iPad Pro screen unresponsive

I’m having a similar problem on my iPad 12.9 3rd gen. It may happen as multiple apps are open. For example, it happens *a lot* when I’m using Affinity Photo or Procreate, with Netflix playing in the corner. It also happens sometimes when I’m playing Breakneck, which is a very fast paced racing game with a heavy graphics rendering burden. Restarting does not help the issue, and it sometimes starts happening shortly after a restart, which leads me to believe that it may have nothing to do with resources after all, unless there are some intense boot resources.

I took my iPad Pro (2018, 12.9, 256gb, Verizon) to the apple store for the intermittent touch issue, and since I couldn’t duplicate the process in front of the apple Genius Bar tech, I was not allow to get a different iPad Pro.

so, I’ll probably have to start filming the intermittent touch issue, using my iPhone, and post it on YouTube to get apple attention.

oh, I ran into an article today from Macrumors

https://www.macrumors.com/2019/04/02/ipad-pro-screen-stuttering-issues/

I think I may have found a fix, it’s worked for the past couple of weeks after trying everything else suggested. This problem started a few months back and didn’t used to happen so I suspect it’s an iOS thing. Anyway, I found that whenever it happened my Apple Pencil (v1) was at a very low charge. I suspect the problem is caused when the pencil tries to communicate with the iPad and interferes with the touch response. So if you disconnect the pencil via Bluetooth or fully charge it the problem seems to go away. Hopefully Apple will fix this properly but in the meantime this has certainly worked for me.

I can’t imagine that it’s coincidence. I was completely problem free for two weeks. And I charged my pencil for 20 seconds and the problem IMMEDIATELY came back.

So it’s either specific to the pencil - or maybe less specific - maybe a more general Bluetooth or NFC problem.

But it it’s no coincidence that my pencil retriggered the symptom. Maybe you have some other device causing Bluetooth or NFC interference.

iPads that do not support the Pencil are not having theses unresponsive touch screen issues.

AND other iPads that do support any version of the Apple Pencil, like the iPad 6th gen, the 2019 10.5 inch screen iPad Air 3 and the 2019 iPad Mini 5, to date, are not having these non-responsive touch screen issues, at all!

The non-responsive touch screen issue appears mainly to a small minority of iPad Pro models across all three years of iPad Pro models and this issue has been, seemingly, exacerbated in those certain iPad Pro models that upgraded to iOS 12.

So, there must be some commonality that is ONLY affecting this minority group of affected iPad Pro models running iOS 12, because NOT e very single iPad/iPad Pro in the entire world is being affected by this non-responsive touch screen issue.

Focus on the issue. Arguing how many users isn't going to help.

I don't have any plain ipads anymore, and the ones with the issue are both pro 12.9 inch 2017 2nd gen and 2018 3rd gen.

Like Fredfox said i can't explain why the 3nd gen model took nearly 2 years use to start having the issue end of 2018 coinciding with ios upgrades while the 3rd gen only lasted 2 months. Perhaps it's a difference in design.

In terms of temperature it's never been in temperatures below standard room. It does get hot outside here upto 102F, but that's only storage temp when i'm outside the house and left it at home, but it's always in an air conditioned room when used so use temperature is more between 64-82F, humidity may reach 70% at worst due to AC and air purifier but certainly not wet or condensing. All the above is within apple recommended standard as below which is probably a conservative limit based on lab tests more severe than anything i would subject it to:

Operating ambient temperature:

0° to 35° C (32° to 95° F)

Nonoperating temperature:

−20° to 45° C (−4° to 113° F)

Relative humidity:

5% to 95% noncondensing

Operating altitude:

tested up to 3,000 meters (10,000 feet)

MichaelPM - is not sure which position you are vehemently defending. (Or why you feel so compelled).

I agree with you that this is not affecting ALL iPads Pros. I’ll even agree that it’s not affecting the MAJORITY of iPad pros.

Can we agree on the term SIGNIFICANT percentage? People who have the problem - and are seeking validation that this issue is real - are insulted when the problem is minimized or called insignificant. To us - it is very significant.

It is affecting 100% of the only iPad I own. That’s significant.

iPad Pro 12.9” 2nd Gen

The issue hasn’t been occurring over a year as it started not long after I got it. It was sent off to Apple for repair but they were unable to replicate the fault. They advised I needed to take it into my nearest Apple store but obviously as the issue is very intermittent, that would be a waste of my time. I provided photos and videos of the fault but that wasn’t enough. Please see below my observations:

1. The issue occurs regardless of whether the iPad is in a case.
2. The issue occurs regardless of whether the iPad is on charge.
3. I have only ever used official chargers with my devices.
4. I have tried multiple iOS updates, including iOS 13 and the issue is still present.
5. I cannot see any visible light leakage around the screen.
6. The iPad has been reset back to factory settings multiple times and the issue occurs even if I don’t install any applications.
7. I have noticed if I have the iPad tilted in certain positions it seems to stop / start the responsiveness, however I’m not 100% how accurate this is.
8. I do not have any paired devices with the iPad and it does not have a screen protector.

I am convinced the issues are hardware related although I can’t really confirm and Apple doesn't want to help. They have left me with an expensive device that doesn’t work properly and I have stopped using it.

In my case, the iPads have tended to work best in the morning after sitting on a charger all night. The problem gets worse during the day and then settles into an annoying pattern of irregular problems at shorter and shorter intervals over several weeks.

Also, the iPad they gave me a few months ago, which is now starting to exhibit the same problem as the first two, gets very hot during use -- similar to a Macbook Pro. I had not experienced that with any other iPad. But the touchscreen problem is the same (or is getting there again).

I use the iPad mostly at home and I use it a lot. It has the same problem whether at home on my network or at other locations on other networks. The screen doesn't ever freeze, IMO, it just doesn't respond to touch; so it doesn't affect playback or streaming.

