A glance at the above title, and many of you readers would think that this is not a big issue, that it is something straight forward and simple. Well, while you are not totally at fault for saying such, there is more to it than you would have imagined.
Usually, rotating an Android smartphone display can be enabled or disabled from the drop-down settings, right? Correct, but what if the screen won`t rotate back? What if it freezes? Ha, now we have your attention.
Read on as we dig in to explain why this happens, and which are the best ways to go around it.
Why Does It Happen?
Automatic rotation occurs because the user sets it from settings, yes, but technically what happens is that the accelerometer detects changes in acceleration and communicates with the gyroscope. Well, simply put.
If the auto-rotate option is enabled but your screen still doesn`t budge when you put it sideways, then it could be that your Android smartphone has some kind of bug which froze the rotation in some way.
Calibrating your screen, removing recently installed apps and restarting your smartphone are all possible solutions. Let`s explore them together to enrich our savoir-faire.
Basic Approaches First
Starting with the four most obvious options, we are totally aware, but not everyone is as tech-savvy as you. So, don`t take it as an insult to your intelligence, and feel free to scroll downwards to the more complex procedures.
1. Hey, Are You Touching Your Screen in Error?
The majority of modern phones boast a big display, and some of them have even curved ones which definitely don`t help as the user`s hands/fingers keep touching some parts of the display unknowingly or by mistake.
If you have big hands like me they could also affect the phone`s handling, so one needs to make sure that the screen isn`t being touched, as auto-rotation will stop if fingers are still pressing against the display.
On the other hand (pun intended), could be that your hands are small for big smartphones and you find it difficult to reach the top part like when you need to slide the drop-down menu for settings. If this is your case, you could opt for either the one-handed mode feature on your phone which will minimise the screen for you to reach everything better, otherwise you`ll be better off purchasing smaller phones.
2. Enable Auto Rotation Option
This feature or option name says it all really, if you didn`t switch on this choice and it is still disabled, there is no way that your phone will auto-rotate the display. Turn it on and the phone`s system will make sure that whatever is featuring on your display will rotate according to your preferred hand-posture, be it horizontally or vertically.
On nearly all Android models, the auto-rotate option is found on the drop-down menu settings, but depending on which model, could be that you need to look for it on the next settings page by sliding to your left side. You can always place it with your favourite or often-utilised settings options too, so that it`s more straight forward next time round.
By tapping the Auto Rotate option then you will have resolved the issue, and your screen will now be enabled to change orientation.
If on the other hand, the Auto Rotate option was already enabled, keep reading for further solutions.
3. Try Removing Your Case
If you do sport a case on your phone, check if it is broken in some part and touching the screen, as it could impede the phone`s auto-rotation.
The case is perhaps also not compatible with your model, maybe too tight, so that could affect the process too.
Try removing your case, and put your Android smartphone sideways, if auto-rotation works, then the case is the culprit! Change your case with a proper compatible one meant for your phone model.
4. Restart Your Phone
Sometimes, auto-rotation stops working due to some minor bug/s. These annoying minor bugs appear and occur quite often across all phones and they could affect your device in various ways causing it to malfunction, like freezing the display or in our case the auto-rotation.
Luckily in most cases they are easily fixed by just restarting or rebooting the system. A fresh start is what your phone needs, which will most probably fix the matter at hand, in our specific scenario – the auto-rotation.
To restart your Android smartphone:
- Press and hold the power button for few seconds
- On the Power Menu choose Restart
If your power button is broken or malfunctioning, repair it, duh. Apart from that, you could search and find how to restart a phone without using the power button, but we will not be including that one in this article for today.
Make It Rotatable
Ok, let`s get a bit more technical now. Some Android phone models don`t rotate their HOME display even if you switched on the auto rotate option.
Instructions vary, but here we mention the go-to Android phones.
For Samsung phones:
- Launch the Settings app
- In Settings select Home Screen
- Turn on the Rotate to Landscape Mode option
For the Always-On Display:
- Settings>Lock Screen>Always On Display>Screen Orientation
- Tap Landscape
For Google Pixel phones:
- Tap and Hold on Home Screen
- Pop-Up Settings Menu appears
- Click on Home Settings
- Scroll to find Allow Home Screen Rotation and Enable Its Toggle
Wrapping Up with More Solutions!
In conclusion, we could also mention that you can calibrate your phone`s screen via specified apps, like Touchscreen Calibration, which will let you know what areas on the display are detecting touches showing potential issues.
Moreover, it could be that a recent downloaded app is interfering in some way with your phone`s rotation. Try to uninstall app.
Trust that this quick guide was of help, but if you`re still encountering issues, well, it could be that it`s time for you to buy a new Android phone.
