ipeverywhere

Q: Touchscreen freaks out/registers touches without touching it.

Called Apple and they have not heard of this so wondering if I've got a one-of-a-kind problem here. Couldn't find another report of this anywhere. Please let me know if you are experiencing the below behavior:

After the screen gets excessively dirty with fingerprints the touchscreen will start registering touches without actually touching the screen. Safari will quickly zoom in/out, keyboard will open/close rapidly, links will be clicked at random bringing up new tabs, etc. etc. This all happens very quickly and is the best example but it happens in all applications.

If I sleep, hit the power button, and let it sit for 60 seconds then it will stop for a few minutes but ultimately comes back. Cleaning the screen does not always prevent it but cleaning the screen and rebooting (power off) does seem to stop this behavior until the screen gets dirty again.

When it is having a fit like this the screen seems to be overly sensitive. I can click on links by coming very close to the screen without actually touching it.

Anyway, when the iPad is having one of it's "fits" then it is basically unusable. Anyone seen this behavior? Or is it time to replace my iPad?

Thanks

iPad, Mac OS X (10.6.3)

Posted on Apr 26, 2010 11:53 AM

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Q: Touchscreen freaks out/registers touches without touching it.

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  • by StevePug2,

    StevePug2 StevePug2 Apr 27, 2010 3:58 PM in response to ipeverywhere
    Level 2 (370 points)
    Apr 27, 2010 3:58 PM in response to ipeverywhere
    There are any number of reports in these forums about screens self-registering. It's always a glitch so I would definitely get in touch with Apple.
  • by RoelandM,

    RoelandM RoelandM Apr 28, 2010 2:03 AM in response to ipeverywhere
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 28, 2010 2:03 AM in response to ipeverywhere
    Hi, I exactly encounter the same issue! It freaks me out. I've troubleshooted by all means. So you think it's the fingerprints which cause this behaviour? I'll check if that can be the cause in my case.

    Can you tell me what you've done to solve this? If you went to Apple, have they acknowledged this and gave you a new iPad or have they sent it in for repair?

    I'd really like to know 'cause I live in The Netherlands and the iPad was sent from The States (obviously). So I need to know what to do

    Thanks in advance for your reply!

    Kind regards,
    Roeland
  • by Keep Cool,

    Keep Cool Keep Cool Apr 28, 2010 8:30 AM in response to ipeverywhere
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 28, 2010 8:30 AM in response to ipeverywhere
    Encountered exactly the same problem.

    I am from Singapore, and I've got my iPad from one of those "parallel import" set from the local shop. Fortunately, the shop did a 1 to 1 change for me (with much complaint though, haha).

    I was suspecting the followings:
    1. Some of my iPhone Apps not compatable with iPad
    Conclusion: This can't be the cause, I had removed all iPhone Apps, and left only with the pre-installed iPad Apps, such problem still persisted.

    2. My iPad case internal magnets cause some interference magnetic field
    Conclusion: Can't be the cause. I had removed iPad from the case, the problem persisted.

    3. My iPad screen protector, that may trap some dirt that generate some interference to iPad
    Conclusion: Can't conclude, I did not have chance to remove the screen protector. Personally, this is unlikely.

    I've tried various methods over 2 days such as reset iPad, reinstall iPad, clean the screen, etc. In the end, I still think the prime suspect is still hardware defect.

    I think you should proceed to change it with Apple, since you got it from Apple. For people like us that outside of US will surely have some headache here.

    Nevertheless, still love my iPad, what a wonderful and beautiful device. Well done! Apple.
  • by Keep Cool,

    Keep Cool Keep Cool Apr 28, 2010 9:50 AM in response to Keep Cool
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 28, 2010 9:50 AM in response to Keep Cool
    Btw, I've just finished configuring my new iPad (1 to 1 changed by shop).

    My settings are exactly same as the previous one, so far so good.

    Thus, the freak problem can be conclude as hardware related defect.
  • by Wp1130_2000,

    Wp1130_2000 Wp1130_2000 Apr 28, 2010 1:26 PM in response to Keep Cool
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 28, 2010 1:26 PM in response to Keep Cool
    I'm having this same problem too. Screen does what it want to at times. I also have an IPod touch and NEVER had any issues like this. I called them a day ago and we did a reset but I had the screen freak out on me after that again.

