Database Info

Pixel randomly locks while in use, even in safe mode.

A few weeks after I got my Pixel I started experiencing random screen locks while I'm holding and using the phone.
I have it set to Auto lock after 1 minute of activity but this can happen sometimes immediately after unlocking with the finger print scanner. Ive only noticed it happening while on my hour train commute but that could just be because that's where I'm using it the most consistently.
I talked to Google support via chat and they suggested booting into safe mode to see if it's a third party app causing the issue. Ive currently been using safe mode for an hour and it has happened but only once when it first rebooted.
Has anyone else experienced this? I've contacted Google support again and will update if they find anything.
Thanks

I have experienced this several times. I can't pinpoint what's causing it. I'm just glad someone else is seeing this happen as well. Hopefully someone gets to the bottom of it.

I use an app "Always On" which has a "timeout" feature.
The app uses AMOLED ambient display to put a clock and notifications on the screen.
I use it when going to bed or at night. The timeout feature uses Device Administrator access and causes the screen to go fully off after a while. Sometimes the app causes the Devices Administrator requires password "error," definitely.
I will test more and report, but earlier in week I noticed screen go off as you describe, as I've noticed now and again too, and I realized it was maybe exactly 3 hours since I freshly set a 3 hr timeout in Always On. At that point I was using my phone when the device locked.
Hmm.
Sent from my sailfish using XDA Labs

wilsonic said:
A few weeks after I got my Pixel I started experiencing random screen locks while I'm holding and using the phone.
I have it set to Auto lock after 1 minute of activity but this can happen sometimes immediately after unlocking with the finger print scanner. Ive only noticed it happening while on my hour train commute but that could just be because that's where I'm using it the most consistently.
I talked to Google support via chat and they suggested booting into safe mode to see if it's a third party app causing the issue. Ive currently been using safe mode for an hour and it has happened but only once when it first rebooted.
Has anyone else experienced this? I've contacted Google support again and will update if they find anything.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe a magnet causing interference? http://www.androidheadlines.com/2016/11/the-google-pixel-and-pixel-xls-screens-react-to-magnets.html

tejasm1 said:
Maybe a magnet causing interference?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OMG you just blew my mind. This is definitely what it is. When I'm sitting on the train I have my satchel on my lap which has magnetic clasps. I'll remember to keep it away from there in future. THANK YOU SO MUCH! :good:

I know this is an old thready but this blew my mind too! I think my juul is causing it, as it has a magnet on the end to snap to the charger. Never would've put two and two together. Thank you!

P4xl - Same random screen locking symptoms, NOT MAGNET related.
All of the responses in this describe the symptoms of the problem I have with my Pixel4xl, but not the description of the cause.
I most DEFINITELY do not have any magnets within any proximity to my phone.
It only has an Otterbox case, and will often lock when being actively used, while behind held at least 6" from any other object (except my hands).
Is anyone else experiencing this (non-magnet related issue)?

djdole said:
All of the responses in this describe the symptoms of the problem I have with my Pixel4xl, but not the description of the cause.
I most DEFINITELY do not have any magnets within any proximity to my phone.
It only has an Otterbox case, and will often lock when being actively used, while behind held at least 6" from any other object (except my hands).
Is anyone else experiencing this (non-magnet related issue)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I have the same issue where the phone locks itself randomly on 4XL. No idea what's going on I have a fabric case... Very annoying it happens all the time

I also have the same issue on the Pixel 4. No case, I'm sitting on my couch, no magnet within 6 feet, no electronics other than a remote control, yet my phone just sometimes locks.

Yes I'm facing this issue on my Pixel 2 as well, and no magnets near me!! Can someone Please help?

Hey guys make sure your buttons arent stuck to the frame

It's happening to me too on my pixel 4 xl. Did anyone determine a cause?

Same issue, no case on it or any magnet nearby. It's super annoying.

