[FIX] Touchscreen issues

[abachhd]

This here is a very serious issue, with a rather simple solution. I'm talking about the issue where the screen becomes unresponsive in the following ways (these are just some of them): it takes more than one attempt to move the lock ring, not every press is registered when typing, buttons at the bottom of the screen don't always work, you can't get the carousel spinning, hectic touch issues while charging.

UPDATE YOUR FIRMWARE FIRST

Before proceeding with any hardware "manipulation" I recommend you try the latest firmware. If you are running a stock ROM simply update your phone's software, and if you are on a custom ROM the update can be found here (you already have this firmware if you are running ICS).
If the issues persist, keep reading.

IMPORTANT

You have to realise this fix does not solve the issue for everyone. So just to be clear, THIS DOES NOT SOLVE THE ISSUE FOR EVERYONE. The reason for this is simple - not everybody has the same issue. My opinion is that these issues have similar symptoms, but the causes are different (prove me wrong if you know something I don't).

The issue addressed here relates to a small silver pin located at the back of the phone (pictures below). That damn thing is the screen's "grounding" connection to the back cover (more about that in abrown0809's post here). In time the pin starts loosing proper contact to the cover, and the screen becomes unresponsive. There is also a matter of static build-up caused by this, which further complicates matters. I believe this is mostly down to the worst back cover in the known universe.
This issue usually appears for apparently no reason, but you might also experience it after dropping the phone, sneezing too hard, or after installing an aftermarket battery (Anker, Chichitec, etc.), since they are usually thicker. A thicker battery could further loosen the already loose connection between the cover and the pin. If you only have issues during charging try a different charger. If you still have issues, this fix should help.

Note that there is more than one way to fix the issue, and that the results are not always instantaneous. The simplest fix is pulling the aforementioned pin outwards. The downside is the pin might bend back into its original position... So you could try applying one of the alternative solutions as an addition to pulling the pin out, or simply doing the alternative only.

Also, I am not responsible for your actions. If you damage your phone, it's on you.

CREDITS

What I am doing here is sorting useful info and adding creative advice, I am not the one responsible for the actual solution. It's primarily tinky1, who started the first thread on the issue, where most debating and solving was performed. Then, misiek_to_ja (and his daughter ) noticed that using the phone without the back cover temporarily solves the problem. This meant the problem was beneath the back plate, which abrown0809 proved by pointing us to the grounding pin that everybody was somehow missing for two months. What followed were aluminium foil and soldering tricks that eliteone thought of. stuart0001 started a petition that I hope HTC noticed, though they remain silent. Andyjb103 pointed out that the firmware update can fix the issue in some cases. And there is of course everyone from tinky1's thread that went through loads of pain and suffering while testing different chargers, wall sockets, USB plugs, area codes, weather conditions, etc. THANK YOU ALL!
Now then...

THE FIX

Firstly, the simplest way to fix the issue. Switch the phone off, remove the back cover and locate the silver pin shown in this picture.

Now pull it out a bit, like so:

Use a needle, a tiny screwdriver, or anything with a pointy end. But be careful. Don't pull too hard or too much. The side of the pin that is closer to the edge of the phone is the side you want do the most pulling to.

And that's it as far as the pin goes! Results could be instant, but there is still a chance you'll need to do a couple of things:

1. Discharge the phone all the way (until it shuts down).
2. Remove the battery and press the power button (as if you were trying to turn the phone on).
3. Leave the phone without the battery overnight (or for at least an hour).
4. Put the battery back and charge the phone without touching the screen.

Make sure you don't touch the screen whenever you're charging, until the issue disappears. This should happen within 2-3 days. If the problem persists, you ether did something wrong, or (as explained above) you have a different issue... Most common related problem is a faulty digitizer.

If the issue does go away you could make sure it stays that way by applying one of the alternatives as well.

ALTERNATIVES

See this small white square on the inside of the back cover?

That's where the silver pin makes contact to the cover. By pulling the pin out you insure better contact to that square. There are plenty of ways to further improve that contact.
Here is a few:

1. Take a small piece of aluminium foil (5cm by 2cm, or whatever works for you), fold it over a couple of times and put it over the square (like this). Now carefully put the phone into the cover and make sure the foil doesn't move away from the square. If you want to keep the foil in place add a drop of superglue (just not directly on the square).

2. Alternatively, the foil could go directly on the pin. Stuart0001 made a picture of that here.

3. Adding any sort of aluminium works (or any conductor for that matter). Take a look at what Oceanic72 did here.

4. Put a few drops of solder onto the square. And be careful with this one... Or just skip it if you've never soldered before. More on that in eliteone's post here.

