my iPhone 6 is typing and opening apps by itself

Wow! Thanks! That seems to have solved my issue and frustration. I removed my Otterbox and the screen protector which was not adhering well to the screen and now I'm able to use my phone normally--no apps opening on their own, so strings of random letters typing themselves, nothing unexpected! Now, I'll just grab a new screen protector and case tomorrow!

I've had iPhone 6 Plus for a couple years and this started happening about three months ago. First, phone would just lock, now "phantom fingers". But I noticed a pattern: the area of the screen being "touched" is in the same vertical space of the screen. I noticed this by hitting home button as soon as an app opens, then just watch which apps are opening. It doesn't matter which screen I'm on - the apps being opened (in my case) are always in the second vertical column from the right. That made me think that there might be something going on with connections in that part of the screen. I have a bad habit of putting the phone in my back pocket and forgetting to take it out when I sit down - maybe the phone is getting slightly bent in that part of the screen. So I tried to bend it back: holding the phone normally, applied force with my thumbs on each side and supporting from the back with my other fingers primarily aligned on that second vertical column from the right. It worked! It takes a few attempts and have to adjust the location of my thumbs a few times, always checking the home screen for the location of the apps that are opening and applying more pressure to the sides adjacent to the last opened app. Sometimes the phone locks while doing this so have to hold power & home button for 10 seconds to power off. Seems to have fixed it twice in the last three months.

i had this problem for a few months… got worse over the last few days… had to do something...

might be a problem w iCloud… after i upgraded to 50Gb and did some other things the problem went away… also changed some iCloud settings and upgraded to most recent software.

please let me know if this helps at all.. it worked for me…

jefff

Any idea if it's battery related?

My settings say I should get a maintenence check on mine and I can feel it slightly warm when I unlock it. My screen starts going haywire opening all sorts of apps and trying to type gibberish.

I currently left it on my Calculator app and it's been clicking really on 0,2,5, and 8 so it must just be that part of technology screen?

I have this problem, but for me, it ONLY occurs in one area of my house. Never happens elsewhere, but ALWAYS happens when I walk in this area with the phone. It doesn't seem to matter if my screen protector is on or off, it has happened for two separate iPhone 6 devices, and across several software upgrades. It doesn't matter if my iPhone is charging or on battery power. It ALWAYS happens in this area such that I turn my phone off when I accidentally bring it to this area. The area is near a wall and a desktop computer...but not one unlike many other walls and computers that do not seem to cause a problem.

Any thoughts?

I have had 3 iPhones including, 4s, 5, and 6 and this issue has occurred with all of them.

In regards to the 4s, it started at the end of my contract, so I upgraded. With the 5, I was a year into using it when it started and I was frustrated, so I took it to Verizon. They recommended upgrading (of course) and I did, to my 6 (under a great deal of protest). My 6 was having the same issues almost within 6 months of purchase (randomly selecting apps, typing, calling people), and since I finally had time to make an appointment at the genius bar, I did. I explained everything that was going on and they searched through my software saying they could find no issue. They recommended restarting the phone when it occurred. Interestingly enough, I also had this issue with my first smart phone (a droid) after using it regularly for two years. My point is that this is not a software issue, the geniuses had my phone for over a day looking through it.

I have had screen protectors on all my phones and I have used Verizon the entire time. I have thought this might be related to overheating the phones in general and not turning them off enough. It is definitely worse when I live in FL vs when I live in MN. I have tried to physically turn my phone off more and for longer periods of time. I am sorry this doesn't give a definitive answer, but I know there has been comments about hardware, and with my experience of it, I would have to agree.

I had this problem intermittently for about a year on my 6S Plus. In addition the screen would freeze requiring a reboot. I finally got annoyed enough to take it in to the "Genius" Bar. Luckily, the screen locked just as my assigned Genius arrived. After fiddling with it, he said I needed a screen replacement. An hour later and $149 lighter, I left with a working phone that hasn't had the problem since.

I have a 6 plus (purchased 2014, iOS 9.2 [13C75]), and I recently experienced this problem. It started with the keyboard buttons freezing when I was trying to type a text message. Today the apps starting opening by themselves. I watched the screen and the apps were being opened randomly and keys were randomly being hit. I turned off the phone several times and logged back in. Even rebooted the phone, once. Finally I was able to access the SETTINGS control panel and turned on AIRPLANE MODE. This seemed to stop the random app and keys activating by themselves. I then went into the SAFARI settings and clicked "Clear History and Website Data". I turned off "AIRPLANE MODE" and monitored the phone. All symptoms seemed to have stopped. So it looks like I was infected with a virus. Until I can backup the phone, I am not opening any web links.

