The screen has been the most important smartphone component for years now. It’s pretty much the only way to interact with a handset, so it needs to work flawlessly, whether we’re talking about a $50 affordable handset or the best Android device you can get right now, Samsung’s Galaxy S9.
As it turns out, however, a number of early Galaxy S9 buyers have discovered an annoying issue with their screens. Apparently, they come with “dead zones,” which are screen areas that don’t register any kind of activity.
That’s definitely not the kind of experience you’d expect from a flagship handset. Users have been posting both on Samsung forums and Reddit about the matter, including videos that highlight the issue:
What’s interesting about these reports is that different screen areas seem to be affected. So the dead zone problem isn’t localized to a particular region of the screen. According to Android Police, some users have been able to fix the problem by resetting the phone to factory settings or increasing the touchscreen sensitivity. Neither solution is acceptable, as the phone’s screen should work flawlessly.
The best thing you should do, if your Galaxy S9 does have a dead zone problem, is to return your units and hope the replacement doesn’t have the same problem.
Samsung, meanwhile, is aware of the issue and encourages users to contact the company.
“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,” told CNET. “We encourage any customer with questions to contact us directly at 1-800-SAMSUNG.”