5. Put some electrically conductive paint on the square. Michael_Mcr suggested that here.


There you go
If any of these solutions solve your problems but they come back, just try again. I do not recommend puling on the pin more than a few times though...

Hope I helped!

Amazing! I was about to sell off my Sensation because of random touchscreen issues, when I stumbled upon this post...Just gave it a try and voila! my screen is back to normal...Thanks to all of you guys for helping me out...It definitely works!!! :good: :good:

:laugh:

 

[miillaaad]

tanxxxxxxxxx

useful for me :good:

 

[wauwter]

conclusively determine whether digitizer is broken?

I am experiencing problems as shown in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk1BlXZQDrU. I was wondering whether there is any way to conclusively determine if the digitizer is broken, or whether it could be an alternative issue? I obviously dont want to go through repair, when this may not be the underlying cause of problems.. Thanks!

 

[mar9]

trying to fix isue on HTC chacha / status

On HTC chacha i try to do this metod:

1. Discharge the phone all the way (until it shuts down).
2. Remove the battery and press the power button (as if you were trying to turn the phone on).
3. Leave the phone without the battery overnight (or for at least an hour).
4. Put the battery back and charge the phone without touching the screen.

Make sure you don't touch the screen whenever you're charging, until the issue disappears. This should happen within 2-3 days. If the problem persists, you ether did something wrong, or (as explained above) you have a different issue... Most common related problem is a faulty digitizer.
!

- I'm charging phone 25h.. and it's still red light. what do to - wainting for green light?
(after remove battery, laing without battey 16H (like in point "3."))
Now I'm in point "4."phone is turned off... 25h...and stil charging...
After disconnecting charger, light still Red -> remove battery -> connecting charger, light still Red -> disconnecting charger, light still Red -> remove battery - Turn on phone -> connecting charger - light green, when android boot.
Should I wait, few days for green Light?

Please explain me if anybody have idea.

Question 1. Corect me if I understend wrong: after First recharge, and disconnect from charger, I can turn it on... and touch screen? - only when I connect phone to charger - don't allow to touch?

Please help anybody who know/Work this method.

 

[0911]

I solved my touchscreen issues, wasn't software or hardware it is something all users should take into consideration cause It's based off the design of the phone.
If you hold your phone to the side you'll notice your digitizer isn't really recessed into the housing nor the shell, I suspect overtime the digitizer gets squish down where as the glue becomes too tight in the lower corners and the digitizer start making contact with something else underneath, I used an app called phone tester, and select multi touch test to see where the phantom touch is occurring, after which I use something like a digitizer removal tool to pry up the corner where it's touching.

 

[Gatosbil]

This is a realy helpful guide.

 

[Kameo]

Did the foil trick, gonna see if it fixes my ViperS 3.1.1 screen lags.

 

[walle4893]

Did the foil trick, gonna see if it fixes my ViperS 3.1.1 screen lags.

Yes, please report it soon because I was wondering the same thing. Been on 3.1.1 but now back to 1.6.3 due to touchscreen prob

 

[Kameo]

Well, so far so good. It seems to be more responsive but might be a placebo effect.
Just try it for yourself, it's just a bit of tinfoil anyway.

 

[Zaza88]

Hi all.

I have the touche problem, which on my phone not is a random issue. My softkeys work well, but the problem is the digitizer.

There is an area, wide like all the screen and about 1 cm, in wich if I touch the screen the digitizer register two points separated ...

I'm trying THE FIX, I already reinstalled the latest RUU's ... but I need to understand better one point.

The very last point (Make sure you don't touch the screen whenever you're charging, until the issue disappears. This should happen within 2-3 days.) means that I must let the phone under charging for 3 days (I have to leave the phone off or do I turn it on ?), without touching the screen and only after these 3 days of continuous carge can I check if THE FIX work correctly on my phone ???

If this solution won't work correctly I'll buy a new digitizer, but now I'm thinking how to prevent the problem, I don't wanna buy a new one in a couple of weeks. Have you any suggestions ???

 

[magic.hand]

@Zaza88 looks like to me that you'll need new digitizer. Just make sure you get the correct model for your phone.

But, before that, have tried disassembling your phone and check if the digitizer flex cable properly connected into it's socket or whatever they call it. It happened to me once during my own digitizer replacement.

Just a share of thought though.

Sent from my HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio Z715e using Tapatalk 4

 

[Zaza88]

@Zaza88 looks like to me that you'll need new digitizer. Just make sure you get the correct model for your phone.