I had the same issue on my Pixel XL. Didn't think twice about it since it was an older phone, probably a bug with new os/old phone. But i just upgraded to the Pixel 4a and the same thing is happening! Is it related to smart unlock? The weather? Mars in retrograde?

djared704 said:
Hey guys make sure your buttons arent stuck to the frame
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitely not the cause for me.
In my Otterbox case, when pressed, the volume buttons cause the volume interface to appear (which isn't happening),
and the power button has a distinct click when pressed (and when held, activates the nfc card payment interface).
A good guess, but unfortunately isn't the cause, in my situation. ??

Mate 9 Calibration

Has an had any issues with screen calibration? Sometimes when I click on the screen it presses to the left of it. When I'm in the recents screen for my apps, it sometimes swipes away instead of selecting it, and I'm unable to consistently unlock the phone while it is charging. (Works like once in every 5 times) however, I'm on sure if that one is related.
Anyone have any ideas?

Which firmware are you on? I remember older firmwares were having a bit of a touch sensitivity isues.

Sammath said:
Which firmware are you on? I remember older firmwares were having a bit of a touch sensitivity isues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on MHA-L29C567B183. US version of the phone. Stock

Did you install a screen protector? Could be the reason for sensitivity issues. If not, I don't know. Maybe a factory reset Will help?

Sammath said:
Did you install a screen protector? Could be the reason for sensitivity issues. If not, I don't know. Maybe a factory reset Will help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I removed the screen protector when I purchased it. I could do a factoru reset and see how it goes. Hopefully it's software related and not hardware related.

I do hope so as well then. I do have to say that the factory installed screen protector doesn't do this screen justice.

Sammath said:
I do hope so as well then. I do have to say that the factory installed screen protector doesn't do this screen justice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought it was for protecting it in the box?
Mine had a lot of air bubbles in it so removed it right away.
My charger still has the plastic on it though xD

ante0 said:
I thought it was for protecting it in the box?
Mine had a lot of air bubbles in it so removed it right away.
My charger still has the plastic on it though xD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol, no, this phone comes with a screen protector pre installed .

The touch sensitity is definitely off a little. I have to swipe the notification bar sometimes twice for it to come down. I also get some missed taps but it's infrequent enough that it isn't a problem for me. I heard they started fixing touch latency and optimization in 5.1. Don't know if we will ever see it.

If you are not using the stock charger weird things can happen.

Alrighty update: Factory settings still yields the same results. It's not frequent enough to make me go crazy, but it's still roughly the same. I guess my real pet peeve is when I need to go to the app manager to return to an open app and it just closes out. I've lost a lot of information that way like recipes when cooking and etc.
What I really don't understand is the fingerprint sensor not working while it's charging. It doesn't matter what charger I use. It just doesn't respond most of the time (Sometimes it unlocks like it's suppose to)

Im using Quick Charger from SS and I have this problem too. It's nice to know this is a common issue, not only me. I dont have any issues with fingerprint when charging, just notice when the battery between 5-60% it's insensitive for me (maybe quick charge is working strongly in this range), "insensitive" here means when you press and hold any things on the screen, it'll "tap" it and open it instead, all pressing or sliding or zooming actions are normal, just dragging has issue. When the battery is 70% and above, it becomes normal and no more insensitive touch. Just that so I think I can bear this thing.

Phone face down, rings, screen black...

If I have my phone face down on a counter when it rings, when I pick it up the screen is black. Not off, as I see some light, but basically dark.
I cannot see who is calling...can't get it to display.
This actually happens a lot other times. Just now, for example, I just picked it up, and turned it on with finger print. I placed it face down, and picked back up immediately...screen black.
If I happen to have it on and brush the screen across my side, it will go black.
The ringing is the realy annoying one.
Any suggestions? I'm thinking it has to do with something about the proximity sensor sensing the screen against something...but it should let it come on when it's not against something.

Is noone else having this problem? Every time my phone rings, it turns on but stays black. I never know who's calling unless I answer.
I don't know what to do with it. Very annoying.
Hoping someone has a suggestion.

You could disable auto dimming on your phone. Use Lux from Play store instead.

