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iPad behaving erratically: "ghost touching"

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?

3G iPad

Posted on Jun 8, 2010 9:08 AM

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Posted on May 27, 2017 2:45 AM

No one would believethis but trust me...

My dad has a mini ipad ad he also had theghost screen. Erratic jumping, zooming in out - you name it.

He had metal scissors next to him and for reasons that boggles the mind, decided to pull the scissors over the screen a few times en WALLAH!

The screen is deGhosted!

Maybe a magnetic discharge...?!

110 replies

Jan 30, 2015 12:25 PM in response to merenkov

I had the exact same problem on my iPhone. I went to the AT&T store who told me I need to take it to the Apple Store. They also said that since my phone was more than a year old, I couldn't get a replacement, otherwise Apple would replace it for free. They also said the problem may have something to do with the screen. That's when I suddenly realized I had the screen and the LCD replaced a couple months ago, since my phone fell and the screen broke. So I called the guy who had replaced it, he came over, changed the screen and voila! It worked!



Try replacing the screen. that might work. Good luck!


- Somu

Feb 2, 2015 3:49 PM in response to somuchandran

Have the same ghost touching problem on my iPad mini. Already done full reset and removed my downloaded apps. still encountering ghost. So I don't think its a memory issue. Took it to an Apple Service provider and they did the same resets and even check the iOS. Then they said they cannot repair the hardware but will replace the iPad if I pay 75% of its market price.

May 4, 2015 10:03 AM in response to merenkov

People, the fix is simple! Resets didn't work. Capnash (p 3) and other comments after have said things like:


"I sat it screen down over a soft flat carpet and pressed the sides with mild pressure along the curved perimeter with both hands flattening the hole frame. (NOT THE MIDDLE where the Apple symbol is). worked!
This things bent easy so be careful. “

The reason seems to be: "bare trace leads" that one daring person saw while taking their ipad device apart. Normal use caused them to become bare. "ipad touch screens are very sensitive so pressing continuously over time causes those bare traces to interfear with the touch screen. “ That person wrapped the leads with duct tape - not that I'm going to do that! Just bend the device back a bit. This is simple, just place the device screen side down. In any case, do not let this awful problem drive you crazy and force you to buy more phones!!!

May 5, 2015 7:24 PM in response to franamo

OH! It only worked for just a few minutes. Sorry! I disabled every motion sensor I could find; and at the Verizon store was just about through the line when I found out to disable the "gravity sensor" on my iphone 4! OK this is the real fix. You have to "lock" the gravity sensor, which is the top right sympbol on the control screen that you get from swiping upward. The symbol at the top right should be highlighted. ***THIS REALLY WORKED FOR THE REST OF THE DAY! There was one moment when the problem came back and I could not swipe or select anything; but once I get it to swipe upward, sure enough, the symbol at the top right was no longer highlighted. I simply highlighted it again. You need to have a phone that does not asct possessed more than you need to switch from vertical to horizontal orientations! People PLEASE share this after you try it and it works!!!!! WHY are there hundreds of posts like this one and no answers??? Apple and mac sites should be posting about this fix.

May 23, 2015 9:43 AM in response to Makepa59

Some new information from my experiences. Last endsummer (see my first message) I had this problem all the time. Then it vanished but not with freeing memory - it gave only temporary help (sorry about not informing that 😟). And now just about few weeks this ghost behaviour has been annoying me once again just like summer 2014.


I have started to have suspicion that reason for this behaviour is on Apples side. And more detailed on operating systems versions. Unfortunately I didn´t make anyt good notes, but as far as I remember it vanished last autumn when I installed new version of IOS of my Ipad. I didn´t have any difficultien for months. And it game back when I installed the latest IOS- version. Some kind of overflow which upsets the touchscreen functionality somehow ? Any similarities with any others experiences ? Bending the corners of iPad help now sometimes but not always. And I definitely don´t want to bend all the time my tablet - evertually it will break. Interestingly, it seems to be so that whenever I have not been using iPad for longer time this ghost behaviour is most annoying the first half of hour, i.e. on mornings. Then it might be good for one two hours and then again comes back. It is confusing when you cannot fix it - seems so. Hopefully new IOS version will take it away ?

