I’ve had the idea to do legitimate toy reviews from real parents here on UndefeatedDaddy.com for a long time. However, I wasn’t sure exactly how to go about it. Now, I’m going to start doing real toy reviews of the toys my own kids get, play with, and enjoy (or don’t). That way, the readers here will know that they are getting real non-fake toy reviews that are not designed to gather a 5-star rating on Amazon or whatever.
Leapster 2 Touch Screen Problem
This article is not a Leapster 2 review. That will be coming soon. However, the short version is the this. My kids love the Leapster 2. However, they do not have a Wii or Xbox or iPad or anything like that. Thus, this is the first and only kids gaming system we have, other than those aimed at younger children.
That being said, do not buy a Leapster 2. They are being phased out to make way for the Leapster Explorer. That means your Leapster 2 will be out of date in no time and there may not be any new games for the Leapster 2. We didn’t know this at the time, but we plan to take advantage of clearance sales to stock up on Leapster games from eBay and elsewhere online to make it last until we are ready for a new game system.
I bring this all up because we got a Leapster 2 game handset for Christmas that developed a bug where it would ask us to touch a flag to choose USA or Canada, but nothing happens when you touch the screen. It’s only a month old, so you can bet I was on the phone ready to be outraged.
Check out my article about whether there is a Credit Karma Scam.
It turns out that this is a rather common problem with Leapster and Leapster 2 game sets. Fortunately, there is a very easy fix.
Fix No Response Touch Screen on Leapster 2
To fix a broken Leapster 2 touch screen, you have to recalibrate it. To do so, you need to enter an undocumented (or poorly documented) configuration mode. To get into the system mode on the Leapster, hold down the ? (Help) button while turning it on.
Keep in mind that you have to already be pressing the ? button when you touch the power button and you have to keep holding it down until a configuration screen shows up.
Once you get to the config screen, press the A button to calibrate the Leapster touchscreen. The unit will display little red circles with a cross. Just touch each circle with the pen. They will appear in the four corners of the screen and then in the center.
When you’ve done that and are back at the configuration screen just press the power button or the down arrow until the unit shuts off to reset. Now, when you start the Leapster 2 and it asks you to select USA or Canada, it should actually work when you touch the American flag.