Planet X said:
You could disable auto dimming on your phone. Use Lux from Play store instead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you mean Auto Brightness? If so, that is not the problem. I have it disabled and am using an app for brightness control...not automatic.
I cannot find anything in settings about 'auto dimming'.
Thanks for the suggestion though...

You're right. I mean Auto Brightness, it does Auto Dimming too . B.t.w. I don't have this issue.

Planet X said:
You're right. I mean Auto Brightness, it does Auto Dimming too . B.t.w. I don't have this issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm beginning to think I am the only one.
Another symptom which I am thinking is related. Sometimes when I touch my finger to the fingerprint button to wake the phone, it comes on with that dark screen for just a moment. It feels like the phone is busy, overloaded, or just slow. It will then come fully on. Also seems like maybe it is just in deep sleep and slow to wake up. If I turn it off and back on, it is instant.
I check memory and it always has just under 1.5 GB free.
I don't know what to think, but it is very annoying. I thought about chalking Huawei support, but I'm sureo they'd just say to hard reset.
I do have a lot of apps on the phone, but with that much free memory I wouldn't think that should be a problem.

Another interesting thing related to screen dark: I can have the setting for display to not turn off if no actdivity to 10 minutes, and it still goes off after less than a minute. (Going off is different from the topic of this thread where it is near black/dark, but not off).
I discovered this while trying to use Huawei backup. Thinking of doing a Factory Reset. Instructions say to not lock the screen, so I'm trying to keep screen on w/o my having to hold the phone the entire backup.
This overall topic is making me pretty unhappy with the phone, which I had thought was perfection when I started with it.
sigh...

I finally called Huwaei technical support this morning. They apparently know about this problem, and want me to send the phone back for repair. They expect me to be without a phone for two weeks while this is going on.
It speaks to the reason to not buy phones away from carriers, as anytime I had a problem with my Samsung, they would send out a replacement and then I would send back my old one and I would not have to be without a phone.
Pretty poor .

AN update In case anyone is following this for some reason...
Getting ready to send the phone in, I did another factory reset. I had got to wondering if maybe Gravity Box had been part of my problem. May be the case...not sure. But for now i'm not having the problem. I changed some of the settings on it when I reinstalled. I cancelled the return.

I've had the odd time when the screen is on, but not properly backlit. You can just about make out the screen, but then the backlight seems to rectify itself. It isn't just the Mate 9, but the P10 and probably other phones. Doubtful a hardware issue I'd have thought - rather a software glitch.
The P10 just got an update earlier this week (yet still with April security patches) but my Mate 9 hasn't had an update in months.

Touch screen problem

Hi guys,
i'm having an issue with my HTC u11, basically when i'm using the phone randomly the swipe down screen (when you swipe the screen down from top to bottom to get the notifications) comes down.
For example if while i am writing a message then drop down screen will come down when i'm typing, i then have to swipe up and continue and again.
it happens more or less all the time and is quite annoying.
any ideas?

its okay, issue resolved. NOVA Setting had gesture switched on. Swipe down for notification menu, this was the issue. lol
PLease close the thread.
Thanks

killa_byte said:
its okay, issue resolved. NOVA Setting had gesture switched on. Swipe down for notification menu, this was the issue. lol
PLease close the thread.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well i had the same issue. Was driving me mad! Thanks for the info.

I don't use nova and I have been experiencing this same problem so now what?
Sent from my SM-G955U using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Yeah i though the Nova setting had solved it but it seems to be back again for me, although not as frequent.
I also experience the keyboard collapsing randomly too. Anyone get that?

Hi guys, thought nova got rid bit guess not. I still get the issue. Would this be a software issue or do I have a fault with my hardware?
Any tests I can do?

I reported my issues to HTC and they replied with the following :
To test the function of the touch screen please follow the below steps
1- Dial *#*#3424#*#* > the press accept.
2- From the options, mark Line drawing test > then press run.
3- Then start drawing on the screen to check if there are parts that do not respond
The screen does not have any dead or unresponsive spots tho and the test passes without any issues.
Does anyone experience the keyboard collapses also?
I might do a full reset soon to see if that helps any. If not i will be getting back in touch with HTC.

