Touchscreen not working, can use with OTG mouse

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Yesterday, after coming home, I switched off the phone (Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1), then took some sanitizer in my hand and rubbed it on the phone. This is something I've been doing for quite some time. After about five minutes, I turned on the phone, and it was working properly. About two to three hours later, I found that the touchscreen has stopped not working.

I connected a mouse via OTG and made a backup of all the important data. Apart from the touchscreen, everything else is working properly. I have tried factory resetting it, but to no avail. The only option I can think of now is to take it to a local shop, but before I do that, I thought I'd ask you all if you have any suggestions.

Looks like a hardware issue. I think the only thing to do is to get it serviced.

Perhaps the sanitizer may have leaked into the phone somehow and damaged the touchscreen connector.

BhargavJ said:
Yesterday, after coming home, I switched off the phone (Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1), then took some sanitizer in my hand and rubbed it on the phone. This is something I've been doing for quite some time. After about five minutes, I turned on the phone, and it was working properly. About two to three hours later, I found that the touchscreen has stopped not working.

I connected a mouse via OTG and made a backup of all the important data. Apart from the touchscreen, everything else is working properly. I have tried factory resetting it, but to no avail. The only option I can think of now is to take it to a local shop, but before I do that, I thought I'd ask you all if you have any suggestions.

From what I see, The ethanol breaked the water resistant seal and entered through it in the phone. Chances are it may have vapourised inside and condensed between the LCD panel and touch digitizer or between the ribbon cable connecting the screen to mobo, atleast thats the case with samsung phones, as long time use of samsung phones in hospitals causes this due to high concentration of ethanol there.

And the service man did repair it for free as it was under warranty. For your case, He may charge a little bit as service charge, but will not charge for digitiser as most probably, it is not damaged. Till then, keep it switched off and send for repair.

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I sure hope it's a minor issue which costs 2 to 300 rs at most. If I have to replace the screen... :wah:

BhargavJ said:
I sure hope it's a minor issue which costs 2 to 300 rs at most. If I have to replace the screen...

See, digitizer aint that expensive, maximum 700-800 rs.But if the LCD screen is damaged, Or the whole folder needs to be replaced, price may go to maximum 1700-1800

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I asked a local shop, they said that the touchscreen alone isn't replaced, it's a combo of touchscreen and display, and it would cost 2500 to 3000. I called the Asus service center; he said the same thing about it being a combo and he said it would cost between 4 and 5k. Seems like it won't be possible to get it repaired cheaply.

Amazon and Flipkart have mobile exchange offers but they need a working phone. Is there any site which allows a non-working phone for exchange?

BhargavJ said:
I asked a local shop, they said that the touchscreen alone isn't replaced, it's a combo of touchscreen and display, and it would cost 2500 to 3000. I called the Asus service center; he said the same thing about it being a combo and he said it would cost between 4 and 5k. Seems like it won't be possible to get it repaired cheaply.

Amazon and Flipkart have mobile exchange offers but they need a working phone. Is there any site which allows a non-working phone for exchange?

Both of them are overcharging. Though it is true that the folder comes in duo only but still the touch screen can be removed by applying heat and all. And I dont think that in your case, it is a big issue, can be fixed by simply checking the Touch screen ribbon on PCB. Also, instead of Spending 4-5k for just the screen one can get a newer one...

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I have opened the phone once and connected and reconnected the fingerprint sensor, battery and touchscreen cable. I was hoping reconnecting the touchscreen cable might solve the problem, but no such luck.

To remove the touchscreen by applying heat, you need specialized equipment; it can't be done at home, right?

BhargavJ said:
To remove the touchscreen by applying heat, you need specialized equipment; it can't be done at home, right?

NO, It requires a heat gun with temps above 200C and also a screen scrapping instrument. So cant be done at home...

DetectiveRahul said:
Happened same to my Redmi 4 dual while sanitizing. It was only a month old phone and I got the screen replaced. Lesson is - never ever spray the sanitizer directly on the phone. Use your hand instead.

Yupp, And although this shouldnt happen, but due to some moisturisers and other chemicals in sanitizer it happens. One can buy pure ethanol for it instead as it will be a better option and will prevent that.

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DetectiveRahul said:
Happened same to my Redmi 4 dual while sanitizing. It was only a month old phone and I got the screen replaced. Lesson is - never ever spray the sanitizer directly on the phone. Use your hand instead.

By the screen, do you mean the touchscreen and display both or only the touchscreen? And how much did it cost you?