    Not sure what to do but I'll have to give apple a call again. I don't want to ship it back but we'll see.
  • by jg16,

    jg16 jg16 May 11, 2010 4:56 PM in response to ipeverywhere
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 11, 2010 4:56 PM in response to ipeverywhere
    This is happening to me constantly. I am uploading a youtube video that shows the issue in action. Has anyone had Apple acknowledge a problem here? Any luck at the Apple store with getting a replacement?
  • by mohaas05,

    mohaas05 mohaas05 May 11, 2010 5:08 PM in response to jg16
    Level 1 (120 points)
    May 11, 2010 5:08 PM in response to jg16
    This is mostly an isolated case, probably a glitch in your device. There's no problem for Apple to acknowledge.
  • by jg16,

    jg16 jg16 May 11, 2010 5:15 PM in response to mohaas05
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 11, 2010 5:15 PM in response to mohaas05
    mohaas05 wrote:
    This is mostly an isolated case, probably a glitch in your device. There's no problem for Apple to acknowledge.


    huh? A few people are reporting the issue...
  • by etresoft,

    etresoft etresoft May 11, 2010 5:21 PM in response to jg16
    Level 7 (29,051 points)
    May 11, 2010 5:21 PM in response to jg16
    jg16 wrote:
    This is happening to me constantly. I am uploading a youtube video that shows the issue in action. Has anyone had Apple acknowledge a problem here? Any luck at the Apple store with getting a replacement?


    If there is a problem with your iPad and you can reproduce it at will, I'm sure the Apple store would replace it for you right away.
  • by jg16,

    jg16 jg16 May 11, 2010 5:24 PM in response to etresoft
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 11, 2010 5:24 PM in response to etresoft
    Well that's what is frustrating, I can't reproduce it at will but it happens several times per day. Thanks for the responses regardless Other than this I genuinely LOVE this device.
  • by etresoft,

    etresoft etresoft May 11, 2010 7:36 PM in response to jg16
    Level 7 (29,051 points)
    May 11, 2010 7:36 PM in response to jg16
    Does it happen when you are running any particular app? While the iPad is designed to be much more robust and immune from misbehaving applications, I'm sure there are plenty out there. I had one that would disable my touchscreen completely.
  • by jg16,

    jg16 jg16 May 11, 2010 10:15 PM in response to etresoft
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 11, 2010 10:15 PM in response to etresoft
    no, it happens on my Home screen more than anything.

    my girlfriend is experiencing it on her 3G model too, here's a video I just shot of her iPad doing the bug described in this thread:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8jhcn8KQZg
  • by etresoft,

    etresoft etresoft May 12, 2010 5:11 AM in response to jg16
    Level 7 (29,051 points)
    May 12, 2010 5:11 AM in response to jg16
    jg16 wrote:
    no, it happens on my Home screen more than anything.


    What app were you running before that?

    my girlfriend is experiencing it on her 3G model too, here's a video I just shot of her iPad doing the bug described in this thread:


    I suggest deleting both the speedtest app and whatever app you were running before it flaked out.
  • by ipeverywhere,

    ipeverywhere ipeverywhere May 12, 2010 6:34 AM in response to ipeverywhere
    Level 1 (12 points)
    May 12, 2010 6:34 AM in response to ipeverywhere
    Here is a couple of updates.

    The first is that I talked to a Genius Bar employee who has seen the behavior on an iPhone. He advised if it was reproducible or I got a video they would replace the device. That's one out of 20 or so Apple employees I've talked to and the only one who said they had seen such a thing before.

    The video posted in this thread is a minor result from what happens to mine. It rarely is a single application but will start randomly opening anything. It will even flip to a new page before opening something.

    Now the good news. The problem seems to have all but stopped completely. I made a behavior change in the way I touch the screen and it seems to have cleared up the issue (as I knock on wood). I'll describe the change as best I can. My background with touch screens has always been with resistive touch screens and mostly of the Windows CE/Motbile variety. With these screens and without a stylus you must press very hard to register a touch point. My phone has gotten to the point I smash my finger at times.

    By habit this was how I was using the iPad. Hard presses of the glass that would flatten my finger pad and leave a nice distinct finger print wherever I pressed. Over time, like within a few hours, of doing this the screen would go insane as described in this thread.

    After a very frustrating day of not being able to use the iPad I started concentrating on how lightly I could press to register a touch point. Surprising to me there are points on the glass I don't even need to touch it. I can hover just above it and a touch will register. I now don't even apply any pressure to the glass. I just simply make as little contact as possible. It has taken practice but after about a week of doing this it has been a week or so and the screen is fine.

    I'll keep using this method for a while and see if it holds out. If it does I'll consider that the fix. Otherwise it's going into Apple for a replacement.
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