Fix a Pixel screen that doesn't work right

To troubleshoot screen problems, you can use our self-help flow.

Fix your screen issue

Try the solutions below if your phone screen:

• Doesn’t respond
• Flickers
• Jumps
• Flashes
• Shows dead pixels
• Stays blank

On Pixel 5 phones, if you see a white dot at the top of your screen, learn about your proximity sensor.

Important: After you try each recommended solution, check to find whether it fixed your issue.

Step 1: Check your phone's screen

1. Make sure that your screen isn't cracked, chipped, or damaged.
2. If you have a case or screen protector, take it off.
3. If you're wearing gloves, take them off.
4. If you've put any stickers over the screen or sensors, peel them off.
5. Make sure that your screen is clean.

Step 2: Try these troubleshooting steps

Restart your phone

1. On most phones, press your phone's power button for about 30 seconds, or until your phone restarts.
2.  On the screen, you might need to tap Restart .

Tip: After you restart, if your touchscreen is still completely unresponsive, learn how to reset your phone to factory settings (below).

Find out whether an app causes your problem

1. Turn on safe mode. Learn how to turn on safe mode
2. Once you're in safe mode, touch the screen.
   • If your screen works in safe mode, a downloaded app is most likely causing your issue.
     1. To exit safe mode, restart your phone.
     2. To find the app that’s causing issues, uninstall recently downloaded apps one by one.
     3. Once you remove the app that's causing the problem, you can reinstall the other apps that you removed.
   • If your screen doesn't work in safe mode, continue to the next section.

Tip: Airplane mode is automatically turned on when you enter safe mode. We recommend turning airplane mode off in order to continue using features such as GPS, Wi-Fi, and making phone calls.

Tip: Airplane mode is automatically turned on when you enter safe mode. We recommend turning airplane mode off in order to continue using features such as GPS, Wi-Fi, and making phone calls.

Test the affected part of your screen

1. Touch the top left corner of the screen.
2. Slowly drag your finger to the bottom right corner without lifting. Try to move your finger slowly enough that you can count to 10 before reaching the opposite corner of the screen.
   • If you can drag your Quick Settings bar and notifications all the way to the bottom of the screen
     The problem isn't caused by a specific area on your screen. Learn how to reset your phone to factory settings (below).
   • If your Quick Settings bar and notifications release while you're still dragging your finger across the screen
     Repeat the test. If they release again, note whether it happened in the same place on the screen. Then learn how to get help.

Understand the white dot at the top of the screen (Pixel 5)

Under your Pixel 5 phone’s screen, at the top center, you can see a white dot. This white dot is your proximity sensor. When your proximity sensor is on, the dot shows through the display. The dot can blink or stay solid.

Your proximity sensor keeps your phone’s screen off while you hold your phone near your face during a call, when your screen is locked, and when used by certain apps. Keeping the screen off helps save battery and avoid accidental taps on the screen.

All Pixel phones have proximity sensors. Because the Pixel 5’s display goes almost to the edge, you can see the Pixel 5’s sensor under the screen. Check our Pixel 5 phone diagram.

Step 3: Use advanced troubleshooting

Turn off developer options

1. Open your phone's Settings app.
2. Tap System  Developer options. You'll see this only if you have developer options turned on.
3. Turn off Developer options.

Consider resetting your phone to factory settings

Important: A factory data reset will remove all data from your phone. You can restore any data stored in your Google Account, but all apps and their associated data are uninstalled. Before you perform a factory data reset, back up your phone.

• Learn how to back up and restore data.
• Learn how to perform a factory data reset.

Tips:

• If your phone doesn't respond or stays blank, you can use the your phone's buttons to trigger a factory data reset.
• If an app that you downloaded caused the issue and you reinstall that app, the problem could come back.

Post your question to a Google community

For possible solutions to other issues with your phone’s camera, you can post questions on our forums to the Pixel community.

Still have issues with your Pixel phone?

You can connect with a support agent about this issue. Learn how to contact us.

Related resources

• Prevent cracked screen
• Fix a phone that freezes or is unresponsive
• Manage screen and display settings