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Repair information and guides for the Apple iPhone 5s that was announced on September 10, 2013. Model: A1533, A1453, A1457, A1528, A1530, A1518

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iPhone 5s ghost touching, new screen = same problem

Hey y'all. I'm getting very irritated at my iPhone. About 3 months after the warranty ran out, my phone started acting weird.

The very first time I noticed the ghost touching, it only lasted a few seconds so I would reboot and it was gone for a while. Just recently it started happening everyday anytime. Never had water damage, always always In a case that protects everything. I did drop my phone a few times since owning it, but no damage was ever found on the phone (in the case), no glass breakage either.

Basically, my phone will start going crazy, opening random apps, hitting random keyboard buttons, hitting links in safari, just the typical ghost touching. Sometimes it will just be randomly unresponsive to touch. As a temp fix, I have to hit the sleep button a few times, then I can use my phone for X minutes until it starts again.

I took my screen off to look inside, and nothing was loose or disconnected. I tried everything, brushing the display connections, disconnecting the battery, resetting the connections, restore the phone, etc.

I just put on a new, OEM display from Apple and What do you know, same thing happening !!!! New display, same ghost touching and random unresponsiveness. 99% of the people having the same issue said to replace the screen, and I can now rule that one out.

Does anyone have any idea what the deal is??? Could it be the battery for some reason? It seem to occur the longer I use the phone.

Thanks for any help. I'm gonna end up throwing this phone on the ground and smashing it!!

Answered! View the answer I have this problem too

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7 Comments

I had the exact same thing happen to me, so I took my screen protector off. It started working normally again. It was so frustrating!

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Same problem with Moto G4, switch on/off automatic screen brightness seemed to help

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Mines won't work either

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I am also experiencing the same problem.. Removed the screen protection too. Still the condition is same. Anybody who succeeded this issue please share your experience to overcome this please........

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It just deleted one of my games!!!

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12 Answers

Chosen Solution

I... Would .. Say at this point, it's either the digitizer or lcd socket, on the logic board

But that almost doesn't make sense.. Unless there was some damage, before you replaced this "oem" screen..

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I can't see how there was damage to the board unless it was from the apple like that. But they are still electronics so I guess anything could happen.

I would take the logic board out but I probably won't even be able to tell if there was damage unless it was something like a crack.

There was one case where someone said their battery was putting out higher voltage than what it's suppose to. I don't know.

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Hi all, i have the same problem in Iphone 5 ghost screen..

Fortunately I FIX it...

Issue - screen suddenly clicking itself, happen at area bottom of the lcd.

Cause - Wire from LCD to the main board is stressed- due to the nature of the ribbon cable, plus, a thin shield casing in between

Solution - remove the thin shield, replace with a small aluminium foil

Fix and running ok for almost a week now

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letting my phone cool off seems to also help

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letting my phone cool off sort of helps for quite a bit

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Most Helpful Answer

KB,

Unfortunately, ghosting is usually the result of some metals touching or a defective part in the phone. I'd suggest removing the screen and cleaning and reseating the screen ribbon cables. Using a q-tip and rubbing alcohol is the best way to clean it and allow to for air dry before reconnecting. Hopefully it's just a loose cable.

It is very possible that the battery might be causing this issue. Consider replacing the battery or getting replaced by someone. Unfortunately, it sounds if this process will be by elimination.

Hope this helps!

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How can a battery be responsible for ghost touching ?

The fluctuations in the output voltage makes the screen go crazy ?

While its true my phone started ghost touching after I left it to charge all night I didn't think of the battery because it would be weird to think that

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Hamza Malik,

That is most definitely a possibility. However I believe with KB it is a Logic Board issue in the connectors which is why the brand new screen did nothing for him in the long run. Or it could simply be a loose connection on Apple's part when installing in screen. I'd ultimately suggest going to the Genius Bar and explain the issue you have been having. Hopefully they will be able to help both you with your issue.

I hope you can get this all figured out!

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Hey everyone,

Ghost touching mostly means the screen has been putted in the phone too tight, try not to put the screws in the shield too tight. Maybe that helps.

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mine is when i put the case on my iphone..the ghost touch will come..when i remove the case..problem solved..i thought my screen is problem

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Same as mind brow . anybody can solve this issue?

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I texted the Apple chat folks so they could asuste me. The store un Willow Grove, Pa never sent me a case

The chat folks had me use a soft, dry, cotton towel that would clean all the smudges n oils off the screen. Screen had to be off.

Of course they asked all the preliminary questions- do you have a case innit

Does the screen have a crack in it.

All answers were “no!”

It starts up but of course this is second day after this reasonable answer was given.

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My previous comment could not be edited-

Screen was turned off

Towel has to be clean as well

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Hi everyone. A week ago, I smashed the original screen of my old iPhone 5. After I replaced its original screen with a new aftermarket screen of USD10,00 from China, immediately I put on a new tempered glass of USD1,00 again from China and when I turned on the iPhone 5, almost immediately I had that ghosting that everybody describes.

