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Some Galaxy S9/S9+ Units Have Large Dead Zones On the Touchscreen (androidpolice.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the non-responsive dept.

hyperclocker shares a report from Android Police: The touchscreen on your phone is the primary way you interact with it, so it absolutely needs to work. That makes problems like so-called "dead zones" or ignored/unregistered inputs among the most annoying out there. Based on reports, many are running into those types of touchscreen input problems with Samsung's Galaxy S9+. It's tough to tell precisely how common the problem might be. Few users are as apt to report issues as Pixel-purchasers, so we can't quite compare things against our coverage for Google's hardware. But from what we have seen in places like Reddit, it's reasonably widespread. The problem manifests as you'd expect: a chunk of the touchscreen's digitizer just doesn't seem to work. Interestingly, not all users are reporting issues with the same physical areas of the display. For some, it's the top of the screen that isn't accepting input -- resulting in an inability to pull down the notification tray -- but for others, it's the bottom of the screen that's wonking out in the traditional keyboard input area. A few people have been able to diminish the effect by cranking up the touchscreen sensitivity, and there's at least one report of a factory reset fixing things. But for many, the problem persists between wipes. Worse, some people with the problem have experienced further issues seeking help via Samsung's support process if a trade-in was involved. Samsung has released a statement concerning these reports: "At Samsung, customer satisfaction is core to our business and we aim to deliver the best possible experience. We are looking into a limited number of reports of Galaxy S9/S9+ touchscreen responsiveness issues. We are working with affected customers and investigating. We encourage any customer with questions to contact us directly at 1-800-SAMSUNG."

31 comments

  1. TOUCHGATE!!!! by Moof123 · · Score: 2

    If this was an Apple product there would be a full conspiracy theory freak-out already...

    1. Re:TOUCHGATE!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Like the one about the Note 7? Oh wait, that wasn't Apple. Hmmm. What's the deal with the Apple people and their persecution complex?

    2. Re:TOUCHGATE!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Note 7? Too dissimilar. How about the Samsung S8 (just one generation prior) when there was COLORGATE. (Colors appearing weird on some screens.)

    3. Re:TOUCHGATE!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I butter my own peas.
      -- Anne Ohno Moscow-Turd

    4. Re:TOUCHGATE!!!! by sexconker · · Score: 0

      Overshadowed by the Pixel 2 XL having the same issue on every single screen.

    5. Re: TOUCHGATE!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      First, you're only paying about 3/4 the price, second Samsung has already said they'll give you a new phone if yours has problems.
      Apple would be blaming it on user error and offering a discount on a overpriced repair.

      My wife said she had dead spots on hers. It didn't, it was the screen protector she'd poorly applied. I re applied it, and turned on the increased touch sensitivity mode, problems vanished.

    6. Re:TOUCHGATE!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't have this issue on mine....

    7. Re:TOUCHGATE!!!! by Solandri · · Score: 1

      If this were an Apple product, Cook would be telling you that you're touching it wrong.

    8. Re:TOUCHGATE!!!! by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 1

      If this was an Apple product there would be a full conspiracy theory freak-out already...

      And 10 Class Action Lawsuits!

    9. Re:TOUCHGATE!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If this was an Apple product there would be a full conspiracy theory freak-out already...

      It IS an Apple product, Samsung just slapped its name on it. All phones today are in practice, really just Apple OEM phones.
      This comes from the insane urge by all other phone makers, to blindly copy anything Apple does.

      The last true non-Apple Android Smartphone, was the Samsung Galaxy Note 4.
      It has 4 things that an iPhone will never have: removeable battery, sd card slot, IR blaster and multimedia dock support.

  2. Dead zone? by Type44Q · · Score: 1

    Dead zone? That is/i the screen... and you're holding it wrong.

  3. Are all Samsung touchscreens crap? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    A friend has a Samsung Galaxy On5 and the touchscreen is absolute crap. You can't even drag icons around without it thinking you have removed your finger where it will randomly drop the icon somewhere.

    I never have any problem with the touchscreen on my LG G5.

  4. Sounds like a Microsoft Surface (N-trig) by ReneR · · Score: 1

    Seriously, why is there not yet a extended warranty program or class action suit regarding the Surface's dead zone and phantom touches? https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    1. Re:Sounds like a Microsoft Surface (N-trig) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Agreed. This Took down my Surface 3. I think it's a bigger issue than has been let on. Really hope my surface 5 doesn't get this (I know, I know, why didn't I learn).

  5. Improvement by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I say itsn't an improvement...I mean none of them blew up, right?

