iPhone proximity sensor defective? Read this blog!

The iPhone proximity sensor, maybe now you are thinking huh? Or maybe you know exactly what this sensor does and are looking for a solution to a malfunction. In this blog, we cover the following topics:

• What is the iPhone proximity sensor?
• How can I tell if the sensor is defective?
• Causes defective proximity sensor
• My iPhone proximity sensor is faulty, now what?

What is the iPhone proximity sensor?

The proximity sensor is at the top of your screen next to ear speaker. The literal translation of proximity is proximity. This sensor ensures that when you make a call and bring your iPhone near your ear or face the screen goes black. This prevents you from accidentally pushing all kinds of buttons while calling.

How can I tell if the sensor is defective?

It is quite easy to tell if the iPhone proximity sensor is defective. If your screen stops going black as soon as you bring it to your ear, the proximity sensor is faulty. You may also find that when you take it off your ear again, the screen stays on black. This is super annoying because it means you can’t hang up your phone call either! Do you have an iPhone 5, 6, 7 or 8 series? Then see if your selfie camera and earspeaker still work. If this is not the case, then the entire cable where these parts the proximity sensor is on is defective. This defect can be remedied by having the cable replaced.

Causes defective proximity sensor

A faulty or malfunctioning iPhone proximity sensor usually has only 2 main causes: drop damage or water damage. Dropping your iPhone can cause internal damage even when there is no scratch on the outside. In the screen of your iPhone is a kind of see-through hole, this allows you to look only from the inside to the outside and not the other way around. The proximity sensor is right behind this see-through hole. If the sensor and the hole are not properly aligned, the sensor will not work properly. Alignment may already be out of whack due to a fall or bump, for example. Also, during a repair, the repairman may not have aligned the two properly. When you do have a crack in your screen from drop damage right at the proximity sensor, it can cause the sensor to not work properly….

Water damage causes many defects, but one of the first things to break down due to water damage is the proximity sensor. This is because it is right behind the screen. When there is already a crack in the screen and then the iPhone comes into contact with water the proximity sensor is one of the first parts to get wet.

My iPhone proximity sensor is faulty, now what?

You’ve come to the conclusion that your iPhone’s proximity sensor is faulty, but now what? There is unfortunately nothing you can do yourself to fix the sensor, we recommend going to a professional repair shop. First, the repairman will find out if the defect is due to the alignment of the sensor and the “hole. If not, the sensor will need to be replaced.

Unfortunately, did the above steps not help you and sim unlock iPhone still fails? We then recommend going to a professional repair shop (for example, ThePhoneLab – check here for a branch near you). At ThePhoneLab, we always do a free diagnostic first. After this, you are not required to proceed to repair, but of course you can. Make your appointment here: