Many Sony Xperia 1 II users are taking it to social media to report an issue that is causing the phone screen to flicker as they move their hand over the proximity sensor.
It is not clear whether the bug is caused by the recent Android 11 update that has been rolling out in the last few weeks. Or, if it has been present all along — out of the box.
Also, at this point, it remains to be seen how widespread the screen flickering issue is across the Xperia 1 II units.
Besides Xperia 1 II, several users with Xperia 1, Xperia 5, and Xperia 5 II models also reported facing the same issue.
My Xperia 1 ii screen flickers when I move any object across the front camera, is this normal? from r/SonyXperia
Fortunately though, there appears to be an easy workaround to this annoying problem.
Surprisingly, simply rebooting the smartphone seems to have worked for a good number of people.
For others, making some tweaks to the ‘Always-on display’ feature appears to have worked the trick.
For those not in the know, the ‘Always-on display’ is a neat feature that displays information, including but not limited to time and notifications, on the screen when the phone is locked.
The feature uses minimal power and can be a handy way to take a quick peek at essential information.
Over the years, the said feature has become a staple in most Android devices and comes with additional customization options in Xperia handsets, including Sony Xperia 1 Mark II.
Thankfully, you don’t have to turn off the feature as a whole to get rid of the display flickering issue.
The Ambient display feature or ‘Always-on display’ feature is set to the ‘Smart Activation’ option by default.
Smart Activation option improves the battery life of your device as it activates the ambient display feature only when needed, which is when you take the device out of your pocket or when you’re holding the device in your hand.
While that indeed sounds like a great feature to have, switching to a different setting is, unfortunately, the way to go if you would like to do away with the flickering screen.
To change the Ambient Screen settings, follow the steps below:
- Go to Settings and tap on the ‘Appearance’ option.
- Click on Ambient Display/Always-on display.
- Now, tap on ‘When to show Ambient display’ and select either one of the two options — ‘Always on’ or ‘Show when the device is lifted’. Alternatively, you can also turn off the feature completely by going with the ‘Off’ option.
Keep in mind that this is only a temporary workaround to this issue, and we expect Sony to fix this issue once and for all with a software update.
