If your Android powered mobile device’s power button is too hard to press OR it has gone completely kaput, then you may have to shell out few bucks to fix the button at a service center OR you may even have to buy a brand new phone in order to get rid of the old one!
But before you go to a service center or sell your phone, lets check out in this post how to lock and unlock an Android powered smartphone or tablet device without pressing any key, even the power/home button!
Follow these steps in order to lock/unlock OR turn the Screen ON/OFF of an Android device without pressing any key:
1. Download Gravity Screen from Play Store and install it on your mobile device. Once the application has been successfully installed, run it and you will be presented with following screen:
2. Before tapping on the ON/OFF toggle button present at the top left corner of your device’s screen, we need to first configure the application as per your requirements.
Keep in mind that this application make use of your device’s sensor for functioning, so make sure that all the sensors (proximity sensor, gravity sensor, linear acceleration sensor, and rotation vector sensor) in your device are working properly, as otherwise you may face problem with the application.
We are now ready to configure the application.
3. If you’d like to automatically Turn OFF your device’s screen when you put it in your pocket, then under Pocket Sensor make use of the slider to set an angle. If you tilt or turn your device below this angle, the application will force your phone’s screen to go OFF.
In case you use a Flip Cover with your phone, then check the box in front of Any Direction (Flip Cover). This option will turn your device’s screen OFF as soon as you close your flip cover. For this particular function the application will make use of your device’s proximity sensor and will also impose a delay of 1.5 seconds.
In case you are using your device in landscape mode and your thumb is on the proximity sensor, then this will also instruct the application to turn OFF your device’s screen! In order to get rid of this problem, check the box in front of Landscape Mode, and the application will make sure not to Turn your device’s screen off when you are holding your phone is landscape mode.
4. If you want the application to turn off the screen of your phone as soon as you put it on a table, then you need to set an angle below which the application will know that your phone is lying on a table.
Keep in mind that you need to set this angle very carefully, as otherwise the screen will turn itself off even when you are holding the phone in your hands!
Check the box in front of Lying Face Up if you’d like to turn your device’s screen OFF even when it is lying and facing up on a table. You can turn the device back on by swiping your fingers over the proximity sensor. Keep in mind that when you first swipe over the proximity sensor, the application will automatically add an extra minute of timeout to the screen. And if you cover the sensor for 1.5 seconds, then the application will add another 5 minutes of timeout to the screen. After this if you’d like to turn off the screen of your device, then lift it up and place it back.
To save energy (battery) on your phone, it is always recommended that you place your phone face down.
5. The application can make use of your device’s proximity and gravity sensors simultaneously. Under Proximity Sensor if you check the box in front of Turn Screen OFF by Proximity then the application will always take your device’s proximity sensor into account. If you uncheck this option, then the application will rely on gravity sensors only.
Also if you want the application to take Proximity Sensors into account for turning on the screen then check the box in front of Turn Screen ON by proximity. Using the Proximity Sensors the application will know when you take your phone out from your pocket and will force the screen to turn ON. You can also swipe your fingers over the sensors to turn your screen ON.
6. If your Android device has got an inbuilt support for motion (using motion sensors) then the application can also make use of your device’s motion sensors and extend the screen timeout by picking up small movements when you are holding your device upwards.
Under Turn Screen ON by Motion, use the slider to set the sensitivity for the motion sensors. The more you set the sensitivity higher, the more this feature works better. Keep in mind that you shouldn’t set the sensitivity too high, as otherwise the screen will never turn off.
Check the box in front of False Turn-On Protection in Pocket, if you’d like to protect your phone from accidentally turning on when it’s in your pocket. Keep in mind that you have to experiment with this feature before turning it ON for your device completely. If this feature is not working as expected, then you will have to turn this feature off.
Under Keep Screen ON by Motion, the application can automatically extend the timeout of your screen when your phone is facing upwards and you are watching something on it. The application do so by picking small movements of your phone using the motion sensor. This feature works better if you set the sensitivity higher.
If you’d like to make this feature respond faster, then check the box in front of Booster. However keep in mind that this feature may interfere with the functioning of your phone’s power button i.e. if you turn off the screen manually using your power button, then this feature of the application may turn it back on!
Additional things that you can enable within the application:
1. If you check the box in front of Power Button Support, then the application won’t turn ON your device’s screen if you turn it OFF using the power button.
2. Check the box in front of Headphone Support to automatically turn on the proximity sensor when you connect headphones to your device. The application will automatically turn ON/OFF the screen as soon as your device is put into your pocket in a particular position. To prevent accidental swipes, the application will automatically add a delay of 1.5 seconds. You can also turn off proximity support completely from the proximity settings of the application when headphones are connected to your phone.
3. Check the box in front of Run During Call if you’d like the application to run during phone calls as well. The application will continue to make use of your device’s sensor when you are on call.
4. If you’d like your phone to vibrate when the screen is turned off, then check the box in front of vibration. Keep in mind that this feature may use more battery of your device.
5. Check the box in front of Disable Lock screen if you’d like to remove your lock screen from your phone completely. If you are using an Android OS above Gingerbread (above 2.3), then you can directly disable the lock screen from your device’s settings page.
6. If you’d like the application to start as soon as your phone is rebooted, then check the box in front of Start at Boot. It is recommended that you should keep this option checked especially if your device’s power/home button has gone completely kaput.
So go ahead, use this app to lock/unlock your Android phone or tablet without using the power button or any other key.
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