Hello, I have an iPad Air in “like new” condition having issues with ghost touches. It is happening quite often rendering the iPad useless. I have tried a Factory Reset after other failed troubleshooting.
It is currently on iOS 12.3.1 (most updated) and model number MD785LL/A. Are there any known issues with this and how can I get this fixed?
iPad Air Wi-Fi
Hello, lets see if we can figure this out. My first thought is that since you have restored the device to factory settings is that it is not a software issue. Often if there is a small amount of residual grease on the display it can trigger the device to think there is finger input. Let’s first start by cleaning the iPad’s display. My recommendation is to use a microfiber cloth and carefully clean off any dirt that may be on the display. Windex and other cleaning fluids alike are not safe to use on Apple’s displays as the chemical can dissolve Apple’s anti-fingerprint coating. The best fluid to use is a little bit of distilled water.
Where did you purchase this iPad? If it did not come from Apple or an Apple certified reseller then maybe the device’s display was replaced with a non Apple certified display and could be prone to random touch inputs. If this is the case then you may want to return the device to the seller and purchase an iPad from an Apple certified reseller.
I hope this helps!
zmclearan wrote:
On the bright side iPad Air displays are not too expensive these days and you could get a certified display installed without spending too much money. Unfortunately the Apple Store technicians will not touch the device if it has non-certified parts installed although an certified repair shop should be able to help you.
Are you sure about that? I was under the impression that Apple holds its Authorized Service Providers to a condition that they won't do unauthorized repairs on Apple products. Apple certainly doesn't provide replacement screens for iPads. Apple doesn't really do iPad repairs onsite at Apple Stores, nor does it let its AASPs do any repairs. They take in a unit and offer a replacement device. They do that for everything, including the $99 (US) battery replacement service. I asked an employee at an Apple Store what they do with the old ones, and he said US-returned iPads get refurbished at a central facility near Austin, Texas unless they're not worth fixing. That might be if the metal part of the case is damaged or it's determined it's not worth fixing.
As for ghost touching - I've seen that before with my 32 GB iPad Mini 2. I dropped it once where the cracked glass was limited to the area above the display. At least until a new crack started and went down the length of the display. It still worked and I used it for a couple of years until it started showing signs of ghost touching. This was all original although obviously damaged. I believe that's usually caused by a failing digitizer. I gave it to someone who had it repaired, even though we know Apple won't touch it. Apple would have charged $249 back then, which we didn't consider a very good deal when I could have bought a new 128 GB iPad Mini 4 on sale for $299.
Thanks for the reply.
The screen has been cleaned as stated but the issue continues. The iPad is believed to have been purchased through Apple with no repairs done since purchase. It was given to me so not 100% sure.
You make a good point, it is possible that things might have changed. I have been out of the repair shop game for a few years now. It used to be that the 3rd party shops could be a little more lenient about some of these things. I guess with the complexity of the newer devices it is more difficult for them to offer repairs onsite.
At those prices it defiantly would’ve just been a better investment to purchase a new unit over repair costs. It’s a shame that is the case for a lot of repairs these days.
I hope that you can find some sort of solution to get your Air up and running. I apologize for not having another suggestion without spending additional money. As you might imagine, these kinds of problems are difficult to diagnose especially over a text-based forum.
It sounds like to me that there was a screen replacement performed on this iPad at some point using a non Apple certified display.
From personal experience I performed a screen replacement on one of my customer’s iPad a few years ago and thought I’d try and take the cheap way out by using a knock-off display. Their iPad exhibited the same symptoms with random touch inputs on the display. It showed me that there really is a difference between knock-off and Apple certified parts.
On the bright side iPad Air displays are not too expensive these days and you could get a certified display installed without spending too much money. Unfortunately the Apple Store technicians will not touch the device if it has non-certified parts installed although an certified repair shop should be able to help you.
iPad Air randomly ghost touching
