Touch screen not working on my iPhone after iOS 18 update

I finally got fed up with mine and did the same as you. Went to an apple store, told them it was unresponsive after I'd hit the power/lock button. They restored my phone, still didn't work. Factory reset my phone, still didn't work (this was done on their computer too). They said they could replace the screen. It just doesn't seem like a hardware issue, since I was having problems since I upgraded to iOS 18. I went ahead and let them (thankfully I have AppleCare through Verizon so it was free) and surprisingly, it fixed the issue. I can now press the power button and it actually works. No more issues with the touch screen. So, for what it's worth, it might fix your issue. However, $370 is really steep to fix a touch screen.

(1) Try and Force Restart your iPhone EXACTLY as shown below and see whether that resolves the issue:

• Press and quickly release Volume UP button
• Press and quickly release Volume DOWN button
• Press and Hold the SIDE button until an Apple logo appears and then release the Side button (Can take up to 20 seconds. (DO NOT release Side Button when invited to Slide Power OFF). 

(2)  If that does not help, then contact 👉 Official Apple Support OR you can always get your iPhone examined at the Apple Store 👉 Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options or at an Authorized Service Center for further diagnosis and evaluation.

Axel F.

Follow this solution : iPhone screen frozen on emergency screen - Apple Community

IMPORTANT - keep holding side button PAST “Slide to power off” screen after about 15 seconds the Apple Logo will appear and the phone will reboot.

Fixed my unresponsive screen immediately (I searched a long while and got stuck on the slide to power off screen until I found the above Hard Reset solution.

Good Luck

I also encountered the same issue with my iPhone 14. After trying multiple solutions, including a force restart and even restoring the device through iTunes (which meant sacrificing my data), nothing worked. Frustrated, I visited a nearby Apple Store where they informed me it was a hardware issue, not software-related. They recommended replacing the display, which is quite costly since my warranty expired just last month. This whole experience has been extremely frustrating and disappointing.

Here's my issue post - iPhone Touch Screen not working after upd… - Apple Community

i had this same problem! doing that force restart w/o using the screen but just holding down the side button longer fixed it.

I am in the same situation as you. After upgrading my iPhone to iOS18, it was working fine overnight. Then the touch screen wasn't working the next day. Later, I went to a repair store to check the problem. Finally, the reason was that my iPhone screen was malfunctioning. Removing my screen and changing to another screen will be okay. But my insurance has expired, so I must buy a new screen individual to fix my touch screen.

Is anyone in the same situation as me? The solution is also to replace the screen. Good job Apple, brilliant iOS version.

I've also been having this issue, even after the second update last night. As crazy as this sounds, the only way I can get my touchscreen to respond is knocking on 3 times. Ridiculous, I know. But out of frustration, I decided to knock on my phone, exclaiming, "Is anyone home?!" and the touchscreen responded. It definitely doesn't fix the issue but it gets me into my phone. Not sure why it's working that way but it works for me. I sure hope they figure it out soon bc my wife doesn't seem to enjoy being woken up to me knocking on my phone in the middle of the night.

I’ve encountered the same issue with my iPhone 14 Pro Max running iOS 18.0.1 (JP model). Last night, while using the Mail app, the screen suddenly froze and became unresponsive. I tried closing the app through Siri, which worked, but the touch screen remained unresponsive. I attempted multiple reboots using the button combination, but the issue persisted. I even tried installing a patch via recovery mode, but there was no improvement. As a last resort, I performed a factory reset, but the problem still wasn’t resolved.

I visited my nearest Apple Store, where they told me it was a hardware issue and replaced the display. Unfortunately, that didn’t fix it. In the end, they said I’d need to replace the entire iPhone, claiming it was still a hardware issue. I find this hard to believe, as it seems more like a software issue. It’s extremely disappointing that Apple is trying to pass this off as a hardware problem for a quick fix.

i've been having similar issues with my 12 pro max after updating to ios 18.1 which forced me to do, kept popping up on every app i open. so i have this issue where the touchscreen becomes unresponsive, like typing it greyes out the whole keyboard, and the swipe to home doesnt work, just scrolls. i found out locking and unlocking solve this until it happens again.

Since my childhood i have a strong desire to buy an iPhone like everyone. So With my first salary i bought a new iPhone 14 pro max and took utmost care while handling the mobile till date. Apparently, here came a rising update from apple i.e., IOS 18., which made me feel like exciting at first later then on i realized that updating to iOS 18 is the worst decision i have taken. This drastically made me to think why apple has got that much brand image with this kind of updates which made my mobile to stop functioning and their way of attempt in solving the issue.

