[APP][2.2+] Gravity Screen > Turn Screen On/Off Automatically - Keep Screen On

I was tired of pressing the power button whenever I need my phone for a second. Thus I created the Gravity Screen Off app which can turn automatically the screen ON when I grab my phone and turn it OFF when I put it into my pocket or onto a table. Basically, no need to touch any button and you are ready to go.


HOW IT WORKS:

The app turns the screen off by monitoring the orientation of the device through the gravity sensor. When your phone is pointing downward by its top, below a certain angle, it's likely to be out of use. In this situation the proximity sensor is activated to determine if it is covered. If yes, the screen turns off because probably you placed the phone into your pocket or onto a table.
The screen turns on when you lift up your phone. The phone wakes up if the proximity sensor is uncovered or if it was not covered the app is looking for movements to detect the action.
The Keep Screen On feature based on screen orientation and motion detection as well. If the device is pointing upward and small movements are detected it's probably held in hand and the screen timeout is extended.


MAIN FEATURES:

- Pocket Sensor: Recognizes if your phone is in your pocket. By turning your phone below the angle you set, it'll prepare to turn the screen off.

- Table Sensor: Detects your phone is lying on a table and turns the screen off.

- Turn Screen On by Motion: If the screen is off and it's facing up the device can be woken up by any movements (ex. lift up by hand) according to the sensitivity set.

- Keep Screen On by Motion: It's a Screebl like feature but it's relying on the small movements you are doing by your hand while holding the phone. If small motions are detected while the screen is facing up the feature keeps the screen on because it can be suspected that the phone is held and probably you are reading something. If the phone is steady the timeout will work as normal in any position you leave your device unlike in another apps.

- Turn Screen On by Proximity: Turns the screen On when you take your phone out from your pocket and Off when you put it back. By swiping your finger over the proximity sensor the phone can be woken up as well.

- Turn Screen Off by Proximity: If the device is pointing downward it takes the proximity sensor into account. By turning this off the program will rely only on the gravity sensor.

- Tasker, Llama, Locale supported by plug-in.

- 3 widgets/shortcuts: (available in Unlocked version)
(i) pause/resume
(ii) turn screen off: It's like pressing the power button
(iii) turn screen off persistently: turn screen off and keep it off until power button is pressed. It's good when you have to keep the phone in your hand or while driving and do not want the screen turned on by the app. After pressing the power button it will work as before.
- Power Toggles plug-ins


BATTERY USAGE:

You can set the app to minimize the energy consumed by the screen and by this you can extend your battery life. Or you can extend your own life by using another features of the app In the first case the battery usage should be not significant. I experienced about 7 per cent extra consumption on the test device. However it can be higher if you are activating often the Turn Screen On by Motion feature by leaving your device face up on table and you set a relatively long timeout for the feature. Read FAQ [4] for more details.

IMPORTANT

On some devices if it's lying face down the alarm clock is switched off by the app after it had gone off! Please check if it's the case for you. If, yes, use a third party app, for example: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vp.alarmClockPlusDock

DOWNLOAD

Gravity Screen


NOTE

Probably not all feature will work for everyone. It was tested so far mainly on Samsung devices with stock rom. If you think it does not work for you, please read the FAQs below or report your issue in this thread.

REPORT YOUR ISSUE

If you have an issue, do NOT post it until you read the FAQ below and try to solve it alone by trying different settings for some hours. If still no solution, please write all your settings in your question otherwise your question will be ignored. If you feel you have a battery drain, do not post it in this thread. We are not speaking about it anymore

VERSIONS: FREE vs. UNLOCKED by IN-APP PURCHASE

In the Unlocked version, there is no 15 minutes limit for turning the screen on by motion and the Table sensor can be set more precisely, plus it has an Exclude App list, a more advanced Delayed lock option and Widgets.

CREDIT
Thanks to @remidesroques and everyone who helped and keep helping the development by testing the beta versions, sending feed backs or any another way supporting this app.

