Fix Dead Touch Spots on Android Without Root
Modern smartphones have smooth touchscreens, but many older devices still suffer from unresponsive areas, known as dead touch zones. You might notice the top or bottom part of the screen not working making basic operations frustrating. Instead of replacing the display, this guide shows how to fix.
🎯 What Causes Dead Touch Zones?
Dead touch areas often occur due to hardware wear, long-term usage, or display flex cable damage. While replacing the screen is one solution, many older phone models no longer have spare displays available or it's not worth the repair cost. Instead, we’ll resize the display to skip over the damaged portion using Android’s built-in developer tools.
🧠 The Smart Solution Resize Your Display
Android provides a hidden developer command that lets you change your device’s visible screen size. The command is simple:
adb shell wm size x By reducing the screen height slightly, you can hide the dead zone area for example, if your phone’s screen resolution is 1080x2400 and the bottom 200 pixels are unresponsive, you can set it to 1080x2200.
🪜 Step-by-Step Guide to Fix Dead Touch Areas
Enable Developer Options
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Open Settings → About Phone → tap 'Build Number' seven times until you see 'You are now a developer!'.
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Go back to Settings → Developer Options.
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Enable 'USB Debugging' and related USB permissions.
Set Up ADB on Your Computer
- Download ADB platform tools from the official website in Your PC: https://developer.android.com/studio/releases/platform-tools.
- Extract the ZIP file and move it to a folder like C:/ADB/platform-tools.
- Add that path to your system’s Environment Variables under PATH.Check How
Connect and Detect Your Device
- Connect your phone to the PC using a USB cable.
- Open Command Prompt (CMD) and run the command:
adb devicesIf your phone asks for permission, allow USB debugging. Once detected, proceed to the next step.
Adjust the Screen Size
- Find your screen’s current resolution (for example 1080x2400).
- If your bottom 200 pixels are unresponsive, reduce the height by 200.
- Run the following command:
adb shell wm size 1080x2200You can try smaller or larger values until your screen becomes fully usable again.
Reset to Default Size (Optional)
- To restore your original display size anytime, type:
adb shell wm size reset💡 Why This Works
The 'wm size' command instructs Android to render the display within a new virtual resolution. This effectively hides the damaged zone and shifts the usable screen area to a responsive region making your phone fully functional again, without rooting or installing third-party apps.
⚡ Temporary Alternatives
| Method | When to Use |
|---|---|
| Split-screen mode | When you can’t tap certain buttons |
| Rotate screen | To move app UI away from dead area |
📲 Best Uses for Revived Phones
Once fixed, your old Android phone can be reused as a music player, Wi-Fi hotspot, smart home display, or even a small surveillance monitor. The new screen setting remains after reboot until you manually reset it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this method require root access?
No, this method works with standard ADB tools and does not require root permissions.
Will it affect my apps or performance?
No, it only changes the display rendering area, and your apps will continue working normally.
Can I undo this change later?
Yes, simply use 'adb shell wm size reset' to restore your original screen resolution.