One UI 6 Touch Screen problems on S23 Ultra

[avn128]

This only started happening yesterday after phone turned off. Randomly, the touchscreen will appear to not work anymore.

I pretty much lifted this desciption below from a s21 user from 2 years ago.

- Edit 

Found a s22 user that had the same problem when updating to One UI 6. 

Edit 2

- Dec 9th at 1AM Est. I was able to go into "phone link" and click the download button and an update showed up. This update is a tease and will probably fix the problem. However, the problem is I'm unable to click update button because it's on the main screen. And doesn't show up in the settings area where update software is. However it looks like the phone will force the update on Dec 12th as mentioned on the screen. 

Recent bug - touch screen stops working except in notifications/navigation : r/GalaxyS21 (reddit.com...

Except:

1. The notification bar, it can still be dragged down, and touch works normally across the entire screen as long as the notifications is dragged down. For example, I can go into "settings" (top right) from here, and the touch will still be perfectly functional.
2. The navigation buttons at the bottom will always work.
   1. I can go into the "recent apps" screen, but nothing else on the screen can be "touched"/dragged, except for the navigation buttons and notifications at the top. I can't tap on a recent app to switch into it, nor drag to see apps further back.
   2. Similarly I can tap the "home" button and it works, but the whole home screen is non-responsive. Dynamic elements (e.g. weather, clock) continue to update.
3. The lock/unlock screen is also always fully functional. All parts of it, including fingerprint sensor.
4. The power menu (holding down the power button) is also fully functional.

Additional Context I found on my own.

1. I am able to use Microsoft "Phone link" to access all my apps on my phone except anything secure such as Authenticator or Secure Folder.

2. When I attempt to mirror the phone on the computer, its pretty much the same in terms of input directly on the phone, mainly not working.

3. When i plug in a USB mouse into the phone its pretty much the same as direct input, the only difference is that there is a mouse pointer that moves all over the screen. I can't click on anything except notification and navigation buttons.

4. I do use Microsoft Launcher and was able to switch back to Home UI and noticed that when i clicked on recent apps the launcher would crash. During one crash i was once able to use the touch screen for 1 second.

It almost seems as if there is some kind of invisible app that is Drawn on top of every open app and doesn't allow any touch input in any app, while using the phone directly. All I could find of anything related was this problem people were having with the Phone app. Solved: Re: Phone app Crashing after One UI 6.0 update. - Page 7 - Samsung Community - 2728668

Edit

I think the "repair apps" in recovery mode should fix it but when I click it, it just turns on the phone. I even wipe the cache before hand. 

[user991]

Thanks, unfortunately Im not able to use link to windows since I cant sign in on my phone. Hopefully others are logged in though.

[DanBaerga]

I think this site removed by Success post... I was able to fix it using the steps below:

SUCCESS!!! I was able to fix it! I had to install the most recent official update. It wasn't easy, but I'll try to explain.

I followed these instructions from XDA Developers, I used Bifrost to get the current update, and then used Odin to install the update, all using a PC.

1. Download Bifrost - Samsung Firmware Downloader
   1. Select the most recent update ie:  1.15.1
   2. Download the update you need. Enter in your device model number, and region code. 
   3. Region code can be found by clicking the menu icon on the right hand side of the "Region" text box. Find your carrier and region, ex T-mobile USA = TMB
2. Install appropriate drivers. The XDA article has a link to the Samsung drivers.
3. Download Odin from here
   1. Scroll down and download the 3.14.1 - It worked for me just fine.
4. Using my link to windows (L2W) on my PC I was able to open the settings app on my phone. The screen mirroring wasn't working. So I launched the app in L2W and was able to activate Developer Options, and then ENABLE USB debugging (so your PC can play nice with your phone.)
5. Then I followed this video's instructions on how to install the current OTA update manually via Odin.

Good luck! By using the methods above I hope you'll be able to restore functionality to your devices.

[DanBaerga]

So I have a fix for this, but it was taken down by a MOD. They say I'm violating the ToU by providing instructions on how to install alternate software. EXCEPT this is actually FROM Samsung and is their official stuff.

Basically, you'll need to flash your device with the OFFICIAL OTA Update. I spent a good chunk of time today figuring it out, but this site doesn't want me to share how.

Look up Samsung Odin, Bifrost, and make sure you have the drivers needed for your PC and hopefully you have enabled Link to Windows at some point.

Good luck!

[DanBaerga]

I would try these instructions: https://www.xda-developers.com/how-to-update-samsung-galaxy-smartphone/

and stick to the Bifrost download method, and Odin Install method. And look up a video on how to install safely using Odin. 

[userUDC8tbpasp]

I want to factory reset. But I cannot access it. Can Samsung remotely do it?

[Creggl9]

Download smart switch onto another phone, use a USBC to USBC and open smart switch on the other phone. Click cable, now you should be able to reset the phone and hold volume up when it switches on and access the service menu to reboot. I've factory reset the phone twice now and the home screen has frozen again after a couple of hours. I just tried again and now there are new updates to install mentioning the end of beta. Fingers crossed it works, will hopefully know by tomorrow! Good luck everyone