HTC HD Desire: Have You Got Proximity Sensor Problems?
The HTC Desire HD is a decent smartphone but it does not come without problems, for those of you that envy those that own this handset should know that users have been experiencing Proximity Sensor Problems.
If you visit XDA-Developers Forum you will see that owners of the HTC HD Desire are reporting problems with the display screen when making and receiving calls, apparently when making calls the screen seems to deactivate permanently and then makes the phone unresponsive. Many users have then got to pull the battery out and reboot to activate again, which is not good at all.
Receipt of calls conversely keeps the screen on and active, even when pressed against your ear according to Android Police.
The problems seems to be something to do with the light-sensor, this could be down to a bug in the software in which case can be fixed with a software update (OTA), the device should not be shipping with such issues.
According to the sources above you can insert a headset into the jack point and in doing this it wakes the phone up from the previous locked position.
Please do let us know if you are having any problems with your HTC HD Desire, we want to hear from you ASAP so other readers get an insight.
Comments
71 thoughts on “HTC HD Desire: Have You Got Proximity Sensor Problems?”
I am getting the exact issuses mentioned here wuth my HTC Desire HD, haven't tried the headphone trick but hopefully a fix should be out soon. =]
Just got mine yesterday from Orange and have the same problem – jack plug trick works.
Nop
Mine works perfectly OK!!!
u must have the one that was part of the test batch in which case HTC itsself has admitted to be faulty
thats why is better to wait a lil longer till u buy it
its great that urs is working perfectly ok, but some users have reported that it messes up after a few days of use…..was hoping u would post or fwd the link or notification from HTC that does infact admit to this fault and also that it was infact a test batch. ive been reading numerous forums and nowhere has anyone said that HTC has admitted to such a problem…all they have done is to ask people to get a replacement from the store….now is this assumption of admitance of fault ur presumption or u did infact get it from a credible source…..really would put a lot of people at ease. thanks.
With so many people having this problem is VERY unlikely that its a "test batch" problem and if HTC KNEW they had a set of phones that were faulty why release them and get the bad publicity from it all? Sorry just dont believe it!
Tim mine works fine also only picked up last week, the only issue I have is with the battery life have you incurred any problems with short battery life.
Just got back from phones4u who said all the units they have sold have been returned and they said there were camera issues too.
Hopeless, cannot use as a phone! HTC sort it out.
This is ridiculous
Test batch!
I got mine 4 days after It came out, Im pretty annoyed that it shipped like this – such an obvious fault!
Mine did not work from the first instance. Tried to do manual reboot but that didn't work either. Why have they dispatched these phones when they don't work correctly. Real shame because i've been waiting for this phone since i first heard about it.
Got mine yesterday – seemed to work at first, but now same issue – as reported elsewhere, holding it up to a bright light or plugging in headphones brings it back to life.
BUT – apart from not being able to make calls, it is a lovely phone! Just sold my Samsung Galaxy for this, and its great to have a phone where the GPS works.
mine is also faulted – hoping to get a replacement from p4u this weekend 🙁
It's definitely a light sensor problem. I've found that if i hold it under a halogen bulb, I have no problems whatsoever!
Just blow as hard as you can into the right hand side of the ear piece, it's just dust between the sensor and the case.
"test batch" ?? What are you talking about?! Get real.
YES!!! you are right!! I used a blower to get rid of the dust..worked like a charm..no kidding!
thanks for the advice!
I am on my second one and this has the same fault, I have lost the confidence in the phone, but according to Phones4U my only option is the Nokia N8, rather keep a dodgy HTC!!!
Other than phone jack, shining a bright light on it works, though having to carry a torch round with me is not ideal, hoping to be on my third tomorrow if any stock is shipped in!!!
Not a good start to HTC
Yeap, same issues… I contacted T-Mobile and said they can replace the phone but what's the point if I get one with exactly the same problem?
I have the same issue. It is resolved by either plugging in the power, ringing the phone but I haven’t tried the headset trick yet.
