Samsung Galaxy S20 Touchscreen Unresponsive
If your touchscreen responds slowly or responds to incorrect areas, troubleshoot the issue here. Common symptoms include accidental selections or ignored touches.
- Check if images are displaying normally – if not, visit our Samsung Galaxy S20 Black Screen troubleshooting page first.
- Verify that touchscreen issues persist even when interface glitches are corrected.
Step 1 | Buggy Application
Touch screen not responding? First, force restart your Galaxy S20:
- Press and hold Volume Down button and Power/Bixby button for 10 seconds.
- Phone screen goes black. Wait.
- Phone starts back up; check if touch screen issue persists.
If restart doesn't work, try Safe Mode:
- Press and hold Power/Bixby and Volume Down buttons for 10 seconds.
- Phone initiates force reset; screen turns black.
- Samsung logo appears. Press and hold Volume Down to boot in Safe Mode.
- Responsive screen indicates an app is the cause.
- Delete recently installed application(s).
- Use notification or force restart to exit Safe Mode, then check if problem persists.
Step 2 | Screen Protector Obstructing Digitizer
Screen protectors may impair Samsung Galaxy S20 touchscreen sensitivity.
- Remove screen protector to check if it's causing issues.
- If some touch input is still working, enable high touch sensitivity in Settings:
- Select Display.
- Select Touch sensitivity and toggle ON.
When replacing a screen protector, choose one designed for the Galaxy S20 and check user reviews to ensure it doesn't affect touch sensitivity.
Step 3 | Dirty Screen
Turn off your phone, or put it in sleep mode to prevent accidental touch input.
- Use a clean, dry microfiber cloth to wipe the touchscreen in one direction.
- If needed, dampen the cloth with a small amount of water or isopropyl alcohol.
- For extra cleaning power, consider using a liquid screen cleaning solution or make your own by mixing ten parts distilled water and one part white vinegar.
- Wipe away any remaining liquid with the dry part of the microfiber cloth.
Do not use excessive moisture to avoid damaging your phone's internal components.
Step 4 | System Freeze
Frozen screen issues can be caused by system glitches, background processes, or temporary files.
- Try a force restart: Press and hold Volume Down and Power/Bixby buttons for 10 seconds until the screen goes black.
- If issue persists, optimize your phone's performance:
- Navigate to Settings > Device care > Optimize now.
If issues persist after optimization, consider a factory reset:
- Turn off your phone by holding Power/Bixby and Volume Down buttons.
- Press and hold Power/Bixby and Volume Down until the Android logo appears.
- Select 'Wipe data/factory reset' using the Volume Down button and Power/Bixby button to confirm.
Step 5 | Broken Digitizer
A broken digitizer on the OLED display may require replacing the entire phone screen.
- A cracked, discolored, blank, or unclear screen often indicates a faulty digitizer.
- A heavy impact or water ingress can also damage the digitizer, even without visible signs.
- To replace the digitizer, follow one of our Galaxy S20 screen replacement guides:
Step 6 | Appendix: Factory Reset using software interface
Performing a factory reset will delete all phone data — ensure a backup is done beforehand.
- Navigate to Settings in the phone menu.
- Select General Management from the list of options.
- Choose Reset and then Factory Data Reset from the menu.
Confirm that all data will be lost and tap Delete All to proceed.
- Enter your Samsung Account Password if prompted.
- Tap Confirm to finalize the factory reset process.