The new screen was randomly selecting anything and most of the time touch screen was not responding at all. Of course I thought that the new screen is faulty or I did a mistake while replacing the old screen. I opened and replaced the screen for 4-5 times, but ghosting was still there.

After I found this topic, I noted 3-4 things that other wrote and decided to give it a chance before throwing the whole phone to the dustbin.

I did the following steps and my iPhone 5 is working like it should be and its almost 2 days now that I see NO SIGNS of ghosting! So I am quite sure that this will help lots of people and its quite easy if you have some minor experience with opening smartphones as I do :)

1) I turned off the iPhone 5 and I opened it and cancelled the battery.

2) I removed from my old original screen the 3 grey/black foam sticks behind the 3 main cables of the screen and placed them on the 3 cables of the new aftermarket screen.

3) I put another foam stick between the second and third cable (exactly above the silver fuse/capacitor(?).

4) Behind my old screen, in the middle of the metallic plate and on the left side, I removed that small white sticky circle and put it on the new screen and I put back also that pink sheet that came with that aftermarket screen.

I put back the new screen, put on the battery, closed the housing normally and switched on the iPhone.

No cleaning made, no alcohol, nothing. I only cleaned a bit the backplate before placing that white circle described at step 4.

Note that I do not know for sure which one exactly of the above is the solution (if any) or if its just luck or something, because I did all the above same time and I hope ghosting will not come back.

Hope it will help somebody out there, even if we have October 2017 and already iPhone 8 is out.

GL!

Alex

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What 1st it gets broke , digitizer or Touch IC ? Because i can still use my iphone 5s now im using , but if i push the upper Lcd it ghost touch and i have to lock the screen then open and it worked again , i think its only a digitizer not the touch IC on motherboard , but if i change my lcd is it going to work again ? I want to clarify and good answers , what do you think ?

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In all the screen replacements I've done I've never seen ghost touching on an iPhone 5 series LCD.

I would say in this case it's surely got to be damage to the logic board. I wouldn't be able to tell you the location as I'm not sure what sort is responsible for that.

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I have an iphone 5s too, same problem

There hasnt been any damage to the phone and it went no where near water

Got the screen changed but same issue

Also this issue started when i charged the phone all night.

When i used it in the morning it was ghost touching.

Don't understand how to get the problem fixed.

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Hi guys

I'm having the same problem with my brand new I phone 5. I'm desperate for a solution, this is my first Apple phone and I'm not happy

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Brand new iPhone 5? Take it back to apple and get it replaced under warranty for free. It's the best and quickest solution in my opinion. Backup / data you need on your phone first via iTunes or iCloud before doing so of course.

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This is an epidemic, I've been changing screens for a year now, and as of recently, any iphone 5s screen I replace ALWAYS does this.

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Could this be due to a virus?

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Did anybody find a solution for this problem?? I am going crazy! Ready to throw my iphone 5s thru a window!! Seems to be worse after recharging... read somewhere that it could be annissue with grounding and it could be solved with paper to isolate the flexcables but this is unconfirmed

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I've seen this quite a bit after screen replacements. It always seems to happen if the housing of the particular iPhone is warped from being dropped, or the corners have been dented in from the impact of being dropped; even after using precision tools to rework the corners. Maybe there's uneven pressure being put onto the digitizer, due to the condition of the housing? I'm working with a guy at a metal fab shop on making a precision tool to correct warped housings, hoping this will correct a lot of issues.

Going as far as replacing the entire housing seems to correct the issue. In this case, most, if not all customers haven't come back with any issues of ghost writing.

I've also seen that oils from one's hands seem to trigger this, after a screen replacement... but I assume that this didn't occur with the original screen. Cleaning the screen of the oils would help a little, until you started touching the screen with your oily fingers again. If the housing is off by the slightest degree, perhaps the oils from your fingers could be the catalyst/trigger to the uneven sensitivity created by the housing.

I've also replaced the screen on several customers iPhones and suggested that they get a lifeproof case. None of these customers came back with these ghost writing issues after acquiring a lifeproof case. Maybe the oils being on the face of the lifeproof screen protector shield instead of the actual touch screen is helping with that?

Still working on a verifiable solution to the problem.

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Thinking about it, this wasn't a problem with iPhone 4 and 4s screens. The design of that bezel and the housing are similar to the newer iPhones but there is a world of difference. The relationship between the screen, bezel and housing of the newer iPhones is a lot more flimsy than that of its predecessor.

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In my case, after a screen replacement, i pushed the Digitizer connector with a tiny bit force more, than the connector accidentally damaged.

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Was easy to fix, with a metal tweezer, hope it helps ;)

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KB will be eternally grateful.
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