yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Nexus 7 General] PROlific666:
If you don't want to return your device to buy something different and the fixes mentioned above are not satisfactory then you really only have one other option other than filing a complaint with Google and waiting. It seems to be a problem with all N7s but since few people will ever use multi touch while not holding it, many will never notice this(so returning it for a new one will probably be a waste of your time.) Most people blamed the 180 spin in dead trigger on this but it was actually a bug in the game that has since been addressed via update. If you really have your heart stuck on the nexus 7 and you must use multi touch while it is laying on a non grounded surface then attempting a modification may be for you. Remember before you do this making any modifications to a electronic device could result in damage to said device and/or serious injury to yourself. Always remember to take out the battery before fiddling with anything.

Other devices have suffered from this kind of problem in the past and fixes were found.

http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/0...ing-touchscreen-issues-heres-a-potential-fix/

If you dont feel comfortable tweaking on the internals of you device then just wait for someone else with a braver soul to attempt a fix. Hopefully this will provide some direction for those who are tormented by this problem. It could be as simple as the fix in this video...or not. You'll never know until you open it up and look for yourself.
[Nexus 7 General] AZImmortal:
Thanks for the suggestion. I actually would be comfortable modding the internals as long as it's not terribly difficult (I mod electronics all the time), but someone with more electrical engineering knowledge than I have would need to figure out exactly what needs to be done. I fear that the fix for the Nexus 7 would be much more involved (or impossible) than your example since it's a persistent problem rather than a sporadic one.
[Nexus 7 General] djkinetic:
Actually not all nexus 7 have the issue..I just tried and couldn't replicate the problems in the op video.
[Nexus 7 General] locly:
youtu.be/wuYbZcKA2hM

pls watch my video. when i touch the usb on the bottom, the nexus 7 can work great.
[Nexus 7 General] AZImmortal:
Have you tried it on top of something like a cardboard box or a pillow? I'm hoping that you really don't have this problem because it would mean that there might be some way to fix it.
[Nexus 7 General] Lodovik:
It IS a defect, like backlight bleeding, screen separation, flickering backlight, dead zones in the touch panel, screen ghosting or poor contrast. You propose only a workaround but the "issue" is still present. What happens when the Nexus is inside a case?

Would you buy a car whose steering locks when you lift both of your feet and drive with gloves? Yes, it would work normally 99% of the time but I would prefer to have the problem fixed. I will not try to convince myself that the problem doesn't exist only because it's not happening most of the time.

This is an unacceptable situation and I will not excuse Google because this tablet is sold at such a good price. Poor QC is part of the problem too and Asus has also a large part of the blame to take. Rushing a product to the market and counting on users to test it may be acceptable with software but Google has clearly many things to learn when putting together and delivering a physical product to the hands of the users.

I feel lucky that I have received a Nexus 7 that has only the multitouch problem and a mild screen separation issue. I plan to wait until a new hardware revision of this tablet is available to exchange it. I wouldn't bother getting an RMA just now because this first version of the N7 is seriously flawed.
[Nexus 7 General] chrisbd1:
I know I'll get flamed for this but I can't figure out why this is an issue. I won't bother doing the test because I find it pointless. I'm not OCD about something that can break, get lost, break, burn in a fire etc. My Nexus does what I want it to do, with no issues. Proving I MIGHT have a problem while using my Nexus in a way that I don't seems pointless.

If this was something that I NEEDED and not a toy, I could see getting my knickers in wad but it's a toy. I don't need it to work, breathe, eat, my safety isn't compromised, my family isn't in jeopardy. The car analogy fails when you compare a $200 toy to a 5000lb machinery that you might need for work or to buy food. A defect in a 5000lb machine is WAY different that one that MAY exist in <1lb toy.

Carry on finding reasons to regret your purchase.

