Xperia Z auto-rotate not working

[Toxxyc]

So my phone is only a few months old.  A few weeks ago the auto-rotate stopped working for a while, but it fixed itself so I ignored the issue.

However, it's back.  This time, it's been like this for 3 days and the problem isn't getting fixed.  I've tried:

Turning Auto-Rotate on/off

Hard resetting the phone (volume key + power button)

Factory Resetting the phone

Restarting the phone with auto-rotate on/off

To no avail.  Now:

Don't tell me to download a third party app, I refuse.  There were no updates involved before the issue started.  The gyro sensor works - when I use the camera the controls rotate as needed - the problem only exists in things like WhatsApp (or anywhere I have to use the keyboard), the Album, etc.  It is a huge issue for me as I use my phone a lot for photo viewing and texting, and the keyboard is too small for me to use in Portrait mode.

Please, any help?  Sending the phone in to my service provider is a mess as they don't give loan phones and sometimes they keep the thing for up to 6 weeks.  Anything else I can try?  I'm starting to become incredibly disappointed in Sony.  If this problem extends to my Xperia Tablet Z as well I'll be very, very disappointed indeed!

[Pelleman]

Try stock 4.2.2, it's pretty solid. No need to unlock bootloader if you stick to a stock rom. Google flashtool,  it's fairly easy to use.  Don't forget to make a backup of your current rom. 

[leady187]

Flashed the 4.4.2 stock on my phone using flashtool. It's looking good so far. Thanks for the advice. I'll keep you updated to weather or not it worked.

[leady187]

12 hours it lasted. Same thing happened again. Accelerometer and gyroscope stopped working. Can't understand why. Is it possible to flash an earlier android version? 4.3 or something around that.

[Pelleman]

Like I said,  try Android 4.2.2. Build 10.3.1.A.2.67 worked pretty well for me, no accelerometer issues. It still might be faulty hardware and needs to be sent away for service. 

[leady187]

Sorry I misread. Thought you said 4.4.2. I'll give it a try. Thanks again.

[leady187]

Awesome, it's working great. Thank you very much. Just got to put up with it telling me about a new update now. Lol

[leady187]

Disaster, I opened my camera app and it rebooted my phone. Flashed 4.2.2 again and Same thing happened. Upgraded to 4.3 and it wouldn't even boot up. Just kept getting so far then rebooting. Flashed 4.4.2 back on it and no rotation issue for almost a day. Then it happened again. Gonna unlock bootloader and install cm11 see if that helps. My warrenty had expired Anyway.

[leady187]

I finally got around to unlocking my bootloader, I'm gutted. It can't be unlocked. I found a method of fixing the problem. But need to boot into recovery mode. I've tried almost every method I've found on Google. (about 7 methods) and still no luck. It just boots up as normal everytime. Can anyone shed some light into why this is not working?

[shauncoyle88]

I have same problem using update firmware 4.4.4 never had the problem before last update, it's a relatively new phone so about time Sony got their act together to fix the problem it's obviously software related and a bug in the last update

[brettflint]

I fixed my auto rotate issues by disabling and re-enabling 'Google voice typing'

You can find it under Settings > Language & input.

If it works for you please let me know.

I'm hoping this bug is resolved with the upcoming Android L (Lollipop 5.0 5.1) update coming in February / March