iPad behaving erratically: "ghost touching"

Question

Level 1

33 points

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

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

estellehop

Level 1

15 points

May 27, 2017 2:45 AM in response to merenkov

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...?!

Reply

Answer 2

Dec 18, 2010 12:35 PM in response to merenkov

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…

Reply

Answer 3

Jul 12, 2010 2:50 AM in response to merenkov

Glad to see I'm not the only one having this happen to. I just tried a good wipe down with anti-static wipes. We'll see how long this lasts.

Reply

Answer 4

chaznw

Level 1

5 points

Nov 8, 2015 5:42 PM in response to merenkov

This is such BS.. Apple has a hardware problem and again refuses to admit it. This is absolutely the last Apple product I will ever buy.

Reply

Answer 5

enderx

Level 1

85 points

Jun 13, 2010 5:12 PM in response to inkshawn

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.

Reply

Answer 6

MiaAC

Level 1

4 points

Jan 21, 2017 8:25 AM in response to merenkov

My iPad mini 2 has been doing this for about 2 months, sometimes cooperating and sometimes texting people random gibberish. We got it fixed, but the guy didn't do a very good job and we experienced the glitchy screen again. My iPad was cracked (which is what we were getting it fixed for and in my case what was causing the glitchy screen problem) and when I say he did a bad job, I mean the whole screen fell off. We put the screen back into place but it falls off occasionally. My friend also experienced this and said that the screen was damaged and was touching the part that actually lets you use your touchscreen. It is still broken and we are getting it fixed soon and we are getting the screen replaced. Again. But all I can tell you is to just replace your screen and not go to some guy who makes your issue worse...

Reply

Answer 7

May 27, 2017 2:47 AM in response to merenkov

No one would believe this but trust me...

My dad has a mini ipad and he also had the ghost 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...?!

Reply

Answer 8

DJTiu

Level 1

4 points

Jun 6, 2017 8:03 AM in response to estellehop

I'm also having this problem with my iphone 5. Started suddenly while using it. Was not charging or anything. And i only use the original charger and cable that came with it. Tried resetting to factory default but does not work. Very fustrating. Quality has gone down as i still use my 1st generation iphone til now for my other line. Never had a problem with ghost touching even if i had dropped the phone a few times.

i hope my ipad pro will not suffer the same fate. My 1st gen ipad did not had a problem with ghost touching either. Still using it now and perfectly fine.

Reply

Answer 9

26Steps

Level 1

4 points

Jul 14, 2017 11:45 AM in response to merenkov

I also have this issue. It started in late 2016, then went away for months, and has recently returned. I try wiping my screen and restarting, and it seems to work, but the problem returns quickly. I took my case off to discover that part of my metal covering on the side with the volume buttons is slightly lifted and showing some off the iPad's insides. I am not sure if this is the culprit, but I have tried to put it back into place and I can't do it. Keep in mind I have an iPad Mini. Any suggestions? 😢

Reply

Answer 10

Jul 27, 2017 3:14 AM in response to DarkDwarf

Last couple of weeks my iPad was behaving abnormally like ghost typing, automatic apps opening, opening different system settings and even I couldn't able to shutdown the iPad. I really started worrying that is this happening due to any virus attack? But when read your suggestion and applied the same on my iPad, its started working normally.

Thanks for your valuable suggestion. Cheers.🙂

Reply

Answer 11

necronym

Level 4

1,434 points

Jun 8, 2010 9:51 AM in response to merenkov

Strange.

I'd tell the ghost to go and get their own iPad

Reply

Answer 12

jaxjason

Level 5

5,035 points

Jun 8, 2010 12:25 PM in response to merenkov

are you wiping the screen with any item that might cause static to build up? I did that once and it acted erattic for a few minutes then cleared up.

Jason

Reply

Answer 13

merenkov Author

Level 1

33 points

Jun 12, 2010 8:39 AM in response to merenkov

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?

Reply

Answer 14

jg16

Level 1

8 points

Jun 12, 2010 10:14 AM in response to merenkov

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I9HSrcMXE8

I took this video moments ago. Is this similar or not?

Reply

Answer 15

merenkov Author

Level 1

33 points

Jun 12, 2010 1:44 PM in response to merenkov

I haven't experienced the spontaneous launching of apps like your video, but it's obviously a similar type of problem. Next stage is to return it, I suppose, and hope this was just a rare glitch.

Reply