I have: No screen lift. No yellowing. WiFi strong. No mysterious sounds. No creaking.
[Nexus 7 General] AZImmortal:
Here's an example for you then. Would you be satisfied with your TV if it changed the channel randomly if you didn't keep your hand on the remote? It's just a toy, right? Also, congratulations on your flawless Nexus 7. You probably deserve some type of award. I don't regret my purchase, but I do expect products to work correctly.
[Nexus 7 General] Draje0:
Let's keep this thread related to diagnosing and solving this issue, not debating personal philosophies on spending $200. Regardless of whether this issue is acceptable or not, people are having it and do not like it.
[Nexus 7 General] mi7chy:
No need to over-dramatize. Most people are not affected because they either hold it, have it plugged into charger, have it on a grounded surface and/or use their fingertip instead of the fat portion of the finger. Given the last observation it's likely software fixable by sampling a smaller area. If it affects you then return it. No need to whine endlessly.
[Nexus 7 General] AZImmortal:
My point was simply that if I use the device in a way that was intended and the problem appears, then it's not up to someone else to tell me or anyone else whether or not it's a valid problem, and yes, I certainly hope that a software update can fix this.
[Nexus 7 General] saadi703:
Valid point.
[Nexus 7 General] GrkEngineer:
I just got off the phone with one of the support techs. I was surprised to find out that there's only 100 of them out in Utah. This one was super cool and really helpful by providing a bit more info. She said that they handle lots of verticals, but with the Nexus 7 launch, they shifted a bunch of people over to hardware to focus on the flurry of calls. She mentioned that there has been a minor lack of communication between Google and Asus. Google has asked Asus to do more quality checks on the manufactured batches. She said the screen separation issue has been the biggest issue, but has gotten some calls about the cross axis and others. The good news is that with the stricter checks by Asus, their call volume has dramatically dropped. So hopefully, much more likely that future devices will have less chance of hardware issues.

I asked her specifically about this cross axis issue and she said that some devices have it and others that don't.
[Nexus 7 General] mi7chy:
I would agree with them if they said that about the screen flicker but the ungrounded erratic input is consistent across every device up to a new batch that was received last week although I feel it's minor relative to the former issue.
[Nexus 7 General] Draje0:
Up to and including or are the new units fixed in the multitouch regard? Source?
[Nexus 7 General] mi7chy:
Haven't tried any other units beyond the new shipment to a local store from last week.
[Nexus 7 General] Lodovik:
More tests

Did anyone have a chance to test the issue with the Nexus 7 inside a case? I tried insulating the N7 with an envelope and the problem didn't occured. I then put the N7 on a wooden desk and the problem was there. Then, I put a hand UNDER the desk, touching right below the N7 and the problem wasn't there! Even with my hand not touching the desk but just under the N7, the problem disappeared. It seems that this is more an electromagnetic field problem than a ground problem. Anyone can elaborate on this?

Edit; more tests:

If you put a cable (I used a USB one, bent forming zigzags) between the N7 and the desk, the problem will not occur as long as you hold the end of the cable in your hand, even without touching the conductive part. I'm no expert but a simple fix must be possible somewhere inside the unit.
[Nexus 7 General] Ghostifish:
Because doing that is effectively the same as putting it close to you.

I called it a "grounding" issue way back but its really not. My theory* is that you need to dissipate some of the electrical fields that are used to operate the touchscreen to allow it to operate 'correctly'. (Or something else is generating an interfering electrical field that needs dissipated) Ground/earth is the best possible thing to disipate charge into (think lightning strikes), failing that, anything that will hold a charge will do so long as it is in close proximity.

*I do not claim to profess ANY knowlegde on how capacitive touchscreens work so others can correct me.

If you take the back off and look at the lower half, you will notice that it looks shiney, silvered. This coating is conductive (i tested it). There is also a single spring loaded contact at the bottom that touches to this silvered backing. I believe this contact and therefore this silvered backing are meant to form a nice ground plane round the back of the device to dissipate the charge and clean up the touchscreen response.

