We have already heard that some units of the Pixel 4a have started to experience touch screen problems with Android 11, and it appears that a similar problem has spread to the Pixel 4a 5G after the December security patch. Many owners have turned to the Google support forum, Google IssueTracker and XDA Developers Forum to complain about the problem, but it has yet to be fixed.
The touch screen bug mainly affects the bottom of the phone screen and is most prominent when you use three button navigation instead of gestures. The problem is very evident in the video below, shared by a member of the XDA Forum. This shows that the bottom of the screen responds well to horizontal swipes and touches near the edge of the screen, but entering directly into the buttons is usually dispensed with. There are also many people who, on the contrary, say that touching the edges is not working for them and that the medium is as responsive as it should be, so there can be several problems at hand here.
Our own Ryne Hager was able to confirm the same behavior on his Pixel 4a 5G by running the December security patch, so it’s possible that the only reason that complaints are not so widespread is the fact that most people use their phones with standard gesture navigation.
The XDA Forum member suspects that the problems arise from some form of palm rejection or preventing accidental touch, and it is certainly possible that they have something to do with possible adjustments that Google may have introduced with the December patch for improve gesture navigation. But that shouldn’t affect those who use buttons instead of gestures, and the problem hasn’t yet been fixed after the January update.
Screen savers can magnify the problem, which is what happens with the Pixel 4a, but reports suggest that removing them does not fix the problem. Some people have also tried to activate the touch sensitivity option, although that does not solve the touch problems either.
One of our informants went so far as to change his phone under the warranty, but the replacement unit has the same behavior. This should not be surprising if the problem is actually caused by software.
In a topic on the Google support forum, a community expert acknowledged the problem on Christmas Eve, promising that a fix is in progress. He shared the following statement with some tips that should help in the meantime:
Hi Pixel community,
We are aware of this issue and a fix will be included in a future software update. In the meantime, you can improve your device’s responsiveness with the following tips:
- When touching icons at the edge of the screen, touch the center of the button or the side of the button / icon furthest from the edge of the screen.
- When touching icons, including the navigation buttons at the bottom of the screen, use your fingertip or thumb. This will help to improve touch recognition.
With problems persisting during the January patch, we can only hope that Google will finally fix them once we receive the February update. Switching to gesture navigation may be an option for some, however, but there are many who simply prefer the old method. Then there are people who have accessibility buttons, which was one of the reasons why Google left them on, so the problem can also affect those who may not even be able to change.
We contacted Google for comment, but did not receive a response prior to publication.