I got the same issue, so disappointed – this isn't a single defective handset, this is a design flaw of some variety, software or hardware. I'm paying good money for this, I even went against my boss's opinion to get an iphone and look where it got me.. I know android rules but HTC, you can't be doing such basic ****-ups at such a late stage in the game. OTA UPDATE ME PLEASE HTC
I an having the same problem. When making calls the screen freezes straight away and keeps the call going! The phone will not switch off either and the camera is crappy quality its certainly not 8 mega pixels! Am sending it back!
This is a shocking mistake by HTC and the phone should never have been released to maket as it is not fit for purpose.
Got mine 20th Oct – has call problem (not noticed anything wrong with the camers though and mine was from phones4U).
What are people doing to get it sorted?
I am so annoyed about this. I use it for business and it’s already making me look unprofessional. I love the phone but cannot understand how HTC have released so many with such a key problem….. it is a phone after all but cannot be used to make or receive calls properly!
I got my handset yesterday and all seemed fine until today… every time I try and make a call it just seems to lock into a dead screen mode and the only way to fix it is to remove the battery and reboot… I am updating the software so fingers crossed… hopefully resolve the issue!
Exactly the same problem and some times the screen just stays on even when making the call. Hopefully HTC can fix it quickly.
Got mine from T-mobile on the 22nd Oct, this had the sensor fault when I called T mobile I was told to recharge the phone overnight. Called back next day after reading about the proximity fault T mobile denied all knowledge saying mine was the first handset to report a fault and not to belive everything I read on the internet. Still waiting for a replacement. What a mess.
Same as above.
Updated my software but still same issues. T Mobile has said to return mine and they will replace it, but whats the point as that will be same too! Headphone trick works so at least can still use it as primary purpose as a phone!
got mine yesterday, honestly its a nice phone but HTC has messed up big here. I was a great fan of HTC and was not going for Iphone 4 but sonce i got this phone and the way they lied to the customer regarding such a problem i am not going to keep this phone and will return i to vodafone and go for iphone
Same issue got mine from Three two days ago. Unless HTC fix this really quickly I will be changing to another phone.
Haven't done anything with mine – but problem seems to have gone away. Anyone else the same?
Been 'working' consistently for the last two days (lots of calls, so doesn't seem a temporary fix)
Ok im now on my second Desire HD and thats fixed it – kind of, still does it some times
HOWEVER, HTC have been sooooooo lazy, they just released an update and instead of the phone screen dimming out it just disables the screen when the light sensor is activated (held to face) for a phone call
not impressed
Recieved my Desire HD 4 days ago (after reading some previews on how good they were going to be) but when i took it out box, fitted battery and turned it on, i found to my disgust the screen was unresponsive and wouldn't even unlock.
Have sent it back to T-Mobile and they have advised i go for another handset as the HTC ones they are still issuing are coming with a letter on how to overcome any problems (pretty shabby business eh!).
Decided to wait and see what transpires as i hear that HTC rushed this HD model out because the 2ghz prossesor is about to be launched soon!
Just downloaded firmware v 1.32.405.3 over the air and it seems to be sorted. Phew…..
PROXIMITY SENSOR PROBLEM SOLVED ON MY PHONE! I tried the advice Jimmy gave above. He suggested blowing very hard into the right hand end of the earpiece grill, on the basis that it may just be dust lodged between sensor and case. It worked for me. No problem with incoming or out going calls now. If correct this might explain why the problem did not arise with my phone for a couple of days i.e. the dust was not there when the phone arrived. So the problem may be that the sensor is too sensitive and the slightest interference prevents it working. As far as I can tell the sensor is the tiny round lense at the right hand end of the ear piece grill, as you look at the phone. I have to say I could not see anything obscuring it before I tried the blowing thing. Give it a try, it is the kind of stupidly simple solution that life often seems to involve. Or maybe I just dislodged an evil pixie sent by Apple with my huffing and puffin. You decide.
I have the same problem. New handset from Vodafone, was fine for a few days, problem started today. Just downloaded the OTA update and blown hard into the grill. Will monitor it over the next few days…
Same problem with my HD. Just off the phone to HTC head office who responded by denying there was any problem, and said that this was the first complaint they'd received !!
