Hi Tobias, A bit of searching yielded this: https://community.freescale.com/community/the-embedded-beat/blog/2011/03/04= /magnetometers-come-in-multiple-flavors and then this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnel_magnetoresistance I believe that this effect is used by Freescale's integrated 3-axis magnetometers. I do not think that it could be damaged by any reasonable magnetic field you might accidentally subject it to. I know that some types of magnetoresistive technology (like GMR - Giant Magneto-Resistance) are very static sensitive, so I suppose that your device could have been damaged by static. I don't know about the relative ESD ruggedness of TMR vs GMR devices. Sean On Wed, Jul 9, 2014 at 10:07 AM, Tobias Gogolin wrote: > Those Magnetometers are soo cool! I had one in my Android Phone (Dell > Streak 5") and with it I could use great Apps like 'Google Sky'! You > know with gravity and magnetic information and your location, (either > manual or GPS) it can render the sky as you move the phone and > compare. And I always have a hard time to recognize constellations and > planets without it! > > Now to the Question: Isaid my phone had that sensor, cause I noticed > that at least one axis has gone bad! I wonder if anyone knows enough > about how these magneto sensors work to suggest if it just needs > demagnetization or if it really breaks if it for example is exposed to > a too strong magnet close by? > > Thanks for the Info Russel! > By the way to replace the phone with one with a good st of sensors - > any recommendations? > > --=20 http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .