Galaxy S23 touchscreens are acting up post-One UI 6.1, but there's a fix

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra on a tea tray with its screen on and the home screen visible
(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich)

What you need to know

  • Samsung's One UI 6.1 update for the Galaxy S23 series resulted in various issues including charging problems, fingerprint scanner glitches, and touchscreen woes.
  • A post on Samsung Korea's support forums suggests that Google Discover might be responsible for touchscreen issues on affected Galaxy S23 devices.
  • The problem seems to mainly affect users with third-party displays installed, though it's unclear whether it's limited to non-OEM parts.

Samsung's recent One UI 6.1 update for the Galaxy S23 series was meant to be a positive move, bringing Galaxy AI to older phones. But it ended up causing a bunch of headaches, like charging problems, fingerprint scanner glitches, and touchscreen woes. Fortunately, Samsung has a temporary fix for the touchscreen issue on the Galaxy S23 after the update.

According to a recent discussion on Reddit, the One UI 6.1 update has caused major issues with the touchscreen on specific models like the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 Plus, and Galaxy S23 Ultra. For some, the screen is completely unresponsive, while others can only use it with the S Pen.

According to a post on Samsung Korea's support forums, it's suggested that the Google Discover feature might be responsible for the touchscreen performance issues on affected devices (via SamMobile).

It appears that this issue mainly affects users who have third-party displays installed. This implies that most Galaxy S23 users don't need to stress about it. However, it's worth noting that glitchy updates are not uncommon, and some affected users are claiming they haven't made any modifications to their devices.

A temporary fix

If you're among the unlucky few with a touchscreen issue on your Galaxy S23 (repaired screen or not), Samsung has a temporary solution: delete any data associated with the Google app and update it to the latest version.

More specifically, to clear app data for the Google app, go to Settings > Apps > Google > Storage > Clear data. This should resolve any issues with your Galaxy S23's touchscreen responsiveness.

Restarting your device after clearing the app data is recommended. Samsung notes that this is just a temporary fix until Google can address the underlying problem.

However, not all users who have raised complaints have indicated whether their Galaxy S23's screen is original or not. Therefore, it's uncertain whether this touchscreen issue is solely limited to non-OEM parts.

Android Central has contacted Google, but they did not get back to us in time for publication. We will update the article once we have more information.

Jay Bonggolto
News Writer & Reviewer

Jay Bonggolto always keeps a nose for news. He has been writing about consumer tech and apps for as long as he can remember, and he has used a variety of Android phones since falling in love with Jelly Bean. Send him a direct message via Twitter or LinkedIn.