Problem is connecting the backing to the grounding pin/spring. The silvered layer is very thin, the metal contact very hard and the plastic quite soft meaning it *could* be very difficult to get a solid contact between the two and form this charge dissipating layer. I certainly had some trouble confirming the conductiveness of the silvered coating and I noticed that the contact had marked the plastic, deforming/denting/scratching it. This could explain why some people can't reproduce the 'problem'. The contact could be being made successfully in their tablets but not in others. (This could be the "hardware fault" some people were claiming google had acknowledged)

*IF* and its a big if I am right about the purpose of that contact and the silvered backing then a length of thin, *insulated* wire connected to the terminal and looped about in the lower half of the tablet to avoid the antennas will clear up the 'problem'. That or figuring out a way to get a more positive connection with the silvered backing.

Of course my other theory is that it is a calibration issue that can be fixed. (and that google staffers are utterly fed up of your complaining and are just feeding you lines they think you want to hear to get rid of you)

I apologise to the twitter generation for the length of this post but some ideas need more words.
[Nexus 7 General] GrkEngineer:
Yes the problem still exists with the official case from the play store. Touching the case is enough to change the behavior.
[Nexus 7 General] Lodovik:
It shouldn't take that much to dissipate the interference since just plugging the USB sync / charge cable in the Nexus port (without plugging the other end to anything) does the trick (I previously thought that it would have to be plugged to a computer or the charger).

Maybe fixing a small piece of aluminum foil in the cover, just where the spring touches, would increase the contact area with the cover and provide more conductivity with the spring at the same time.
[Nexus 7 General] saadi703:
Which spring?
[Nexus 7 General] Ghostifish:
In my case, connecting the usb cable and leaving the other end unplugged does not clear up the issue. The reason I think it works when the other end is connected is because the usb socket *may* be touching that silvered coating via a metallic lookling fabric-like sticker, providing a ground through the computer/charger.

I suppose I should be very clear... I am NOT suggesting anyone stick tinfoil in their nexus (loose bits of conductive metal inside a device with exposed contacts is maddness) nor am i really suggesting hooking up a wire to the contact. Its all just theory and conjecture to try and explain what *I think* is going on. I might be wrong about that contact.

Ideally if this was a problem that bothered you greatly, you should return the device, see if any replacement have the same 'problem' and if so, maybe rethink your purchase as its not meeting your needs. I personally don't see this as a problem that warrents a return. Each to thier own. (My flexing, creaking, warping, not properly glued down screen does however imo)

The contact I'm talking about is near the pogo pins, a single little spring-like bit of copper (like the pairs for the wifi/gps/nfc that are nearer the top)

--Edit--

I've had some other ideas. Perphaps some conductive paint on the inside of the case where the spring touches could give a better, more hard wearing connection. Or a small amount of conductive grease/lube on the spring itself.

--Further edit--

Had another idea... Peel off the conductive sticker from the back cover (there are two. one above the speaker grill, the other below, I think the one above is the least important and the best candidate of the two) and stick it on the back cover where the contact touches. I would give this a go myself but I am returning my n7 because of the screen and don't want to risk the warrenty.
[Nexus 7 General] saadi703:
Can you try something as temp solution and if it works then we can think of a permanent one. All I am saying is that at the moment it is all theory and we need to so some experiment and if its successful then we can implement a permanent solution.

How you know that this spring is the one that needs to be properly ground. I know these are theories yet but theories are based on something isn't it?

This does not bother me much as well but I am having fun fixing things about the tablet so I want to fix this myself as well. Is it your nexus in the pic? You have I/O edition?
[Nexus 7 General] Ghostifish:
That was a pic stolen from the ifixit teardown with an arrow added by me to show where the contact is.

I've done a few more tests...

I am confident that that contact is a ground, or at least connected to zero volt terminal of the battery.

