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Intermittently unresponsive touch

jgm

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Hi. I have an iPad Pro 2018, 11 inches. iPadOS 15.5. Touch has becomes intermittently unresponsive. I have tried:

Cleaning the screen
Updating all apps
Restore the IPad

Nothing solves the problem. It just goes away for some time (minutes), and it comes back. It doesn't seem like a hardware problem. Just turning the screen off and immediately on again makes the touch responsive again but, after some use, it is back.

Any idea, besides waiting Apple to fix it on a next release?

Thanks in advance for your help.
 
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jgm

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Is the problem restricted to certain areas of the screen or does it involve the whole screen?

Hi. It doesn't seem to be localized in any specific area. But one of the things that always stop working when the problem arises is the ability to swipe the control center from the upper right corner.
 

giradman

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Hi. It doesn't seem to be localized in any specific area. But one of the things that always stop working when the problem arises is the ability to swipe the control center from the upper right corner.
Hello, I have a similar iPad but have not noticed this issue so was curious - found this article HERE - take a look if not already done - if of no help, then a visit to an Apple store or reliable repair shop may be needed. Dave :)
 
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jgm

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Hello, I have a similar iPad but have not noticed this issue so was curious - found this article HERE - take a look if not already done - if of no help, then a visit to an Apple store or reliable repair shop may be needed. Dave :)

Thanks for the link. I am affraid that I have already tried everything mentioned, except the factory reset (taking of course a previous backup, to not lose any data).

I am pretty sure the problem is software related, because after rebooting the iPad works fine for some time before starting to become intermittently unresponsive.
 

NSquirrel

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Could be anything to do with something such as background checking your emails? If you go into aircraft mode or disable wifi, Bluetooth, etc., does it still happen? Just a thought that there might be something taking all the processing power for short periods
 

LannyC

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My 1st gen iPad Pro 9.7 (iPadOS 15.5) started doing this a few days ago. There's an intermittent dead strip about an inch wide down the left side of the screen (in landscape mode with the Home button on the right). It comes and goes without doing anything. I can access that side if I unlock screen rotation and turn it 180°, which is lots of fun if you're trying to use the keyboard.

Edit: About half the time, I can regain access by putting the iPad to sleep with the power button, then waking it up again.
 
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jgm

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Yes, your problem is pretty similar to mine. And putting the Ipad to sleep and inmediately waking it up also resolves the problem. In my case, when it becomes partly unresponsive, one thing that always fails is the 4/5 fingers gesture to close an app.

I chated with an Apple support person, and he told me to bring it to an official Apple repair center. Of course, being out of warranty, I assume that any repair would have a cost, probably not cheap.

May be just waiting for IpadOS 16 and hope the issue is solved?
 

LannyC

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BTW, I tried enabling touch accommodations, and it did not help. It's not any specific app--the Home screen can have a dead strip too. We'll see if 15.6 helps, but I doubt it, as this only began a few days ago and I updated to 15.5 weeks ago.
 

LannyC

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After going away for several weeks, the problem resurfaced today. Sometimes putting the iPad to sleep works, sometimes a reboot works, sometimes nothing works except waiting to retry. It has to be a software/OS issue.
 

LannyC

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15.6.1 didn't help, either. I've tried everything I could think of, and nothing works consistently or for very long. Sometimes I can force quit all apps, shut down, restart, and the Home screen has the dead spot when the reboot is finished. This stupid bug is making me crazy.
 

twerppoet

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Given your description, I really think this is a hardware problem. Not software. The fact that it is intermittent does not disqualify this. Memory faults can easily cause intermittent or unpredictable issues. Problems can also occur when marginal circuits are overloaded, physically stressed, or overheat. Restarts can often temporarily alliviate some of these.

However, the only way to completely remove software as a possible problem would be to do a clean install of the OS. Not just a reset or upgrade, but a total re-install. This generally requires using a computer and placing your iPad in recovery mode. Keep in mind you'll lose everything that is not backed up or stored in iCloud (or some external media device/service)

Be very carefull when following insturctions for this level of restore. It is not impossible to brick your device to the point that only Apple can recover it, if them. Most of this is based on failure to follow instructions about disabling security and device locking features.

I'm not completely certain this is the ultimate software restore, just the most you can do yourself. It's possible Apple can do more. I don't remember if you have access to an Apple Store or an authorized repair center, but it would probably be worth letting them do a diagnostic if you do. That much is free, at least at Apple Stores.
 
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BikeFlagAZ

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I have been having intermittent touch response issues with my 12.9 inch iPad Pro 2017 for years. Strangely, it’s mostly with my left hand, and any fingers on that hand. The right hand fingers respond 99% of the time.

Lately, I have discovered that if I uncover my front camera (it has a magnetic sliding cover that is closed nearly always), the screen suddenly starts responding to my left hand. It’s hard to see how this could be a hardware issue.

The problem also was much worse after updating to IOS 16.5, also hinting that is software related.

The screen always responds to my Apple Pencil.
 

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