My Samsung Galaxy A3 screen is unresponsive [How to Fix]

This post is purposely created to address a problem on Samsung Galaxy A3 with unresponsive screen. Those who have emailed us with this display issue on the same device may refer to the solutions and workarounds I have recommended in this content.

Problem:

"Cannot unlock my Galaxy A3 because the screen is not responding to touch. Performing a soft reset several times did not make a difference."

Possible causes:

Display issues are mostly tied to hardware problems. One of the common culprits is a dysfunctional or damaged screen digitizer. In cases like this, your only option is to take your phone to a technician for repair or contact your phone carrier for a replacement request, if possible. However, other cases of unresponsive touch screen are triggered by some glitches on the software. You're a bit lucky if you fall in the latter case because you can still do something to save your device without paying for a tech fee.

Possible Solutions and Workarounds:

After digging through some forums and online discussions concerning the Galaxy A3's unresponsive display, I have managed to compile the following solutions.

Before you do anything, ensure your phone's battery is in good condition. Sometimes, a depleted battery can also cause the device to misbehave or become unresponsive. If the battery is good, then you may give the following workarounds a try. Be sure to test your device after completing each step to see if the problem has been fixed. Otherwise, proceed to the next method.

First Method: Restart your device

While it's been noted in the problem statement that restarting the device for several times did not make a difference, it wouldn't help if you'd give it another try this time. A simple restart often rectifies device issues like this.

If your A3 device is frozen and unresponsive, you can perform a soft reset by pressing and holding the Power button and the Volume button down simultaneously for about 10 seconds to restart the device.

Second Method: Close running apps

Sometimes, running several apps simultaneously can cause the device to perform slowly or freeze. In this case, all you have to do is to close or force close apps running in the background.
Here's how to close running apps on your Galaxy A3 handset:

• Tap Apps from the Home screen.
• Scroll left and tap Settings.
• Tap the MORE tab.
• Select Application manager.
• Tap Running to view all running apps, DOWNLOADED to view all downloaded apps, or SD CARD to view apps from the SD CARD.
• Tap to select the app you want to close.
• Tap Force Stop.

Alternatively, you can just press and hold the Home button and then slide your finger left or right until the app is removed.

Third Method: Check internal memory space

Low or insufficient storage or internal memory can also cause your phone to freeze or become unresponsive. To eliminate RAM problem among the possible culprits, check your phone's memory status and ensure it still has sufficient storage space to carry out more actions or run apps. Create memory space, if necessary. One of the methods that can help free up some space of your phone's internal memory is to clear the cache and history of your phone's internet browser or other apps.

Fourth Method: Boot into Safe Mode

To eradicate the possibility of the problem being caused by a faulty third-party application, you can try to boot into Safe Mode and test your phone. If the problem ceases while in safe mode, then it denotes that a third-party app is the cause. In this case, try to remember the app(s) you've recently added right before the problem started. If the problem persists in Safe mode, proceed to the next available method.

To boot your Galaxy A3 into Safe Mode, make sure you turn it off first and then follow these steps:

• Press and hold the Volume down key.
• Keep pressing on the Volume down key and then press the Power key briefly to turn the phone ON. Continue to hold the Volume down key.
• Wait for the phone to power up.
• When it powers up, you should Safe Mode on the lower left corner of the display. You can now release the Volume down key.
• Unlock the screen and check to see if the problem is still there.

Once you're done diagnosing your phone in safe mode, just restart your device to exit safe mode.

Fifth Method: Update your device software, if necessary.

Device issues that are known and acknowledged by the manufacturer are often resolved by firmware patches or software updates. That said, try to check for available software updates for your phone and update firmware if needed.

You may either use the Samsung Kies 3 tool via or use FOTA via the Software Update menu under About Device settings on your phone.

To check for available software updates for your phone, head on to Apps-> Settings-> About device-> Software Update. If an update is available, tap on Update and then follow the onscreen prompts to complete the software update process.

If all else failed to resolve the problem, then your next option before taking your device to a service center is to perform a factory data reset or master reset. Please note though that a master reset will delete all your personal information stored in the phone, so be sure to back them up beforehand.

To perform factory reset on your Galaxy A3, go to Apps-> Settings-> Backup and reset-> Factory data reset-> Reset device-> Erase everything.

You can also perform a factory reset using the hardware keys on your Samsung Galaxy A3. Here's how:

• Turn off the phone completely.
• Press and hold the Volume Up, Home, and Power keys simultaneously.
• Release all keys when the Android Recovery menu screen appears.
• Scroll to and highlight wipe data/factory reset using the Volume down key and press the Power key to confirm.
• Scroll to and highlight Yes--delete all data and press the Power key to confirm.
• Wait until the master reset is done. 
• Select Reboot system now.
• Press the Power key to restart the phone.

If the problem persists even after performing a master reset, then please contact Samsung Support or visit an authorized Samsung technician to check your phone screen for possible hardware damage.