Did all this as well, and all the tests that I've ran pass just fine. I've also done a hard reset and it didn't make any difference. I do notice that after a soft reset that it takes a while for it to happen again. It's annoying as hell so I will be monitoring this thread. Whatever you find out from htc please update this thread so we can figure out what the hell is going on.
Sent from my SM-G955U using XDA-Developers Legacy app

I also done the test and it was a pass.
I'm certain it's something to do with the software of htc. The UI has to have something wrong with it. Mind you it hasn't done it to me today yet and I'm nearly at the end of the day.
Has everyone got a case? Can't be case interference?

killa_byte said:
I also done the test and it was a pass.
I'm certain it's something to do with the software of htc. The UI has to have something wrong with it. Mind you it hasn't done it to me today yet and I'm nearly at the end of the day.
Has everyone got a case? Can't be case interference?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I turned off edge sense, I removed my screen protector and removed the case. It still does it when it's ready.

themuffinman said:
I turned off edge sense, I removed my screen protector and removed the case. It still does it when it's ready.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly same issue here. Very very annoying. As a HTC fanboy I'm quite dissapointed. Phone less than 2 months old. I actually spoke to HTC today, they said they would have to book it in for a repair... Takes up-to 10 business days... I said this is not acceptable! Waiting for a email back.

I have emailed HTC back advising them that others are reporting the issue so unlikely that it's a single handset issue.
Awaiting their reply. No doubt it will be along the same lines that @dobknobby got and have to go through the 10 day repair process.
Will update when I get a reply.

I have had the same problem, and I have done the a lot of the same steps;
I tried several different screen protectors, thinking that was causing the issue. I have had no screen protector on for the last week, and yep it still happens.
Shut off edge sense, still happened.
Tested the touch screen, and everything passed.
Last night I noticed that it seemed to be related to the pressure I was putting on the screen, if I pressed down harder on the screen and slide my finger left or right or up the notification bar would come down. Did some more testing and for awhile I was able to reproduce it about 50% of the time. I rebooted the phone into safe mode (hold power button down and then press and hold the power off option for about 5 seconds it will ask if you want to reboot into safe mode). In Safe mode I could not reproduce it, Safe mode disables ALL third party apps.
WARNING: when I rebooted my phone to go back to "normal" all of my widgets and groupings were not on the screens, had to re add them.
After doing all this testing last night, I have not seen the notification come down, but like someone said it seems to get worse the longer the phone is running before reboot.
I was going to do a hard reset, today but that sounds like that may not help.
Not sure if this is software, but with the testing I did last night it seem to work fine in safe mode. However I have wondered if it is something with the screen, like is flexing enough for the sensors at the top to react to the pressure/flex.
Well keep testing and report back.

I'm also having some issues with the touch screen, but it mainly happens with the keyboard. I like to swipe to type, but lately I've noticed that it gets really jumpy, causing thing errors.
At first i thought it was touchpal so i installed Gboard. Problem still occurs.
I also removed my screen protector and tried did the touchscreen test.
---------- Post added at 07:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:08 PM ----------
I ran the line drawing test a bunch of times and yes, i now do see that mine fails to draw a continuous line on occasion. It only happens in the keyboard (squeezable?) area though.
I'm worried now that edge sense is damaging the touchscreen.

OK, i have ordered HTC u11 this morning from amazon, but i guess i will cancel my order. Had many problems with htc phones in the past. Saw many reviews and thought that this one is perfect with no flaws... Ahh..... Already ordered some accessories for my new device... It's really a shame to read this kind of threads. Hope you guys will find a solution and hope that this won't be a hardware issue.

djbutter said:
I'm also having some issues with the touch screen, but it mainly happens with the keyboard. I like to swipe to type, but lately I've noticed that it gets really jumpy, causing thing errors.
At first i thought it was touchpal so i installed Gboard. Problem still occurs.
I also removed my screen protector and tried did the touchscreen test.
---------- Post added at 07:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:08 PM ----------
I ran the line drawing test a bunch of times and yes, i now do see that mine fails to draw a continuous line on occasion. It only happens in the keyboard (squeezable?) area though.
I'm worried now that edge sense is damaging the touchscreen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does your keyboard collapse when you are typing? That happens with me. Really frustrating when you are typing quite fast then the keyboard just disappears. Then you end up tapping a link or something that was behind the keyboard. You then need to go back to the page you were on and start typing all over again.

