How to turn off the proximity sensor on your Xiaomi phone

Modern Xiaomi smartphones are equipped with a variety of sensors that are designed to facilitate interaction with the device. One key element is the proximity sensor, which automatically extinguishes the screen during a conversation to prevent accidental cheek pressing. However, in some situations, this feature may not work correctly, causing irritation to gadget owners.

Users often find that the screen does not light up after the dialogue is over, or, conversely, goes out in the middle of the conversation when the phone is in hand, in such cases, there is an urgent need to disable the proximity sensor by software or through the engineering menu, which allows you to regain control of the device and avoid missed calls.

In this guide, we will go into detail all the available ways to deactivate the sensor, learn how to use hidden system settings, third-party applications and engineering code to solve the problem, and it is important to understand that completely disabling the feature will require getting used to a new way to complete calls.

Reasons for incorrect operation of the sensor

Before you take drastic measures to shut down the functionality, it's important to understand the nature of the failure. Often the problem is not a software bug, but physical factors. Contamination of the top of the screen with protective glass or greasy finger marks is the most common cause of false positives.

In the low-end models Xiaomi and Redmi, the sensor is often placed in a narrow frame above the display, and any foreign object blocks its operation, sometimes causing a recently installed application that has access to the phone to fail.

⚠️ Warning: Before turning off the sensor, carefully wipe the top of the screen with a microfiber and remove the case to make sure that the problem is not mechanically overlapping the sensor.

If the physical cleaning didn't work, there may have been a software calibration failure, and the system misreads the distances to the object, thinking the phone is pressed to the ear even a few centimeters away, and then resetting the settings or manual calibration through an engineering menu helps.

Standard Call Settings in MIUI

In the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS, developers have provided basic tools to control screen behavior during a call, which are set up in the standard Phone app and do not require superuser rights. The first step should always be to study this section.

To access the settings, open the Phone app and tap the three dots or gear in the corner of the screen. From the menu that opens, select Settings or Incoming Calls. This can include a switch that turns the screen on when you hold the phone to your ear.

However, it is worth noting that in recent firmware versions, the direct shutdown button is often hidden or missing, and this is done for safety and convenience, since random cheekstrokes can lead to a call being put on speaker mode or a microphone being turned off. If there is no standard switch, alternative methods will have to be used.

• 📱 Open the Phone app and go to call settings.
• 🔍 Look for the item “approximation sensor” or “Enable screen when lifting».
• ⚙️ If no item is available, the system blocks manual control through the standard menu.

The lack of explicit customization does not mean that the function is locked forever. There are hidden menus and third-party utilities that allow you to bypass the limitations of the shell.

Use of the CIT Engineering Menu

The most effective way to diagnose and control sensors is to enter the engineering menu. CIT (Customer Integration Test: This tool is designed to test hardware components of the device and allows you to access hidden functions. USSD-code.

Open the Phone app and dial ##6484##. The device will automatically go to the test menu without having to press the call button. In the test list, you will find the item associated with the Proximity Sensor. It is usually at the top of the list or in the Common Tests section.

Inside the test, you'll see the current sensor readings, and when you close and open the top of the screen with your hand, you can see the change in values, and there's a calibration button that's often available, and by pressing it and following the instructions on the screen (usually you need to close the sensor and then open it), you can restore the correct operation.

⚠️ Warning: Do not change the settings in other sections of the engineering menu unless you are sure of their purpose.This can lead to unstable operation of the modem or other systems.

Unfortunately, Xiaomi's engineering menu often doesn't have a direct "Disable" button, and its primary function is diagnostics, but passing the test and successfully calibrating it can eliminate the software glitch that made you want to disable the sensor, and if the calibration didn't work, we'll move on to deeper settings.

Disconnecting through hidden Android settings

For advanced users, there is a way to access hidden system settings through the Developer Menu or special application switches, which allows you to control parameters that are usually hidden from the eyes of the average user, one of which can be responsible for the behavior of the sensor.

There is a universal method of activating the hidden settings menu, which requires you to quickly click on the build number in the About Phone section several times to activate the developer mode, and then in the advanced settings, additional sensor controls sometimes appear, although in MIUI they often remain hidden.