Translations:
Spanish: Johandri Silva and Eduardo Iñiguez
Russian: Gljadkov Oleg
French: @gregland
Italian: @DesmoDavid
Czech: Jaroslav Vrána
Portuguese (Brazilian): Irwing Junqueira Braga

Change log:

- - v2.4.1 - -
Added: Android M support
Fix: Power button support issue when screen turned off during lock screen
Fix: small issues

- - v1.80.1 - -

Added:
- 3 widgets: (available in Unlocked version)
(i) pause/resume
(ii) turn screen off: It's like pressing the power button
(iii) turn screen off persistently: turn screen off and keep it off until power button is pressed. It's good when you have to keep the phone in your hand or while driving and do not want the screen turned on by the app. After pressing the power button it will work as before.
- Power Toggles plug-ins
- Translation: Traditional Chinese, Turkish


- - - v1.78.2 - -

Fix:
- works on LG P880
Added:
- Languages: Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, Hungarian. Thank you for the translations.
- Car dock detection

APKs:

Gravity Screen - FAQ

Hi,
thanks for your feedback.

[1] Q: The screen not always turns off when I put my phone into my pocket, why?
A: The proximity sensor not always accurate. It can fail recognizing some materials specially if they are very close to it. If it happen occasionally, probably it's still worth to use the sensor. But even you can eliminate the accidental turning on by selecting the False Turn On Protection in Pocket option.

[2] Q: The Table Sensor not really works for me when I place my phone onto a table face down, why?
A: This issue is quite common. The first problem is that the free version is limited to 15 degree. If you are turning your phone fast downward the proximity sensor is activated only when it's very close to the table. Many proximity sensors cannot judge distance accurate if the object is too close to it. This is the reason the screen remains on often. And even more the reliability of the sensor depends partly on the material as well. Thus if you are using the free version it's recommended to place your phone onto a table not too fast and try to keep it parallel to it. The paid version allows you to increase the angle and by this the problem is significantly reduced. Moreover, the problem can be reduced by selecting the False Turn On Protection in Pocket option.

[3] Q: Why does the Lying Face Up feature turn the screen off regardless I'm tapping the screen?
A: Due to Android security restrictions a running service cannot detect if the screen was tapped. If you want to continue using the device you have to swipe over the proximity sensor to keep it on or turn it back on.

[4] Q: I'm experiencing high battery usage, why?
A: The app should use about 6 percent extra energy per day if you are not using too much the Turn Screen On by Motion feature. If you frequently lay your phone face up on a table and the Turn Screen On by Motion Timeout is too long, the battery consumption can be much higher. Because the CPU has to be constantly analyzing the data of to acceleration sensor to catch the movement when you lift up the device. Thus if you want to reduce the battery usage it's recommended to keep your phone often lying face down when it's on a table. Because in this situation the proximity sensor is responsible for turning the screen back on which uses much less energy. Moreover, please, keep in mind that the android en-built battery consumption measurement can show much higher results, because it shows the battery usage relatively to another apps. If the phone was not in use or the measurement period was short, it looks like my app uses too much energy however there was not too much energy used all together.

[5] Q: The Keep Screen On by Motion feature does not work for me, why?
A: It can be the result of battery saving processes on your device. Ask for support from the app in this case.

[6] Q: Turn Screen On by Motion feature does not work for me, why?
A: It can be the timeout of the feature is expired, in this case you have to increase it within the app. Or it can be caused by battery saving methods by killing the service of the app. In this case you have to turn off battery saving methods of your device. Please visit: https://dontkillmyapp.com/

[7] Q: The screen turns off in landscape mode, why?
A: This issue has many different solutions. You can make the Pocket Sensor Angle smaller or if you have the Any Direction feature ticket, you can pause the GS app temporally. There are ways to pause it: 1. tick the Landscape mode feature; 2. using the Locale plug-in by Tasker or Llama; 3. using the Menu - Exclude apps option.

[8] Q: It gives me a huuuge wakelok, why?
A: The wakelock is necessary for the "Turn Screen On by Motion" feature but if you turn the screen off through the proximity sensor (i.e. put it into your pocket or place face down onto a table) there won't be wakelock held. So if you want to reduce the wakelock try to keep your phone face down. Moreover, you can limit it by the Timeout scrollbar as well but this means you will loose the feature after the timeout you set.

[9] Q: I'm prompted to type my pass code immediately after screen turns on.
A: You have to enable the Fingerprint, Smart Lock Support option in the app.

[10] Q: It makes a buzzing sound when listening to music and stuff. Can you turn it off?
A: Due to a hardware problem the proximity sensor is causing the buzzing noise on Nexus 4 when it's active.
At the moment I can recommend some changes in the settings. If you turn on the Headset support and connect your headphone, you are able to turn off the "Turn Screen Off by Proximity" and "Turn Screen On by Proximity" features independently from the state when headphone is not connected. The app will remember this and always turn off the proximity sensor when headphone is connected.

