Press and hold the power button for 10 to 15 seconds until you feel the phone vibrate and the screen goes black. This force restart is the most effective first step for a frozen or unresponsive touchscreen, as it clears the phone's temporary memory without deleting any of your data.
I'd start with this one every time. It's a quick fix for temporary software glitches that can make the screen seem dead. Once the phone reboots and the Nothing logo appears, try using the screen normally.
Clean the Screen Thoroughly
Turn the phone off and give the screen a proper clean with a microfiber cloth. Smudges, grease, or moisture from your hands can sometimes interfere with the capacitive touch sensors, especially along the edges.
Make sure your hands are completely dry as well. If you've been using a screen protector, check for any bubbles, peeling edges, or damage that could be blocking touch input. A badly applied protector is a common culprit.
Check for Software Updates
An outdated version of Nothing OS can have bugs that affect touchscreen responsiveness. Swipe down from the top of the screen twice to open the quick settings panel and tap the gear icon to enter Settings.
Scroll down and select System > System update. If an update is available, download and install it. It's best to do this while connected to Wi-Fi and with the phone plugged into its 45W charger.
Boot Into Safe Mode
Safe mode temporarily disables all third-party apps. If the touchscreen works perfectly in safe mode, you know a recently installed app is causing the problem. To enter safe mode, press and hold the power button until the power off menu appears.
Then, tap and hold the Power off option on the screen. A prompt will ask if you want to reboot to safe mode; tap OK. The words "Safe mode" will appear in the bottom corner. Test the touchscreen here. To exit, just restart the phone normally.
Calibrate the Touchscreen
While Nothing OS doesn't have a built-in calibration tool, you can use a hidden diagnostic menu. Open your phone app and dial *#*#6484#*#*. This opens the Nothing engineering test menu.
Tap on Touchscreen Test or a similar option. Follow the on-screen instructions, which usually involve tracing patterns or tapping specific points. This process can help the system recalibrate the touch digitizer.
Check the Glyph Interface
This is unique to Nothing phones. Sometimes, a bug with the Glyph Interface LEDs on the back can cause system-wide issues. Go to Settings > Glyph Interface and try toggling features off and on.
You can also try a hard reset specific to the Glyph system. With the phone on, press and hold the volume up and power buttons together for about 10 seconds until the Glyph lights do a full cycle flash. This resets the Glyph controller.
Perform a Factory Reset
This erases everything on your phone, so it's a last resort. First, ensure you have a recent backup. If the screen is completely dead, you can initiate this using the hardware buttons. Power the phone off completely.
Then, press and hold the volume up button and the power button together. When you feel a vibration, release the power button but keep holding volume up until you see the recovery menu. Use the volume buttons to navigate to Wipe data/factory reset and select it with the power button.
Consider a Hardware Fault
If the screen is physically cracked or you see discolored lines, the damage is likely hardware-related. The issue could also be a loose internal connector, especially if the phone has been dropped.
In my experience, if the touch is completely dead but the display still shows an image perfectly, it often points to a faulty digitizer. Since the Phone 2a doesn't have wireless charging, you can rule out any interference from a charging coil, which can sometimes affect other phones.
