iPhone black screen bug during voice calls & recordings on third-party apps persists on iOS 16.2 (potential workaround)

iOS 16 has been available for several weeks now and users have discovered multiple issues. Apple has released some subsequent cumulative updates with bug fixes and new features.

One of these cumulative updates is iOS 16.1, but it seems that this version brought a new bug, which even persists until the latest iOS 16.2 update.

According to reports, there is an iPhone ‘black screen’ bug during calls and voice recordings on third-party apps that has yet to receive a fix.

Multiple iPhone users have been dealing with an issue where their smartphone screen turns black during calls. The problem is not only aesthetic but also affects functionality.

For example, with the black screen, users cannot hang up the call or activate the speaker. Nor can they interact with the keyboard in customer service numbers that require it.

Screen locking during phone calls

My XR has recently started to lock during phone calls and the screen becomes black and unresponsive. It means I’m unable to end calls so if I’m leaving a voice message they can hear me ranting at my phone! Any advice?
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Isn’t it a problem for the screen to go dark during a phone call?

My problem is on outgoing calls my screen goes black. Then I can’t turn on the speaker phone. Also I cant get anywhere if I call a number with an automated phone system that directs me to the right department by press a key such as 0-9, #, or *.
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The bug affects not only calls, but also voice notes. Users report that the screen goes black when picking up the phone while listening to voice notes or recordings from WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord and other apps.

The black screen after calls and listening to audio clips from WhatsApp

I have a problem, the black screen appears after I lift the phone to calls and hear audio clips from WhatsApp from the upper speaker, and the screen does not even touch to return to the bright screen or the home screen
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Once the bug appears, it may take several minutes for the phone to return to its original state.

Some reports indicate that the issue started since the arrival of iOS 16.1 stable update:

Greetings, after the iOS 16.1 update, the iPhone 11 always turns to a ‘black screen’ when I listen to a WhatsApp voice note and put it to my ear. Happened several times and I can’t force restart. 10 minutes later the screen will light up again.
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More recent reports confirm that it is still present even in the latest iOS 16.2 update:

This problem started from ios 16.1.2 and after upgrading to 16.2 still this problem exists.
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There is still no official acknowledgment of the situation from the Apple team. In the meantime, there is a potential workaround you can try:

We will update this story as events unfold.

NOTE: You can also check the iOS 16 bugs/issues tracker.

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