Nook Simple Touch solution to unresponsive touchscreen

If you do a Google search for nook simple touch touchscreen unresponsive, you’ll see a whole bunch of frustrated Nook users. My wife got the original Nook (the one with the e-ink on top and the color touchscreen on the bottom). She eventually upgraded to the Nook Simple Touch and loved it, so I also got a Nook Simple Touch. Both devices have functioned well for months and months (over a year? I forget exactly when we got them).

All of a sudden, this week both Nooks have had their touchscreens turn unresponsive. Everything else worked—the hard buttons worked. I could force a shutdown. I could get the slide-to-unlock to pop up when I pressed the n button. The few times I could unlock the devices, the hard buttons on the side to turn the pages would actually turn the pages. But the touchscreen responding to touch worked only about 1 time out of every 20 times I tried. This was on both devices.

If you read these sad people’s stories about trying to get the touchscreens working again, they’ve tried just about anything: getting replacements from B&N, trying to get B&N to repair it in-store, waiting for a firmware update, charging the device fully, resetting the device to factory settings.

I did try a forced shutdown. I also tried a firmware re-update (just whatever the latest version is available on the Barnes and Noble website).

Do you know what it ended up being? A dirty Nook. That’s right. Our Nooks had been gathering too much dust and other crap. I wiped them both down with an only slightly damp tissue, and they both worked flawlessly!

Lesson learned! If you have a Nook Simple Touch, keep it clean. And when you’re not using it, put it in a protective sleeve.

152 comments

  1. Worked for me! I took a glass cleaner and really got into the crevices. I think sand might have caused the issue.

  2. Thanks a lot!!!

    I have been having this issue for several months, I had finally given up using my Nook Simple Touch. After reading this I used a damp rag and wiped the surface, then dried it; all of a sudden it is working perfectly again!

  3. Oh my God. Thank you so much for writing this.
    My screen on my nook froze once two weeks after purchase — just before I was leaving the U.S. for a semester abroad in New Zealand. I have been here almost 2 months now and am leaving for a school trip to the Cook Islands the day after tomorrow…and MY SCREEN FROZE AGAIN. All sorts of dramatic misery ensued, and when I read this, I kind of grinned because this is exactly the sort of solution that would totally work for a problem of mine.
    AND IT DID!!
    Too bad I didn’t figure that out BEFORE I did a manual factory reset…but all the same, THANKS!!!!

  4. Thank you so much! I picked up my Nook Simple Touch this morning and no touchscreen. I wiped it down with a Windex wipe and voila! Good as new! Thanks again

  5. I was able to get it back to work after performing an update.
    I follow the instructions to manually update to firmware 1.1.2 available at:

    http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/Software-Updates-NOOK-Simple-Touch/379003175/#

    I really tried everything, cleaning it, powering off, hard-reset, however it was only able to solve it with firmware update (problably it was the same verison as before).

    At the internet most of the feedback you receive is related to dirt on the sensors, etc. However I find it hard to believe that dirt is the main cause, seriously how much dirt can a Nook accumulate if it is used properly with a cover… :)

    Gook luck!

  6. Wow !!! thanks you so much … it worked even with clean
    dump paper …
    And i just spent the whole evening with BN customer support trying to get a replacement …
    How come they do not ask you to try this simple logical action ????
    They already issued a replacement order – lets see if i can stop it in time
    Great Tip – should be published in 1st link by google next time .
    Dov

  7. For anyone who tries this using glass cleaner, please be aware that the chemicals can mess up your screen. You need to go back and re-wipe with just a water dampened lint-free cloth.

  8. Oh my god! I was days / hours away from buying a new e-reader, this problem was so infuriating. And this completely fixed it. What an incredible low-tech solution to a silly problem. Thanks much!

  9. Oh my gosh thank you!! I haven’t used my nook in months because it wasn’t responding and I was reading to trash it i was so aggrivated! Now it works just like the day I bought it!!!

  10. What on earth. I think you have done it. I mean, I did it, but you DID it! I was about to reload the memory again. Just madness. Fingers crossed it lasts… but if it does. then wow. thank you

  11. -_- Can’t believe that worked. Thanks! Was already starting doing research for a new ebook reader. Wish this thing handled pdf’s better.

  12. holy wahhh!

    I have been having issues with this thing for weeks. I keep it in a soft cloth bag when I’m traveling, but the rest of the time it’s just sitting around my apartment. I’m living in China, too, so the air here’s pretty dirty and my hands are probably none too clean either. I was looking into buying a new e-reader, because I bought my Nook as a factory re-furb and I can’t send it back from here anyway. I thought i’d been too rough on it or something. Half the touch screen (the bottom) worked about 80 of the time, and it was driving me nuts.

    I gave it a little scrub with damp TP just ten minutes ago and it’s good as new.

    Thanks!

  13. it’s really ridiculous how well simply wiping off the screen works in fixing the problem. Immediately after i wiped it off it was the same but after wiping AND resetting it works perfectly.

  14. You don’t need a cloth to wipe it. Simply run your fingers around the screen and it should come back to life

  15. I did not expect this to work as my nook looks clean and was getting so frustrated, but amazingly I have my book back with such an easy fix!

  16. i tried all the above but to no avail. i dont know if my problem is the same as your cos mine is got to do with lower left corner of the screen. nothing works there and its freaking me out. is there any other help?

