, because I'm really enjoying the phone so far for the most part.
~ Craig ~

Look at the phone/dialer App. I don't even think that allows any horizontal rotation or full rotation. Almost all lock screens on different phones don't allow rotation either unless you have a custom ROM installed. I just don't think it's a bug . I think it's done like that for a reason, good or bad. I think it may be a phone restriction because I think my Nexus 9 allows full rotation on some apps. You just might have to live with it.
I think the home screen doesn't rotate 360 degrees because who views phone stuff upside down?
For example, I had 360 rotation turned on for my phone/dialer app and if your laying down the App will go inverted . If the proximity sensor isn't quick enough and doesn't turn off your screen, you might hit the hangup button like I did one time.
Look, Netflix is landscape only.
Sent from my HUAWEI NXT-L29 using Tapatalk

tdamocles said:
I think the home screen doesn't rotate 360 degrees because who views phone stuff upside down?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On a device with small and relatively symmetrical bevels on the top and bottom like the Mate 8, or my previous LG G4, it's very handy to just pick up the phone and use it, irrelevant of the orientation.
I never use the power button and/or fingerprint scanner so a simple double (or on the Mate 8 usually triple) tap wakes up the device and hey presto, use it as it is. Is it the "right way round"? Great. Was it upside down? Does not matter, use it like this for now as well.
So for that reason I would also like to have an upside down possibility (haven't installed xposed yet as I find the need for it not great enough, for now). Other than that I find not a lot of real disadvantages of having the possibility anyway.
Note: not all apps worked as planned upside down but the dialer, homescreen, browsing, etc. made no difference regarding holding the phone