[12] Q: Will you add an option to scheduled the app to stop it for night hours?
A: Not really. Please, use the Locale plug-in in Tasker or Llama;

[13] Q: Why my alarm clock does not work?
A: Unfortunately many alarm clocks cancel the alarm when the screen turns off. It can happen if you leave your phone face down at night and my app turns the screen back off when the alarm goes off. The app is trying to detect the alarm event and pause itself, but it's not possible with all alarm clock apps. Thus it's strongly recommended to test your alarm clock with this app.
You can solve this problem by using a well written alarm clock, for example: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amdroidalarmclock.amdroid, https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vp.alarmClockPlusDock,
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ch.bitspin.timely, https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amdroidalarmclock.amdroid, https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alarmclock.xtreme.free.

[14] Q: The screen turns on during driving. How to avoid it?
A: The simplest method is to pause the app before driving. There are different widgets in the app for this. Or if you are driving often you can use the Power button support feature A more advanced method can be to pause the app when the phone is connected to the car by bluetooth and resumed when disconnected. You can do this by Llama via the Locale plug-in.

[15] Q: The notification not responding/disappearing when I try to pause/resume the app from the notification area, why?
A: Please try to un-tick the NOTIFICATION -> LOW PRIORITY option in the app. It should solve the problem.

[16] Q: What are the shortcuts/ widgets for:
A:
(i) pause/resume
(ii) off: It's like pressing the power button
(iii) persistent off: turn screen off and keep it off until power button is pressed again. It's good when the phone is moving but you do not want it to turn on.
(iv) lock: turns off the screen and locks it. Useful if delayed lock is in use but you want to lock the device manually.

[17] Q: Where is the Pro version? I cannot find it on Play Store.
A: The Pro version is discontinued unfortunately, due to security reasons.
To change to the Unlocked version, please, do the following:
- send me the purchase number of the Pro and I'll send you a promotional code which you can use to unlock the free version

[18] Q: In-App Purchase fails. Why?
A: It's a Play Store app issue probably which happening on some devices.
Please make sure you are connected and restart the device. Other method can be to uninstall the Play Store updates and try with an older version of the Play Store app. It often helps.

[19] Q: I bought the app by IAP but it's still locked. Why?
A: It's a Play Store app issue probably which happening on some devices when not connected to the internet.
Please make sure you are connected and restart the device. Moreover, do you have more than one Google account registered on your device? That can cause the issue too, that you bought the app under a different account. Other method can be to uninstall the Play Store updates and try with an older version of the Play Store app. It often helps.

[20] Q: After some time the phone does not wake up. Why?
A: I'd check any kind of battery saving methods your device may use currently. Probably that disables the sensor after some time.
Moreover, make sure that the Turn screen on by motion timeout is set properly. Please visit: https://dontkillmyapp.com/

[20] Q: I cannot uninstall it. Why?
A: You have to press the uninstall button in the app, not in Play Store or in Android settings. If still no luck reboot your device and try again .

[21] Q: The POWER BUTTON SUPPORT option does not work for me. Why?
A: You have to change the screen timeout from AUTO to another value in Android settings and do a reboot.

[22] Q: The fingerprint sensor does not work, instead I have to type my pin every time. Why?
A: This is an Android thing, for developers the Smart lock features are not supported. That's why we have to use workarounds.
Using the FINGERPRINT UNLOCK, SMART LOCK SUPPORT option should solve the issue but you may have to wait about 5-10 seconds for the complete turning off with the Timeout method.
The Accessibility method is recommended to choose above Android 8.
Root your device to make this workaround perfect. In this case the turning off will be instantaneous.

[23] Q: Why does the screen only turns black but not turning completely off?
A: It's because you have selected the Timeout method of the SMART LOCK SUPPORT option and your device is not rooted. This is an Android thing, for developers the Smart lock features are not supported. That's why we have to use workarounds. Using the SMART LOCK SUPPORT option you have to wait about 5-10 seconds for the complete turning off.
Root your device to make this workaround perfect. In this case the turning off will be instantaneous.

[24] Q: The app is paused when I got a notification from an app which is on the Exclude Apps list. Why?
A: To avoid this issue, you have to grant the app an extra permission in Settings - Notifications - Notification Access

[25] Q: Why the screen timeout is changed by the app?
A: The Keep Screen On by Motion feature extends the timeout always an extra amount of time to keep the screen on when motion is detected. The timeout resets when the screen is turned off.
This method is used only for Xiaomi and Samsung devices above Android Pie.

