My 3G iPad is about a month old. When in Safari, the device will suddenly scroll around a website as if I were touching the screen (I'm not), and then will randomly open up a page as if a hyperlink had been touched. It's also done this inside of a couple of apps. I re-boot the device, the problem goes away, but then returns a day or two later. I went almost 4 weeks without a single problem, and now this stealth issue has appeared. Has anyone else experienced this?
I have the same problem, and I found out what's wrong, it's not the software - restart, restore and FW upgrade will not help, if's defiantly hardware.
The best option is to replace your iPad assuming you have an apple store nearby… which I don't 😟 however I found what's causing it and how to bypass the issue almost completely 🙂
It's caused by the case pressing on the borders of the iPad, if you plan to continue using your case make sure it applies no pressure on the iPad - stretch it a little.
Then, take your iPad out of the case (the random / ghost typing will continue..) hold it on both sides, and press hard like your trying to "fold" it towards the apple logo on the back, once you do that you'll that the iPad works normally, and will keep working ok for a long time, if the random typing returns, just do the "folding" action again.
When pressing, apply strength but don't overdo it, you don't really want to fold your iPad (or break it), hope this helps…
I have the same problem, and I found out what's wrong, it's not the software - restart, restore and FW upgrade will not help, if's defiantly hardware.
The best option is to replace your iPad assuming you have an apple store nearby… which I don't 😟 however I found what's causing it and how to bypass the issue almost completely 🙂
It's caused by the case pressing on the borders of the iPad, if you plan to continue using your case make sure it applies no pressure on the iPad - stretch it a little.
Then, take your iPad out of the case (the random / ghost typing will continue..) hold it on both sides, and press hard like your trying to "fold" it towards the apple logo on the back, once you do that you'll that the iPad works normally, and will keep working ok for a long time, if the random typing returns, just do the "folding" action again.
When pressing, apply strength but don't overdo it, you don't really want to fold your iPad (or break it), hope this helps…
I'm the original poster on this thread. I ended up taking my iPad back to the Apple Store. They ran some diagnostics, and found that my RAM was almost maxed out, which didn't really make sense. It indicated a faulty processor, so they gave me a new iPad. I took it home, synched, and it only took about 45 minutes to synch 30 gigs of data. My original iPad took about 5 hours to synch for the first time. Clearly there was a problem with the processor in the first one, but I didn't realize it at first, as it took several weeks before it started exhibiting the erratic screen behavior. Hope this helps anyone else who might experience this down the line.
My experience is different. And the Phantom Touching on my iPad is much more agressive. After plugging in a charging connector, my iPad goes crazy:
* firing touching events all over the screen
* touching random keys, opening apps and doing some mad stuff because it is receiving phantom touches
My screen is 100% clean; no static. Disconnecting the charging cable and doing a full power cycle fixes the problem but it is really frustrating. Unlike yours, i don't have to touch the border and it doesn't ghost touch in the same place. If the keyboard is open, it touches random keys.
This is a bad bug, which i really hope can be fixed with a Firmware Update or a future update.
I have looked at this thread many times over the last several months because of similar problems with my iPad 2. I had the digitizer/screen replaced last year and about 4 months later I started getting the twitchy, ghost touching so badly that I haven't been able to use my iPad at all. Earlier this week I tried to use it for music and at some point it started trying to FaceTime anyone in my contact list. I consulted a few friends that work on apple products and they all thought it was the digitizer (screen) and either the cable was bad or loose or the entire thing needed to be replaced. I found someone that would do it for about $100 and figured it was better than having a non functioning iPad laying around. I did a factory reset/data erase last night and turned it off becasue I was planning on taking it in to be fixed this morning. I randomly picked it up last night and turned it on...just in case the reset worked...and IT DID. I slowly added just a few apps that I really need, my music, and contacts and that is all. So far, I have had NO PROBLEMS. I have reset it at least a dozen times since this started and always had problems but this time I started using it with the "new iPad" settings and not the "restore from backup" settings and immediately it was fine. Previously, I couldn't hardly get past the lock screen without the twitching, program opening starting up and so far it has been powered on and working for 18 hours without a single twitch. Could it have been a bad app? RAM issues? I don't know, but I would try this before spending any money or opening your iPad first. Just wanted to chime in with my experience.
I really don't think it's a static problem, and the iPad is not jailbroken. The Apple tech suggested that I restore as new, which I did. This worked for a few days, but now the issue is back again. Someone on another thread used the term "phantom touching" for a similar issue, but not quite the same nor as extreme. Has anyone else experienced this?
Instead of living with it, why don't you get a replacement? There are a LOT of people, myself included, who do not have this issue so there might be something physically wrong with the touch sensor on your iPad.
My iPad is a little over a month old and started with the ghost touches about 1 week ago. I thought it an app I had installed. It was simply going crazy after entering the ABC player and was self-pressing the @ and the _ keys over and over.
This weekend I noticed it would not even respond to touches at all. I had to turn it off - short press of power button - to get it to register touches again. This makes me think it is a software issue and not hardware. Very strange and annoying for a $800 device.
I am having the exact same issue with a 16G Wifi. When in Safari the keyboard randomly engages as if someone had touched the url bar or the google search bar. We have already swapped the first ipad out for a brand new one and the issue is still happening. We even put a drawing pad app on the touch screen to determine where the "ghost touches" were happening and when testing this way we discovered that multiple dots (touches) began showing up in the menu bar of safari (url and google search fields)and nowhere else on the screen. This explains why the keyboard keeps coming up.
We are using ipads as kiosks in a business setting and only using safari and a such have no other applications on the machines that could cause an issue. The other interesting piece of information is that we have another ipad set up the exact same way and it does not have any issues.
Has anyone gotten a good remedy to this issue given that I have already tried the swap out option with no luck?
I have the same problem - it seems to come and go which is frustrating when trying to fix. I intend to backe up/go to shop as soon for new ipad as I get time to but in the meantime used DarkDwarf's bend the ipad solution and it seems to have worked for now!
Well, I've had this problem off and on for some months (bought my iPad back in June) and all this time, I thought it was a dirty screen, hair, dust, flakes, finger smudges, you name it, etc. So I always did some cleaning, which APPEARED to solve the problem sometimes. However, wiping, cleaning, no water (always a dry microfibre cloth), never dropped, always well-cared for, the problem persists. Even after cleaning thoroughly (really inspecting at all angles for any tiny bits of hair, smudges, dust/flakes, etc.) and just setting it down on a table or c countertop, with or without the MacAlly Metropad case (like the Belkin GripVue-clear soft plastic that protects the back and edges that adds grip), it just acts strangely on its own. This is sporadic. Sometimes I won't see it for a while then sometimes it just happens throughout the day. It's frustrating. I'm convinced something is wrong. I tried the suggestion above stating to remove it from the case, give it a squeeze on both sides toward the middle, etc. Doesn't seem to work. I noticed that any pressure on the bezel (black around the screen) causes the screen to get jumpy. Not sure if that's expected or normal behaviour.
I'm another iPad user with this symptom. I have wondered if it is hardware, but that seems less likely if a simple re-boot seems to stop the erratic behavior. I just tested your theory of pinching it on the black bezel (about an inch below the Home button) and it immediately started it's phantom routine of zooming in and out on this page.
When I locked it and re-opened the page, it had stopped. Additional pinching in the same area did not replicate the bug. This has happened to me when the iPad was in another room - I heard audio coming from the other room and discovered my iPad had - on its own - launched YouTube.
Sometimes when this happens, I will try to turn it off, and in horizontal use (with Home button to left) the power button will not respond to my touch. It always responds if I rotate it vertically and then shut it down.
