If your iPhone touchscreen is not working, then that’s bad. An iPhone with an unresponsive screen is about as useful as a chocolate teapot. How can you swipe up to go to homescreen? How can you launch your favorite apps? As usual, GeeksModo has your back on this issue. Here are eleven troubleshooting tips to fix your iPhone touchscreen issue. You can thank us later.
There is nothing new about the problem of iPhone Touchscreen not working as it has existed on almost all iPhone models. The issue has affected many iPhone models, including iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6S, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, XS Max, iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, iPhone 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, 12 Pro Max, iPhone 13, 13 mini, 13 Pro, 13 Pro Max, iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max and iPhone SE.
First and foremost, let’s figure out the possible causes of iPhone touchscreen not working issue. Once that’s done, we will move on and detail each solution.
Why is iPhone Touch Screen not Working?
Your iPhone touchscreen can stop working due to hardware issues or temporary software glitches. Here are the main reasons for an iPhone touchscreen not working:
- Dust or debris on your iPhone’s screen
- Moisture on your hands
- Obstruction from your case or screen protector
- Major temperature changes
- An outdated operating system
- Interference from your charger or other accessories
How to fix iPhone touch screen that is not working
Work your way through these steps to get your iPhone screen moving again:
1. Take off your gloves
Most gloves don’t work with the iPhone touchscreen (or any touchscreen, for that matter). While there are specialty gloves that are specifically designed to work with touchscreens, test your iPhone by removing the gloves and using your bare fingertips.
2. Thoroughly clean and dry the screen and fingers
In addition, before you try more complicated fixes, make sure your iPhone’s screen and fingers are absolutely clean and dry.
Give your iPhone screen a good look in bright direct lighting and tilt it around a bit to reveal any obvious gunk, oil, residues, liquids, moistures, dried crust or food, or anything else that may be interfering in the screen. In the sunnier weather, sunscreen is another common thing that can get on a screen and make the iPhone touch screen unresponsive or erroneously responsive. You’ll want to make sure the iPhone screen is clean and clear of anything that can interfere with the ability to detect touch properly. Wiping it down with a soft cotton cloth is often sufficient to remove anything from the iPhone displays touch screen, but you may need to use a slightly damp (and I do mean slightly, never enough moisture to drip) cloth to remove any debris from the screen, and — this is the most important part — ensure it’s absolutely dry. Any water or moisture on the surface of the display can confuse the screen and make it impossible to detect your fingers.
As for your fingers, just make sure they’re clean and dry. Wash your hands or your fingers if in doubt and if you have a bunch of gunk on them. Unusually dry skin or callouses generally don’t matter and should not cause any issue with iPhone touch screen, though if your hands are wet that may cause issues.
Just make sure the screen is clean, and that your hands are clean and dry.
3. Restart your iPhone to fix touchscreen problem
Next on the troubleshooting list is to restart your iPhone. Your non-rsponsive scree might just have a few gremlins in the system, which will be flushed out with a reboot. It’s worth a shot — a surprising number of tech issues are successfully solved by turning it off and then back on again. If it doesn’t work? Then it only cost you a couple of minutes of your time, and it’s one more possible solution you can cross off the list.
Try restarting your iPhone normally by simultaneously holding the Side button and Volume Up/Down button If your touchscreen is still responsive enough to swipe the Slide to Power Off slider, swipe it. Then, hold the Side button button) until it boots up again.
Of course, you may find that your iPhone’s touchscreen is completely unresponsive that you can’t even shut your device down normally. If this is the case, try a force restart.
- press and quickly release the Volume Up button.
- Press and quickly release the Volume Down button,.
- Hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears on the screen.
In most cases, performing a restart will fix the unresponsive iPhone touchscreen, so make sure to give it a shot.
4. Remove any cases or screen protectors
Screen protectors are usually very thin these days, but in certain rare cases, they could be the reason why your iPhone touchscreen isn’t working. With that in mind, you should check to see whether your screen protector has been applied properly to your iPhone’s touchscreen. If it hasn’t, try removing and reapplying it or reapplying a new protector if you have one available.
