What you need to know
- Owners of the Google Pixel Fold are reporting "sticky scrolling" issues on their devices' main screens.
- The problems break scrolling inertia on Android, causing scrolls to stop fully after you release your finger from the display.
- Multiple users on X (formerly Twitter), Reddit, and Google's own support forums chronicled their experiences with the issue.
Foldable phones have frequently suffered from problems you won't find on the best traditional flagships, and the Google Pixel Fold might be the latest example of this trend. Multiple users are reporting issues with scrolling on their Pixel Fold, specifically while using the main screen. These Pixel Fold owners flocked to social media sites like X (formerly Twitter), Reddit, and even Google's own Pixel Phone Help forums to chronicle the problems.
The issues have been dubbed "sticky scrolling" and are caused by Android disabling scrolling inertia. For those unfamiliar, scrolling inertia is the scrolling property that allows the scroll to naturally continue before coming to a gradual stop, even after you've lifted your finger. It makes scrolling behave naturally, and without it, the operating system would only continue to scroll as your finger moves across the display.
Users have been reporting this issue for a while, with no apparent response from Google yet. One Reddit post described the issue as first appearing on Android 13 and continuing on Android 14. The inertia scrolling problem seems to only affect the main screen, but there are mixed reports. Additionally, users say that the "sticky scrolling" bug is more apparent on apps that use the infinite scroll format.
Pixel Fold users: Is scrolling on the inner display wonky for you? Some users are reporting that scrolling inertia on the inner display has been weird, especially on recent Android 14 builds (both the latest stable QPR2-based build and the QPR3 beta).For example, gestures like… pic.twitter.com/hgf3GF8QpDMarch 8, 2024
The issue appears to remain even after typical troubleshooting steps have been taken. For example, Android expert Mishaal Rahman shared a video of the problem affecting Zac Bowden's Pixel Fold. According to Bowden, the problem has troubled both his original Pixel Fold and a refurb unit. Additionally, the issues persisted after a full factory reset and manual reinstallation of an Android 14 stable release.
This bug doesn't seem to apply to every Pixel Fold unit, but it has certainly appeared on multiple devices. It appears to be a software issue; however, there's no way to know for sure without confirmation from Google.
Android Central has contacted Google about the Pixel Fold scrolling issue, but they did not get back to us in time for publication. We will update the article once we have more information.