However, i did a test with the back off, layer of tin foil on the desk, piece of paper on top (to prevent shorts) tablet on the paper -and connected that contact to the foil. The glitchy behavour with three points was slightly reduced (harder to trigger) but still present. It doesn't look like improving the connection is going to 'fix' the 'problem'. Either I am barking up the wrong tree with this contact and the conductive back, or something is preventing the charge from being sufficiently dissipated through that pin and into the device/battery/power regulators.
[Nexus 7 General] Teqonix:
I've experienced an issue with just a single-touch with the full pad of my thumb or index finger:

[YOUTUBE]ouWJMRX6HVk[/YOUTUBE]

Kind of a shame since it's such a high quality tablet otherwise. I'll have to try out grounding the screen with headphones, charger, etc. to see if it's grounding or something else.
[Nexus 7 General] espionage724:
I can't seem to reproduce the multitouch issue I had. With my tablet not connected to anything, being placed on top of my mouse pad, I can multitouch cross axis just fine.

I am using Glazed Jellybean + Trinity Kernel if that makes a difference.
[Nexus 7 General] saadi703:
Without grounding I even have problem with single touch. If I use the tip of the finger and apply less pressure then this single touch problem goes away. Do you also have similar problem beside multi touch?
[Nexus 7 General] Lodovik:
I've made some experiments yesterday. First, there is two pins / springs that make contact with the silvery paint inside the back cover. Using a tester, I could determine that those pins are both connected to the common ground. I (carefully!) tested a lot of aluminum foil configurations without any noticeable improvement. I also tried to put some foil inside, over the USB connector to make contact with the conductive tape but it didn't work either.

I was very careful with this conductive foil and I would not recommend more experimentation with it. I was only looking for a quick and easy fix but I quited after about 90 minutes of experimentation. This is way over my knowledge as a computer tech.

The multitouch problem is about the only thing that annoys me and I've decided to keep this tablet until a new hardware revision comes out. I wouldn't ask for an exchange right now, taking the risk to get a worse one. I know that I may have to deal with Asus instead of Google when comes the time to send it back and I also know that it may get repaired instead of exchanged.
[Nexus 7 General] FTMDan:
This is the only issue I have with my N7.
[Nexus 7 General] kalinf:
I'm feeling the same way about it currently.
[Nexus 7 General] bntran02:
I have the exact issue discussed here in this thread plus an issue where virtual keyboard presses are not always detected. I called and asked for an RMA and the process was quick and painless. The rep stated that it is a known issue effecting "approximately 1%" of users. I don't buy that estimate but whatever. I apologize if the same methodology has been mentioned before as I skimmed through this entire thread but may have missed something.

I have the same issue where touch points go crazy when axis cross and the problem is completely removed depending on a few factors and here is my test procedure:

0) Place on flat surface.

1) Start off with one hand and two fingers at a spot where your two touch points are going crazy and leave it there (reproducing the bug)

2) With your free hand, slowly begin to grip, but DO NOT TOUCH the N7 on the sides near the middle.

3) As your free hand fingers get closer to the N7 you will notice the defect lesson and completely gone by the time both fingers are touching the N7. For me, the defect almost completely goes away when my free hand is still a couple inches from the N7

My observations:

1) It is definitely a hardware problem due to interference or grounding of some sort.

2) It has nothing to do with being laid flat. This just happens to be the most common way to use a tablet without being grounded by your hands. I can reproduce the problem no matter the orientation as long as my free hand is not touching the N7

3) A software solution may be possible as a workaround as it is not a "major" widespread issue

I would not hold my breath for a software solution as the Google Rep claims that they have already fixed the issue on future models. I believe they will just ignore the problem on current models and just sending new models to anyone who RMA's. So if you are within your return window I strongly suggest an RMA and hope to get a good one. If not, you'll still get ASUS's warranty in the future.
[Nexus 7 General] mi7chy:
They're correct in implying that it has low impact because most hold it, have it plugged in to charger, on a grounded surface (on my lap with jeans on doesn't show the issue) or using the small tip of their finger. It only shows when using fat flat portion of finger(s) and on ungrounded surface. Majority won't notice until they read about it on XDA. I first found out the vague multitouch issue here the spent time to further understand and was able to replicate it with just one finger but decided it's a rather non-issue. On the other hand, screen isues I wouldn't be able to ignore like bad pixels, screen flicker, backlight bleed, ghosting, etc.
[Nexus 7 General] Sebacestmoi:
Hi,

I've got the same problem like all of you.