What about others, do you sanitizer your phone after returning home, and if so, how do you do it? I've switched to another phone temporarily, and I sanitize that as well, but now, I spray the sanitizer on a piece of cloth and then rub it on the phone, instead of taking it in the hand and rubbing it on the phone, as I did with the Asus phone.

RumbaMon19 said:
Yupp, And although this shouldnt happen, but due to some moisturisers and other chemicals in sanitizer it happens. One can buy pure ethanol for it instead as it will be a better option and will prevent that.

I had thought of buying rubbing alcohol but for killing the coronavirus, there should be some amount of water in the sanitizer so that it doesn't evaporate too soon:

*blog.gotopac.com/2017/05/15/why-is...than-99-isopropanol-and-what-is-ipa-used-for/

BhargavJ said:
I had thought of buying rubbing alcohol but for killing the coronavirus, there should be some amount of water in the sanitizer so that it doesn't evaporate too soon:

Alcohol is diluted, so it may have some other components also

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Got it replaced today. Cost rs. 2500, the repair man said it's a combo kit. When I asked him if it is an original Asus display, he said no, it's a duplicate, and it has no warranty.

Anyone here has experience with such duplicate screens, like how long they last?

BhargavJ said:
Got it replaced today. Cost rs. 2500, the repair man said it's a combo kit. When I asked him if it is an original Asus display, he said no, it's a duplicate, and it has no warranty.

Anyone here has experience with such duplicate screens, like how long they last?

Last time i got my display changed, nothing went wrong with it until I decided to discard it due to slow performance. Yours shud too last 1-2 yrs easily.

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RumbaMon19 said:
Last time i got my display changed, nothing went wrong with it until I decided to discard it due to slow performance. Yours shud too last 1-2 yrs easily.

That's good to hear. By slow performance, do you mean the performance of the phone or only the display?

BhargavJ said:
That's good to hear. By slow performance, do you mean the performance of the phone or only the display?

phone, it started lagging and all that.

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Ok.

I'm thinking of giving the phone in exchange. Amazon is giving Rs. 3650 as exchange on Redmi Note 9 Pro (4 GB, 128 GB), with sale price of Rs. 14999, while for Redmi Note 9 Pro Max (6 GB, 128 GB), they are giving Rs. 5650 off (from price of Rs. 18499). The only problem is that these are Chinese phones.

BhargavJ said:
Ok.

I'm thinking of giving the phone in exchange. Amazon is giving Rs. 3650 as exchange on Redmi Note 9 Pro (4 GB, 128 GB), with sale price of Rs. 14999, while for Redmi Note 9 Pro Max (6 GB, 128 GB), they are giving Rs. 5650 off (from price of Rs. 18499). The only problem is that these are Chinese phones.

Also, After you change your phone, you will not like the UI, as you are shifting from stock to MIUI,
Tell your preferences, like what all features you need.

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The only reason I'm thinking of buying a new phone is that the Asus one has been repaired and might give problems later. I haven't actually decided yet.

As for MIUI, I won't use it, I'll probably install a custom ROM, as I've used MIUI before and it gives a lot of ads, even after following guides on how to remove ads.

I don't have much preferences, mainly a Snapdragon processor, and a large screen. There are quite a few mobiles with these two things - Poco X3 and Poco M2 Pro apart from Redmi Note 9 Pro have everything I need, but they're Chinese ones, and I'd prefer a non-Chinese one as far as possible. I'd like a Samsung device but they have Exynos processors and don't have custom ROM support. At least, not the ones below Rs. 20k, as far as I know. There's also Motorola One Fusion Plus, but that's slightly costlier. The best ones, at least as far as value for money goes, are all Chinese ones.

BhargavJ said:
The only reason I'm thinking of buying a new phone is that the Asus one has been repaired and might give problems later. I haven't actually decided yet.

As for MIUI, I won't use it, I'll probably install a custom ROM, as I've used MIUI before and it gives a lot of ads, even after following guides on how to remove ads.

I don't have much preferences, mainly a Snapdragon processor, and a large screen. There are quite a few mobiles with these two things - Poco X3 and Poco M2 Pro apart from Redmi Note 9 Pro have everything I need, but they're Chinese ones, and I'd prefer a non-Chinese one as far as possible. I'd like a Samsung device but they have Exynos processors and don't have custom ROM support. At least, not the ones below Rs. 20k, as far as I know. There's also Motorola One Fusion Plus, but that's slightly costlier. The best ones, at least as far as value for money goes, are all Chinese ones.

Moto is also chinese after acquisition by lenovo. Your current asus phone will easily last 1 more year, So only upgrade if you want to or feel like your phone is slowing down. Still if you want to buy then, there is Moto G9 power, which has both sd processor and custom rom support.

