[Update: Feb. 03] Google Pixel 4a Android 11 update-triggered touch screen issues yet to be fixed after December update, as per reports

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story……

Original story (published on December 15, 2020) follows:

Initial reports about touch issues on the Google Pixel 4a begun right after the Android 11 update in September and have only continued ever since.

And it is evident from more recent reports given below that even the December security patch did not relieve users from the annoying problem.

I’ve used my Pixel 4a 5g for 2 weeks now without screen issues. After updating to the December update, touching buttons (specifically the navigation buttons) will only register 1/3 of my touches. It is very random when it decides to register my touches on the navigation bar. It’s almost as if the touch area for the navigation buttons was reduced. This is true after a factory reset, and with/without the touch sensitivity option enabled in the settings.
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Pixel 4a support not interest in fixing touch sensitivity issue. I contacted chat support and they blamed the screen protector and bailed on me. Honestly, what are my/our options now? Looks like I can’t return the phone after 15 days for refund. I am not sure if there is any use in getting it replaced either. Google’s response and support on this also seems to be non-existent. What do we do?
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Several users had reported previously that they started to encounter a range of touch issues right after the Android 11 update and that everything had worked just fine on Android 10.

Scrolling through apps felt difficult and caused ghost touches. Navigation and keyboard gestures became unresponsive or erratic.

It was then finally concluded that screen protectors were the ones to blame and Google released a bug-fixing update for the Pixel 4a back in October that had included improvements for touch sensitivity with screen protectors.

But fast forward to December and there has been a spike in the number of complaints soon after the recently released December security update.

Users now report that they’re having a hard time navigating their devices due to touch unresponsiveness which is more apparent at the bottom of the touch screen. The problem persists across all modes of navigation.

And this is coupled with the issues that the October security patch had seemingly fixed.

Pixel 4a support not interest in fixing touch sensitivity issues
EDIT: This was fixed by a recent update and I don’t face the issue anymore like many others.
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Not everyone’s facing this, however, as several users report that the problems vanished for them right after the October update. There are plenty of others though that have opined differently.

Hopefully, Google will address the matter once more. For now, your best bet could be raising complaints in the Pixel community forums to bring Google’s attention to the matter.

With that being said, be sure to check out our dedicated Android 11 bugs/issues tracker for further coverage on problems like these, along with their workarounds, if any.

As apparent from a comment left by a Community Specialist on the Pixel Phone community forums, Google is aware of the issue. A fix is already in the works and will be released through a software update soon.

Sadly, the specified fix does not seem to have been rolled out with the latest January security patch, judging from numerous recent comments.

I installed the January update. But the problem has not been fixed 🙁
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There was no mention of any fixes pertaining to the issue on the January update release notes either. Hence, users facing the bug will have to wait some more.

As per a comment left by a Community Specialist, Google will rollout improvements for the touch issues on the Pixel 4a with the next software update which should land in early February.

IST 10:40 am: Google mysteriously deleted the main discussion thread about the issue even after promising a fix to be rolled out with the February security patch. Read on here.

IST 12:05 pm: The February security patch has once again claimed to ‘tune’ the Pixel 4a’s touchscreen. Let us know in the comments below if it truly fixed the issue or if there’s any noticeable improvement.

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