Screen sensitivity issue - Read it if you game with your XZ2 Compact!

Hi there,

I received my phone today. I have been VERY pleased with it for the few hours I was using it, but when I started playing PUBG Mobile I detected something odd, that avoided me to aim properly.
There's a problem with the screen sensitivity, I'm not sure how to define it, but it feels like a dead zone that moves with your finger. The phone will not detect small movements, kind of a precision problem.

I have a video and pictures to demonstrate the issue, comparing the sensibility to my other phone (Galaxy S8):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vc55o-36uC4&feature=youtu.be

And a picture:

https://imgur.com/a/LIzyV

I'm returning the phone, and I'll buy again if Sony fixes this via software (I hope they will!). I will gladly replace my S8 with this XZ2 Compact if we ignore this problem.

I don't think my particular unit is defective, but let me know if you experience is different just in case. If you have the same, let's try to make some noise and get an official response from Sony.

Edit: tried the big XZ2 in a store (not the compact) and had the same issue, so we can assume most XZ2 and XZ2 compact are impacted. Let's hope it's just software.

Update: I went to a mall and tried the XZ2 non-compact, with identically disappointing results. Sony needs to fix this. Some could say the compact is not a device for gaming because it's small, but the same argument doesn't hold for the bigger brother.

x10isrooted said:

maybe the display is not so well for the pen you are using. i noticed that the display was even reacting when i had two display protective films on it at the same time.

try to play around with glove mode. maybe this helps.

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Thanks for the idea, however that's not the issue. I tried disabling and enabling the glove mode. I tried with my finger and with the pen (made the video with the pen because it's easier to see in a video). I tried two models, normal XZ2 and XZ2 Compact, with identical results. Tried while charging and without the charging cable as well.

It's not an obvious issue or easy to perceive, until you are trying to shoot at somebody in the head with a sniper rifle inside a game. It lacks precision. I'm not even sure if this is a deal breaker because probably I won't notice in daily usage, but I play games from time to time...

If you have the device, try it your self, try to draw tiny circles and compare with another device. I tested a few units so while I cannot say that every device out there is affected, I can also say that it's not just a couple of isolated cases.

I also compared to the Galaxy S8 (in the video) and to my friend's XZ1. The XZ1 didn't have the issue either, and I don't believe Sony sourced they touchscreen panels and controllers from a cheaper and worse source. I'm really hopeful this is just software, cause I love the device.

Have you tried to contact Sony support? I'm a bit frustrated, they told me to apply whatever update there is, perform a factory reset, run the device diagnostics, and if the problem persists, that means it is hardware and I should contact local support to get it repaired or exchanged. They closed my support ticket after giving that response, without waiting for my response.
They obviously didn't understand or care about the issue here. The screen diagnostics test is passed, but the issue is still there.
I don't know what to provide in order to get somebody from Sony support look at the case and evaluate escalating the ticket to whatever team that handles bugs.

Flynnchen82 said:

Honestly i haven't. Because it seems that i don't have a faulty device as you have the same problem.

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I've seen this issue in 3 devices already, two of them being the big XZ2 and one of them my Compact. Some more users have noticed the same behavior in other regions. I do believe it's a general issue. Maybe not every device is affected, but many seem to be.
Maybe some people don't have a defective phone, but until proven wrong I'd rather think some people do not perceive it care about it (same story as with the jelly in the OP5 here, people kept telling "my phone is fine" because they didn't see it).
Anyway, it is NOT a delay problem as much as it is a precision or dead zone problem. I can keep trying to draw tiny circles across the screen and only a straight line will be detected by the phone. Then I can run the touchscreen diagnostic tool and Sony will say there's no problem with my device, because this to only checks for fixed dead zones.
I understand some older phone that costs half the price might have some issue that resembles this one, but support could try to submit this to their Dev team and let us know if they acknowledge it as an issue or not. I mean, that's a very standard support procedure in the industry. In every IT support.

Off topic: not trying to argue here, but I never understood the argument of "I don't do X on my phone, because that's what Y are made for". You can apply it to everything a phone does, each function can be replaced by a standalone GPS, camera, Music player, game console, etc. I understand the personal preference or not doing certain things on a phone because of screen size or whatever, but when you spend 600usd + on a phone, it should be good at everything is capable of doing. Nobody would imagine an iPhone X user saying "The camera is crap but I don't care because that's with my Nikon is for. Audio is ****, but that's why you buy a Walkman. The GPS is not good, but that's why Tomtom exists"

Sorry to hear that! That's actually sad, because I work in support

Flynnchen82 said:

If your phone is laggy and you also tried already hard reset then you should have other problems. There is really no lag with my xz2c at all - it is even faster than my U11.
Don't know if it's the OP but the issue with the screen was already posted on sony support forum. Still I wouldnt call it sensitivity issue because when tipping the screen reacts fast. There is just a small delay for small movements on the screen, it starts to move after a certain way and not instantly.
Meanwhile i really hope they can fix it because i start caring. Not because of gaming, but i noticed how much trouble you get in certain situations (e.g. selecting text or adjusting a slider to a certain value like screen color adjustment...). Otherwise this perfect phone has a negative that might let me not keep it.

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True thing, the phone should be lightning fast! I was for me during the time I had it. Pixel-level smoothness.

Going back to the problem, I wouldn't call it delay for the following reason: for me a delay means that I touch the screen, and the screen reacts later than it should. So if you watch the video, I'm trying to draw circles and the problem is not that they appear late, it's that they are an almost straight line instead. I think the appropriate word would be low precision when tracking fine touches.

By the way, the experience with support is getting very frustrating, they want me to send back my phone. There's no option to submit a potential software bug for review, if the helpdesk guy doesn't have the issue listed anywhere in their database, you will be asked to send the phone physically to a repair center, no matter the nature of the problem (basically they won't care). I'm still confident that this is a driver problem, Sony fixed touchscreen issues a few years back (in the Z5 Compact I believe) with a software update.

CaraMuuu said:

True thing, the phone should be lightning fast! I was for me during the time I had it. Pixel-level smoothness.

Going back to the problem, I wouldn't call it delay for the following reason: for me a delay means that I touch the screen, and the screen reacts later than it should. So if you watch the video, I'm trying to draw circles and the problem is not that they appear late, it's that they are an almost straight line instead. I think the appropriate word would be low precision when tracking fine touches.

By the way, the experience with support is getting very frustrating, they want me to send back my phone. There's no option to submit a potential software bug for review, if the helpdesk guy doesn't have the issue listed anywhere in their database, you will be asked to send the phone physically to a repair center, no matter the nature of the problem (basically they won't care). I'm still confident that this is a driver problem, Sony fixed touchscreen issues a few years back (in the Z5 Compact I believe) with a software update.

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Click to collapse

After being a bit rude to them (not proud about it, I apologized already), finally got the following response from support:

We are sorry to hear you are unsatisfied with our communication regarding the touch performance of your Xperia XZ2, we hope to atone for that shortly.

We have already internally raised this issue to the specialised team, using the threads and pictures on the forum you have supplied and from other users too.

We recommend sending the device to repair to make sure that the device has no manufacturing hardware faults, and to ensure that the software repair was done correctly before escalating the issue even further. And if there's a chance that one of our customers can have a more pleasant experience with the device if it turns out to be something we can fix, we always like to go with that solution.

However, please be assured that the issue has already been raised internally, and our team is working on making sure you have the best user experience as soon as possible.