How To Fix an Unresponsive iPhone Touchscreen

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Never want your new iPhone 17 to start acting up with hardware or software problems. One common issue is an unresponsive touchscreen, and unfortunately, all the top iPhones can experience this. But don’t rush to the Apple Store just yet. Follow this step-by-step guide to troubleshoot and potentially resolve the problem quickly.

Sometimes, your iPhone simply needs a gentle reset or a restart. But if the issue is more serious, this guide aims to help you avoid a store visit altogether.

How to Fix an Unresponsive iPhone Touchscreen

To begin, try the simplest solutions first. Restarting your iPhone can often fix minor glitches, and it’s worth trying before delving into more complex approaches. If the problem persists, there are several troubleshooting steps to help restore responsiveness.

Restart Your iPhone

Just like rebooting a computer, restarting your iPhone can often clear out glitches. The steps are quite similar whether you’re using the latest iPhone 17, an iPhone SE (2022), or even an older model like the iPhone 5s—though the button placement may vary.

Steps to restart:

Press and hold the side button along with either of the volume buttons until the “Slide to Power Off” slider appears. (Older models with a top button will use the top button instead of the side button.)
Drag the slider from left to right to turn off your device.
Wait at least 30 seconds for it to completely power down.
Press and hold the same button again until the Apple logo appears, signaling it’s booting up.

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Once it starts, unlock your device by swiping up or pressing the home button, then enter your passcode.

Force Restart Your iPhone

If your touchscreen is unresponsive and you can’t perform the normal restart, a forced restart is your next option. This is akin to rebooting your device without powering it off in the traditional sense.

For iPhone 8, SE (2020), or iPhone with Face ID:

Quickly press and release the volume up button.
Quickly press and release the volume down button.
Press and hold the side button until the Apple logo appears, then release.

For iPhone 7:

Hold both the volume down button and the side (or top) button simultaneously until the Apple logo appears.
Release both buttons and wait for the device to boot up.

For iPhone 6s or earlier:

Hold down both the home button and the side (or top) button simultaneously until the Apple logo appears.
Release both buttons and wait for the device to restart.

Restarting your iPhone often resolves touchscreen issues, so try this first.

Check Your Screen Protector and Clean the Screen

Sometimes, screen protectors or debris can interfere with touchscreen responsiveness. Carefully examine your screen to ensure the protector is applied properly. If it’s misaligned or damaged, consider removing and reapplying it, or trying a new, high-quality protector.

Even if the protector looks fine, removing it temporarily to see if responsiveness improves can help diagnose the issue. Dirt, dust, and moisture trapped between the screen and protector can also cause problems. Clean your screen with a dry microfiber cloth until it’s spotless. If the touchscreen works afterward, you might opt for a different screen protector.

Disconnect Wired Accessories

Occasionally, wired accessories like headphones or chargers can cause touchscreen disruptions. Disconnect any cables or external devices connected to your iPhone. After removing these accessories, restart your phone to see if the touchscreen becomes responsive again.

While this issue is more common with older Lightning accessories, it can affect newer models with USB-C ports too. If disconnecting accessories resolves the issue, try replacing or testing different ones. However, if your touchscreen problems persist when any accessory is connected, there may be a deeper hardware or software problem requiring further troubleshooting.

Update Your iPhone Software

If your touchscreen remains unresponsive after trying the above methods, updating your device to the latest iOS version might help. If you can access the Settings app, navigate to Settings > General > Software Update and follow the prompts.

If the touchscreen is entirely non-responsive, connect your iPhone to a computer with iTunes (Windows or macOS Mojave and earlier) or Finder (macOS Catalina and later). Once connected:

Open iTunes or Finder and locate your device.
If your device is recognized, choose the Update option to install the latest iOS version.
If prompted to “Trust this computer,” tap Trust on your iPhone if possible; if not, follow the next steps.

Use Recovery Mode

In cases where the touchscreen is completely unresponsive and your device doesn’t trust the computer, you’ll need to put your iPhone into recovery mode:

Connect your iPhone to your computer.
Launch iTunes or Finder.
Perform a forced restart for your specific model but don’t release the buttons when the Apple logo appears. Instead, keep holding until the recovery mode screen appears.
A prompt will appear on your computer indicating an iPhone in recovery mode has been detected.
Choose Update to reinstall iOS without erasing your data.

This process can fix software issues that cause unresponsiveness without deleting your personal data.

Free Up Storage Space

Over time, your iPhone accumulates apps, photos, videos, and other media, consuming storage space. When storage becomes nearly full, certain functions—including the touchscreen—may start to misbehave.

If you see alerts about low storage or notice sluggish performance, try deleting unused apps, removing unnecessary photos, or backing up files to iCloud and deleting them from the device. Frees up memory can restore smooth operation.

Allow Your iPhone to Cool Down

Heavy use of resource-intensive apps or working in hot environments can cause your device to overheat, affecting performance—including touch responsiveness. If your iPhone feels hot or behaves sluggish, turn it off for 15-30 minutes to cool down.

If you’re in a rush, enabling Airplane Mode or Low Power Mode can reduce the device’s workload temporarily, helping to alleviate overheating and improve responsiveness once powered back up.

Update Your Apps

Sometimes, touchscreen issues appear only when specific apps are in use. Ensure all your apps are up to date, as developers regularly release patches for bugs. Check the App Store for updates or delete and reinstall the problematic app. If issues persist with a particular app, contact the developer to report the problem.

Factory Reset Your iPhone

As a last resort, if all else fails, restoring your iPhone to factory settings can resolve persistent software problems. Keep in mind, this erases everything on your device—so ensure you have a recent backup using iCloud or your computer.

To reset:

Follow the steps to update your iPhone, but select Restore instead of Update when prompted.
After the reset, set up your iPhone as new, and test whether the touchscreen responds properly.
If it does, you can restore your backup. If not, hardware issues may be to blame.

Contact Apple Support

If none of these solutions restore touchscreen functionality, it’s advisable to contact Apple support or visit an authorized service provider. Factory resets and software updates are helpful, but hardware issues—like a damaged screen or internal component failure—require professional diagnosis and repair. Apple technicians can determine if your device needs a replacement or repair, often without risking your data.

Troubleshooting touchscreen problems can be straightforward with these steps. Start with basic restarts and cleaning, then proceed to software updates and recovery options. If all else fails, professional help from Apple is the safest course.