Samsung might launch some good and powerfull phones in Q2 2021, as per leaks, and by then Asus will also come with some Budget offerings, So if you can wait more, like 6-8 months more, you will get much more options. As I also want to buy one, I am waiting till march 2021

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Motorola is also Chinese? :-(

I didn't know about Moto G9 Power, seems like a good phone.

I am in no hurry, and will probably wait for a better phone to be available. I've really liked using the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1, and I'd easily buy another Asus phone, but Asus doesn't have as many service centers. In this regard, Samsung and Redmi have a big advantage.

BhargavJ said:
Motorola is also Chinese? I didn't know about Moto G9 Power, seems like a good phone.

I am in no hurry, and will probably wait for a better phone to be available. I've really liked using the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1, and I'd easily buy another Asus phone, but Asus doesn't have as many service centers. In this regard, Samsung and Redmi have a big advantage.

Yupp that's true. After sales problem is there...

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I think I'll have to give this phone in exchange now. After getting it repaired, I've found that the touchscreen is not as responsive as the original one; you have press slightly harder for it to work. On top of that, I'm not getting any sound in voice calls - no sound when the number is being dialed and also when the other person picks up. I've tested the speaker and microphone of the phone by playing a video and recording an audio and it works fine, so I don't think it has anything to do with the hardware, but during calling, there is no sound at all.

Does the delivery agent check voice calling when he inspects the phone for exchange, or does he just check if it is powered on and works?

BhargavJ said:
Does the delivery agent check voice calling when he inspects the phone for exchange, or does he just check if it is powered on and works?

He mostly Inspects it visually and on booting the phone, he checks for camera and test a youtube video only.

BhargavJ said:
I think I'll have to give this phone in exchange now. After getting it repaired, I've found that the touchscreen is not as responsive as the original one; you have press slightly harder for it to work. On top of that, I'm not getting any sound in voice calls - no sound when the number is being dialed and also when the other person picks up. I've tested the speaker and microphone of the phone by playing a video and recording an audio and it works fine, so I don't think it has anything to do with the hardware, but during calling, there is no sound at all.

Strange, I think you can ask that mechanic about it. But since that phone is working, and touch is repaired now, I dont think you will be able to get anything above 2500 on exchange (This is what I got on 3 yr old phone, its MRP was 14k and was completely fine, didnt have a crack, only back was scratched a bit, less than 1 cm. ) But if it ia giving 3000+, then you can go for exchange. Else, just keep the phone and you can use it a time of emergency etc.

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If he won't check the calling function, I should be okay. Youtube videos play fine on the phone. It doesn't have any big scratches, but the place where you attach the charger pin is a bit dented. I found some reviews on Amazon saying they reject the phone even if there is a small scratch.

I'm getting around Rs. 3700 on Amazon for Redmi Note 9 Pro and the same amount on Flipkart for Poco M2 Pro and Poco X3, the only difference being Amazon says fixed exchange value, meaning the amount will remain the same, while on Flipkart, its Rs. 1700 to 3750.

All the above phones are Chinese ones, with ad-ridden MIUI so I'll have to flash a custom ROM after buying. There's also the whole Chinese spying thing. How are Samsung's Exynos phones, in terms of ads, and also data collection / spying? Are they usable using stock ROM? If only there was an option to easily flash custom ROM on Samsung phones (below 20k), I'd get one without thinking.

BhargavJ said:
If he won't check the calling function, I should be okay. Youtube videos play fine on the phone. It doesn't have any big scratches, but the place where you attach the charger pin is a bit dented. I found some reviews on Amazon saying they reject the phone even if there is a small scratch.

I'm getting around Rs. 3700 on Amazon for Redmi Note 9 Pro and the same amount on Flipkart for Poco M2 Pro and Poco X3, the only difference being Amazon says fixed exchange value, meaning the amount will remain the same, while on Flipkart, its Rs. 1700 to 3750.

All the above phones are Chinese ones, with ad-ridden MIUI so I'll have to flash a custom ROM after buying. There's also the whole Chinese spying thing. How are Samsung's Exynos phones, in terms of ads, and also data collection / spying? Are they usable using stock ROM? If only there was an option to easily flash custom ROM on Samsung phones (below 20k), I'd get one without thinking.

Samsung does have ads but they can be disabled by user during setup. Data collection can be disabled too. Custom ROM development is not too good for Samsung in budget segment

You can go for Motorola g9 for non bloated UI and best custom ROM experience. As it allows rooting.