At first, we warn you that the ghost touch issue can be caused by various external factors, while regular users like you and me can fix it with simple troubleshooting, there may be cases where a visit to the service center is unavoidable. Especially if the main reason is a hardware problem.
With the introduction and accountability out of the way, let’s try to understand what this ‘ghost touch’ problem is and how it affects the usability of your phone.
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What is the problem with ghost touch?
Ghost touch (or touch ghosting) is a term used when your screen responds to inputs or inputs you didn’t make, or when there is a part of your phone’s screen that doesn’t respond at all to your touch. How exactly the ‘ghost’ press works varies from device to device, but it seems more common on some devices than others.
Some of the devices known to be vulnerable to ghost touch issues include the old Motorola Moto G4 Plus, several Apple iPhone models – iPhone X, iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 series and some older ones. OnePlus devices. All of this means that if you’re having a ghost touch problem, it’s probably not a problem with the software.
In the most serious cases, it’s a hardware problem with your display and the way it sits in your phone’s chassis. If you’re an engineer and take apart electronics (and have all the necessary special tools), many people have reported success with disconnecting the screen from the data connectors.
In other cases, water or dirt damage (or under the screen protector) can cause non-working ‘phantom’ presses. There is no exact cause or solution to the problem, but you should use some trial and error to solve it. This is especially true if you are out of warranty and want to avoid a (usually expensive) service center visit.
How to fix the ghost touch problem on Android and iOS
Listed below are some basic steps that you can try on your smartphone before going into more advanced and complex repairs. Note that these steps apply to both Android and iOS devices.
Disconnect the charging cable
Strange as it may seem, most ghost touch issues only occur when phones are plugged into a wall socket. This is especially true if you happen to be using a quality charger/cable. Basically what happens here is that these chargers and cables affect the functionality of the digitizer—which is a sensor that detects touch inputs.
If you experience this ghost touch problem while charging your phone, it is better to replace the charger or charging cable with a new/better one. To confirm if the charger is the cause, try charging the phone using a different charger/cable combination and see if the problem persists.
Kill apps running in the background
A simple solution that solves many problems! Having too many apps running in the background can cause a lot of problems. Generally, apps that are open in the background can cause glitches at the software level, leading to ghost touch issues. So clearing them is a solid first troubleshooting step.
Although the process in Android may vary from device to device, the main guide is to open the overview panel or press the overview button at the bottom right. If you have gesture navigation on, hold by swiping up from the bottom of your screen and then release. If you have two-button navigation, simply swipe up from the center of your screen. After that, according to the size of your device, swipe up or press the “close all” button.
To clear apps in iOS, swipe up from the bottom of your screen, then use one, two, or three fingers to close individual apps on your screen.
Remove the screen protector/thermal glass
If you’re lucky, the problem is caused by the screen protector with a bit of dirt stuck behind it. The recommendation is to remove it, clean your screen thoroughly and then replace the screen protector. However, be sure to replace it with a good quality screen protector.
If you try to skip the quality, you can find screen protectors and windshields made of poor materials. These types of “protections” do more harm than good to your phone from being hacked. Basically, the poor quality of the materials used on such screen protectors affects the touch sensitivity underneath.
Most modern smartphones come with adequate scratch and drop protection thanks to better quality glass made by Corning (Gorilla Glass) or AGC (DragonTrail), so the most extreme is to avoid screen protectors altogether.
Clean the phone case
Especially with the popularity of edge-to-edge screens, the potential for many smartphone screens now extends to the sides of the device. That not only leads to unwanted touch detection problems caused by our hands, but also if the phone case is installed improperly or worse, dirty.
Remove the phone case similar to the top of the screen protector, clean it properly and then install it again after drying. Before cleaning the accessory, remember to take special care if the case has special features – like built-in magnets, a battery, or something else.
Clear the display
As simple (or downright stupid) as it may seem – it’s always best to try to clean the display thoroughly before moving on to more advanced troubleshooting methods. To do this, take a slightly damp soft cloth and wipe the screen. Follow this step with a dry cloth and wipe clean. It’s a good idea to wipe your screen every two weeks to prevent any kind of dirt or dust build up that can eventually lead to the dreaded ghost touch.
Reset your settings and keep your device updated.
Before moving on to more advanced solutions like factory reset or device jailbreak, I highly recommend making sure your device is running the latest version of the iOS or Android software. A last ditch effort to fix the problem is to reset all your settings to defaults if you think you’ve updated your device. This process is the same as a factory reset but it automatically backs up your data.
Go to on iOS Settings > General > Transfer Or reset the iPhone > Reset And choose Reset all settings. This will only reset your device settings and will not delete any of your files. Note that network settings will also be cleared, so you’ll need to manually reconnect your device to your Wi-Fi. The home screen layout and keyboard settings will also be reset.
You will have to do a safe factory reset on Android which will keep all your data but reset all other settings. To do this, go to your settings and search for “Backup and restore(Usually found in Settings > About phone) and from there you can choose where to save your backup: locally on your phone or computer or in the cloud. If you need more information on this process, read the articles linked below.
How to fix ghost touch problem: Advanced troubleshooting
If none of these relatively simple solutions work for you, chances are your phone is suffering from serious (ie real) ghost touch problems. As such, your options are not that simple.
The reason is that it can now be caused by a software problem or worse, a hardware problem.
Perform a factory reset
The easiest way to check if there is a software bug behind the problem is to factory reset your phone. This will restore your phone to its original factory settings. If the problem is caused by a rogue app or a major software update, a factory reset is more likely.
Warning: Factory reset will erase all your data. Please make sure to back up all your data before proceeding with this step
To know how to factory reset Android and iOS devices, please check out our dedicated articles below.
Remove the display assembly (advanced users only)
This step is definitely not recommended for the average smartphone user. For people with the technical knowledge and the right tools at hand to perform this task, unlocking, disassembling and reassembling the affected smartphone can solve the problem.
Many people (as well as many YouTube videos) suggest that unplugging the phone, disconnecting the screen from the data connectors, and reconnecting them all should be enough to fix the problem.
You can pay a third party repair shop to reseat your screen in the connectors to see if that fixes the problem.
Take it back to the service center
The best way to fix an obvious problem is to return the device to the manufacturer, which is guaranteed to be replaced. When under warranty, most companies will offer a new device to replace the damaged one, although some may choose to replace the screen instead of trying to fix the problem.
Although this is an easy option, it may not be the fastest to hand over to a new one unless you go into a shop. If your handset is out of warranty you will probably have to pay for repairs and no exchange will be offered.
As you understand by now, there can be many reasons that cause ghost touch issues. And you may need to perform a series of steps to find out exactly what the cause is. If simple steps don’t work for you, more advanced methods (save for factory reset options) are best done by a trained technician.
This article was last updated in November 2022. Older comments are preserved.