If I play with the Nexus in my hand everything is perfect.

If the tablet is on my table (a wooden one) it doesn't work.

If I plug the charger it works again.

It's sad because I was happy to get a tablet to play my favorite game on Android, Cytus. It's a rythm game where you need to touch some circles at the right time.

On my Galaxy Nexus I've beat everything but because of this bug I can't even beat the first level on my Nexus 7.

I hope someone will found a fix.
[Nexus 7 General] Deekayy:
Hey I'm in the same boat. Cytus is my favorite game too and the multi touch issue Is preventing me to enjoy my multi touch games. I do hope this issue gets fixed.
[Nexus 7 General] Nippero:
Strange. Here is my issue:

Using two fingers, no glitching at all, no matter what I do.

Using three or four fingers, if the axis for all 4 points all overlap in a square formation, then I get glitching. Picking up the device has no effect on this.

Tested this using the multitouch test app on the market and also just by turning on "Show touches" and "Pointer location" in developer options.

Decided to do the same thing on my G2. Enabled the developer options and tried it out. Almost the same results. Except with the G2 when I touched the metal bezel the problem dissapeared.

Interesting. But I never had an issue with this on my G2, never noticed it... So I'm not going to stress over my N7.
[Nexus 7 General] CasualStarlord:
Yeah, mine has the issue if it is not grounded, ie if I hold it on the table with my hands on the edge, I can cross the axis, but if I sit it on the table I can't cross the axis without interference, out of interest my unit also has slight flicker in low light if its ungrounded and putting sticky tape over the gnd tab for the wifi antena resolved most of the flicker but didn't resolve the cross axis issue, if I hold it in my hand its already grounded so cross axis multi touch is not an issue :silly:
[Nexus 7 General] Cynnthetic:
For now you can play with headphones and it will work as a ground. Hopefully someone here will work out a solution.
[Nexus 7 General] Lodovik:
Finally, as the deadline for exchanging my Nexus 7 approched, I decided to email Google to get a new one, instead of keeping the one I had (light screen lift and multitouch problems).

The N7 I received still has the multitouch crossing axis problem but the screen lift is now almost non-existent. A new problem: one of the plastic retaining clips on the left side is constantly popping loose under the pressure of the big ribbon cable, it seems. I've tried numerous combinations of tightening / slacking screws, washers to no avail. Finally, a very, very small quantity of crazy glue solved the problem. So, no more fiddling with the internals of my N7...

Both of my tablets were C70s and the one I received as replacement had a lower serial number. I was hoping to get a more recent one since Google had problems keeping up with demand.

I'm truly surprised about the very abysmal QC of Asus. The low cost of the N7 is not an excuse for sloppy manufacturing. Both of my tablets had fingerprints on the copper shields, a sign that Asus has very loose regulations inside its assembly line. It wouldn't cost that much to improve the process so we can get what we paid for and stop playing the exchange lottery to win the defect-free product.

I love this little tablet and I found it has a place between my iPhone and my iPad3 as an excellent ebook reader with surprising capabilities in gaming and emulation thanks to a community of dedicated developers. I also like the fact that it is very easily hackable with toolkits like the one from WugFresh.
[Nexus 7 General] AZImmortal:
I hope that you're ready to be called an idiot for even suggesting that the QC is anything but perfect. As surprisingly poor as the QC is, I'm even more surprised by how many in this community refuse to believe that the QC is poor.