proximity sensor

The latest complaint about the iPhone 4: the proximity sensor can turn on when you have the phone up to your ear, meaning touching the phone to your face can cause a call to drop. And in this case, it's not long hair causing the confusion as it does for the Droid — according to one iPhone customer's account, he was told by an Apple Genius that the problem was caused by his reflective ear canal. That's right, the proximity sensor on the iPhone 4 can be triggered by light reflecting in your ear canal.

By now, consumers — and hopefully, Apple — are beginning to realize that there are a number of issues causing dropped calls. You could be holding it wrong, or you may just be a victim of the software bug Apple says misrepresents the phone's signal strength. Or, maybe your inner ear is just too shiny for the iPhone to handle. . .put away those Q-tips!

I try not to use my guy's phone too often when we're together, mostly out of principle. I am an iPhone, after all, and why share when I have my own? Besides, when I use his phone I usually end up messing something up in one way or another. I've made a few calls on it, though, and recently noticed that I keep bumping the phone with my face and either muting or ending a call. I've never had this problem with my iPhone, and my guy has never experienced it. We also noticed that when I use the Droid, the screen lights up when it's next to my ear — something that shouldn't happen.

A few Internet searches later, we figured out the problem: my long hair confuses the phone's proximity sensor, causing the screen to switch on even if the phone is still to my ear. If you're unfamiliar with the term, a proximity sensor is the part of your smartphone that detects when you're holding the phone to your ear, shutting the screen off. Once you move the phone — presumably away from your ear — the proximity sensor tells the screen to switch on. But with the Droid, if your hair gets in the way, the proximity sensor detects movement, switching on the screen and leaving it unlocked for accidental button pushes or hangups. The iPhone has a proximity sensor, but I've never experienced this problem.

It's easily solved; just be sure to pull your long hair away from your face and ear before making a phone call. After figuring out the problem, the accidental hangups stopped happening.