Pro1, Ghost touches and other digitizer and display issues

[VaZso 1,988]

3 hours ago, Milly said:

Hmm mine started to show these ghost input symptoms this week... Just like that. Didn't drop it, didn't drown it...

I have also experienced this kind of ghost inputs a few weeks ago.

I don't know what happened, but the screen looks to be intact.
However, I have found a minor insure on display frame which I don't know if it is related, but I think so.
I can barely see it anyway and there are no any more issues on the frame and my phone is in a protective case (on back), also having protection foil applied on the back and on the screen.

However, I can feel it with my nails a bit.

So I don't know the reason but I assume the screen has been damaged for me but in a part which can not be seen at all.
I have ordered a replacement screen from China which should arrive soon, so I may know more when I had it replaced.

I still use that phone as a daily driver but try to minimize the usage of my phone as the ghost effect is varying - sometimes it it relatively good and sometimes it is a nightmare.
So I am curious what I can see in the phone, if there is a damage inside or an imperfect placement in the slightly damaged frame or... the damage itself is not really noticeable, so I think a replacement screen will work.

My rebooting issue is still there anyway, maybe I would need a software reset but I will experiment it when I will have my replacement Pro1 in my hands...
(The phone is not restarting as kernel uptime going up, but Android does several times when I reboot the phone or connecting it to charger...)

All in all, I suggest you to look at the display frame thoroughly - I still think it is better if these ghost inputs are coming from a damage and not as a quality issue.
My display has worked well for around eight months anyway, but I can only guess what may happened with my phone.

[EskeRahn 5,350]

8 minutes ago, VaZso said:

All in all, I suggest you to look at the display frame thoroughly - I still think it is better if these ghost inputs are coming from a damage and not as a quality issue.
My display has worked well for around eight months anyway, but I can only guess what may happened with my phone.

Yes let us hope it is 'merely' a damaged display.
I have had the pre-production unit without phone and gps since spring 2019, the "Final sample" a year, and the retail unit since November, only having something related when using a no-name charger I'm preferring (both low and high current in same charger).
BUT I can sometimes interact with the screen some ½-1mm above the display, so the touch is VERY sensitive. And I guess the humidity of the air and fingers could matter also as it is not always (today I need to actually touch).

[Slion 1,200]

1 hour ago, Milly said:

Since January. Great device, have been using it happily since. Until last week...

So we were probably in that same January batch then. Mine started acting up after 6 months yours after 8 months or so.

[VaZso 1,988]

1 hour ago, EskeRahn said:

I have had the pre-production unit without phone and gps since spring 2019, the "Final sample" a year, and the retail unit since November, only having something related when using a no-name charger I'm preferring (both low and high current in same charger).

This kind of ghosts inputs are "normal" if the charger is too noisy.
I mean I have experienced similar behaviour using other phones and bad quality charger, so it is not uncommon.

Also I don't think it is related.

Maybe if we could reduce sensitivity of our touch panel by software, it may help to eliminate this problem anyway.
I also don't necessarily have to touch the display itself for a normal touch input, so a minor dust which could go at the edges of the screen may also can be the cause of this ghost effect.

It may worth a try not to replace the whole display but clean it and put it back together, hmm.
However, I will disassemble my Pro1 when my replacement display is also arrived as I would not like to disassemble it more times than necessary and I need another display in case something went wrong.

[Milly 32]

17 hours ago, VaZso said:

l in all, I suggest you to look at the display frame thoroughly - I still think it is better if these ghost inputs are coming from a damage and not as a quality issue.
My display has worked well for around eight months anyway, but I can only guess what may happened with my phone.

I examined the screen and its frame very closely from all sides, but I really cannot seem to find any form of damage whatsoever. I did notice that I can elicit the ghost inputs by very gently pressing, rather than merely touching, the screen on the strip where the ghost inputs would pop up. After that, the ghost taps may go on for a while without me touching it.

So somehow it seems as if internally, some connections are made that should not be made upon applying a minimum amount of force - the amount of force I would also apply when simply taking the device out of my pocket.

[VaZso 1,988]

2 hours ago, Milly said:

I examined the screen and its frame very closely from all sides, but I really cannot seem to find any form of damage whatsoever. I did notice that I can elicit the ghost inputs by very gently pressing, rather than merely touching, the screen on the strip where the ghost inputs would pop up. After that, the ghost taps may go on for a while without me touching it.

So somehow it seems as if internally, some connections are made that should not be made upon applying a minimum amount of force - the amount of force I would also apply when simply taking the device out of my pocket.

Maybe my suspicion of some dust can go below or near the screen can also be the cause.