A more reliable option is to use special applications from the Google Play store, such as Shortcut Maker or Activity Launcher, which can find hidden activity of the system responsible for calibrating or configuring the sensors, and you need to type in the word “proximity” or “sensor” in the search bar for such a launcher.

• 🚀 Download Activity Launcher from Play Market.
• 🔎 Type “proximity” in search to find sensor system settings.
• 🛠 Try to find an activity called Calibration or Test».

If you can find the hidden switch, you can change the value of the switch, but be careful: changing the system flags can affect other functions that depend on the accelerometer or gyroscope. Always have the option to roll back the changes.

Third-party applications for call management

If the system fails to disable the sensor, third-party applications come to the rescue, intercepting the screen during the call, and they work on top of the standard "bell ringer" and ignore the proximity sensor readings, leaving the screen on.

One of the popular solutions is the Proximity Sensor Fix app, or analogues called the Turn Off Proximity Sensor, which is basically software-based blocking of the sensor signal, and once you install the app, the control icon will appear in the notification curtain.

It's important to understand that these apps require certain permissions, they need permission to "Over Other Windows" and access to phone calls, without these rights, the software will not be able to properly display the call interface and control the screen, installation is standard through Google Play or APK-file.

Using third-party software has its pros and cons. On the one hand, you get the control you want, on the other hand, the app consumes extra battery power and can conflict with the system shell when you update Android.

When choosing an app, pay attention to user reviews with a similar phone model.What works on the Xiaomi Mi 9 may not show correctly on the Redmi Note 10 due to differences in drivers and the Android version.

Advanced Method: ADB Teams

For users who are not afraid of the command line, there is a method of disabling the sensor through USB debugging (ADB), which is the cleanest way, since it does not require the installation of unnecessary applications, but requires the presence of a computer, it allows you to change the global settings of the system.

First, you need to activate Developer Mode in your phone settings and enable USB Debugging. Then connect your smartphone to your computer with a cable. The PC needs to have ADB drivers installed. Open the command line or terminal in the ADB tool folder.

The settings command is used to control settings. However, the specific command to disable the call sensor may vary depending on the version of MIUI. Often, changing the value in the settings database is used:

adb shell settings put system proximity_on_check 0

Or an alternative that occurs in some assemblies:

adb shell settings put global proximity_sensor_enabled 0

If neither command works, then your firmware version has a hard-wired or controlled setting, and ADB is powerless without root rights.

⚠️ Attention: Use ADB Introducing incorrect parameters can cause system services to fail. Write down changes so you can undo them.

The advantage of ADB is that it doesn't load the processor with background tasks, so once you've done a command, you can disconnect the phone from the computer, and the changes are saved until you reset the settings or re-enter the 1 command.

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If you use ADB, take a screenshot of the commands before you type them in, which will help you quickly restore the settings if something goes wrong.

Alternative solutions and conclusions

Sometimes the problem is solved not by turning off, but by changing the usage habits, for example, using a headset or hands-free mode completely eliminates the impact of the proximity sensor, and you can also try to change the topic of design, since some custom themes conflict with the standard call interface.

In extreme cases, if the sensor is physically defective (broken plume, contact oxidation), software methods will only give a temporary effect, in which case the screen can behave randomly, then the only correct solution is to contact a service center to replace the module.

To sum up, it is difficult to completely and properly disable the proximity sensor on Xiaomi without “crutches”, but it is possible through third-party applications or ADB. Standard settings offer only partial control. The choice of method depends on your technical training and willingness to experiment with the system.

• 🛠 Try calibration first through the engineering menu ##6484##.
• 📲 Use blocker apps if you don’t want to mess with the code.
• 💻 Method ADB It is suitable for experienced users who appreciate the cleanliness of the system.

Remember, turning off the proximity sensor is a trade-off: you lose protection from accidental cheekstrokes, but you get a stable screen during a conversation.

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The optimal solution for most users is not to completely disable the sensor, but to calibrate it through the engineering menu, which preserves functionality and eliminates errors.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)