Even if your screen protector has been applied properly, try removing it. It may be the case that, for whatever reason, it’s been interfering with how your touchscreen operates. If your iPhone touchscreen does begin working properly after removing it, you may want to consider either forgoing a screen protector or buying a new (possibly thinner) one.
5. Does Your iPhone Touch Screen Stop Working When You Use A Specific App?
If you notice your iPhone touch screen frequently stops working when you’re using a specific app, it’s likely an issue with the app, not your phone. Try closing and reopening the app. Follow the steps below:
- Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to bring up the app switcher.
- Swipe up on the problematic app to close it.
It might also help to check if this app has an update available. If the software isn’t up to date, the app’s software could be encountering bugs causing your iPhone to freeze. Follow the steps below:
- Open the App Store.
- Tap on your profile icon in the upper right corner of the screen.
- Scroll down and install any available app updates.
If you tried closing, reopening and updating the app, and your iPhone touch screen still isn’t working while using it, we suggest deleting it and trying to find an alternative app. To do this, follow the steps below:
- Press and hold on the problematic app icon.
- Tap Remove App.
- Tap Delete App.
- Tap Delete to confirm.
6. Free up iOS Storage
When an iOS device has zero storage available, things tend to go haywire in general, and that can include unresponsive iPhone touch screen. Make sure your iPhone has storage available on the device. You can check this by following the steps below:
- Open Settings.
- Go into General.
- Select iPhone Storage.
Aim to have at least a few hundred MB available if not a few GB, as iOS really starts underperforming with less space available.
7. Avoid Extreme Temperatures
Extreme temperature could cause touch screen problems on iPhone. In fact, your phone may display a warning if its temperature rises beyond a certain level. You won’t be able to use it until it cools down, so find a place for it to do so.
8. Update iOS
Is the iPhone screen still refusing to register your touches? Then check to see if you are running the latest version of iOS. If you can use the screen in some way, follow the steps below to check for iOS updates:
- Go to Settings.
- Tap General.
- Select Software Update.
- If an update is waiting, download and install it.
9. Reset all iPhone settings
If you’ve got this far, then you’re heading into the nuclear options, as it’s time to start resetting things. The easiest reset option is to reset all the settings. This does not wipe your content, such as your photos and music. It merely resets things like your network settings, location and privacy settings, and so forth. The steps below assumes you can use the screen in some way.
- Go to Settings.
- Select General.
- Choose Transfer or Reset iPhone.
- Tap Reset, not Erase all Contents and Settings. Then choose either Reset All Settings or one of the others if you prefer to try individual things.
10. Factory reset the iPhone
Nobody wants things to get this far, as erasing the entire phone and going back to factory settings is a major pain in the rear. You have to make sure you have a viable backup and then sit and wait for the phone to do its thing. But if the previous tips haven’t worked to get your iPhone touch screen working again, then you likely have no choice. Again, the steps below assumes you can use the screen in some way.
- Open Settings.
- Tap General.
- Select Transfer or Reset iPhone.
- TapErase all Contents and Settings.
11. Contact Apple Support for repair or replacement
If your iPhone touch screen is not working after trying the above steps, it’s time to admit defeat and turn to Apple for assistance. If you’ve come this far, your problem is likely a hardware one, and only Apple can fix that. Schedule an appointment at the local Apple store and have them take a look at your iPhone.
Successfully fixed iPhone touch screenNot Working Issue
That’s pretty much it on how to fix iPhone touch screen unresponsive issue. From a personal experience, I can say that you can resolve this problem by just rebooting the iPhone. However, in some cases, the software update can help you fix the issue.
Which of the above tips helped you fix the frozen iPhone screen? It would be so helpful to know it. If there is any solution we’ve not discuss in this troubleshooting guide, be sure to share it via the comments section below.