Touchscreen test: find dead zones
Does your display ignore touches in certain spots? This test reveals exactly which areas of your touchscreen register input – and which don't.
The test
Start the fullscreen test and swipe your finger across the entire screen until every tile is revealed. Tiles that won't clear don't respond to touch. Use slow, steady movements.
Your result for this test:
Reading the result
If every tile clears, the digitizer – the touch-sensitive layer of your display – works across the whole surface. If specific areas stay covered no matter how often you swipe them, you've found a dead zone. Stripes along an edge or a band across the screen are typical: the digitizer is organized in rows and columns, and a failed channel kills a whole line at once.
Common causes
- Drop damage: even without a visible crack, the connection between digitizer and board can be damaged. Dead zones after a drop are almost always hardware.
- Low-quality replacement displays have touch problems far more often than originals.
- Software freezes: if the whole screen stops responding intermittently (rather than fixed zones permanently), reboot and test again.
- Screen protectors and moisture: thick or badly applied protectors and water droplets cause dropouts that mimic defects. Remove the protector, dry the screen, retest.
What to do about dead zones
Try the simple fixes first: reboot, remove the screen protector, clean the display, repeat the test. If the dead zone persists, a display replacement is usually required – on modern phones the digitizer is bonded to the display and can't be swapped separately. Get a repair quote and weigh it against the phone's resale value; on older devices the repair often isn't worth it.
Frequently asked questions
Why do only tiles at the very edge stay covered?
Many systems deliberately dampen touches at the outermost edge (palm rejection). Test edges with your fingertip and slow movements before assuming a defect.
My screen sometimes taps by itself – is that the same problem?
No – ghost touches (inputs you didn't make) are a different symptom. They also point to a digitizer fault or a faulty charger; check whether it only happens while charging.
Can a dead spot recover on its own?
With loose connections it happens, but treat it as a warning: the connection usually keeps degrading. Back up your data while the screen is still usable.