IPhone Touchscreen Not Working? Try These 6 Fixes

When the iPhone touchscreen is not working, it comes down to two fundamental reasons, hardware issues and software issues. If your phone had recently suffered fall damage or something similar, the pixels on your iPhone screen are most likely dead. 

When this happens, the only solution is to visit a repair store as we can’t manually fix dead pixels. But, you can attempt to fix the touchscreen if software-related causes are more likely to be the cause. 

Why is iPhone Touchscreen Not Working?

• Dead Pixels: You get anywhere from hundreds of thousands to several million touches on your touchscreen. After the expected lifetime ends or due to physical damage, it can cause dead pixels and the touchscreen stops working. 
• Static Charge Buildup: A static charge is when the negative and the positive charges are not in balance. Our phone screens to have a lot of static charge buildup due to environment changes or contact with items, like wool, hair, or aluminum foil. As a result, the touchscreen can stop working. 
• Water Damage and Corrosion: Corrosion is a result of water damage on your phone. This is when the internal hardware components on your phone slowly start to decay after not using the phone for a prolonged time. The touchscreen not working can simply be one of its symptoms. 

How to Fix iPhone Touchscreen Not Working? 

Before we explore the solutions, we suggest trying out some basic fixes. Take off the screen protector. Then, clean the screen’s surface with a microfiber cloth to remove excess dirt off your phone screen. If you find some moisture or water droplets in any area of your phone, use a cotton swab to dry it. 

Once you’ve made sure the screen is clean, we can proceed to test the touchscreen. We can now move on to other solutions: 

Hard Reset iPhone

One of the easy fixes you can try is rebooting your iPhone. This is because sometimes app or system bugs can lead to your touchscreen crashing or not responding. So, restarting your phone will reset all background processes and help fix minor glitches. 

To force restart an iPhone without touching the screen, follow these steps. 

From iPhone 8 to iPhone 14:

1. Hold and let go of the Volume Up button. 
2. Then, hold down and let go of the volume down button until you can see the Apple logo on the screen. 

For iPhone 7:

1. Hold down the Volume Down key and the Power button together. 
2. Continue doing this until you see the Apple logo. 
3. Let go of all the buttons. 

For iPhone 6s: 

1. Press and then hold down the side button along with the Home button. 
   
2. Let go of both the buttons.

Along with rebooting your phone, you can also remove your SIM card, memory cards, and such. Doing so can help your phone to restart properly. Now, you can try and check if the touchscreen is starting to work again.

Clear Static Charge 

To remove any static charge buildup on your phone, you can simply use a humidifier in your room. It’s also best to always moisturize your hands gently before using your phone. However, make sure not to over-moisturize your hands. Another option to neutralize static charge on your phone is by using a product, like a static eliminator. 

Update iOS via Mac or iTunes

It’s a good idea to update the software on your phone to eliminate any bugs or glitches and fix the touchscreen error. You can directly use your Macbook to update your iOS version. Here’s how you can do it: 

1. Connect iPhone to your Mac using a lightning cable. 
2. Select your phone from the list. 
3. Next, click on Check for Update. 
   
4. Install any available updates.

If you’re using a Windows PC, you can use iTunes to update your iPhone.

1. Connect your iPhone to your PC using a USB cable and open iTunes. 
2. Click on your Device from the top-left corner of the window. 
   
3. Then, below your iPhone details, click on Summary. 
4. Select Check for Update. 
   
5. Click on Update if there are any software update files available. 

Use Siri to Navigate

If your phone’s touchscreen is not working, but you need to complete a task on your phone, you can still use voice commands. You can either say “Hey Siri” and say a command out loud, like “Set a reminder,” “Call someone,” or “play music.”  

Restore iPhone 

This method will require you to wipe all of your data. So, we recommend performing this step only if you already have a backup of your data or if no other solutions are working. You can easily restore your iOS using iTunes on a PC. 

1. Launch iTunes and connect your iPhone to the PC. Usually, you’ll get a pop-up message to update your software right after opening iTunes. 
2. But, if you can’t see the message, click on your device and go to Summary.
3. Click on the Restore button.  
   

Fix Phone Screen at a Repair Center

Finally, if you’re still having issues fixing your touchscreen, it’s best to leave it to a professional. You can take your phone to any local repair center and diagnose the problem. You can also look up some repair services online if it’s more convenient for you.