Android JUnit Test of sendKeys Fails When Emulator Screen is Locked

Question

I have an Android JUnit test that runs fine when the emulator screen is unlocked but will fail if the screen is locked. Here's a sample that demonstrates the problem:

package com.example.helloandroid.test;

import com.example.helloandroid.HelloAndroid;

import android.test.ActivityInstrumentationTestCase2;
import android.view.KeyEvent;
import android.widget.EditText;

public class HelloAndroidTest extends
    ActivityInstrumentationTestCase2<HelloAndroid> {
    private HelloAndroid mActivity;
    private EditText editText;

    public HelloAndroidTest() {
        super("com.example.helloandroid", HelloAndroid.class);
    }

    @Override
    protected void setUp() throws Exception {
        super.setUp();
        mActivity = this.getActivity();
        editText = (EditText)mActivity.findViewById
            (com.example.helloandroid.R.id.editText);
    }

    public void testEditTextFormatting() {
        this.sendKeys(KeyEvent.KEYCODE_1);
        assertEquals("1", editText.getText().toString());
    }
}

The application under test in this example is the Android Tutorial "Hello World" with the TextView replaced by an EditText field called editText.

Currently, I get around this problem in my application by having the app unlock the screen. However, this solution is sub-optimal because it forces the app to require DISABLE_KEYGUARD permissions, which it otherwise doesn't need.

I've searched the Internet multiple times over the past year and come up empty. Any suggestions? Thanks for your time!