Apple Spokesperson Says iOS 4.1 Won’t Solve iPhone 4 Proximity Sensor Problems

John Brownlee ()

Apple Spokesperson Says iOS 4.1 Won’t Solve iPhone 4 Proximity Sensor Problems

Blamed on everything from a software bug to greasy ear canals, the iPhone 4’s overly sensitive proximity sensor was supposed to get fixed with the release of iOS 4.1.

Don’t hold your breath, though, says Apple’s Australian mouthpiece Fiona Martin. According to Martin, the company has yet to fix the proximity sensor issue, with no other information given as to when we can expect the patch.

In our own tests, we found that iOS 4.1 Beta 2 fixed all of our proximity sensor issues, and Steve Jobs himself promised the fix next update. Either our own anecdotal experience with the 4.1 Beta fixing the proximity sensor was wrong and the nature of the issue remains unidentified to Apple or a hardware design flaw, or Miss Martin misspoke. Wednesday should tell all.

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About the author

John BrownleeJohn Brownlee is news editor here at Cult of Mac, and has also written about a lot of things for a lot of different places, including Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, Gizmodo, Kotaku, Lifehacker, AMC, Geek and the Consumerist. He lives in Cambridge with his charming inamorata and a tiny budgerigar punningly christened after Nabokov's most famous pervert. You can follow him here on Twitter.

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Posted in iPhone, News |

  • Json

    This is more unfounded sensationalist media that one would expect from Cult of Mac. I know almost 2 dozen iPhone 4 users and none of them have EVER had a problem with the proximity sensor. This blog is getting to be about as credible as Gizmodo.

  • kagedwolf

    I’ve got an iphone 4 and so does my brother. I hit mute, hang up or turn on the speaker with my cheek every two or three phone calls. For me, it’s the bug fix I most look forward to in 4.1. @Json is about as credible as Gizmodo.

  • tcww

    Happens to my wife all the time….she’s really frustrated!

  • http://www.jandjpro.com Jeremy Saglimbeni

    ditto on the problems for me, REALL frustrating!!!

  • Aj

    Ditto. Real problem for me too. Really need a fix soon.

  • MJ Britt

    The sad part is that I didn’t have the sensor problem until I updated to iOS 4.0.2

    It was working fine until then. Now I hang up on people, put them on hold and mute and dial people in my phonebook… Oh and BTW, my bluetooth audio is crap now… I can’t use the headset if someone wants to hear what I’m saying….

    I’m praying that they fix it!

  • http://acmeinc.org Sal

    I only have a problem when I hold the phone with my shoulder (which is understandable since the phone is at a weird angle against my face)

    Are other people having proximity issues when holding the phone with their hand (to their face)?

  • Ryan

    I can’t get through a phone call without bumping a button—mute, numbers, sometimes I dial somebody from my contacts. Here’s to hoping he just misspoke.

  • MaCan

    “No, don’t give me your phone. I hate using that.” My wife doesn’t even understand what the proximity sensor is. All she knows is that now she hates making calls with my iPhone. She refuses.

  • Greg

    I can tell you the real problem with the proximity sensor is ‘ a lack of sensitivity’, not over sensitivity.

    When I got my iphone 4 on June 23, I had proximity sensor issues that seemed to go away after awhile. Then after a few weeks, I had the problem again. The difference? I had just gotten my hair cut which is usually cut to just above my ears. When my hair grew over my ears, the proximity sensor issue stopped because my hair was close enough to trigger the sensor by reflecting enough IR light back into the detector.

    I don’t know if they can fix this with software or not, because the problem is partly due to the sensor trying to punch enough IR through the thicker glass and reflect it back through. As you can tell by this design, insufficient IR getting bounced back by an object in close proximity will let the screen go active which often times is while the phone is held to your ear.

    We’ll just have to wait and see what iOS 4.1 does when it gets released into the wild.

  • lucy

    I have had no problems with the antenna (mind you, I have the bumper) but I have definitely noticed the proximity sensor issues. I’m hoping they fix it. I have no plans on returning the phone.
    I love my iP4 and very enjoyable with it, maybe you can call me fanboy, yup, that is, thanks apple give such a fantastic Phone. Now With the iP4 and iPhone 4 Video Converter from iFunia, Im sucking in top summer movies.

  • Guismo30

    Same with me, have it for a month now and sensor is really sensitive… Bluetooth as well sucks…
    Antenna… no probs at all..
    I love Apple, but here they really fucked up the iphone !

  • dubbdee

    I try to keep the phone angled away from my face to prevent contact between face and phone, this generally helps but this is my third iPhone and this is the only one that I’ve had to worry about the issue. It’s annoying.

  • http://www.zianetti.co.uk Simon Heywood

    I have this problem with the proximity sensor on iPhone 4. IOS 4.1 definitely did not solve it.

  • iLemon4

    I had this problem since I got the phone. Called numerous times, visited the store and updated the OS – last Sunday I even exchanged my phone for a brand new one. guess what —-? Continues, this annoying, embarrassing curse of not being able completing a simple uninterrupted, unmutted or messed in another way phone call!!! What is left to do???