Google Pixel 5 users have been experiencing issues when placing their phones on the Pixel Stand, as per the Pixel support page and Reddit posts. The issue is that when the Pixel 5 is placed on the Pixel Stand for charging, the screen wakes up with full brightness at some point in the night, even when ‘screen off when dark’ feature is enabled. Some users have reported that it happens after an hour or so. Further, some users have reported that Google live chat gave them a solution but that did not work.
As per the Pixel support page, a Pixel 5 user by the name of Gary Hornsby posted the issue where the clock screen with just the clock and notification icons came up with full brightness, even when the ‘Screen off when dark’ option is enabled, when the phone was placed on the Pixel Stand. A couple of Pixel 4XL users on the support page, as well as on Reddit (1, 2) also experienced the same issue with the Pixel Stand.
After getting in touch with Google live chat, users were asked to reset app preferences, turn ‘Do not Disturb’ off and on and, try again. However, this did not solve the problem and users still experienced their phone waking up at night with high brightness. In some cases, users of the Pixel 5 were asked to update the Pixel Stand app and give it notification access. This will supposedly allow the ‘Screen off when dark’ feature to work.
A report by Android Police points out that the Pixel 5 is the first phone by Google to feature a proximity sensor located underneath the display, which may the cause of this issue.
There doesn’t seem to be a permanent fix for this problem as of yet and it is unclear if this is happening because of a software or hardware flaw. In case it is a software problem, it can be fixed with an OTA update, however, a hardware issue might require more difficult solutions. We’ve reached out to Google to comment on the issue, and will update this space when we hear back.
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