In previous posts we have seen how calibrate the mobile's GPS sensor can help us troubleshoot the location of the phone. But, what about the accelerometer, the gyroscope and the rest of the sensors that we can find in most Android devices? Can these also be adjusted to correct possible errors?
Signs that your mobile needs to recalibrate its sensors
If we are playing a racing game or ships and we perceive that our car does not register the curves or axis changes that we make when turning the mobile, we may need to recalibrate the gyroscope. If we notice that the mobile it does not detect when we are putting it vertically (portrait mode) or horizontal (landscape mode) then the accelerometer may need a couple of tweaks.
Another case of faulty sensor can be when we receive a call and the mobile does not disable the touch panel by bringing the phone to our ear. This time we would be talking about a faulty proximity sensor. When we install several fitness apps and none of them is capable of measure our steps correctly The pedometer may require readjustment. Likewise, we are facing a similar problem when the fingerprint sensor is not capable of detecting our fingerprints.
How to do a test to check the status of the sensors on Android
The sensors that an Android smartphone or tablet incorporates are many and varied, and can easily exceed a dozen: we have the thermometer, the microphone, the ambient light meter, the magnetometer, the GPS and some lesser known ones such as the barometer, the humidity or pulse meter, among others.
A very simple way to know for sure if any of these components is failing is to perform a diagnosis. For this we can install an application that does the work for us, or we can ask the Android system itself to do a small check.
- Marking codes: Android has several secret codes that we can enter into the phone application as if we were making a regular call. Type the code *#*#4636#*#* press the call button and the system will show you general information about the status of the device. We can also test the sensors one by one using the following codes (only works in old versions of Android):
| CODE | FUNCTION |
| *#*#0588#*#* | Proximity sensor test |
| *#*#232339#*#* | Wi-Fi test |
| *#*#197328640#*#* | Test mode |
| *#*#0842#*#* | Brightness and vibration test |
| *#*#2664#*#* | Touch screen test |
| *#*#232331#*#* | Bluetooth test |
| *#*#0*#*#* | LCD light test |
| *#*#1472365#*#* | Quick GPS test |
| *#*#1575#*#* | Complete GPS test |
| *#*#0289#*#* | Audio test |
| *#9090# | Diagnostic settings |
Note: You can see more dialing codes in the post "Secret Codes for Android Phones".
- Dedicated app: If we prefer to install an app that does the diagnosis for us, we can use a very useful tool called Multi-tool sensors.
Download QR-Code Sensors Multitool Developer: Wered Software Price: Free With this application we will see each of the sensors together with the data they are collecting. This way we will know if they are working correctly or if there is one that needs to be recalibrated. You can see more detailed information about this application in THIS OTHER POST.
How to recalibrate sensors on Android
Some smartphones have native functions to calibrate some of their sensors, although this is not usual in most devices that we find on the market today. If we want to recalibrate a specific sensor, it is most likely that we will need to install a dedicated app.
If we look in the Google application store we will see that there are some tools that calibrate all the sensors at the same time, although in general they do not usually work very well. The most recommended in this regard is to install specific utilities for each of the sensors, such as:
- Proximity sensor reset: App to reset the proximity sensor.
- Touchscreen Calibration: Recalibrate the device's touch screen sensors.
- Accelerometer Calibration Free: Resets the accelerometer settings.
- Display Calibration: Helps to correct screen errors, dead pixels, faulty resolution, too low or too high brightness, etc.
- GPS Status & Toolbox: Tool to calibrate the GPS.
After applying the appropriate utility and calibrating the faulty sensor, if we see that none of this solves the problem, the only alternative we have is reset Android device to factory state. In this case, let's not forget to make a backup copy of all the information that we want to keep before doing the deletion. You can see more information about how to backup Android here:
Related Reading: How to Backup on Android
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