Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus touchscreen issue causing havoc on some handsets (Updated)

Update (03/23): Samsung has officially acknowledged the touchscreen ‘dead zone’ issue some users are experiencing with their Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus devices. Below is the full statement (via Engadget):

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.

We encourage any customer with questions to contact us directly at 1-800-SAMSUNG.

Original story (03/22): Some Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus handsets may have a display defect that means touches aren’t registered. The issue has been raised in multiple Reddit posts, and the official Samsung forums (via Android Police), and it seems to be more common on the S9 Plus.

The problem affects only portions of the display, known as “dead zones,” though the location of these differ from device to device. Taps or swipes on these areas of the screen may not be recognized, and if it’s in a frequently accessed location like the notification area, it can break the intended functionality.

See the GIF below (uploaded by a Reddit user) as an example; the affected areas appears to be around the letters E, R and T.

Increasing the device sensitivity has been said to reduce the issue in some cases, while you could also skirt around it temporarily by making the keyboard larger or moving icons etc depending on where the dead zone is located.

It isn’t something you should have to put up with, however, so if you suspect your smartphone might be affected, best contact Samsung to get a replacement/repair (a software solution may not be possible). Here’s a link to its support page.

Have you encountered any other issues with the new Samsung flagships? Let us know what they are in the comments.