There are several different types of touch screens and your homemade stylus may not work with all of them.


iPhones, iPads, Androids, Kindles, and many other smart phones and tablets have a capacitive touch screen, which needs an electrical conductor (like the human body) to register where contact is made.
Nintendo DS, The 3Ds, the Nook, and some other phones and e-readers use resistive or infrared touch screens, which only require pressure to register contact. You can use just about anything as a makeshift stylus--just be careful not to scratch the screen.;
, Touch the screen with the tip of a pen cap. If the device responds, it is has a resistive or infrared touch screen. If nothing happens, the screen is inactive.
Find out which type of touch screen your device uses.
Test your screen if you're not sure.
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