I have a 2017 12.9 and that started with the unresponsive screen at seemingly random times, it started after 6 months and was happening every few days and. now is happening whenever I use it, it can be minutes, it can sometimes be hours, but it always happens and gets worse and has to be reset. Apple did not acknowledge the problem at all and would only suggest an itunes reset, even though I was only 1 day outside my 12 month warranty. This ipad was used with an Apple pencil for a short time. It is in a UAG case, no screen protector. Never been in a bag or out of the house, other than to pick it up from the Apple store.

Foolishly, I bought the newest 2018 12.9 version in the hope that it would have been fixed, and I have had an identical experience. It worked fine for 6 months or so, and then one day, out of the blue, it started to not scroll when scrolling on the facebook app and then in Safari and then in pretty much everything. It has become worse as time goes on. I have tried all the usual stuff, including itunes reset, normal factory reset etc. It works fine after a reset, but then over time it starts the cycle of unresponsiveness all over again. This ipad has never seen an Apple pencil. This ipad has never been in a case or had a screen protector fitted. Never been in a bag or out of the house.

I have a theory.

My first 2017 12.9 had a weird issue where it felt like the inside of it had not been stuck together properly. If you very gently, with the palms of your hands push the screen and back cover, it expels air from the speakers and charging port. You can also feel that there is some kind of adhesive inside the ipad that makes contact when you push together and you can feel/hear it release when you let go. I returned my original 12.9 2017 model and the Apple store obviously said they had never heard of it and gave me another which was the same, I questioned this and they reassured me that this is how they are supposed to be so I accepted it and it was fine for 6 months and then the unresponsive screen started.

My 2018 model has the exact same weird thing happening with the screen and the delaminated feel inside, along with the expelling of air through the charging port. I beleive that as air is expelled, it must pull air, dust and debris back into the inside of the ipad and this results in the unresponsive screen over time.

Just my theory.

Consequently, I have almost 2k worth of junk that doesnt work.

ONLY ... with the exception ... and any — sorry, but I am confused linguistically.

What distinguishes the iPad Air and the iPad mini 5 from the pros is the SoC, A12 vs A12X.

I looked up Reddit threads and they almost exclusively talk about pros.

iPad pro 9.7 2016 has the same two Broadcom controllers as the newer pros and A9X SoC.

I had an older 12.9” iPad pro too and never came across the issue.

So indeed there seems to be a relationship with IOS version also.

Still: If it affects halve the screen and there are two screen controllers - where would I look for the troublemaker?

Let’s try to creep forward!

Status is that

there are some iPad pros

which sometimes show

some odd touch behavior

in some part of the screen.

Why some iPads and not all?

We have to assume a manufacturing tolerance in some component such as the SoC.

Why sometimes?

Either because it is caused only in some conditions or it is not caught in some conditions. And that may depend on the OS version.

Some odd behavior means what?

It usually is unresponsiveness to touches with fingers. Sometimes the action is different from the intended one (as can be seen in videos), but it does not run amok.

Some part of the screen ... is it always the same (halve)? Do we know that for sure?

Another question that we did not discuss so far:

Did the behavior change with minor updates of IOS12? At least slightly?

(In my case it seems to have become rarer, but I may run out of luck soon.)

We do not know their build process, but I could imagine that not all variants (for different devices) of an IOS version do necessarily contain the same version of a SW-component such as a driver, e.g. because the feature set evolves and you just would have to test the newer driver for older platforms where the newer functions are irrelevant.

That could explain why some devices and versions do work with dual touchscreen controllers and others do not.

And now I am slowly running out of ideas ...

You may well be right, but it is a no-regret measure.

As said I’d be after a more effective way forward, namely a way to predictably trigger the issue so that it can be demonstrated to Apple - or journalists.

What is the best way to deal with a sporadic issue that affects a few customers?

In my experience it is pooling brains.

Can’t someone invite an engineer from Apple over for a beer, just so?

I once had an support engineer on the phone who one week later emigrated to Australia.

Never got a better advice, learned unbelievable things!!

So what would _not_ be wasting time in your opinion?

BTW: Do we know anything more about the prevalence of the issue?

Does the rate decrease or stay the same over time?

From some postings I’d conclude that it did not go away even with recent purchases.

Wouldn’t this make it very troubling for Apple as it is a profit-risk?

Or the rate of returns is still not significant commercially.

If it happens all the time, why is there not more media attention? or an outcry from power users?

Having no access to Apples resources, could it make sense to invite teardown specialists such as iFixit to have a look?

At least they have X-ray and all that stuff.

Even if there is a SW bug, there must also be a HW deviation if the issue occurs only in some devices (though it may be invisible).

Let’s proceed with a next hypothesis H5: Some AnX SoCs have a timing issue at an external interface which is used to connect to the touchscreen controllers.

BTW: Does anyone know where to find the datasheet of the Broadcom BCM15900 for free? It seems not to be public.

The question is: Why is there a correlation at all? What does the fact tell us?

If it were a quality issue in laminating the pieces of the display for example then the issue ought to be there regardless if the pointing device is a finger or a pencil.

Where do the two ways meet, what do they have in common?

I‘d say it is some low-level SW part that deals with the raw data coming from the two touchscreen controllers, and the data are very likely treated differently depending on the knowledge of what touched the screen. I can well imagine that this SW component is not trivial, maybe initially was not designed for a pencil, because Jobs decided so, then had to be tweaked, then was expanded, then had to be migrated across OS versions and so on.

How much would we bet that the root cause is hidden there? A beer or an iPhone?

Fact is that there is no physical connection in the moment it is used, the pencil phenomenon does not point to a physical component in the device, but it is close to the touchscreen controller chips of course.