Have you been trying to view a landscape image or document on your phone, but the screen just won't rotate? Find how to fix Android auto rotate not working here! Various factors could cause your Android phone screen not to rotate, but the broadest culprits include wrong screen settings, malfunctioning sensors, and software glitches. Inconsiderate of why you're facing the problem on your phone, the following fixes will surely get your Android screen rotation working again.
Restart your phone
A simple operation such as restarting your phone could fix most of the software-related issues on your Android. While most of us take that for granted and keep using our phones for several weeks without restarting it, restarting your phone will refresh the system, close running apps and processes, and fix some bugs. So, before you try another solution in this article, go ahead and reboot your phone now.
- Long-press the Power key on your phone to show the power menu. Tap on Restart or swipe to it to reboot your phone.
- Alternatively, holding the Power button for over 8 seconds will force restart some Android phones
Check Auto-rotation settings
Starting from Android 9 Pie, Google introduced Rotation Suggestions: a better way of rotating your Android device. The feature disables screen auto-rotation by default, allowing you to choose whether to rotate the screen or not when the phone is tilted sideways.
Here's how it works: rotating your phone sideways, will show a circular button at the bottom left corner of the screen. Tapping on it will rotate your screen.
Why the nifty feature? Well, setting your screen to rotate automatically seems to rotate the screen more often than required, thereby causing unnecessary problems.
If the Android screen rotation not working happens to you , or you're just not a fan of the feature, you can re-enable screen auto-rotate on your phone. Find and turn on the "Auto-rotate" tile in the quick-setting panel. You can also go to Settings > Display > Auto-rotate screen to turn it on. Your phone screen should rotate automatically now if nothing is wrong with the sensors.
Calibrate phone’s sensors
Despite turning on "Screen auto-rotate" in the device settings, your phone screen still won't rotate if the sensors are broken. One way to diagnose that and fix Android screen rotation not working is by checking and calibrating your phone sensors, particularly the Gyroscope and Accelerometer sensors, with the GPS Status & Toolbox app.
- Install the GPS Status & Toolbox app from the Play Store and launch it.
- On the app's interface, click the menu button at the top-left corner.
- Select Diagnose sensors.
- Try tilting your phone and look out for the Gyroscope and the Accelerometer sensors to see if they're working.
If they're not working, that means the sensors are malfunctioning. Visit a service centre or try other fixes below to troubleshoot further.
Check rotate settings in the app
Despite enabling screen auto-rotate on your phone, some apps might refuse to rotate automatically until you tell them to do so. These apps include video players, launchers, etc. They turn off screen auto-rotation by default to minimize distractions and unwanted screen rotations. Meanwhile, most of the apps also provide an option to rotate your screen if you ever need it. Most video player apps, for instance, have a dedicated rotation button on the interface; you can tap it to rotate your screen. On other apps, you'll need to delve into the setting to find an option to enable screen auto-rotate.
However, it's worth mentioning that some apps don't support screen rotation at all. You can only use such an app in portrait mode anytime you need it.
Update the system software
Sometimes, glitches or bugs in the software can disrupt many features on your phone. If Android auto rotate is not working properly , it might be because of a software anomaly. If you already have restarted your phone with no positive outcome, we strongly recommend you try updating your phone system. Hopefully, your manufacturer has fixed the bug in a new update.
Launch the Software Updater on your phone and check for pending updates. If you have any, connect to a Wi-Fi network to download and install it. The Software Updater app is usually located in Settings > System > System Update.
Enter safe mode to check the apps
If you recently installed an app before your screen stopped rotating automatically, the app might be conflicting with the system. Hence, we recommend you uninstall such an app to fix the issue. But before that, boot into safe mode to check if the problem was actually caused by an app.
Safe mode is designed to help you diagnose and fix software-related issues on your Android phone. Booting into safe mode disables all third-party app, leaving only the essential apps. Follow the steps below to boot into Safe mode on your phone.
- Long-press the Power button to show the power menu.
- Click-and-hold the power-off option until you see a pop-up. On TECNO and Infinix phones, long-press the HiOS/XOS logo instead.
- On the Reboot to Safe mode window, click on Ok and wait for your phone to restart.
While in Safe mode, try rotating your screen to see if it works. If it's working, find the app you installed recently and delete it. If unfortunately, your screen still can't rotate, that means it's more than a software problem. You need to visit the service centre.
Visit the service centre.
If you made it this far and your screen is not rotating automatically, it's time to visit the repairman. Perhaps some sensors are malfunctioning on your phone, and that's not what you can't fix at home, by yourself.
Luckily, if you use Infinix, TECNO or itel smartphone and the auto rotation is not working, Carlcare is here to help you. We're the official after-sales service provider for these brands. We can help you fix your malfunctioning device sensors and every other issue you might encounter in the future. Locate and visit a Carlcare centre near you for assistance.