But, before that, have tried disassembling your phone and check if the digitizer flex cable properly connected into it's socket or whatever they call it. It happened to me once during my own digitizer replacement.

Just a share of thought though.

Sent from my HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio Z715e using Tapatalk 4

The flex broken or connected in a faulty way could be a problem that I need to check ... even if I never opened my HTC, so, like you said, I'm almost sure that I need to buy a new digitizer.

I live in Italy, and to reduce the shipping time I'm thinking to buy the new one here in Europe, and in the other hand in this way I won't pay the duty taxes (or custom duties ??? I don't know how you call the taxes that you must to pay when your shipment cross a National boundary ).

To avoid the bullet of a wrong purchase, can you (or someone else) check these ebay's sales ??

http://www.ebay.it/itm/HTC-G18-Z715...K_Replacement_Parts_Tools&hash=item4d05f7bb00

http://www.ebay.it/itm/Touch-screen...K_Replacement_Parts_Tools&hash=item4abc2c0fa3

http://www.ebay.it/itm/Replacement-...K_Replacement_Parts_Tools&hash=item337c27116e


And, Yes, I want to buy the XE digitizer, becouse I'm thinking to change the look of my 710. I want it to look like a grey one S :laugh:

PS: I however wait for a clarifying reply to my question about the 3 days wich I need to wait .

PPS: Could I ask to you all how is my written english ??? I'll do a exam during the next weeks, and I'm wondering about it .

 

[magic.hand]

@Zaza88
Those item should be fine if you're having XE variant. I'm not sure that will fit 4G or 710.

Just another piece of advice, before you're going to replace your digitizer, get your tools complete, cool down and do it patiently. A little rush can cost your more as you may break your middle plate, or scratch ypurt LCD, or accidentally tear apart some important flex cables. I've gone thru all those troubles.

I finally get my XE in a solid shape again after purchasing a complete assembly of digitizer, LCD and middle plate. You can find it eBay with just around $50. That can save you so much trouble.

Regarding custom tax or VAT in shipping terms, no worries, the seller should be able to take care it for you. And if it doesn't, it not so much in cost I believe.

As of your English, there many others in here who uses it as their mother tounge. Use android's English auto correction can help to spell correctly.

Sent from my HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio Z715e using Tapatalk 4

 

[Zaza88]

I read all the pages but i cannot understand very well how to do.

So the sequence i must to follow is:

1) discharge the phone
2) put off the battery
3) let the battery out almost 1 hour, better overnight
4) put the battery into the phone
5) do a complete charge without touching the panel

... but now I don't know how to go on ...

6a) use the phone normally, when the battery is again to 0%, charge the phone without steps 2) 3) and 4).
6b) use the phone normally, when the battery is again to 0%, charge the phone with all the steps 2) 3) and 4).
6c) don't use the phone normally, let it discharge alone, and when the battery is again to 0%, charge the phone without step 2) 3) and 4).
6d) don't use the phone normally, let it discharge alone, and when the battery is again to 0%, charge the phone with all the steps 2) 3) and 4).
6e) don't use the phone normally, let it charging for about 48-72 hours.

 

[magic.hand]

I read all the pages but i cannot understand very well how to do.

So the sequence i must to follow is:

1) discharge the phone
2) put off the battery
3) let the battery out almost 1 hour, better overnight
4) put the battery into the phone
5) do a complete charge without touching the panel

... but now I don't know how to go on ...

6a) use the phone normally, when the battery is again to 0%, charge the phone without steps 2) 3) and 4).
6b) use the phone normally, when the battery is again to 0%, charge the phone with all the steps 2) 3) and 4).
6c) don't use the phone normally, let it discharge alone, and when the battery is again to 0%, charge the phone without step 2) 3) and 4).
6d) don't use the phone normally, let it discharge alone, and when the battery is again to 0%, charge the phone with all the steps 2) 3) and 4).
6e) don't use the phone normally, let it charging for about 48-72 hours.

Have a look at these items:-

http://www.ebay.com.my/itm/LCD-Disp...e_Replacement_Parts_Tools&hash=item27d1e5a530

http://www.ebay.com.my/itm/Touch-Sc...e_Replacement_Parts_Tools&hash=item4ac718c091

http://www.ebay.com.my/itm/Full-LCD...t=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item417659d6a4

About those questions you asked, try it out after you've replaced your digitizer. Basically it translates simply to this, "Use your battery until fully empty, then charge it overnight without any single touch on it."

 

[Zaza88]

wow ... It's about 5 Times the price of the digitizer, that is the half price I paid for the phone (second hand ...)

