Have you ever tried to fix a problem (not necessarily of a technical nature), succeeded, but then ended up inadvertently causing a series of new ones? That's more or less what Google seems to be going through right now... with the crucial difference being that the search giant's latest monthly Android update has undoubtedly done more good than harm for Pixel 10, 10 Pro, and 10 Pro XL owners.
What would you do if your phone's touchscreen stopped working?
Unfortunately, that's not just a hypothetical question meant to generate theoretical nightmares for a good dozen of Redditors, who've had to find elaborate workarounds and temporary solutions to that exact problem for the last few days.
While it's not entirely clear what's causing so many Pixel 10 Pro and 10 Pro XL touchscreens to become "completely useless" without warning, it's certainly interesting that no owners of the "vanilla" Pixel 10 have joined the chorus of affected Android users... so far, with just one Redditor in possession of a Pixel 9 Pro XL reporting the same issue (also so far).
Since the December update, I've had to force restart the phone multiple times every day by holding down the power button for 30 seconds. Here's what seems to be happening: If I set the phone down on a table, eventually additional security kicks in and locks the phone. The problem is, when I return to the phone the power button works, but that's it. The touchscreen is completely useless until the phone is force restarted. I can wake the screen, double-click the button to raise the camera, but no touch is accepted. I've found that using the screen-off fingerprint reader setting allows me to unlock the phone if the screen is off, but go no further.
tstrmr on Reddit, December 8, 2025
Another curious aspect is that the new bug seems to manifest only when a phone is set down on a table or another similar surface "for a while", and not when its owner carries the device around in their pocket.
The actual buggy behavior is honestly pretty scary to me, not in the sense that I'd be afraid to use my phone if I experienced such a thing, but in the sense that I would be likely to break it after two or three incidents as the ones described on Reddit.
Did Google drop the ball with the December update?
Definitely not, my phone is zippier than ever before
20%
Definitely not, a bunch of old bugs are now fixed
60%
Kind of, as some things are now better, but others are worse
0%
Definitely, as I'm seeing new bugs on my phone
20%
We're talking complete and total resistance to touch, with the power button still functioning, the display waking up as normal, and even the fingerprint reader allowing for the phone to unlock... without anything else working.
So what can you do if you experience the new bug?
Unfortunately, not much. You can force restart your Pixel 10-series device, but the problem will reappear. You can also circumvent the issue in your home by using the location-based Extend Unlock functionality, but naturally, that won't work anywhere else, and it clearly doesn't qualify as a comprehensive fix.
The Pixel 10 Pro XL is just one of the new phones affected by the new bug. | Image Credit -- PhoneArena
What does seem to make the problem go away and keep the touchscreen functional even after long periods of inactivity is disabling the Always-On Display feature, which you should probably do (as inconvenient as it might be) until Google rolls out a more... elegant solution in a future software update.
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Of course, before that can happen, the search giant needs to first acknowledge the new bug, which is not yet the case, at least to my knowledge and that of the impacted Redditors mentioned above.
Should you give up on your Pixel 10 now?
I really don't think so. Obviously, I understand your frustration if your phone's touchscreen randomly becomes unusable and refuses to fully recover even after multiple successive reboots, but I strongly believe that Google's December 2025 update has resolved more issues than it has created, at least in the grand scheme of things.
Also in the grand scheme of things, it feels to me that the Pixel 10 family has been impacted by a significantly smaller number of hardware and software glitches and bugs than previous Google-made handsets, so if anything, the search giant deserves praise and more of your confidence in the long run.
Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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