My TouchPad Today: Ambient Light Sensor - The Final Solution

In the end, it has taken a combination of four things to get the ambient light sensor on my HP TouchPad working correctly again...

• Punching a hole in the CE Compass leather case I'm using, near an embedded magnet that covers the sensor.
• Improvising and installing two rubber "bumpers" to lift the leather ridge/flap of the case that covers the sensor.
• Punching a hole in the Acase View anti-glare screen protector I'm using on the TP.  The protector came from the factory with cutouts for the camera and Home button, but does not have one for the light sensor.
• Learning and remembering to keep my right hand away from the area near the sensor.  The cutouts of the CE Compass leather case (for the camera and the Home button) orient the TP so that the On/Off button, Volume button and ambient light sensor are at the bottom right when used in the landscape mode... Exactly where I naturally want to place my right hand when using the TP.
  

All of this efforts brings to mind Click & Clack's motto... "The stingy man pays the most".

But, hey, I got a few blog posts out of it.  That ain't a bad thing, is it?



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My TouchPad Today: Ambient Light Sensor - Bumpin' Up the Light?

In a post last week I mentioned that the ambient light sensor on my HP TouchPad was covered by a ridge/flap on the CE Compass leather case that I'm using to protect the TP. I was wondering if punching a hole in the area over the sensor might let the it get a better read on the available light and adjust the brightness of my TP screen accordingly.

Alas, the hole punching was not the ultimate fix. The sensor is directly covered by a magnet for the case cover that is embedded in the ridge/flap. Punching the hole off a bit to the side of the magnet may have helped a tad, but the the flap tends to naturally settle itself down so that that the magnet keeps the sensor covered. As a result, the TP adjusts the screen brightness downward, thinking it is in an environment where dimming the display is appropriate.

So, what's a fella to do?

My next thought was... How about improvising and installing something that would boost the ridge/flap a bit to allow in more ambient light, but not so as to interfere with using the TP, nor with the magnetic closure of the case?

The result of all this was (see picture) to glue a couple of "bumpers" -- pieces of rubber sliced from a square pencil eraser -- to the underside of the ridge/flap.

Its too early to tell how well this works.  I will report back on this later in the week.


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