[26] Q: The app stops working on MIUI (xiaomi redmi) after some minutes. Why?
A: To solve the issue please visit: https://dontkillmyapp.com/

[27] Q: The Turn Screen On features does not work on Samsung S8 or S8+. Why?
A: Luckily there is a very easy and quick fix! You just have to go to the edge light settings on your phone and there you can select which apps are affected by the edge light. So if you turn it off Gravity Screen in this list the notification of the app will get handled by android again, not Samsung's system. So this means that it will turn on the screen again!
Here is a video made to show the bug and how to fix it: https://youtu.be/WSSKvMrx7X0 (Thanks for finding the solution: Kitt3120)

[28] Q: The app stops working on Nokia Oreo. Why?
A: Because of a bug in the power saving method of Nokia devices, background processes are closed even if they are protected.
To overcome this issue you have to do the followings:
In Settings/Apps => Show system apps - deactivate these two packages:
- com.evenwell.powersaving.g3
- com.evenwell.powersaving.g3.overlay.base.s600ww
Please visit: https://dontkillmyapp.com/

[29] Q: The app stops working on Huawei EMUI 8. Why?
A: Because of a bug in the power saving method of Huawei devices, background processes are closed even if they are protected.
To make the app work on EMUI 8 you have to do the following:
Settings --> Battery --> Launch. Find GS there, click on it, open every option (which also includes "Run in background") and let it say "Manage manually".
Please visit: https://dontkillmyapp.com/

[30] Q: The app stops working on Android 9. Why?
A: Because of a bug in the power saving method, background processes are closed even if they are chosen to be not optimized.
To solve this issue you have to grant Gravity Screen access to notifications in: Menu - Permission Control
Please visit: https://dontkillmyapp.com/

TROUBLESHOOT

- make sure the app is installed on internal memory card; external sd cards can cause many kind of problems
- if it looks like the app stopped working correctly do an uninstall, re-install and a reboot

mliou said:

Great app, testing it now. For the proximity function, shouldn't the drain be higher because when the phone is in the pocket the proximity sensor is always on?

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Yes, that's right. When it's turned off by proximity, there is no significant drain.

Acousticbeatz said:

Great app :good: this is exactly what i was looking for :victory:
what benefits offers me the pro version??

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

You can live with the free version quite well. But by buying the paid version your life will be easier little bit:
- you can drop your phone face down onto your undone bed and your screen will turn off
- when you wake up and hardly find your phone the screen will turn on automatically at the moment you grab it and no need to find any button

Probably there are more advantages, but I could recall only these at the moment

Acousticbeatz said:

sounds good... and already purchased

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

It's great, thanks

mliou said:

Do you mean check the box for "Turn Screen OFF by Proximity" or uncheck the box?

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Yes, I mean keep the "Turn Screen OFF by Proximity" check box checked and after switch off the phone by the proximity sensor. You can do this by placing your phone face down or put it into your pocket when you want to turn the screen off. In this situations the proximity sensor will be activated and the screen will be turned off by it.

an0nym0us_ said:

Can upload apk please? Stupid play store won't allow me to install, says incompatible.

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Hm, interesting why it doesn't allow you to install it ... I attached the file.

myhrdak said:

its a really nice app, thank you.
one question:
if i put my galaxy nexus in the pocket, it turns off and then it turns on immediatly.
sometimes it won´t even turn off. if i rotate it in my hand and cover the brightness
sensor it will definitely turn off.
if the galaxy nexus rotates in my pocket (sometimes it is on the side) then it turns
on.
is this a bug or do i have to wrong settings.
thank you

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

This is an issue with the proximity sensor. Unfortunately it looks like the sensor on your phone cannot recognize well the material of your trouser. If it happens quite often; the solution is to uncheck the "Turn screen ON by proximity" feature. In this situation when you place your phone into your pocket the screen will turn off and the proximity sensor will be inactive after. You can wake up your device by motion only after this. Downside: it costs more energy.
If the phone is often on its side in your pocket try to increase the pocket sensor angle. If it's still turning on, the only way is too keep your phone not to turn on its side or switch off the "turn screen on by motion" feature and in that case the phone will only turn off automatically which is still not too bad.