iPad Pro touch screen intermittent unresponsive

Everyone needs to use the iPad feedback and Apple contact links to alert/sendfeedback/contact Apple that this iPad Pro intermittent, unresponsive touch screen issue is caused by a problem with the iPad's/iOS gyroscope feature and the screen rotation/oroientation feature, as well.

My posts with links to iPad Feedback and Apple contact links are liberally peppered throughout this post.

Go look for them.

I do not feel like posting this info, again, for the umpteenth time.

If everyone in this post posts updated feedback, maybe Apple will more quickly look into this and maybe, just maybe glean a possible fix/solution.

I wonder then, if the touch issue described is the result of an iPadOS bug, then why does it occur at around the same duration of use of 6 - 7 months? Purchased my first 2nd gen iPad Pro 12.9" in July of 2018, issue cropped up around December 2018 (5 months), got even worse at month 6, but I put up with it until getting around to replacing it by Apple for a new unit in March, 2019.

New unit worked perfectly from March, 2019, but again started showing touch issues (almost unnoticeable) in August. Here I am in October (7 months of use) and it is so noticeable I am contemplating replacing.I really don't feel like going there again and dealing with the backup and transfer of data, plus the 30 minutes spent at Apple confirming the unit is broken.

My theory is the iPad Pro's run hotter than other models, thus the aluminum expands and contracts from heat with use. Over time (what appears to be 5 - 7 months depending on usage), this causes a slight curve (bend) in the the unit, causing pressure on the screen. I believe turning on the touch accommodation feature only acts to dampen the cumulative damage by making the screen less responsive than designed.

I brought it to a Jump+ (Apple authorized service provider) and obviously did a factory reset before leaving it there unlocked for a few days. The technicians couldn't replicate the problem. I showed them video footage of the problem occurring but it didn't matter. It's a real catch 22 because I'm not going to leave my device unlocked with access to basically all my personal information and trust that they are honest people, but on the other hand the problem doesn't happen immediately after a factory reset.

Does everyone have the same result, that the problem is going away for a few days, maybe a week after doing a factory reset? If so, it would definitely point to a software issue.

Also, having 3 other iPads under my care (Mini 2, Mini 4, 2018 regular iPad), I haven't seen this issue before. Does anyone have this issue with an iPad that doesn't have the 120Hz ProMotion?

I had this issue on first gen 12.9 for at least couple months. After recent upgrade of ios 13. This issue is relieved. Not sure if ios 13 included software fix.

For anyone think about static, it might be static issue, but I never used an cover, and always touching the metal back.

I installed 13.1.3 on both my iPad Pro 2nd and 3rd gen. On my 2nd gen I experienced issues the same day. On my 3rd gen it took about a week and a half before the issues returned.

However, on my 3rd gen, I then disabled tap to wake again and did a hard reset, but I still have issues. Have done a couple of more hard resets, but hasn't helped. Why doesn't disabling tap to wake work anymore :-( I have been running with disabled tap to wake for 3-4 months without any issues, but now that doesn't work anymore. I am so sad :-(

Anyone else have experienced that disabling "Tap to wake" doesn't work after ugrading to ios 13? I have now tried to disable "Shake to undo", will see if that improves anything.

Anyways, I will probably take both my iPad pro's to Apple Care and hopefully they will replace them.

There is a difference between the reported issues. The iPhone issue is fast typing without app recognition, but the iPad Pro/Air3 issue is a touchscreen without any touch recognition for up to 5 seconds. During this time all apps work without any disturbances and also the Apple pencil works fine. this is a completely different behavior.

In my case Apple send me a brand new iPad Air (sealed white case with supplies) that worked fine for over a month. Today I will connect Apple pencil and check, if the issue has something to do with the pencil. Because most iPad Pro users have a pencil, but only a few iPad Air users bought the pencil. I keep You up to date.

This is a combination iOS and possible hardware issue.

I have a 1st gen 2015/2016, 12.9 inch screen iPad Pro that is STILL running iOS 10.3.3 and I am having no such intermittent, unresponsive touch screen issue.

I also, have very oily fingers, too, and I only clean my iPad Pro's screen once or twice a day!

Oils from my fingers have NOT affected the touchscreen operation of my iPad Pro.