Are you running app killers? Stop boost+ auto. Apps updating from gplay can cause you to be kicked out of the keyboard, it can also pause/stop YouTube vids.
The edge sense system is 2 sensors stuck to the inside of the edge of the device, along the aluminium strips, they shouldn't interfere with the screen at any time.
Sweaty hands and greasy screen can cause the screen to misread your touches and gestures.
Running low on internal memory (sdcard) can cause all sorts of issues. Make sure you ALWAYS have a couple of Gb free.
Try to replicate the problem in test mode.
Beamed in by telepathy

shivadow said:
Are you running app killers? Stop boost+ auto. Apps updating from gplay can cause you to be kicked out of the keyboard, it can also pause/stop YouTube vids.
The edge sense system is 2 sensors stuck to the inside of the edge of the device, along the aluminium strips, they shouldn't interfere with the screen at any time.
Sweaty hands and greasy screen can cause the screen to misread your touches and gestures.
Running low on internal memory (sdcard) can cause all sorts of issues. Make sure you ALWAYS have a couple of Gb free.
Try to replicate the problem in test mode.
Beamed in by telepathy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally I made sure to address all your points when trying to figure out what is going on. So none of this applies to me.

scotia_rfc said:
Does your keyboard collapse when you are typing? That happens with me. Really frustrating when you are typing quite fast then the keyboard just disappears. Then you end up tapping a link or something that was behind the keyboard. You then need to go back to the page you were on and start typing all over again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't collapse for me, but i do occasionally have the notification shade pulled down.

dobknobby said:
Exactly same issue here. Very very annoying. As a HTC fanboy I'm quite dissapointed. Phone less than 2 months old. I actually spoke to HTC today, they said they would have to book it in for a repair... Takes up-to 10 business days... I said this is not acceptable! Waiting for a email back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here, only I was told 7 to 15 business days. Offered to give c card to have a replacement shipped, but that is no longer an option with HTC.
So when I washed my M9, I was without a device for 2 days, but now that their phone is crap, it's going to be 3-4 weeks.
Unhappy....

Pixel 3 screen flash

Didn't see this posted here yet, but forgive me if I missed it.
Trying to find out if anyone has seen or heard of any acknowledgement from Google regarding this. My new Pixel 3 (Verizon; non XL) since day 1 has had an annoying issue with the screen flashing when ambient screen engages. I have my settings with alwayson set to off, and new notifications set to on. If the screen is asleep and I get a text or any notification, the ambient screen wakes and will initially make the entire screen flash white very quickly.
I do not get a flash of the screen in any other scenario when the phones on, it only seems to be when the screens totally asleep and the ambient screen wakes. I can unlock the phone or hit the power button to fully wake the phone to my home screen with no flashing. Its not every single time, but its very often. I do notice sometimes when it doesn't flash the whole screen, the time or text on the ambient display will be at full brightness when it first wakes for a split second and then will go to the dim text Im used to seeing.
Replaced the phone through Verizon. Got another brand new one with the same exact problem. This one even flashes on reboot occasionally just before the white "Google" screen pops up. Google had me send them a bug report this time and are supposed to be having their dev team look at it.
WHY.

Mine did it once
Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

I've also now noticed mine will flash in Instagram when I "like" something lol. Just the picture flashes within the app itself in that case, not the whole screen. Such a weird thing, that may have something to do with the app on the new pixel? I don't even know anymore.

I just saw the white flash. It was only for a few ms but it looked like a full brightness white flash on the whole screen. I had just set my phone down and I think the AOD was coming on.
Weird.

