Beam Notes is designed to automatically keep your screen awake while you are recording. However, certain device settings, battery savers, or browser permissions can override this and cause your phone to lock unexpectedly.
If your screen is turning off mid-recording, work through these common causes and fixes below.
1. Browser Limitations
Some mobile browsers handle the "wake lock" feature differently. If Chrome or Edge is giving you trouble, a quick reset usually does the trick.
Try a different browser: If you have another browser installed on your phone, try recording there.
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Give your current browser a fresh start:
Close all open tabs.
Force-quit the browser app.
Reopen the browser, return to Beam Notes, and start a new recording.
2. Battery Saver & Low Power Mode
When your phone is low on juice or in a battery-saving mode, the operating system will aggressively force the screen to lock to save power, ignoring requests from Beam Notes.
Charge up: Ensure your phone is sufficiently charged or plugged in.
Adjust Screen Timeout: Go to your phone's Settings, search for Screen Timeout or Auto-lock, and temporarily increase it to 5 to 10 minutes (or Never) while recording.
3. Android & Samsung Battery Optimisation
Samsung and other Android devices have aggressive battery management features that can force-close active background processes.
Fix for Samsung Devices:
Go to Settings → Device care → Battery → App power management.
Remove your browser (e.g., Microsoft Edge or Chrome) from Deep sleeping apps.
Add your browser to Apps that will not be put to sleep.
4. Notifications & Switching Apps
Leaving the recording screen—even for a second—can cause your device to lock, revoke microphone permissions, or pause your session.
Stay put: Keep the Beam Notes recording screen open and active at all times.
Silence interruptions: Turn on Do Not Disturb before starting a recording.
Accidental slip-ups: If you do accidentally switch apps, return to Beam Notes immediately and tap Resume. Note: Anything said while off the recording screen will not be captured.
5. Managed Work Devices (IT Policies)
If you are using a phone provided or managed by your organisation, strict security profiles might be forcing the screen to lock automatically.
What to do: Contact your internal IT department to check if mandatory screen-timeout policies are enforced on work devices or enterprise browsers.
Still Having Issues? Run a Quick Test.
If you've tried the steps above and your screen still locks, let's find out if it's a device issue or a Beam Notes issue by running a quick 2-minute test.
How to test:
Open this diagnostic page on your mobile browser: What PWA Can Do: Wake Lock.
Check the box next to Prevent your screen from locking.
Leave the page open and wait to see if your screen turns off.
What the results mean:
If your screen STILL locks on this test page: The issue is rooted in your phone's core settings or your organisation's IT policies, not Beam Notes.
If your screen STAYS AWAKE on this test page: The issue might be specific to Beam Notes. Let us investigate!
Help Us Fix It!
If your screen stayed awake during the test but still locks up on Beam Notes, please reach out to our support team so we can dive deeper.
✉️ Email us at support@beam.org with the following details:
Device Info: Make and model (e.g., Samsung Galaxy S23, iPhone 15).
Browser Info: Browser name and version (e.g., Chrome v120).
The Link: A link to the specific Beam Note where the phone locked (if possible).
IT Policies: Whether your phone is a managed work device.
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