Is there a fix for my Samsung S4 Screen Issue?

[AC Question]

Samsung S4 Screen Issues

Hi there guys,

My mate has given me a Samsung Galaxy S4 to mess about with after he dropped it and destroyed the screen. So I charged it and turned it on and heard the phone power up. Nothing showed up on the display which didn't surprise me at all however when i pressed the home button and swiped I heard the phone unlock. So the touchscreen works? No. This is where it gets confusing. I found that I could see what I was doing by taking screenshots and viewing them on my laptop and to my surprise no matter where or how soft or hard I swipe, tap or hit the screen the phone wont budge from its home screen. I cant swipe the settings from the top, nor either of the home screens left or right. I cant open apps either. Then when I lock the device I can swipe the screen to unlock it again with no troubles, but can go no further. So can anyone explain why the touchscreen wont work past the lock screen? This has made what seems fairly clearly a hardware issue seem very software related. To strengthen this thought, the phone started flickering uncontrollably earlier (first just random colours but then I had 5 seconds of a clear battery charging icon suggesting the phone is still capable of displaying an image).

So my questions are:
Why wont the touchscreen wont work past the lock screen?
Is it possible there is a software fix for this? (I don't want to pay for a new screen and digitizer...)

Thanks for your time!

 

[B. Diddy]

Re: Samsung S4 Screen Issues

Welcome to Android Central! It's possible the touchscreen works at the bottom of the screen, such that it can detect enough of the swipe up to unlock to the homescreen. But if the rest of the touchscreen is faulty, then you won't be able to tap on any icons or swipe to other homescreens.