Let me explain the scenario i have faced:

i have upgraded to iOS 18 On sept 19 2024 On sept 21st 2024(Saturday) i went to have a cup of chai and just wanted click a snap of it and i snaped it and just locked the mobile from then till now(23-09-2024). The touch of my iPhone 14 Pro max is not functioning it got freezed not even responding to any Swipe gestures and all. I as an customer of apple and also a human being have many things like job calls, messages, important meetings, orders ecommerce, mobile numbers, important data base. every thing related to day to day life is being directly linked to that only one mobile which i have that to i am using E- Sim(WHICH IS ALSO A GREAT INITIATIVE BY APPLE). So i had a panic whether what happened to my mobile and how can it be sorted out. At first i Thought that it is some kind of hang. so i haven't disturbed it a while later on after switching off and restarted i didn't understand what happened and on the next day 20 sept 2024 i.e. Sunday i immediately rushed to apple store Aptronix. they said like since it is Sunday there is no service and my wait has came to one day long and i am unable to call any of my contacts and answer most important calls that might cause a severe effect on my job as well due to this issue. And today 23-09-2024 i waited from 10.30 AM in the morning at apple store to know about the condition of my mobile and the store has got opened at 11.00 AM And had a huge rush over different kind of issues and then i was surprisingly shocked to hear their response i.e., It takes 1000/- Rupees to let us know what the issue is and they have also said this mobile might have touchscreen/hardware issue so that the display should be replaced costs about 39900/-beyond the warranty period and then for some period of time i am awestruck with their answer. So i asked why this kind of issue has came and replied like it comes like that sometimes due to some unforeseen reasons but till now i haven't used my phone too rough and i wont play games either the only thing i do is to use WhatsApp, Instagram and calling. for this kind of usage im literally surprised to hear those statements. until iOS 18 came into picture i didn't have any single complaint With my mobile from the past 2 years because i know the value of price i kept for this mobile and i am unable to understand why would i use that much carelessly? and they also mentioned this iOS 18 problems have been noted and already they are replacing 13pro and 13pro max models display at free of cost for their green screens as they received a policy for that models. but what about the later models. This is serious issue which has to be looked into from apple side. Apple should definitely answerable to this Complaint Addressal.

Furtherly i also made a call to the customer support of apple their answer is also the same like within the warranty period only they are going to provide free service/replacement but we didn't asked for the update that caused my mobile dead and i wont even update if i had known these kind of issue arises earlier. Everyone will expect that if they are buying a premium product which is costing around 1+ lakh it is reliable for at-least 5 years. but apple failed to accept that and also says simply that you are out of warranty and they are not even giving any support form their side not even thinking how a customer is struggling this hard.

Still im not having any option to answer the calls , read otps office calls , And also importantly the opts for the pickups from ecommerce sites like flipkart, snitch, myntra. etc where i made a shopping also needs the otps to receive or cancel the purchases i made . this it self nearly made around 8K- loss for me due to Apple products inefficiency and their service.

The exact same thing is happening on my 16 Pro Max. I’m pretty sure it’s not to force an upgrade as I’ve got the latest model and it’s still happening. It sounds like it’s a bug in IOS 18. My screen becomes unresponsive, especially when typing. Prior to the update I didn’t have any issues on my old 15 pro max until I updated to iOS 18 on that also.

Had this same issue I believe, after my son upgraded his Iphone 15 to IOS18 his touchscreen began working sporadically even though I was perfectly fine just beforehand.

Apple Store said it was hardware, they take the device for repair, we come back in a hour and now the screen is physically broken(big white lines all over the screen) and they are saying it’s not covered by warranty and we will have to buy a new phone!

This iPhone 15 was only 10 months old! We argue but it basically boils down to Apple is huge, and can do whatever they want to us and we can’t stop them, and if argue further we will be escorted out.

so now I have a completely broken phone, and 36 more monthly payments to Verizon for an entirely new IPhone 15! (I am actively paying for 2! iphone 15s now for the next 26 months!!!)

The same happened to me. I leave 14 pro max working perfectly for the last 2 years and I got auto update overnight, next day when trying to use my phone I found out the hello sign in different languages after the update and the screen tactile doesn’t respond at all. I call apple form my wife phone and did the hard reset and also a factory restart connected to my computer. They send me over an Apple Store and was a complete waste of time. They was trying to convince me that my screen need to was replace instead of recognize the is a software issue. I said no to the absurd 360 bill for the screen and leave the store. My phone works perfect over the las 2 years, not a single problem, I set de alarm that night and leave it in perfect condition at the nightstand and they want me to believe that for coincidence the same day that they did the update the phone just stop working with no reason, apple sucks.

this is happening to me on the 16 pro as well. There’s definitely a bug that they haven’t fixed even with 18

At this rate, I very much am certain it’s the iOS update. Same issues on my 14 pro max.