Yes! I recently replaced my daughter's broken phone. Just a direct replacement 6 16gb. Restored from backup, etc. And about a week later it started doing exactly this. At first I thought it was the heavy duty military-grade case and screen I forced her to put on it (after breaking her last phone). But even without the case and screen protecter it just got worse over time. To the point where you would open an app and then have to wait for 10-15 seconds for it to stop opening other apps and switching screens before you could use it. And texting...forget it. Then it stopped responding at all. I sent it back. Got the next one. Restored from backup, same problem...***. So I tried what you said and put it in Airplane Mode and deleted/cleared all Safari data. Turned Airplane mode off and BAM, it's been working all day so far. Can't believe it has been that big of a nuisance and is that easy to fix. So much for MAC's/iPhones not getting viruses.

it's 2017 and Apple continues to produce the iPhone with bad hardware. it's ridiculous that you have to pay for a new screen about six months later after new purchase. i'm having the same issues too, coincidentally it is also happening after five or six months and after installing Google Chrome. I have had a protective case on the screen and he has never fallen on the water. I took out because it made the problem worse. I have uninstalled programs because the phone is getting hot and that's when it act's up the most. I cannot tie or edit the only way around it is through speech dictation. The possessed iPhone also has opened up applications and it has cost me money including canceled Uber. unfortunately there is no genius services in Mexico and I certainly don't have the money to go to the US just for the for the warranty services.

I had the same problem, I found a response that apple had deleted, probably because they can't stand by it in case of further damage to your device, but here's how I resolved it. The phone is quite flexible, so take it by the corners and twist and wiggle it. I understand that this weakens the link with the sensors - I have no evidence for this but it worked for me. No more wondering if my phone had become sentient! So wiggle away and restart phone 😀

Hi, I know it's some time now since this thread, but since last 2-3 months+ I have been facing the same problem. I had reset the phone, deleted apps, hard reset (full clean up and set up as a new phone), etc but the problem persisted. The Apple store guy too couldnt do much and said the phone needs to be exchanged. Checked the Data Analytics and found few program crashes messages - mostly on cloud related apps - Google Drive, Dropbox, One drive. Showed that to the Apple guy and his response was this probably is due to Google software, etc...which was wrong anyway as I deleted those apps and then again did a complete set up...problem persisted. As I am already out of warranty, didnt want to spend on another iphone given the timing of imminent new release.

Then, I just removed my screen protector and the problem vanished. So I thought that the screen protector had been damaged and was causing all this lag and creepy typing.

I just got a new screen protector 15-20 days back and now the problem has resurfaced since last 2-3 days. Don't know whether its the screen protector ...my iphone does heat up a lot and maybe thats causing damage to screen protector OR is it my phone hardware. Anyone else having this problem / solution?

is your iphone ok now?

since last 2-3 months+ I have been facing the same problem. I had reset the phone, deleted apps, hard reset (full clean up and set up as a new phone), etc but the problem persisted. The Apple store guy too couldnt do much and said the phone needs to be exchanged. Checked the Data Analytics and found few program crashes messages - mostly on cloud related apps - Google Drive, Dropbox, One drive. Showed that to the Apple guy and his response was this probably is due to Google software, etc...which was wrong anyway as I deleted those apps and then again did a complete set up...problem persisted. As I am already out of warranty, didnt want to spend on another iphone given the timing of imminent new release.

Then, I just removed my screen protector and the problem vanished. So I thought that the screen protector had been damaged and was causing all this lag and creepy typing.

I just got a new screen protector 15-20 days back and now the problem has resurfaced since last 2-3 days. Don't know whether its the screen protector ...my iphone does heat up a lot and maybe thats causing damage to screen protector OR is it my phone hardware/sofware. Meanwhile have attempted the airplane mode and deleted safari data...will see if it works.

Mine types exactly the same characters. Apple doesn't seem to give a hoot. Sell a device for $800 and when it doesn't work tell the customer to get a refurbished one for $165 (probably one that was turned in for the same issue). That's no way to stand behind your product. Unfortunately, millennials seem fine with tolerating this behavior by corporations.

They want us to spend even more on the 8 plus. Will it have the same issue? My phone is basically unusable. It hangs up on calls, launches apps, types, ignores me. Resets and hard resets don't solve it. Connecting to iTunes solves the issue for a few minutes but it returns,

I'm not happy with Apple ad I've been an apple owner since the Apple II. Jobs would never have tolerated this. The current management team doesn't care, too focused on selling in China.

When the problem started, I did a back-up with ITunes and the problem went away for a couple of weeks. It returned. I did another backup with iTunes and the problem went away for a few days. I did another backup with ITunes and this time it didn't fix it. Stuck. The phone is basically worthless. I was waiting on the 8, but not sure it's a good idea if it will have same problem. I don't want to spend $1,000 on a phone that won't work for 3 or 4 years without these problems.