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GEARCHECK LAB
Mobile Sensor Lab // Angular Motion

PHONE GYROSCOPE TEST

Rotate a sensor-equipped phone or tablet to inspect the angular rotation-rate values your browser exposes. GearCheck Lab keeps true rotation-rate telemetry separate from device-orientation angles, tracks browser event cadence and provides a five-second still-device drift sample without uploading sensor readings.

LOCAL SENSOR DATAMotion values stay inside this browser session.
Permission-aware diagnostic

Rotation rate & still-device drift

SENSORS OFF
β / Xγ / Yα / Z

How to test a phone gyroscope

  1. Open this page on the phone or tablet you want to test.
  2. Press Start Gyroscope and grant motion/orientation permission if asked.
  3. Rotate the device deliberately around different axes and confirm rotation-rate values respond.
  4. Turn it slowly like a steering wheel, tilt it forward/back and roll it side to side.
  5. Watch angular speed fall back toward a low value when you stop moving.
  6. Place the device flat and still and run the five-second drift check.

Rotation rate is not the same as orientation

DeviceMotion.rotationRate describes how fast the device is rotating around its axes, commonly in degrees per second. DeviceOrientation alpha/beta/gamma describe orientation angles instead.

Many web tools call orientation angles “gyroscope values.” GearCheck Lab shows orientation separately so a changing tilt angle is not mislabeled as actual angular velocity.

What the still-device drift check does

While the device is resting, GearCheck Lab samples the total browser-reported rotation speed. It reports the average and peak observed over five seconds. That helps you compare repeated runs or two devices under similar conditions.

This is not factory bias calibration. Hand movement, table vibration, browser filtering and sensor fusion can influence the reported values.

Why orientation can work when rotation rate is blank

A browser may expose deviceorientation events but leave rotationRate unavailable or null. That means the web sensor path is only partially exposed; it does not prove the physical gyroscope has failed.

The page counts motion events and rotation-rate samples separately so this distinction stays visible.

What a useful failure looks like

Useful evidence is repeatable: rotation-rate data is present but one axis never responds despite deliberate movement around that axis, values remain strongly non-zero every time the device is truly still, or the same behavior persists after a restart and in another current browser.

One sudden spike is weak evidence. Consumer motion sensors are noisy and browser event delivery is not a laboratory data-acquisition system.

Why a desktop often shows no data

Most desktops and many laptops do not contain a browser-exposed gyroscope. A no-data message on such a device is expected. Run the diagnostic on the phone or tablet whose motion behavior you want to verify.

Gyroscope test FAQ

Does alpha mean compass direction?

Not reliably. Orientation alpha can be relative or absolute depending on browser/device support. This diagnostic does not claim compass accuracy from it.

Why does my iPhone ask for permission?

Some browsers require a user gesture before motion/orientation access can be granted. The Start button exists partly to satisfy that privacy flow.

What unit is rotation rate?

Browser DeviceMotion rotation-rate values are typically expressed in degrees per second. Availability and filtering vary by platform.

Can a website calibrate my gyroscope?

No. GearCheck Lab can visualize browser-exposed motion and help you compare behavior; system or manufacturer calibration/service tools are separate.

Are readings uploaded?

No. The page uses local event data to update the live dashboard and short-lived stability sample.