    Set the bar low enough and other major mistakes don't seem seem so major any more.

  6. edge design issues? by kiviQr · · Score: 1

    If device detects a touch on the edge it will jump to edge then go back to middle of the screen where your finger is. So question is: are you holding it right?

    1. Re: edge design issues? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nah, anyone with an edge device knows about that.
      Personally I hate it and I have relegated it to be my second phone. I will never buy a phone with a touch sensitive edge again.
      There must be a lot of people out there who use their phone on a desk because that's the only place it works well...

    2. Re: edge design issues? by LinuxIsGarbage · · Score: 1

      The curved edges are a pretty stupid design IMO based on my experience with the S8.

      -It's hard to hold the phone without a case and not accidentally touch the edge (it's also hard to hold the phone at all without a case since it's made out of slippery aluminum and glass)
      -The image and colors are distorted on the edges, yet the fan boys say "Oooo, it feels like you're immersed in the content". A flat screen with this sort of distortion would be downrated.
      -To allow access to the sides, cases provide no protection for the sides.

      Designs like this seem to appeal to those that go "oooo, shiny", but they are impractical to people that actually work and take their phone out in the real world, and aren't just tech bloggers.

  7. Great feel: iPhone X inside anus by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I use it to probe for any dead zones.

  8. Again and again by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Every month:

    $LARGE_CORP has released $NEW_FLAGSHIP_PRODUCT, but some consumers are reporting $ISSUE_WITH_FUNDAMENTAL_FEATURE. How could this ever happen, with such a fundamentally important launch for $LARGE_CORP? Will there be riots in the street?

    A company representative responded, "We're sorry to hear reports of consumers encountering a problem with $NEW_FLAGSHIP_PRODUCT. We encourage any customer experiencing this issue to contact our support team."

    Happened with the iPhone (pick any model). Happened with the Nintendo Switch. Happened here with Samsung.

    Problem is, these $SENSATIONALIST articles don't give us a sense of whether this is a true widely-experienced issue or a small manufacturing flaw that some loud person tweeted about. (And then some reddit users (astroturfers?) posted about it, and then a "contributing journalist" (lol) picked it up and ran with it on some website that's primary revenue source is ad impressions (lol).)

    Who's got money on this not being a real widespread problem?

    1. Re:Again and again by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're an Android dev, aren't you.

    2. Re:Again and again by Shados · · Score: 1

      Yeah. While there's been a fair amount of reports about this, the news were already going crazy when there was only like 2~ known reports, and only minutes after those reports popped up.

      Its like, calm down people. At the end of the day, these devices sell dozens of millions of units. There's going to be issues.

      Now, if its something like the Pixel 2 XL screen, the Nexus 6P battery, and the exploding Galaxy Notes...its warranted, but it doesn't happen to all devices @.@ (of course, all 3 mentioned above are pretty big flagship devices, so its a bit of an issue).

      Apple has its share of issue too (the perf throttling when battery goes poof), though they seem a little better at addressing them. Too bad I refuse to buy Apple out of principle. Are windows phones still a thing?

  9. How to test your S9 by cstacy · · Score: 1

    There are YouTube videos up suggesting complicated test procedures.

    All you need to do is open the Notifications/Settings bar at the top,
    wiggle it, and then slowly drag your finger down the whole screen while
    moving back and forth from edge to edge. The bar should react to all
    of these inputs. If this doesn't cause motion in some place, that would
    be a dead spot.

    Mine's fine.

    1. Re: How to test your S9 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      After screen glass cover was put on, I had to increase my sensitivity. But after that things are rocking. Let's just hope it doesn't blow up on me over the next few years...

  10. I am disappointed by OneHundredAndTen · · Score: 1

    I thought this was bound to be the most explosive device ever, and that Samsung was a company on fire, hell-bent on rekindling the market and searing the competition. I really was burning with anticipation.

  11. Re:They will replace malfunctioning devices by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Zerg attack!!! Kekekekekekekekekekekekee!!

  12. Zombie pixels? Get out the shotgun... by mnemotronic · · Score: 1

    Zombie pixels are just the beginning. Next thing you know it'll be zombie memes, zombie emoticons and zombie filters. The End of Times will be announced by the arrival of the zombie cryptocurrencies, moaning and dragging their block chains.

    --
    The Russians have won. They have made the world a cesspool of distrust, greed, fear and hate.
  13. This is an improvement, actually. by LordHighExecutioner · · Score: 1

    Samsung smartphone with no dead zone explode.