Pixel Fold - Outer Screen Stopped Working

b3nji

My Pixel Fold outer screen has stopped working after a reboot yesterday. The outer screen works on boot. When I boot into recovery mode the outer screen switches on and off as I open and close the device, the inner screen works as expected too.

My build number is 2025091000, running the stable channel.

I'd appreciate any advice you can offer.

de0u

b3nji I suggest taking it to a repair shop. Perhaps a cable is loose.

b3nji

de0u why does it work when not running in the OS? When I'm in Recovery Mode the screens work perfectly fine.

de0u

b3nji Good question.

Are any developer options in use?

Does the outer screen "disappear" while running an app, or only when the launcher is active?

b3nji

de0u neither, the outer screen doesn't appear after booting into the device. I had disabled dev options a while ago to check that too.

de0u

b3nji Is the regular GrapheneOS launcher being used?

b3nji

de0u yeah, no changes made apart from app installs via Google Sandbox, F-Droid and Obtanium.

de0u

b3nji I don't have a Fold, so these are random suggestions.

Was the "Sensors" permission removed from any app, perhaps Launcher?

You might check display settings to see if there are Fold-specific layout options that might disable a display.

You might try clearing Launcher's cache/storage.

In Settings, System, Reset options, there is "Reset app preferences", which might be disruptive but might help.

b3nji

de0u thanks for trying to help. It's appreciated. I believe this is a bug though. I've looked at my logs I've found and can see the FoldableDeviceStateProvider isn't getting the angle of the device correctly. Essentially, it doesn't know when the device is being shut, so it can't turn off the screen and switch them over. This is unlikely to be a hardware issue as it works 100% of the time in recovery mode.

I'll compile a issue report on GitHub and see if this can be fixed. In the meantime I think I'll have to move back to stock and check it there. Stock isn't where I want to go, but with this issue it's kinda a problem.

de0u

b3nji thanks for trying to help. It's appreciated. I believe this is a bug though.

It may well be a bug. But the question is where/what. If there were a general problem with GrapheneOS on Pixel Folds not being able to read the angle sensor, there would be many reports from users encountering it. And I believe at least one of the GrapheneOS developers has a Fold.

If you do flash back to Google's stock OS and the problem persists, that would be a very strong indication of a hardware problem. However, if the problem does not present on Google's stock OS, I suspect that flashing back to GrapheneOS will also not show the problem (again, because of all the other GrapheneOS Fold users who are not reporting it).

Ranking things from least disruptive to most might look like:

Clear cache/storage for Launcher
"Reset app preferences"
"Factory reset" of GrapheneOS (presumably after backing up data!)
Flash back to Google's OS
Flash GrapheneOS again (assuming the problem was not exhibited on Google's OS)

Let us know what you try and what you find out!

Glo

b3nji This is unlikely to be a hardware issue

This is not hardware issue. I have same problem after the last night update. Recovery mode is working correctly.

I forced to use https://f-droid.org/packages/com.eiyooooo.foldswitcher/ as recommended in the GitHub thread

de0u

Glo This is not hardware issue.

If the issue is present on GrapheneOS but not on Google's stock OS, it is not a hardware issue. If a factory reset of GrapheneOS makes the issue go away for a long time, it's probably not a hardware issue.

If the issue is present on GrapheneOS and on Google's stock OS, it most likely is a hardware issue -- as reported by users of Google's stock OS, e.g.:

de0u

Glo Please note that multiple users in that GitHub thread determined that their issue was a hardware failure.

Glo

de0u
Thank you for your help and for raising this issue.

de0u https://support.google.com/pixelphone/thread/255727280/outer-screen-not-working

I wanna say that "Outer screen not working" is incorrect, because the screen is working, but not correctly. You can switch to the Rear Camera Selfies and start the screen. Or use the Fold Switcher app and switch the screen manually.

de0u

de0u https://www.reddit.com/r/PixelFold/comments/1bg97iw/outer_screen_touch_not_working/

This is not the same thing. A similar error occurs due to a pop socket with a magnet and a circle under the same phone case. The magnet affects the open/close sensor.

Our problem is FoldableSeviceStateProvider and

de0u Please note that multiple users in that GitHub thread determined that their issue was a hardware failure.

You are right. But different issues are described under one thread

de0u

Glo Different issues are described under one thread.

Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see a report (there or here) of a device that exhibited the issue on GrapheneOS but worked fine when flashed back to Google's stock OS. If there is such a case, it might be productive for the GrapheneOS developers to look into it, though probably not very productive if they can't reproduce it. However, if there is not such a case then the issue likely is a hardware problem. Even if it is a firmware glitch that affects a very small number of devices, it's genuinely not likely that the GrapheneOS developers would fix it before Google does, especially if they don't have a device exhibiting the issue.

In terms of moving forward with your device, I can understand that you may be reluctant to factory-reset it or to flash it back to Google's OS. But I am confident that without those steps the likelihood that the issue with your device will be resolved by the GrapheneOS developers is near zero. And if the issue persists after those steps it is extremely unlikely that it will be resolved by the GrapheneOS developers.

Please note that I do not speak for the GrapheneOS project.

sketchy9

I had the exact same problem. Everything was working well until the other day when I rebooted the phone (for an unrelated reason) and the front screen no longer worked. The boot splash screen would show and then it was black. I tried using the rear camera as a selfie camera and that would also work, showing that it was not a hardware issue. I ended up reflashing GrapheneOS onto the phone and everything worked again as usual (I did not flash to the stock Google Pixel OS first. I simply reflashed GrapheneOS onto the pre-existing GrapheneOS).

I say everything worked "as usual" because since about September my front-facing camera doesn't work at all. I also believe this is a software issue because neither the outer front-facing camera nor the inner front-facing camera are recognized. I have a hard time believing I would have simultaneous failure of two different cameras, but perhaps there is some common pathway that failed that affects them both.

In short, GrapheneOS has some rough edges when it comes to the OG Fold. I'm on build 2025112100.