Come on HTC, at least be honest with your customers !!
I got mine from vodaphone last week and I have the same problems. Need to take the battery out the hang up. I will be sending it back unless there is a solution found soon!!
Sounds crazy, but I followed the advice of some forum members and blew into the sensor eye, and now my phone is functioning ok !!
Does it still function ok though?? or is this something you have to do regularly?
I've had the HTC Desire HD under a week and i'm now experiencing issue's with screen blacking out whilst making outgoing calls, have contacted t-mobile and they've suggested a software update…yet to try…..but fingers crossed.
I have had mine since 25th October on Vodafone and yesterday I noticed that I couldn't switch the phone off. I installed the paint app and noticed that there is a dead spot on the touch screen right over where you press to turn the thing off. I called Vodafone today to tell them and they haven't even got the help file loaded on their systems yet to be able to decide if its a software or hardware fault, so cannot tell me if they will repair or exchange my phone yet. I have just downloaded the newest update, but its not making any difference. Anyone else having this issue and know of a Fix whilst I am waiting for Vodafone to obtain a help file and call me back?
ya…it happened to me too…it is the dust over the sensor (top right corner of the ear piece), if u blow it out, then it works..but still the phone should not just black out..thats lousy.
Another thing is that battery performance is a disappointment…
Tried light & headset but it didn't work. Just blown into mine and it has come back to life!
Still waiting for Vodafone to come back to me regarding my screen issue. I am now paying £35 a month for a phone that I have not been able to use all week – Vodafone wake up.
I was having this issue also but a recent OTA update seems to have fixed it. Shining a bright light was how I fixed it before, bit impractical when you need to stop your car, put full beam on and stand with your phone in front of your headlights. Does seem to be affecting UK users quite a lot.
Yep, had same problem.
Thought "what the hell" and tried blowing into the earpeice.
Couldn't believe it when it worked. Phone is perfect now. Yay!
i got a htc desire hd two day on orange went home started to sort it out. went to make a call an the screen went blank and would not come on again i hate to take the bat out to end the call. not happy ive been on the net all day trying to sor it i think i have. i blue in two the ear peace and updated the softwear seams to work so far
I alos got mine from T-mobile not only proximity issues but also SD card wouldnt read or would say fault SD card etc and only work for a couple of minutes before saying SD card unexpectadly removed when it hadn't..I cancelled my T-mo contract as their beasts from Babalon and will wait until January to see if theyve sorted it all out as it will be worth the wait because everything else about the HD is DELICIOUS…
hello all i like the htc desire hd i want to buy it but all this problems i don't know what to maybe i will wait until htc will make a restyle or something whit this model pretty sad to hear all this problems for a phone that cost 600 euro in my country until they make some restyle i will continue using my blackberry storm 2 9520 bye call and send emails to htc to know all the problems of this phone ty all
just got my phone last month and thought it was great untill a few days ago, everytime I take it out of my pocket it is switched off and when i tried blowing into it nothing happens, Im not happy and will be returning this to HTC
your not the only one with this issue, had my desire hd since the 18th nov no light sensor problems …………. yet! lol but after a month started turning itself off. some days it works no probs but others turns off 3 or 4 times in an hour, rude. thought it might be the battery until it turned off whilst charging. with the holidays out the way time to use my years warrenty and get on htc case
nice phone, just useless
I really dont want to say I hate this phone because it is stunning, but what good is a phone when the person on the other end can barely hear a whisper. It can do everything but when i'm in an accident the last thing I want to do is e-mail for an ambulance, Dont think the NHS will be able to deal with that. Anybody else with the same problem.
Have these issues been resolved yet?
I'm on my 2nd HTC Desire HD now, its not as bad as the 1st one had but still got a couple of problems, the main one being when i receive a text, I read it then then its still highlighted that the message is unread even after i've read it. It won't go away even if i turn the phone off and take the battery out, as soon as i turn the phone back on its still there highlighted that there is an unread message. Anyone know why? Or has anyone had the same problem?
I am having the exact same problem, but not with an HTC Desire HD. I'm having the problem with my HTC HD7. I think the problem is HTC, not the OS. I sure hope that HTC figures it out soon because if not, this could get ugly.