I don't know if there is some glue between screen and its frame or how it is applied, but I think my first try will be a cleaning of the bottom/side part of the display and the internal edges of the frame. So if I can separate the display and its frame without breaking (I have a high chance but should be prepared for the opposite), clean and reapply (and there is no damage can be seen on the screen itself), then I think the original display will work again perfectly.

I am curious anyway and it may be also a valuable information for F(x)tec if it is true.
We will see.

[Milly 32]

Here a better video of the issue. It doesn't change our discussion much I guess, but it's good to have it in case 🙂

https://photos.app.goo.gl/YSi4MMPszJ3TbouA6

[VaZso 1,988]

16 minutes ago, Milly said:

Here a better video of the issue. It doesn't change our discussion much I guess, but it's good to have it in case 🙂

https://photos.app.goo.gl/YSi4MMPszJ3TbouA6

I think it is at similar position for me: https://youtu.be/BpIaO-91PGg

[Milly 32]

1 hour ago, VaZso said:

I think it is at similar position for me: https://youtu.be/BpIaO-91PGg

Yes! Same position for sure.

[Slion 1,200]

My issue was around that same line too.

Edited September 7, 2020 by Slion

[VaZso 1,988]

50 minutes ago, Slion said:

My issue was around the same line too.

Hmm, it is more than interesting.

I still curious if cleaning will help but this problem seems to have similar root cause, be it anything... dust, physical damage or screen aging issue...

The same type and position of this problem is suspicious, but it still can be caused by some factors.

[Slion 1,200]

My money is on a common electrical defect on those displays.

[VaZso 1,988]

28 minutes ago, Slion said:

My money is on a common electrical defect on those displays.

Not necessarily electrical.
It can be a problem of some kind of glue I think.

I mean a glue inside the screen module - not screen assembly but in the screen itself which you can buy from 3rd-party sources.
...and that can be an aging problem and both @Milly and me are started having the same issue after about eight months of usage and the difference of our phone's age seems to be only this about one month (time elapsed since manufacturing is about the same) which is the difference of appearing these ghost inputs for us.

However, fortunately, it seems only a small number of phones are affected, or at least I hope so.

...and remember, people who have replaced the display (in Elephone U Pro) often resulted faulty displays shortly which had faulty lines appeared.
So either these screens are too sensitive (have to have proper support underneath and may have been sensitive of physical impacts) or there are manufacturers which produces bad quality displays or at least lacks proper quality assurance.
I am not speaking about F(x)tec's manufacturer but the generally available items / sources.

These are only guesses but we may know more later...

Edited September 7, 2020 by VaZso

[mcdinner 375]

So, mine started having the same problem 30 minutes ago 😞

Same position as shown in the videos here in the thread and I also have it since beginning of January. It did not drop or bump anywhere, just started ghosting while typing on keyboard. Telegram just went nuts from one second to another... 😞

Addition what I noticed:
* there is a ~1cm area around "the line" where touch is not recognized right. If i move my finger slowly over it no touch is shown using developer settings showing touch

* slight pressure while touching triggers the mass touches on the line much more often

* random touches also appear sometimes when not touching the display at all (as seen in other videos), happens mostly when using the keyboard (physical touching the device somewhere)

Edited September 10, 2020 by mcdinner

[VaZso 1,988]

30 minutes ago, mcdinner said:

So, mine started having the same problem 30 minutes ago 😞

Thanks for sharing... these problems are the same as mine written above (one of the videos was mine).

Anyway, my replacement screen ordered from Aliexpress has just arrived so I plan to disassemble my Pro1 this weekend if everything go right.
I am curious about the internal state of the display's back so if an insure can be seen or not.
If the latter (and I can remove it without insure), I would like to remove the display and, if possible, I will try to reapply it again - if it does not change the problem then I will replace the display with the one received.

It is more than interesting that more and more people are having the same problem (hopefully we are still the minority compared to sold units anyway), so I am starting to assume it is not a user error.
Apart of that, I really hope it is not a display quality issue (although it really seems to be) but a display mounting problem.
I am thinking of some dust may be able to go to wrong place which may be a cause of the glue starting to release the display part in some places. I still don't know but it could be the easiest problem to repair I think, however, it does not really explains why we are experiencing the problem at the very same location. It does not seem to be a result of an accidental drop.

Also, my phone has arrived in late December after Christmas which can be called almost January.

These are just thoughts as the problem, background and the cause are currently unknown but I think it worth a try to reapply the original display part first and see if the problem appears again and if so, when.

I hope I will have some time this weekend as this problem is getting more and more strange...

[mcdinner 375]

multiple displays with the error on the same location sounds like some production fault.
I'll write support an email when I'm back home. If they send me a new display and are ok with it  I'll try to play around with the broken one a bit, applying heat or ice spray and see what happens.