Jul 29, 2015 9:44 AM in response to Makepa59

Your experience seems similar to mine. I have an Ipad Air and had my screen replaced early this year and it worked fine for awhile and then ghost tapping began. It got to a point where Ipad was unuable. Multiple reboots and new operating system did not solve problem.


Talked to person who replaced the screen and he recommended wiping unit, including case, down with isopropyl alcohol. This worked for a few days but problem reoccurred. In frustration, with nothing else I could think of, I removed the Ipad from the case, rebooted and lo and behold the Ipad started working again. Still get alittle ghost tapping but it is minimal and Ipad is usable.


Several times now I have tried reinserting Ipad into case and consistently have problem reoccur.


Contacted case manufacturer and asked if other customers are having this problem with their case. So far no response to this question but they are sending me a new case.


I theorize that the microfiber fabric lining the case is creating a static charge when I handle the unit and that somehow interferes with the operation of the Ipad.

Aug 4, 2015 12:24 PM in response to viznes

Just noticed this thread, and wanted to add the following. After removing the possible static charge with an 'antistatic' cloth, I still had the crazy screen problem. All the reset ideas didn't work either. Finally, I noticed that the room temperature in my room down here in Texas was in the high 90's, and the iPad case was pretty warm. Taking it into a cooler room allowed normal operation and 'swiping' as before. It was pretty obvious that my iPad was hotter than my 'swiping' finger.

CT

Aug 7, 2015 11:35 AM in response to Louie21

As a follow up to your response, and my own experience, got the new case (at no charge) and put the Ipad Air into it. Ghost tapping problem occurred virtually immediately. Rebooted Ipad and it started to work well and did so for about a week. Ghost tapping started again, I rebooted again and it seems to be working properly again.


Noticed the new case is a tighter fit than orginal case. I wonder if this eliminates movement of the case against the Ipad and thus reduces static buildup.


Interestingly you seemed to attribute the climate as a cause of your problem. I live in Connecticut and summers are warm and humid, although probably not as bad as Texas. We generally do not like to run the air conditioning except when it gets oppresive enough we cannot tolerate heat and humidity on a particularly bad day, so atmosphere I use Ipad in is similar to what you describe. Have not tried to correlate the atmospheric conditions in house with problem but per your advice will keep a eye on that.

Aug 7, 2015 1:07 PM in response to viznes

It seems like a slight bend in the frame may be the issue. Resetting and all other fixes do not help. I do not believe it is static or humidity. The ipads are probably too thin, and the connections may be getting loose. If someone is still under warranty, then return it and consider yourself lucky. Those of us that are out of warranty are screwed. I am fed up with Apple over this. It is a common problem!

Aug 20, 2015 8:30 AM in response to Chufar

Just wanted to add my 2¢. I think Chufar is on the right track, the problem may be caused by frame flexing.


I have a Mini III and I first noticed the phantom tapping while reading in bed. I have a waterbed so I read the Mini on my side with it's edge against the wooden frame to prop it up using one hand. This results in probably a pound or two of pressure on the lower left corner. I would have it in landscape view and the phantom tapping would start in iBooks and continue when I switched to Mail and Safari. It occurred to me to change to portrait and the problem went away. I would guess that the digitizer is sensitive to edge pressure. The problem doesn't happen when I'm holding it normally. I'll keep experimenting, but I'm hoping that solves it for me.


(I'd take it to the Applestore, but while it's well within warranty I have dent marks on the back and a previous attempt to get an Apple laptop fixed taught me that they'll tell me they won't cover repair because of external damage. Not only that, but they'll blacklist the serial of your unit in their buyer database in case you try to shop for a more sympathetic "genius" )

Sep 1, 2015 8:31 PM in response to John Mistretta

I Have the same problem. For me it mostly starts after watching videos on FB. Have reinstalled the os many times, sometimes it works for a day after install other times it starts happening right after the reinstall. I seriously think this is more of a software issue rather than hardware And

apple needs to provide a fix for this rather than asking us to get it repaired.

after reinstalling ios9 beta it ran good for 15 days and it started happening , this time again a video on FB triggered the issue.

iPad behaving erratically: "ghost touching"

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