[Update: fixed] Google fixes Android 8.1-triggered multi-touch issues on Pixel/Pixel 2

Update (May 09):

The multi-touch issues have been fixed with the May update, confirms Google. More information here.

Update (April 03): More evidence that the problem still persists:

Update (April 03):

At least one of our readers has confirmed that the latest update (April security patch) hasn’t fixed the multi-touch issue.

Original story:

Good news, especially for gamers and other first/second gen Pixel users who waited all this while for Google to fix the multi-touch screen issues (that we first highlighted back in December last year). The company has apparently fixed the problem, although internally.

The matter has been in active discussions on the company’s official issue tracking website (here and here). And that is exactly where the confirmation about the problem being resolved by Google came from. Specifically, somebody who is working at Motorola broke the news along with a link to the patch.

I think Google has fixed this issue, this is the patch:
https://android-review.googlesource.com/c/platform/frameworks/native/+/640606

Although it’s difficult to independently verify the info on the link shared, given that the information comes from a Motorola employee, it’s reasonable to assume a fix has been prepared in the form of a patch. However, it is yet to be merged in the main Android code branch. So it’s still not confirmed whether or not the April security update will include it, meaning the fix may take time to reach end-users.

A patch to fix the issue does exist, but it hasn’t been merged into the ‘master’ branch yet. I hope it makes it into the April patch.

As far as the fix is concerned, at least one of the affected users tested the patch (shared by the Motorola employee) on their Pixel 2 XL unit, and confirmed that it resolved the multi-touch problem for them.

But to all others I may have have good news. I just finished building Dirty Unicorns (custom rom) with the two potential fixes that were linked a few hours earlier. I’m running it currently on my pixel 2 xl and it seems the problem is gone.

Considering that multi-touch issues have been troubling Pixel users for months now, the sooner the company rolls out the fix, the better it would be. Rest assured, we’ll update this story as and when the fix gets live, so keep a tab on this space.

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