How To Fix Ecobee Touch Screen Not Working? Easy Steps

Your Ecobee touch screen not working and you don’t know how to fix it?

Wonder no further, because in this guide we will provide you with the best working solutions for your Ecobee thermostat.

First, check if the breaker and heater switch is flipped for your thermostat and make sure its battery is fresh and charged. Next, make sure all wires are connected and not hardware damaged. Lastly, inspect your air filter as well as the furnace.

Before we proceed any further, let’s learn more about what could potentially cause the issue before moving on to resolving it.

Why Ecobee Smart Thermostat Touch Screen Not Working?

First of all, it is good to consider whether your thermostat is turned on.

Sometimes after a power outage, your thermostat could partly shut down, which will result in its display becoming inactive to touch.

Here are some of the occasions where your Ecobee thermostat’s touch screen might become inactive.

1. Blown Fuse

A potentially blown fuse of your furnace might prevent the thermostat from working and some of its features.

2. Drain Issues

If the place where your A/Cs drain is full of debris, it might somehow impact your thermostat too.

3. Power Problems

A power issue might also make the screen of your Ecobee thermostat inactive for an unknown period of time.

4. Breaker/Heater Switch

Flipped breaker and heater switch might also prevent your thermostat from working, thus the display will be inactive.

5. Security Protocol

Tripped high-limit temperature sensor or float switch will initiate the security protocol which will shut down your furnace as well as the thermostat.

These are the generally reported scenarios in which your thermostat display will not be working, so let’s now move on to the actual solutions.

How To Fix Ecobee Touch Screen Not Working?

Before we proceed, make sure your thermostat is up and running.

If the screen is inactive, it is most likely that your thermostat’s power got cut or the power button was pressed.

If that’s not the case, let’s proceed with the solutions one by one:

Solution #1 Power Cycle The Thermostat

The first and most easy task in the troubleshooting process is to power cycle your Ecobee thermostat.

Also known as a hard reset, this discharge cycle will drain out all remaining electricity and cool down your thermostat.

Here is how to power cycle your Ecobee thermostat:

1. Flip the circuit breaker and take your thermostat off the wall.
2. Once the power has gone out, unplug the C wire which should be in red color.
3. Once unplugged, wait for 5 minutes for your thermostat to discharge.
4. After your thermostat feels cold on touch, plug the C wire into the respective slot.

Once the power cycle is complete, turn on your thermostat with the power button and test out the touch screen.

Solution #2 Reset The Circuit Breaker

If the power cycle did not help, there is a more efficient way to reset your thermostat.

For this purpose, you will perform a reset on your circuit breaker which has a high chance to fix the touch screen.

Follow the steps down below to reset your circuit breaker:

1. Go to the circuit breaker box and open it.
2. Find the switch controlling the power of the room your thermostat is located in.
3. Flip the switch slowly in around a 5 seconds interval until it is in the “off” field.
4. Once turned off, wait for another 15 seconds and flip it to the “on” field the same way you turned it off.

Once reset, the circuit breaker will initiate a reboot of your thermostat, and afterward, the touch screen should be fully functional.

In addition, we recommend changing the wall outlet of your thermostat to exclude the possibility of power problems completely.

Solution #3 Reconnect The Wires

Perhaps the issue is found within your thermostat’s wiring. More specifically, the “C” wire in red color that supplies your thermostat with power flow.

Before we proceed with the steps, ensure none of the wirings have inflicted hardware damage on them.

Here are some steps to reconnect your thermostat’s wires:

1. Eject the thermostat off the wall.
2. There should be 3 wires, one of which is the “C” wire.
3. Flip the circuit breaker again and un-roll the “C” wire from the power slot of your thermostat.
4. Once removed, unplug the other 2 wires from their respective slots and wait for 3 minutes.
5. Re-roll the C wire and plug the rest of the wires.

Once done, turn on your thermostat and check if the screen is still frozen. If the screen is still not detecting your touches, proceed with the next solution.

Solution #4 Change Blown Fuses

If your Ecobee touch screen is not working it could be due to a blown fuse.

Fuses can be found in your furnace’s breaker box, which should be located somewhere in your household.

Go to the furnace breaker box and inspect all of the fuses. If your thermostat is unfunctional, it is utterly possible that one or more of the fuses got blown.

Blow fuses will be distinguishable from other fuses, due to their cracked surface and missing light.

Important: Change fuses ONLY when the circuit breaker is flipped for the room where your furnace breaker is.

Solution #5 Enable The Drain Line

Another occasion where your thermostat could become inactive is if the drain line is full of debris by your A/Cs.

If you’re not familiar with the cleaning process of your drain line, it must be performed once in a couple of months to refresh the air your A/Cs bring into the household.

Here are the steps to enable your drain line and clean it off:

1. Go to your A/Cs drain line and check if it is draining or not.
2. If it isn’t draining, go to the float switch, which should be located somewhere around the drain tube.
3. Flip the float switch if it is flipped off.
4. Check on the thermostat and if it is still not working, make sure the drain line has free space to drain.

Once the drain line is free of any remains, your thermostat should start working and the screen as well.

Solution #6 Clean The Air Filter

Lastly, if the thermostat is still not working after this intense series of troubleshooting, perhaps the fault is within the air filter.

Keep in mind that after a couple of weeks of usage, your air filter should be cleaned otherwise your thermostat functionality might be endangered.

Here is how to clean your air filter:

1. Take out the air filter by unscrewing the 2 screws.
2. Take it out of the drain line and make sure it is free of any dust and debris.
3. Use a slightly wet napkin to remove larger pieces of garbage.
4. Put the air filter back into the slot and screw it tightly.

Once done, restart your thermostat and check if it is going to work. If it’s still not working, it would be a good idea to contact Ecobee themselves for help.

You might turn out to be lucky if you don’t have to make any replacements, but if the thermostat is working and only the display is faulty, it won’t be that expensive to repair.

Read Next: Ecobee Calibrating Heat Cool Disabled? Know how to Fix!

Bottom Line:

To fix a touch screen on a thermostat, make sure the “C” wire is plugged in tightly, reset the circuit breaker, and power cycle your thermostat. Next, clean the air filter as well as the drain line and re-flip the float switch.

Now that you know why Ecobee touch screen not working, you should be able to easily fix the issue with our solutions.

If at the end the screen is still inactive, perhaps your thermostat is due for replacement, and you should seek further assistance.