It seems like some Google Pixel 4a 5G units are having touchscreen issues. These issues started appearing following the December security patch. Some Pixel 4a units had similar issues in the past.
Some users are having touchscreen issues with Google Pixel 4a 5G units
According to user reports on the Google support forum, Google IssueTracker, and XDA Developers Forum, the issue is very much there. This touchscreen mostly affects the lower portion of the phone’s display.
The issue is most prominent when using the three-button navigation option, so it’s possible your device is affected, but you won’t even notice it if you’re using navigation gestures.
You can see the problem in the video embedded down below. The buttons simply don’t respond to presses. They do for a while, and then suddenly stop, which is very odd. This video has been shared by an XDA Forum member, by the way.
The reaction to swipes is still good, and touches towards the edges of the display are always responsive, but those towards the middle are problematic, it seems.
More than one issue is present
Some people are claiming that tapping the edges isn’t working for them, while the middle taps are as responsive as they should be. So it’s possible that different Pixel 4a 5G units are having different issues.
Android Police has the issue on their Pixel 4a 5G review unit. It’s also possible that this issue is more widespread than we think, but most people are using gesture navigation, so they don’t even notice the issue.
Removing screen protectors improved the situation on the Pixel 4a in the past, but the same action doesn’t change things on the Pixel 4a 5G, at least according to reports. The same goes for activating the ‘touch sensitivity option’.
A Community Specialist did acknowledge the issue, and is promising a fix is coming. This was promised before the January patch arrived, and the issue is still there. Let’s hope Google will fix it in the February update.