  17. OMG .. this worked! Thank you SO much for the tip! I even have a screencover on my Nook Simple Touch and it looked clean, but obviously it wasn’t!

    Yay!!!

  18. Oh My God. Worked! thank you sooooo much! I knew my screen was a little dirty, but I didn’t think it was THAT dirty.

  19. Just worked for my very frustrated son. Now he can access all the parts again! Thanks so much for the tip.

  20. Wooo hoooo! That’s a relief. It’s working again, and I thought I’d ruined it by dropping it. Thanks for the tip.

  21. Genius! Great thanks. I loaded a bunch of books on to the Nook before re-boxing it and wrapping it up for my Goddaughter’s Christmas present. Started to not respond, I was about to buy her another present when I ran across your website. All sorted. Something for the B&N customer service staff to know perhaps!…

  22. Fantastic – like some of the others on here was just about ready to purchase another e-reader and was thinking about going back to paperbacks as my touch screen has been unresponsive. Just given it a clean with clean cotton cloth and small amount of glass cleaner and is working perfectly again. Thank you soooo much for the tip !

  23. Thank you so much! I had been having this problem with my nook for several days and came across your site when I googled the issue (since Barnes and Noble’s customer service was useless). So far it is working perfectly again!

  24. Thank you so much!!! Finally I have my Nook back. It was behaving badly lately and I already considered purchasing new ebook. You solution worked! My ebook is back
    Thank you very much again!

  25. Nook Simple Touch screen frozen. Please spread the word. This is the solution. The n button or sleep button is easily depressed by the exterior covers or other objects because it is raised up a little. Your Nook Simple Touch can run out of power because the n button is continually depressed, even if you had 50% battery the last time you looked at it. Now your battery is completely empty. Yes, completely empty. Press and hold the on-off button on the back of the Nook Simple Touch with the power cable plugged into the device. While pressing and holding the on-off button, plug in the other end of the power cord into a power socket. Continue to hold the on-off button and in about 5 seconds the power light that had been green will turn orange. When this happens the power light will only stay orange for about 2 seconds. The power light will then turn green again. This entire time you are still holding the on-off button depressed. After the light turns back to green, continue to hold the on-off button for approximately 15 more seconds. Finally, release the on-off button and the power light should turn orange and stay orange. Do not unplug the power cord from the power socket or from the Nook Simple Touch. After a few minutes a message will appear on the screen that says your Nook Simple Touch is charging, and you need to wait until the battery has enough power for you to use it. That´s all. Let the battery charge and you are ready to go. Peace.

    1. This was the trick! The wiping if the screen did nothing, the hrs reset did nothing, no response at all. Thank you so much!

  26. Thank you!!!! i have been taking mine to the beach and tiny bits of sand were in the corners. That’s all it took to freeze it up. It works fine after using eye glass cleaner and Quetips!!!

  27. Thank you so much for this post! I was getting so frustrated reading through the forums and not getting a straight answer for fixing the problem, besides getting a new Nook. I tried wiping the screen down with a damp tissue and now it’s working perfectly again. Great find, and thanks again for posting!

  28. Just wanted to say thank-you!!!! Such a simple fix saved me hours of troubleshooting. My nook is kept in a case at all times and the screen didn’t even look dirty. But after giving it a quick wipe, touch screen started working perfectly again!!

    Thank-you!!

  29. Like all the others…. THANK YOU so much for solving my problems! One would think that nook support would have this wonderful fix posted prominently on their support site.

  30. As previous comments said, thank you.
    To repay my appreciation, here from my experience.
    1. Stop using the case you used to do. Somehow the case you are using bends your Nook and affects the n button.
    2. More gently press the n button than you used to do, at least changing the spot you used to press it. And if possible, try to switch pressing on the left side, then on the right side of the n button to “balance” the pressure. You got and idea, right?
    Thanks again.

  31. Wow thanks so much! Min had been unresponsive for a bit and I had almost given up on it, when I tried googling and found this! So simple and it works, thanks a lot!

  32. Hi!

    I did as you said yesterday and my nook started to run perfectly!

    Hovewer, the problem has come back today. I wiped the screen and it doesn’t seem to have any effect on the functioning of my nook at all.

    In fact, I am even planning to sell it.

    Fran-.

  33. Ça marche! Merci beaucoup :-) works wonderfully – thank you very much! I also took note of the advise above regarding chemicals in glass cleaner, and the suggestion we wipe with damp cloth after using to hopefully counteract harmful effects on screen. Thanks again :-)

  34. Wiping the screen worked for my Nook too, even though it didn’t look dirty at all. Thanks!

    Doesn’t anyone know if it is possible to avoid using the screen altogether and just use the buttons?

  35. Thank you so much! I have not used my Nook for about a year now, because I have given up on it completely. Hilarious that it was just dirty.

    Fantastic help.

  36. Had the unresponsive screen, thought Google it! Got this tip and figured it was worth a shot. Then i figured if its just debris, maybe i could blow it out like an old Nintendo cartridge. Totally worked. Probably not as long lasting a cleaning as a good wiping, but it works in a pinch.

  37. I followed your advice and my Nook is still stuck. Something must have gone beyond where I can reach with a wipe or a paper. I’m quite dissapointed. I bought it just 5 months ago…

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