My iPhone 6 is erratic when outside

Question

My iPhone 6 is erratic when outside

My iPhone 6 is now 1.5 year old, updated to 9.3.5 just couple days ago. Most of the day I'm in my own office/home Wi-Fi environment and the phone works flawlessly.

Yesterday (and today as well), when outside, with my phone trying to find a Wi-Fi to connect to — it started behaving totally erratically... Yesterday (while my friend driving on the hi-way) was REALLY WEIRD, while trying to answer a text message it wouldn't let me type, the app disappeared suddenly, it launched some other apps by itself, it found some random location on Google Maps, I wasn't able to close some of my opened app (swiping up), and for a few minutes I wasn't even able to turn the phone off... It was a bit frightening, as if someone else was taking over my phone... From the little I've read about it, it's what others call, I think, "Ghost Touching"...

The only other change I made in the past few days was replacing my chipped glass screen protector with a newer model that has an Aluminum frame around it.

...Any clue?

Thanks!

iPhone 6, iOS 9.3.5, null

Posted on Sep 8, 2016 5:34 PM

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Answer 1

jdo_apple

Community Specialist

Sep 10, 2016 7:11 AM in response to mynameismyname

Hello mynameismyname,

Thank you for using the Apple Support Communities. I know having an issue with the screen on your iPhone is not what you'd expect. The good news is the following article will be helpful in troubleshooting your issue, and also has links to contact Apple in case this is a hardware issue:

If the screen on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch doesn't respond to touch

Cheers!

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Answer 2

Sep 10, 2016 9:23 AM in response to jdo_apple

Thanks, jdo_apple.
I'm still "collecting evidence" since while at home/office my phone works flawlessly.
Seems to me like the erratic behavior shows up when I'm OUTSIDE, and quickly moving (in a moving car) from one weak Wi-Fi network to another (we have Xfinitywifi here, which is very common and wide spread) and to LTE... It only happened twice in the past few days, though I'm working from my home office, so I don't go out that often.

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Answer 3

darren.s

Community Specialist

Sep 10, 2016 9:55 AM in response to mynameismyname

Thanks for the additional info, that helps. Based on these factors, I would first try turning off Wi-Fi when going outside and see if the behavior appears when only on LTE. Next you may want to make sure you have a good backup of your personal data:

How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch
Import photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

Then try disabling Wi-Fi Assist on your iPhone at Settings > Cellular and see if the behavior is repeated.

About Wi-Fi Assist

Have a great day!

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Answer 4

Sep 10, 2016 10:00 AM in response to darren.s

Thanks, darren.s, yes, my phone is fully backed up to my iMac, and especially my photos and videos (having a new baby in the family!!!).

I will turn off the Wi-Fi once it acts up again (though from what I experienced, especially the first time, the phone was pretty much out of control when it was acting up....).

I'll be back to report, once I can figure out anything, which may take a few days.

Thanks again!

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Answer 5

sterling r

Community Specialist

Sep 10, 2016 10:07 AM in response to mynameismyname

Wonderful, please keep us updated and thanks for using the Apple Support Communities!

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