I'll give a try with a 10 euros digitizer ...

 

[Sibbevangeyn]

Hello guys,

Lately I also have very annoying problems with my Sensation XE. Somewhere else was a thread where I posted my problem and someone directed me to this thread (thanks for that) and immediately start reading here. I saw that a lot have these problems with the same symptoms and tried the recommended fixes to try to solve it.

I did that too, put alu foil between the grounding pin and cover and followed the 4 steps (discharge, remove & push power button, leave battery for 1 night (1 time 1 hour and 1 time 1 night) and charge without touching) and still having major issues. Also I bend the grounding pin a bit up but it immediately pops back into it's original position..
For instance, when I want to remove an app from my home screen, I hold the app, the menu pops op where u can drag it to to remove it, I drag it to there and then it just release and pops back to where it was (I even can't move it to another spot). Swiping from one screen to another? No way that won't work. Unlocking the phone is strangely no problem. Typing? It takes me ages to type a small message. When I type a line of the same letters (for testing) and press and hold backspace it removes 5 letters and then it's over. Play a game? Forget that. To sum up, my thouch based smartphone has become pretty useless.

I really would like to know if it's usefull to maybe bring it back to it's original state, so the original ROM, S-ON etc. Does it fix this problem or is it totaly hardware related? Maybe a new back cover (just guessing here)? Or radical steps like a new thouch screen or send it back to HTC (and how are the policies of HTC like falling damage etc.)?

Really thanks in advance! I don't have a spare phone at the moment, well, I do have one, an HTC Blackstone with WM6.1 or so which sucks so this is my daily and only good phone. And it would be nice if I actually can use the d*mn thing

 

[boleguc]

Hi, I think I have a similar problem to these posted here, but unsure what to do...

Recently i broke my digitizer while on vacation So, I went to a local repair shop to see if they could do anything... Anyway, they told me that they don't have digitizers for the Sensation, but have one Sensation XE digitizer, and that it's the same, that they can replace it with that one. So, I agreed. Now, the screen works fine, very very very rarely it doesn't recognize touches, but 98% of the time it works perfectly. But, the buttons below are acting weird... If I put the phone to a flat surface, the buttons don't work, they recognize every ~7th touch... But if I hold the phone up, they work normally. What do you think could be causing this? Should I try any of the fixes posted here, or does it have anything to do with the Sensation XE digitizer?

BTW, I just noticed sth, if I touch the back case while the phone is on a flat surface (just touch it with my fingers, nothing else), the buttons work normally. The second I let go of the phone they don't work. WTF?

 

[radhx]

This here is a very serious issue, with a rather simple solution. I'm talking about the issue where the screen becomes unresponsive in the following ways (these are just some of them): it takes more than one attempt to move the lock ring, not every press is registered when typing, buttons at the bottom of the screen don't always work, you can't get the carousel spinning, hectic touch issues while charging.

UPDATE YOUR FIRMWARE FIRST

Before proceeding with any hardware "manipulation" I recommend you try the latest firmware. If you are running a stock ROM simply update your phone's software, and if you are on a custom ROM the update can be found here (you already have this firmware if you are running ICS).
If the issues persist, keep reading.

IMPORTANT

You have to realise this fix does not solve the issue for everyone. So just to be clear, THIS DOES NOT SOLVE THE ISSUE FOR EVERYONE. The reason for this is simple - not everybody has the same issue. My opinion is that these issues have similar symptoms, but the causes are different (prove me wrong if you know something I don't).

The issue addressed here relates to a small silver pin located at the back of the phone (pictures below). That damn thing is the screen's "grounding" connection to the back cover (more about that in abrown0809's post here). In time the pin starts loosing proper contact to the cover, and the screen becomes unresponsive. There is also a matter of static build-up caused by this, which further complicates matters. I believe this is mostly down to the worst back cover in the known universe.
This issue usually appears for apparently no reason, but you might also experience it after dropping the phone, sneezing too hard, or after installing an aftermarket battery (Anker, Chichitec, etc.), since they are usually thicker. A thicker battery could further loosen the already loose connection between the cover and the pin. If you only have issues during charging try a different charger. If you still have issues, this fix should help.

Note that there is more than one way to fix the issue, and that the results are not always instantaneous. The simplest fix is pulling the aforementioned pin outwards. The downside is the pin might bend back into its original position... So you could try applying one of the alternative solutions as an addition to pulling the pin out, or simply doing the alternative only.

Also, I am not responsible for your actions. If you damage your phone, it's on you.

