GEARCHECK LAB
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Mobile Sensor Lab // Motion & Orientation

ACCELEROMETER & GYROSCOPE TEST

Tilt, rotate and gently move a sensor-equipped phone or tablet to inspect the motion and orientation values your browser exposes. GearCheck Lab shows device-orientation angles, acceleration including gravity, rotation rate and live event cadence without uploading sensor readings.

LOCAL SENSOR DATAReadings stay in this page session.
Permission-aware diagnostic

Browser-exposed motion sensors

SENSORS OFF
Tilt the device after starting sensors.

How to test phone motion sensors

  1. Open this page on the phone or tablet you want to test.
  2. Press START SENSORS and grant Motion & Orientation permission if the browser asks.
  3. Hold the device still and confirm readings are being received.
  4. Tilt front/back and left/right while watching beta/gamma and the 3D phone visualization.
  5. Rotate the device and gently move it through each axis while watching acceleration and rotation-rate values change.
  6. Stop the sensor listeners when finished.

Permission and browser support

Some browsers expose motion events after a listener is added; others require an explicit user-triggered permission request. GearCheck Lab feature-detects those permission methods before calling them.

A “no data” result can mean the browser/device does not expose these sensors, permission was denied, or the hardware is absent. It is not automatically a failed accelerometer or gyroscope.

Orientation angles

Alpha, beta and gamma are browser device-orientation angles. Beta describes front/back tilt and gamma left/right tilt in the device-orientation coordinate system. Alpha represents rotation around the device's z axis, but it should not be treated as a reliable compass heading unless an absolute orientation source is actually exposed.

Acceleration including gravity

The accelerationIncludingGravity values are reported in m/s² where available. When a device is stationary, gravity contributes roughly 9.8 m/s² to the vector, distributed across axes according to device orientation.

Consumer sensors and browser processing are not laboratory calibration equipment, so use the values to verify response and compare obvious stuck/no-data behavior rather than demanding exact factory bias.

Rotation rate

DeviceMotion can expose rotation-rate alpha/beta/gamma, typically expressed in degrees per second. Availability varies. A browser can expose orientation while leaving raw-looking rotation-rate fields null, so each section is reported independently.

Coordinate-system limitations

Browser implementations and device orientation can affect coordinate interpretation, and MDN specifically warns that browser coordinate handling is not identical everywhere. Test for smooth response across motion rather than comparing one exact axis sign between different browsers.

Motion sensor test FAQ

Why does this show nothing on my desktop?

Most desktops have no browser-exposed accelerometer/gyroscope. This diagnostic is primarily for phones, tablets and sensor-equipped devices.

Why did iPhone/iPad ask for permission?

Some browsers require a user gesture before Motion & Orientation access can be requested. Start Sensors exists partly to satisfy that permission flow.

Is alpha a compass heading?

Not necessarily. Only treat heading as absolute when the browser explicitly provides absolute orientation; this page intentionally labels alpha as orientation rather than claiming magnetometer/compass accuracy.

Are these values uploaded?

No. The page listens to local device events and renders them in memory.