Nexus 7 Touchscreen Defect Surfaces

[cereal killer]

The roll out of the Nexus 7 tablets has seen it's fair share of problems ranging from loose creaky screens to wash-out. Another potential defect has surfaced although we are not ready to call it widespread just yet. Ryan, over at Geek.com, stumbled on an issue that effects the Nexus 7's inability to registers inputs. It appears that after playing a graphic intensive game for a while, the right side of the screen (portrait mode) will stop picking up touch inputs. When it does pick up an input it quickly loses connection. This issue will not only be present in the game you are playing, it will spill into other areas of the UI because the only known fix is to shut off the display momentarily. So swiping can become quite a chore when trying to swipe from right to left, and trying to navigate an app when half the screen is "dead" could quickly became a test of patience. Although gaming seems to cause this issue the most, it was noted that it could be caused from running other applications, but it is rare. Speculation has suggested that this issue may be caused by an overheating issue, and possibly some other "contributing factors." We have to say that we agree that it may be due to both, because if it was only a heat related issue, then turning off the screen for a couple of seconds wouldn't solve the issue.

We'd like to hear from our readers. Have you noticed this type of behavior on your Nexus 7 after gaming or using the tablet for an extended period of time?

Source: Geek

[94lt1]

That's too bad... this is supposed to be a great device, and its release is being marred by issues.... I expected more from Google and Asus. Its still a great device, but the release is going to be remembered by people..

DROID RAZR MAXXIMIZED!!!! PREPARE TO BE VANQUISHED!!!

[joeybarclay]

I think the galaxy nexus also has an issue similar to this. After playing a game if you were touching any part of the screen the lower corner of the screen would not receive any touch input and turning off the screen was the only thing that would fix it. source:What's Wrong with Multitouch in the Galaxy Nexus?

[dgstorm]

I think it's too early to tell if these issues are widespread. Sometimes the magnifying glass effect of instant communication on the internet makes the normal tiny amount of manufacturer's defects seem far worse than they are. If these issues were in the hundreds, then I would agree that there is a quality control problem that Google and Asus need to deal with ASAP. So far, even though we have seen several reports of defective models, the numbers are fairly low overall. It will be even more important to watch Google and Asus to gauge how well they handle these issues and how quickly they address them for these individual customers.

[dgstorm]

Also, I disagree with the perspective that it couldn't be a heat related issue. The way power runs through a circuit board sometimes causes solder joints to expand because of heat. If the joint had a defect, this expansion could create a small disconnect that could cause anomalous behavior. Additionally, by turning off the screen, you effectively discharge some of the energy running through the defective circuit, so even 1 second of heat dissipation could effectively cause enough of a contraction to close the connection. This would effectively reset the board state and cause the problem to vanish, only to start back up again after a sufficient amount of heat has been generated again to open up the broken connection. This is quite rare, but I have seen it happen with video cards on PCs.

It seems unlikely to me that a software related glitch could cause this, because if it were software, it would be more widespread, since every Nexus 7 has the same software, and software doesn't alter in quality from one device to the next. The difference here is that not every Nexus 7 will have the same quality of display or circuit board, since sometimes manufacturing defects crop up that are nearly impossible to detect until those specific conditions are met. Just a theory anyway.

[94lt1]

On that solder issue.. you may be on to something.. the reason I say this is because several brands of amplifiers have had this issue... they get "cold" solder joints because the manufacturers cut corners on solder... and it was causing big issues...

I had a Nashville 1000 from peavy start cutting out on me in the middle of a gig... I was ticked..... cold solder joint..



DROID RAZR MAXXIMIZED!!!! PREPARE TO BE VANQUISHED!!!

[dgstorm]

On that solder issue.. you may be on to something.. the reason I say this is because several brands of amplifiers have had this issue... they get "cold" solder joints because the manufacturers cut corners on solder... and it was causing big issues...

I had a Nashville 1000 from peavy start cutting out on me in the middle of a gig... I was ticked..... cold solder joint..



DROID RAZR MAXXIMIZED!!!! PREPARE TO BE VANQUISHED!!!

Exactly.

[sb1831]

I wonder if he's running stock JB or a rom. I remember people reporting touch screen issues with ICS on the Galaxy Nexus, but from what I recall all of those were ROMs and not released versions.

[Josefius]

I haven't noticed any of these problems yet (knock on wood).

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[cereal killer]

Been playing Shadowgun THD for a good hour and have not had a screen issue. Ran Temple Run after, surfed and YouTube'd all without a problem. Things are good on my end. BTW Shadowgun THD is a winner