My iPad is still working flawlessly.

I have learned over the years to never blindly upgrade or update the OSes of my Apple products until I have vetted the entire OS situation and as such time as the majority of bugs and issues have been fixed.

Since iOS 11, iOS has been a disaster and, to date, I have passed on every major iOS upgrade for my iPad in order to maintain its trouble free and stable operation.

iPadOS is just riddled with issues due to very poor public beta testing.

Too many bugs and issues with some never, ever getting fixed in these newer 64-bit iOS versions.

The drawback to not upgrading the OS of my iDevices has been that I am missing out on major app updates for some of the apps I use.

I refuse to purchase another iPad Pro as Apple has broken my trust. My iPad Pro 12.9 first generation is still going strong for my wife. It was my original purchase but I gave it to her once I purchased the 2nd generation iPad Pro 12.9. Everything was great for the first 6 months, then random freezing and unresponsive. It got worst over time and towards the end of the warranty I brought it in as I was able to show them a video of the issue I recorded since it would never do it at the repair store. Once they saw the video they gave me a replacement. Replacement worked great for about a month. The warranty had now run out and the only difference is this time instead of freezing the digitizer would stop responding. So the game or application was working in the background but the touch screen would not respond. To get the screen to come back I would close the protector on the screen. Then after about 10 minutes check it and the iPad would continue working where I left off. Eventually I did some updates hoping it would be solved by Apple as this seems like a known issue. The update made it so the screen never responds. I called Apple and they told me it is $600 to replace the screen with digitizer. They offer nothing for trade in as the screen is unresponsive so they offer to recycle it for free. My 256GB iPad Pro 12.9 is only good for parts. I will wait for the iPad Pro 4th generation to come out and after one year if I cannot find anyone having these issues I might purchase again. This needs to be solved as it has to be a known issue and Apple has done nothing to make this right.

mythdoc wrote:

does the problem also affect the most recent generation of these devices? Or just the older generations?

If you look through this whole entire posting, this touch screen issue affects the newest iPad Pro models, too!

This intermittent, unresponsive touch screen issues affects a seemingly small, but growing minority of iPad Pro models across all 4 years of iPad Pro models, even the very first 2015/2016 12.9 inch screen iPad Pro models are affected by this issues/bug/problem.

This is why I have strongly believed this to be more of a software/iOS issue than a hardware one.

The ONLY iPad Pro models NOT affected by this touch screen response issue appears to be the 2016, 9.7 inch screen iPad Pro models.

The only small screen, 2016 iPad Pro models not having any of these touch screen issues.

i got replacement Pro 10.5 a month ago.

this replacement unit was made in the end of 2019. after a month i see no problem with touchscreen.

but now i have another problem with crackling sound inside iPad each time i hold it firmly or trying to re-arrange icons with firm press.

i'm tired of all this and decide to buy iPad Air 2019.

in my opinion iPad Pro price is too high to have such problems.

screen problems while charging is the best proof that problem connected with electrostatic.

and temporarily fix after firmware updates happens only because of reset and recalibration of device during update. you can just make full reset and will have the same benefit.

for me it was the same last autumn. before that - half of the year with problems then new ios out and couple of months with no problems. then it will started again and nothing helped. only temporary relief with reset.

thanks god i was lucky enough to proof the problem in service centre and returned pro 10.5 this spring.

I believe I have the same problem, or a similar problem. Single finger touches and wipes sometimes do not work. After a few seconds they start working again. I haven't found a clear pattern of what makes it happen and what makes it go away. It's pretty clearly a software problem, not a hardware problem. Touching icons in the dock always works, even when touching the same icon on the main part of the screen doesn't work. Two finger wipes almost always work, even when single finger wipes do not. Restarting makes the problem go away, at least for a while. Some apps seem to aggravate the problem. I have noticed this while using the New York Times Crossword app. While I am using the app, the problem gets more frequent. The frequency continues even when I am not using the Crossword app. It has literally discouraged me from using the Crossword app. This is on a 1st Generation 12.9" iPad Pro, purchased in November 2016.

Did you attempt to escalate this issue to more senior Apple support employees and even to Apple engineering level support?

Apple support does have many tier levels of customer product technical support.