CREDITS

What I am doing here is sorting useful info and adding creative advice, I am not the one responsible for the actual solution. It's primarily tinky1, who started the first thread on the issue, where most debating and solving was performed. Then, misiek_to_ja (and his daughter ) noticed that using the phone without the back cover temporarily solves the problem. This meant the problem was beneath the back plate, which abrown0809 proved by pointing us to the grounding pin that everybody was somehow missing for two months. What followed were aluminium foil and soldering tricks that eliteone thought of. stuart0001 started a petition that I hope HTC noticed, though they remain silent. Andyjb103 pointed out that the firmware update can fix the issue in some cases. And there is of course everyone from tinky1's thread that went through loads of pain and suffering while testing different chargers, wall sockets, USB plugs, area codes, weather conditions, etc. THANK YOU ALL!
Now then...

THE FIX

Firstly, the simplest way to fix the issue. Switch the phone off, remove the back cover and locate the silver pin shown in this picture.

Now pull it out a bit, like so:

Use a needle, a tiny screwdriver, or anything with a pointy end. But be careful. Don't pull too hard or too much. The side of the pin that is closer to the edge of the phone is the side you want do the most pulling to.

And that's it as far as the pin goes! Results could be instant, but there is still a chance you'll need to do a couple of things:

1. Discharge the phone all the way (until it shuts down).
2. Remove the battery and press the power button (as if you were trying to turn the phone on).
3. Leave the phone without the battery overnight (or for at least an hour).
4. Put the battery back and charge the phone without touching the screen.

Make sure you don't touch the screen whenever you're charging, until the issue disappears. This should happen within 2-3 days. If the problem persists, you ether did something wrong, or (as explained above) you have a different issue... Most common related problem is a faulty digitizer.

If the issue does go away you could make sure it stays that way by applying one of the alternatives as well.

ALTERNATIVES

See this small white square on the inside of the back cover?

That's where the silver pin makes contact to the cover. By pulling the pin out you insure better contact to that square. There are plenty of ways to further improve that contact.
Here is a few:

1. Take a small piece of aluminium foil (5cm by 2cm, or whatever works for you), fold it over a couple of times and put it over the square (like this). Now carefully put the phone into the cover and make sure the foil doesn't move away from the square. If you want to keep the foil in place add a drop of superglue (just not directly on the square).

2. Alternatively, the foil could go directly on the pin. Stuart0001 made a picture of that here.

3. Adding any sort of aluminium works (or any conductor for that matter). Take a look at what Oceanic72 did here.

4. Put a few drops of solder onto the square. And be careful with this one... Or just skip it if you've never soldered before. More on that in eliteone's post here.

5. Put some electrically conductive paint on the square. Michael_Mcr suggested that here.


There you go
If any of these solutions solve your problems but they come back, just try again. I do not recommend puling on the pin more than a few times though...

Hope I helped!

WOW!!! A great post with a simple solution for a nagging issue. THANKS a lot!!!

I have Sensation XE updated to ICS 4.0.3 with Stock ROM.

Since last few weeks, I was having these touch screen issues after I dropped it (Arrrrrgggghhh! - it really hurts with such a price tag!!). And the warranty of my XE had expired in July 2013.

At any given random time of the day, my touch screen used to go berserk....!!! I am using Apex Launcher and have folders in the Dock containing various apps. These apps/folders in the dock started moving around/rearranging automatically, apps started opening randomly on their own, screen and navigation keys (red ones on bottom panel) became unresponsive, keyboard came up on its own and characters appeared as if being typed... etc. If I locked and unlocked the screen (all hardware keys - volume & power - worked fine during all this), touch screen became responsive again but only for a short period. Again the whole cycle repeated. The only way to stop this for longer period of time was restarting the phone. This state lasted upto anywhere between 6-10 hours before my phone acted up again. I tried the Factory Reset too, but with no results.

With this solution, after pulling the pin out and using tin foil, the first cycle didn't do much as phantom touches started all over again within few hours of use.

Hence, before starting second cycle, as suggested in one of the posts, I put a piece of paper between SD card + SIM card area and the back cover. And there was a vast improvement with it. The touchscreen acted up only once in 24 hours.

And after the third cycle, the issue has completely disappeared!!! Before this issue, the only trouble with my handset was that while charging my phone, I used to have navigation keys being unresponsive with erratic touchscreen, that too once in a while. Looks like even that issue has been solved now, as I haven't experienced that issue for quite some time now. I can use my phone normally while it is being charged.

Once again, thanks a lot for this great post.

Thanks & Regards.

 

[giunuz]

I'm not yet experiencing this issue, but a big thank to you for sharing these solutions!