Yeah I have a feeling this is happening on way more devices than we're reading about. I hope it's addressed. Sometimes my notification audio cuts out real quick too. Hoping it's just all memory related.

I have this weird kind of screen flickering on my device as soon as I use the fingerprint area to turn the phone on. It is very faint and fast but its like static lines for half a second when the screen comes on??

Archangel said:
I have this weird kind of screen flickering on my device as soon as I use the fingerprint area to turn the phone on. It is very faint and fast but its like static lines for half a second when the screen comes on??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strange, I haven't had any issues like that using the fingerprint reader or just hitting the power button. Mine are all directly related to ambient screen waking.

My Pixel 3 is doing the same thing when I unlock it. Flashes like taking a selfie... I have even looked for the selfie to no avail.
It does not do this regularly, very random.

edster00 said:
My Pixel 3 is doing the same thing when I unlock it. Flashes like taking a selfie... I have even looked for the selfie to no avail.
It does not do this regularly, very random.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here. Sometimes when I tap the screen to wake it up, it flashes. Just did it a minute ago before I wrote this.
Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

I just charged the Pixel face down; during the charge I picked it up to check the progress and I got the screen flash ~2X out of 10.

edster00 said:
I just charged the Pixel face down; during the charge I picked it up to check the progress and I got the screen flash ~2X out of 10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Report it to Google. I feel like it's something they're aware of (I hope) but support certainly isn't saying so if they are.

I saw a post on Android Police about bug trackers and read in some of the comments that people were having problem with screen flashing. Some of them said it was related to the always on display. Mine was flashing like white static lines. But it was only for half a second when you turn on the screen and it didnt happen every time, it was random. I turned off the AOD and it never happened again. Kinda sucks cause I like AOD. But that tells me it is a software problems and not hardware.

I turned off AOD too, for 1 day; the next day I turned AOD back on. I have not had a screen flash since (a few days now).

edster00 said:
I turned off AOD too, for 1 day; the next day I turned AOD back on. I have not had a screen flash since (a few days now).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try rebooting. I bet it's still happening you just may not be noticing. I've had my AOD off for a while and as soon as I turn the new notifications option it comes back. Not every time but still often.

I'm having the same issue, doesn't happen all the time but I can reproduce it usually by unlocking the device, locking it then when ambient display comes on, unlock it and the screen flashes/flickers. I've only managed to do it with ambient screen set to always on.
I've RMA'd this morning so I'll report back when the new phone comes.

I hope you RMA's for other reasons too because it is likely that you will get a phone with the same flickering problem. I think it is a software issue esp since it goes away after we turn off AOD.
steslatt said:
I'm having the same issue, doesn't happen all the time but I can reproduce it usually by unlocking the device, locking it then when ambient display comes on, unlock it and the screen flashes/flickers. I've only managed to do it with ambient screen set to always on.
I've RMA'd this morning so I'll report back when the new phone comes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Archangel said:
I hope you RMA's for other reasons too because it is likely that you will get a phone with the same flickering problem. I think it is a software issue esp since it goes away after we turn off AOD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just find it strange that people are having the flicker in different scenarios, like mine is only when ambient is set to always on but other people are having the issue when it's set to double tap etc. Anyway I guess I'll see when the new phone comes.
Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

Yeah let us know please once you get the new phone. It seems like it is hit or miss with people so you might get lucky and avoid it.
steslatt said:
I just find it strange that people are having the flicker in different scenarios, like mine is only when ambient is set to always on but other people are having the issue when it's set to double tap etc. Anyway I guess I'll see when the new phone comes.
Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Quick update. My new phone arrived this morning and I've managed to get the screen to flash once so far where as my old one would do it 8 times out of 10. I feel like this is a poor display hardware problem rather than software.

I believe or rather am hoping that because it only happens when you turn on AOD that it is a software issue and not a hardware one. The only way something will be done is enough people complain on a bug tracker.
steslatt said:
Quick update. My new phone arrived this morning and I've managed to get the screen to flash once so far where as my old one would do it 8 times out of 10. I feel like this is a poor display hardware problem rather than software.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse