Samsung Galaxy S23 users report touchscreen issues after One UI 6.1 update

Ever since the release of One UI 6.1 for the Samsung Galaxy S23 series, I’ve been seeing a number of reports popping up regarding touchscreen issues. Yesterday, I highlighted a few other issues with the new update, and it seems the bad news continues. Reports (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) of unresponsive areas on the screen or touch not registering at all are flooding Samsung forums and social media.

Since the update, many Galaxy S23 series users are encountering problems where sections or the entire touchscreen becomes intermittently unresponsive. This requires multiple taps to register actions, or in some cases, remains complete unresponsiveness.

Here are some user reports highlighting the issue:

My touch screen stopped working I cash unlock phone or touch anything. Only works with s pen

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After installing version 6.1 (14) on my phone the touch screen is no longer responding to a finger touch but works with the S Pen, how do I fix this?

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I just updated my S23 Ultra to ONEUI 6.1 today as Australia just got the update a couple days ago. However, since updating my screen is totally unresponsive to finger touch and only works when I use the S Pen. I’ve restarted my phone multiple times with no luck in fixing this problem.

Most users who reported the touchscreen issues after installing One UI 6.1 also confirmed that the input only registered with the S-Pen. So it’s unclear what might be causing the device to reject input with the fingers. After reading dozens of comments on various threads, I sadly couldn’t find any useful workarounds.

Basic troubleshooting methods like restarting or even resetting the device don’t appear to fix the problem. However, I did spot one comment from a user who claims the problem went away once the apps were optimized after the update. Here’s their statement:

I noticed the bottom of the screen was not responsive and should have been a temporary issue right after restarting, but it works once all apps are fully optimized. The good news is that this is not a permanent problem, at least for me. A restart will resolve it, but wait for apps to be optimized after initial restart before forcing a restart.

While their experience seems promising, I couldn’t find any other users who could relate. And since there are no immediate workarounds or fixes for the problem, users are left with just one choice: downgrading. Those who rolled back to One UI 6.0 report that the touchscreen is now working just fine. Here’s one such example:

I had to roll back to 6.0 on mine, only way I got it working. And yes my screen is not OEM either. (Source)

If you too are stuck with an unresponsive touchscreen after the One UI 6.1 update on your Samsung Galaxy S23, then you can consider rolling back to the previous firmware. An individual shared a nifty guide on how to do so that you can check out here.

Caution: Make sure all important data and files is backed up before you go to One UI 6.0.

Notably, there are some reports from users who claim that they touchscreen issues are likely due to them having third-party screens installed. You can read more about that here.

Samsung is yet to acknowledge the touchscreen issues with One UI 6.1 publicly. However, as reports continue to pour in, I doubt they’ll be able to turn a blind eye. If you’re experiencing the problem on your Galaxy S23, I’d suggest making your voice heard on the official community forums or other platforms like Reddit or X. In case you figure out a solution for the problem, feel free to share it in the comments section below. Thanks in advance!