[EskeRahn 5,350]

29 minutes ago, mcdinner said:

multiple displays with the error on the same location sounds like some production fault.
I'll write support an email when I'm back home. If they send me a new display and are ok with it  I'll try to play around with the broken one a bit, applying heat or ice spray and see what happens.

When you guys see the phenomena, does it do it both opened and closed?
Could it be the ribbon cable between the two halves that gets issues over time?

If it appears both opened and closed a wild guess could be if a pin of some sort over time is eating its way through some insulation of say a cable? That it gets triggered by a (gentle) press could indicate something like that.

[VaZso 1,988]

26 minutes ago, EskeRahn said:

When you guys see the phenomena, does it do it both opened and closed?
Could it be the ribbon cable between the two halves that gets issues over time?

If it appears both opened and closed a wild guess could be if a pin of some sort over time is eating its way through some insulation of say a cable? That it gets triggered by a (gentle) press could indicate something like that.

I have also experienced this thing with opened keyboard but I have not played with opening/closing mechanism in order to see if it changes anything.

However, I have noticed if I press the display at a certain corner, the self-working ghost touches seems to behave better...

[mcdinner 375]

8 hours ago, VaZso said:

However, I have noticed if I press the display at a certain corner, the self-working ghost touches seems to behave better...

Exactly the same here.

It happens for me when open or closed so i don't think its the cable.

After lying around the night the problem did not appear yet but the unresponsive 1cm area is still there, so its not completely gone. I think it will come back very soon. 

[mcdinner 375]

@EskeRahn Is it possible to rename the Thread? I think it would make sense to address the problem in the Title as there are a few people now with that problem.

[EskeRahn 5,350]

1 minute ago, mcdinner said:

@EskeRahn Is it possible to rename the Thread? I think it would make sense to address the problem in the Title as there are a few people now with that problem.

Yes, any good suggestions?

[auvo.salmi 135]

I already sent email to Fxtec, and they promised to send me a replacement display, in order I send them a video about the issue. But then the issue went away, so haven't got a proof video yet.. But I still got similar issue like mcdinner explained, like blind spots on the touchscreen. They happen to be around that line reported for ghost inputs, slightly under centerline on portrait. For example this morning I was answering to a satisfaction survey, and there was a tick box on blind area. I couldn't tick the box at that position of the screen, but I had to scroll the page and that way move the box to a different position to make it able to tick. So this part of the issue persists, but it's too difficult to make a video for proof about it, so I'll have to wait if ghost inputs come back.. I got the phone on November, so slightly earlier than you two now having the issue. I wonder if warranty will end before i get my proof 😄

[netman 1,424]

39 minutes ago, auvo.salmi said:

I already sent email to Fxtec, and they promised to send me a replacement display, in order I send them a video about the issue. But then the issue went away, so haven't got a proof video yet.. But I still got similar issue like mcdinner explained, like blind spots on the touchscreen. They happen to be around that line reported for ghost inputs, slightly under centerline on portrait. For example this morning I was answering to a satisfaction survey, and there was a tick box on blind area. I couldn't tick the box at that position of the screen, but I had to scroll the page and that way move the box to a different position to make it able to tick. So this part of the issue persists, but it's too difficult to make a video for proof about it, so I'll have to wait if ghost inputs come back.. I got the phone on November, so slightly earlier than you two now having the issue. I wonder if warranty will end before i get my proof 😄

A drawing application may help to show even small dead sopts.

[VaZso 1,988]

46 minutes ago, auvo.salmi said:

For example this morning I was answering to a satisfaction survey, and there was a tick box on blind area.

I also have blind area since the problem appeared but this blind area is also not constant.

Also, yesterday I looked at comments in one application of play store and had two feedbacks sent to Google by ghost inputs for the same, non-problematic comment saying it is spam or unwanted content... and there is no option to revoke it... 😞

Once I was unable to type certain characters on touch keyboard, but later the same characters are worked in the same touch keyboard and same orientation, so it is varying.
What I feel constant is a blind area near that place where ghost inputs are appeared.

[auvo.salmi 135]

31 minutes ago, VaZso said:

I also have blind area since the problem appeared but this blind area is also not constant.

Also, yesterday I looked at comments in one application of play store and had two feedbacks sent to Google by ghost inputs for the same, non-problematic comment saying it is spam or unwanted content... and there is no option to revoke it... 😞

Once I was unable to type certain characters on touch keyboard, but later the same characters are worked in the same touch keyboard and same orientation, so it is varying.
What I feel constant is a blind area near that place where ghost inputs are appeared.

Yeah, sounds pretty much the same. Except I don't have the ghost inputs atm. But the blind spots issue sounds the same. I should try a drawing app, like netman suggested, to see if the blind spots stay constant.