Fix Android Phone Goes Dark During Calls

Ever wondered why your Android phone’s screen goes completely dark during calls?

Well, that’s a question that’s been bugging many users. In this guide, we’re going to explain to you why that happens.

Android Phone Screen Turning Off During Calls

Your phone screen goes off during calls because the proximity sensor detected an obstruction. This is intended behavior to prevent you from accidentally pressing any buttons when you hold the phone against your ear.

Check your screen protection and the proximity sensor

If the screen blacks out randomly, you may want to check your screen protector if you’re using one. If you placed the screen protector on the proximity sensor, it will interfere with it.

Some users suggested that briefly touching the proximity sensor should help the screen come back to life.

Also, if the sensor glass is covered in smudges, skin oil or makeup that could also cause the phone screen to go black. Clearing the screen and the sensor with a soft cloth should solve the problem.

Use AndroSensor

Some users were able to work their way around this issue by installing AndroSensor. This app is a versatile diagnostic tool that constantly monitors your device’s status.

You can also use it to control your phone’s sensors. Set the proximity sensor to off and you should be able to control your screen during calls.

Update your device

While for some users, updating their phone to a newer Android version was the element that caused this problem in the first place, for other users, updating their device actually solved the problem.

Go to Settings → About Phone → Check for Updates.

If there’s any known proximity sensor glitch, chances are the problem has already been fixed in newer Android versions.

Backup your data and reset the phone

If this glitch becomes really annoying, you can reset your Android phone to factory settings. If the issue is caused by corrupted system files or other operating system glitches, resetting your device should fix them.

Just make sure to backup your data first as this action will wipe out absolutely all the data stored on your device.

Go to Settings → System →  Reset options →  Erase all data (also known as a factory reset).

If you own a Samsung device, go to Settings → General Management → Reset → Factory data reset.

Disable the proximity sensor to solve the issue once and for all

Of course, you can also turn off the proximity sensor by going to Settings → System or System apps →  Call settings → Disable the proximity sensor.

⇒ Note: These steps might be slightly different depending on your Android version and phone model.

If you can’t find the proximity sensor settings, you can use AndroSensor to disable the sensor.

However, we don’t recommend disabling the sensor because you may accidentally touch different buttons with your ear or cheek while holding the phone against your ear.

Of course, that won’t be a problem if you use your phone’s speaker to answer incoming calls.