iPad Pro 12.9” not responding to touch intermittently

Yes I have the 2018 one. I had the same issues as you with screen unresponsiveness. Lucky I was able to replicate it in front of the genius Bar employee, so they gave me a brand new unit. It's been over a month of really heavy use and *touch wood* there have been no issues.

I have been having this exact same issue for months with my 2017 12.9” iPad Pro with LTE. I thought it was my tempered glass screen protector (and I installed that thing perfectly) so was hoping it was not hardware related but iOS related so I wouldn’t have to just toss it in the trash. I waited a while and issue continued to occur. I finally got fed up enough this week to take off the screen protector and the issue still occurred. I reached out to Apple support via chat today and they are sending me a new unit in the mail.

It may not matter if this is an iOS issue ( as I really suspect ) and not a hardware issue.

The unresponsive touch issue is happening across ALL iPad Pro year and models and is starting to appear with 5th and 6th generation, 9.7 inch screen iPad models, as well.

So, this leads me to believe that this unresponsive touch issues is a software one and NOT a hardware problem.

Lets us know in a few weeks whether the touch issues went away with another new 2018 iPad Pro.

Best of Luck with the new iPad Pro.

I have an older iPad.

It is well out of warranty.

Like I havd been constantly stating, this touch issues is happening across all year and models of iPad Pros and seems to be much more problematic in iOS 12.

Hi all,

For those of you who are still experiencing it - can you please try something?

iPad 3rd Gen: When your iPad has been idle for hours, hold it and feel the warmth of the Pencil. A few of us have noted warm Pencils now. DO NOT disconnect the Pencil from the side and try using the iPad. Check if it still stutters.

iPad 2nd Gen, plug the pencil in, leave it for a while. Pick up the iPad again, leaving the pencil in, try and use it and see if it stutters.

A few of us have been able to deduce that our issues are to do with Pencil connectivity.

My pencil is not related to the problem as it is not connected. I am finding the screen locks up more often if i hold it with one hand at the bottom of the screen.

My basic assumption is that maybe the screen is flexing enough to affect the screen sensitivity? I have to take it into a store to be reviewed.

I Purchase my 12.9 iPad Pro in Dec. 2018 and had intermittent touchscreen response issues from day one. I did all the resets/reloads, removed the cover and it still had the issue. I sent it in for repair last week and got a note that Apple could not find any problems. I got it back yesterday and so far it is working, but they did not do anything to fix it. If it fails again I am sending it back in.

My question to you is: Were they able to duplicate the issue? If not how many times did it take to get a replacement?

I highly recommend going to an Apple store rather than sending any faulty device in the mail to Apple because the technicians working at the Apple stores have tremendous discretion in replacing the failed device on the spot. In the case at hand, the technician reset all settings on the iPad at the store and told me to take it home and try it out and if that did not work to do a total erase of settings and contents on my own. Neither of the foregoing resets remedied the problem. So, I took it back and explained that there was no resolution to the problem and they agreed to swap the device for a new one. To answer your question, the stuttering/ non-responsive touch screen was never replicated in the presence of the technician. Frankly, it’s totally random and it could take many hours for it to occur.

I have an iPad Pro 12.9 2017. The problem described started teo month ago. Before that, I had no problem with the screen.

The pencil Ive used at start is now used by another iPad since 1 year, so I dont expect that the pencil is related to the problem.

(This is a reply that I posted on the current MacRumors thread about this)

I've had this "Screen Stuttering" problem infrequently on my 2017 2nd gen 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and the only times it has really bothered me was when I was playing a game called Wordscapes, in which you select letters by dragging your finger across a circle to spell a word. Sometimes it just stops linking the letters and only the last letter or two are selected. The problem might persist for a minute or more. In fact, Wordscapes, which otherwise is a fun and addictive game, may be the ONLY application I've used that is affected by this problem! (Well, perhaps the problem simply doesn't affect those other games as much due to differing gameplay.) Anyway, I haven't had this problem since the latest iOS 12.2 update. My iPad Pro is now working perfectly. I've never had a problem using the virtual keyboard, and I've been alternating between several different language keyboards on my iPad.

I may be wrong, but it seems to me that Wordscapes, like several other games that I play, was not written using Apple's Xcode or Swift IDEs and perhaps that may be the underlying cause of this problem. It may just be an artifact of being ported over from another platform.

I hope that this helps Apple identify the problem.

I have the same problem. I found my local “genius bar” was not helpful, with this, nor my iPhone 6 Plus. My wife purchased my iPad Pro last year (2018) and from the very start, I notice the touch issue. I took it apple about a month later and was told the problem was an issue that apple was working on and look forward the problem being solved in an upcoming iOS software update. Well, I’m still waiting.

I have had this same issue since I purchased my iPad Pro 2018 model.

It is worst when I use the touchscreen keyboard. Completely different to my iPhone in its responsiveness. Dropping every 3-4 letters. I have to type very slowly and wait to see if it is just slow and catching up or missing the letter.

Scrolling and dragging is also affected for me.

The issue is intermittent for me and I have three young children with disabilities so haven’t been able to face the thought of trying to replicate this in my closest store which isn’t easy to get to so I’ve just been checking on forums sporadically in the hope that someone had a solution or for Apple to formally identify this as a problem so I could quickly get it changed over if I went in store.

I have tried - full erase and reset. Disconnecting and also connecting my pencil. Turning off True Tone. Turning off multi gestures. Turning off Bluetooth. Charging. Rotating screen.

The only way I can use this iPad is to have a keyboard permanently attached and use it like a computer with a dodgy touchscreen.

the worst thing for me - I got this because I had such an awful, awful time with my butterfly keyboard on my MacBook.

My kids have had iPads for years and even with filthy and sometimes cracked screens they manage to be very responsive. They’ve been workhorses for the kids. I can’t believe this very expensive piece of equipment is so bad.

After two bad experiences with the MacBook and now iPad Pro I’m going to seriously reconsider my commitment to Apple when I purchase my next big ticket computing item.

Big thanks to the person who got the media on to this issue - it’s what alerted me that this forum had more recent posts to it and hopefully some action happens for those of us impacted.

Well I just spent almost an hour between a chat session and a phone session only to be told that there is no problem with my iPad Pro 2017 model but I was more than welcome to send it in for repairs.

Not sure I want to live without my iPad for two weeks because I live nowhere near an Apple Store.

I did this as well about a month ago (although I still have valid AppleCare) for my iPad Pro 12.9 2017 mode and they sent me a replacement unit in the mail without having to go into the store. Didn't really have to argue or fight the tech on it much at all. I explained I had originally thought it was my tempered glass screen protector or maybe and app or software update. Erased iPad and started from scratch didn't resolved the issue and removed the screen protector and that wasn't it either. Sent me a new one and this one doesn't have the problem. Maybe try again with another tech? Try via chat and via phone. Especially if you still have AppleCare.

They mailed me the replacement and let me hold onto my broken one but put a $1,000 hold on my CC until my broken one was received.

Yes, I suppose a call back to a different rep might help but I still feel kind of disappointed because I did bring up the fact that I have AppleCare. Even after explaining to the online chat rep and the phone rep that this problem has persisted for the last four or five months and is very aggravating they still want me to send it in for repairs and not just replace it.

I’ve been through the replacement process before and really don’t mind them putting the hold charge on my credit card. When I dropped my iPad Pro off my third-floor balcony late last year I had a new one in three days! LOL