Touch Screen Not Working On iPhone In iOS 16 (Fix?)

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iPhone Tricks > Errors and Issues

Posted in Errors and Issues by Patricia on September 13, 2022

Touch screen not working iOS 16

Is the touch screen not working on iPhone in iOS 16? Touch barely recognizes swipes and scrolls after the update? User interface lags, creating the impression of ghost touches Screen is out of focus and the device is almost unusable? Here is what you can do to fix it!

Touch Screen Not Working In iOS 16?

This issue has been reported by several readers on our iOS 16 review page:

  • Jim was the first to report this bug:

    “OS 16 update on XR. Touch barely works. Screens out of focus.”

  • Bess confirms the problem:

    “Updated iOS 16 to iPhone 11. Touch barely works. Screen is out of focus!”

  • Shammil provides more details:

    “Issues on the iPhone XS, the touch screen barely work while u r swiping or scrolling… but when u r clicking like opening the apps or typing it just work normally!”

Are you also encountering this issue? Share your feedback in the comments! Please, mention iPhone model and confirm if your display is genuine or if it’s been replaced with an aftermarket unit.

How To Fix Touch Screen Barely Working

According to our readers, restarting the device doesn’t help. At the moment, the following workarounds are recommended:

1. Reinstall iOS 16

You most likely updated to iOS 16 over-the-air. Try to clean install the current version and you might be able to fix the touch screen issue:

  • Disable Find My iPhone.
  • Connect iPhone to Mac or Windows computer.
  • Backup iPhone using Finder or iTunes.
  • Restore iPhone and follow the on-screen prompts (the current iOS version will be reinstalled in the process).

2. Downgrade To iOS 15

Shammil has confirmed that reverting to iOS 15 has fixed the problem for him. Here is how to:

  • To downgrade you need to connect iPhone to a Mac or Windows computer via a Lightning to USB cable.
  • Perform a full Backup of your device before starting.
  • Download the appropriate iOS 15.6.1 ipsw file from ipsw.me.
  • Restore iPhone using the file that you previously downloaded!

Have you managed to fix touch not working in iOS 16? Do you have a better solution? Use the comments section to share your feedback.

Related: Other common bugs reported for these early stages are:
– Duplicates folder not available in Photos.
– Assistive Touch stuck after update.


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