Is your phone stuck on portrait or landscape mode because auto-rotate is not working? This can happen when you try tilting your phone with auto-rotate mode on, and it doesn’t change the orientation to either portrait or landscape depending on your viewing needs.
For some Android device users, this could be a matter of tweaking the settings to ensure it’s not on portrait lock, but others could be dealing with rogue apps. Below are some fixes to help you deal with the issue and get back to happy viewing on your device.
How to fix Auto-Rotate is not working on Android
Toggle Portrait Lock and Auto-Rotate
If you’re getting this problem for the first time, you can check if you accidentally disabled auto-rotate on your device and toggle it back on. If it’s off, you may not see the icon on the notification panel, instead, it displays as Portrait under the icon with a small lock at the bottom of the screen.
To do this, open notifications panel and look for the auto-rotate or portrait icon and tap on it to resolve the problem.
Restart your device
If auto-rotate doesn’t work after enabling the option, restart your device because sometimes the icon could be stuck or wont’ work and a reboot can resolve it back to normalcy.
G-sensor or Accelerometer issue
Auto-rotate function relies heavily on your Android device’s G-sensor and accelerometer. To fix it, recalibrate the phone by using the built-in Calibrate option or a third-party app from Play Store. To use the built-in calibrating feature, do this:
- Pull down the notification panel
- Switch off auto-rotate function
- Open Settings and put your phone on a flat surface
- Press Calibrate and wait until it completes then switch on auto-rotate function
Check the TouchWiz function
When auto-rotate is not working on Android, it could be caused by the TouchWiz feature not working either. You can restart your phone but if TouchWiz seems to affect other functions, and auto-rotate still won’t work, clear the cache and data for TouchWiz app. To do this:
- Open Settings>Apps>App Manager
- Find TouchWiz and tap on it
- Tap Clear cache and then clear data
Update your phone
Some issues may come up from software bugs, so you need to update your phone constantly to ensure bugs are dealt with. To do this:
- Open Settings>About device
- Tap Check Updates manually
A manual check will run to search for available updates and you can download and install it.
Safe Mode
Third party apps can have permission to rotate your phone automatically from portrait to landscape, and if such apps go rogue, you could experience the auto-rotate is not working problem.
Find apps you installed before the problem, and uninstall them to check if it resolves the problem. Otherwise go into Safe Mode as this helps identify if the issue is caused by apps or the phone’s hardware/software.
If all else fails, take your Android device to the manufacturer or Android repair experts for further assistance.
Elsie is a tech writer with 8+ years professional experience. For Tech News Watch, she brings rich experience contributing to topics such as Windows, MacOS, Android, and iOS among others. In her spare time, she loves checking out the latest tech trends, gadgets, and news, listening to music and cars.
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