I have the same issue, but on the regular desire. And it did not have this behaviour during the first few months, it started after a software update. Which gives me the feeling that this is really a software issue.
Had mine two weeks all ok, then my phone started sending random texts to all my phone contacts – upwards of 50 each completely randomly all within an hour or so….very frustrating, phone now sent back for repairs seems like a software problem
Im having problems with making and recieving calls. The signal is terrible. It just seems to cut off and I cant hear anything although the other person can still hear me. Is anyone else having this problem?
Love this phone but when listening to music with the lock on and touch it it will pause the track and sometimes rings the last person I’ve phoned anyone else got this problem?
having problem with the phone just turning its selve off constantly any one else had this problem
This is my third handset.. the first 1 bought on
7/1/11 from phones4u took it back after 10th days with
A speaker fault.. the second 1 took it back after another
Week because it used to turn off when I’m using the phone
Phone 4 u replaced it for me then when I got my third handset I thought great no problem so far passed the month Mark, but guess what its just started again the phone keeps on randomly turns it self off before it was when you doing something it used to go off but now its that as well as when you have it in your pocket you take it out of cover to find its turned off. It has become very annoying now.. tried re setting the phone severel times but no results.before when I went to phones 4 u with in 28 days they changed the phone for me but now I think I have to get in touch with manufacture which means send the phone over and b without a phone 4 a while, how pathetic..
HTC never again… all my. Mates have I phones and I used boast about this phone coz I find the internet is faster than the iPhone as I compared it but I guess its a slap on my own face for boasting.. will b getting in touch with HTC
My htc desire hd will not switch on but the green light is on whilst charging!!! can anyone help
Hi I work for a major high street retailer and have sold a lot of HDs. Unfortunately we have seen at least 5 come back with varying issues. 3 of the handsets we have had to exchange at least twice. We used to be confident when selling HTC's but after the experience we have had we won't be recommending it in the near future. The main issues we see are it turning itself off randomly, freezing, poor battery life to name just a few.
I have had four phones in two months all with GPS problems in not getting a lock.. Orange and HTC say they have not had any reports of this problem..Maybe they should check out all the customer webb reports inc the Facebook page just for this problem
Maybe we should all contact Watchdog
I’ve got that problem too but just assumed it was because I live in the country!
You have many more problems to face with htc desire then. I have had mine 7 months and it was randomlly
switching on and off, then the battery was always overheating,then problems with speakers, then went dead
and would not come on again, returned for repair which took more than a month only to be told there was
liquid damage on phone.? no way. so i am now paying 40.00.for the next 17 months with no phone.
I’m on my second HTC desire hd. My first one the camera suddenly started taking photos that looked as if they were polarized, that was within 2 months of getting it. The current phone keeps having a window message pop up saying the phone cannot detect the sim, it gives me an option of restarting or shutdown phone. I can’t do anything else when this window pops up, even if the phone is ringing and/or still.receiving txts. Restarting and or shutting down the phone alone does not always work, the window still pops up once its re-booted. I generally have to shutdown then remove the sim for a few seconds then replace and reboot. It is so frustrating!
Also, it crashes a lot, it suddenly gets a major reaction delay, I can finish typing a sentence before its finished writing up the first word. The internet is continuously crashing and closing itself. Really not happy. The phone would be great if it didn’t have these faults.
I would have tried to get another but both my brothers have HTC’s and are reporting problems, one is the sim card problem and the other is the SD card doing the same.
My advice is keep away from them until they sort themselves out.
i turn my phone on sleep mode but it automatically switch on the screen or screen automatically lightens up, i dont know what the problem is ?
I do not like my HTC Desire HD much any more.
It turns itself off when I’m on the phone, it calls other people when I’m mid conversation, already on the phone. It did it 3times yesterday. I’ll be using the internet and it’ll randomly close. The battery is useless.. but I bought a second one to counteract that.
Other than that.. I like this phone. The camera is fantastic, and I love the huge screen.
Nevertheless.. I’ll not be getting another HTC when my contract is up in August.