IPhone X touch screen not working even after hard reset

Is your iPhone X Series iPhone (XS/XR/X) touchscreen not responsive, slow to respond, or not working in some ways? If so, you are not alone! Some of our readers report problems with their iPhone X Series almost immediately after unboxing!

When the iPhone X Series (X, XS, XR) launched, we expect to see a few bugs and quirks that cause issues. However, one problem we didn’t expect to see are issues with being able actually to use the touchscreen.

Contents

• Quick Tips 
• First Line Fixes for Touchscreens Not Working
  • Remove Cases With Screen Protectors
  • Bring a Little Heat
  • Burp It Baby!
• Perform a Force Reset (Forced Restart)
• Check for software updates
  • Use iTunes on a computer to check for software updates if your screen is completely unresponsive
• Enable/Disable 3D Touch
• Try Recovery Mode
• Restore to Factory Default via iTunes
  • Backup First 
  • Turn off ‘Find My iPhone.’
  • Wipe Everything Clean With iTunes
  • Erase Content and Setting With iOS
• Turn off automatic iOS Updating
• Suspect Hardware Issue? Take it to Apple 

Quick Tips 

Follow These Quick Tips To Address iPhone X Series Touchscreen Problems

• Remove Cases and/or screen protectors
• Heat up the iPhone, especially if in cold climates
• Force Restart your device
• Update the iOS to the latest version
• Disable 3D Touch, if possible
• Reinstall iOS using Recovery Mode
• Return the device back to factory settings
• Turn Off Automatic iOS Updates

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• Quickly view battery levels of connected devices on your iPhone
• 10 Hidden Features of iPhone X Series
• How to fix Call Sound Issues with iPhone X Series
• How To Fix Unresponsive Touchscreen issues on older iOS

Users everywhere have reported that the touchscreen on their iPhone X/XS/XR has stopped working, regardless of the situation. The first issues arose after it was discovered that cold temperatures were causing problems with touch input.

Since then, there have been more problems arise with the touchscreen. Luckily, there have seemed to have been a few fixes that you can attempt before throwing your $1,000 iPhone against the wall or out the window.

First Line Fixes for Touchscreens Not Working

Remove Cases With Screen Protectors

It’s often your case with built-in screen protectors or just those anti-glare screen covers that cause problems. Although many think otherwise, screen protectors often interfere with touchscreens–especially if you are reusing an old one or using a screen protector made for a different model or brand phone. 

So before any further troubleshooting, remove any case covers the screen. Or if you use a screen cover, remove that. Then restart your phone and check if the screen responds.

Bring a Little Heat

A few readers tell us that heating up their iPhones did the trick to get the screen responsive.

We don’t mean putting on a fire or in the over! Rather, they found wrapping it up in a blanket, towel, or even sitting on it for 5-10 minutes worked. For this to work and generate some moderate heat, the phone must be on.

Burp It Baby!

Another trick readers use is burping their iPhones!

This seems to work for folks whose screen cables are not making good contacts.

It’s best to first cover your iPhone X Series phone in a soft towel or cloth to prevent screen damage. Then, give it a few swift whacks on the backside (not screen side!)

We call this burping your iDevice–a firm smack, done just a few times one after the other. Just like burping a baby–gentle but often effective!

If this trick works for you and your device is under warranty, we suggest contacting Apple Support. And ask for an internal inspection since it’s likely the cable connecting your screen need repaired or replaced.

Perform a Force Reset (Forced Restart)

The first and most basic method to try and get your iPhone X working again is to Force Reset it.

This is not a factory reset, as you are only forcing your iPhone to simply power down.

The steps are pretty easy, but are a bit different than previous iPhone models

1. Tap (quickly push in & release) the Volume Up button
2. Then Tap (promptly push in & release) Volume Down button
3. Press and hold the Side button until you see the Apple logo, then release
   1. If you see the slide to power off option, keep holding down the Side button until the Apple Logo appears on your screen

Some readers tell us they need to force restart multiple times (like 3 times) to get this to work.

Check for software updates

To put it plainly, some folks are afraid of software updates. This is especially true for Windows users, as software updates can completely bring your system to a halt.

However, there are some software updates that are really quite useful. For example, the release of iOS 11.1.2 included a fix for iPhone X’s that were unresponsive “after a rapid temperature drop”.

Use iTunes on a computer to check for software updates if your screen is completely unresponsive

1. Use a computer with the latest version of iTunes already installed on it
   1. It does not need to be your computer
2. Connect your iPhone
3. Open iTunes
4. Select your device
5. Choose Summary and then tap Check for Update 
   
6. Click Download and Update
7. If requested, enter your passcode

Or, If Possible Update Your iOS Via Your Device

1. Open Settings
2. Tap General
3. Select Software Update 
   

After this screen is presented, your iPhone automatically checks with Apple’s servers for a new software update.

If there is an update available, then you will want to press Install Now.

However, if there is not an update available, you may need to check out the next option on our list.

Enable/Disable 3D Touch

If forcing your iPhone X Series to restart doesn’t do the trick, then you may want to try toggling 3D Touch on and off.

This has seemed to work for some folks, and you can do so via the steps below

1. Go to Settings
2. Tap General
3. Select Accessibility
4. Scroll down and select 3D Touch
5. Toggle the switch Off or On (or vice-versa)

To be more thorough, you might want to turn off 3D Touch, Force Reset your iPhone, and then see if everything works.

If not, then you’ll want to keep moving down the list.

Try Recovery Mode

1. Connect your device to a computer and open iTunes
2. Once connected, force it to restart
   • On an iPhone X Series or iPhone 8: Press and quickly release the Volume Up button. Press and immediately release the Volume Down button. Then, press and hold the Side button until you see the recovery mode screen.
   • On an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus: Press and hold the Side and Volume Down buttons at the same time. Keep holding them until you see the recovery mode screen.
   • On an iPhone 6s and earlier, iPad, or iPod touch: Press and hold both the Home and the Top (or Side) buttons at the same time. Keep holding them until you see the recovery mode screen.
3. Keep holding these buttons until you see the recovery mode screen 
   
4. When a message appears on your computer’s screen that there is a problem with your iPhone, choose Update 
   
5. iTunes tries to reinstall iOS without erasing your data and downloads the latest software for your device
   1. If it takes more than 15 minutes and your device exits recovery mode, repeat steps 2-4

Restore to Factory Default via iTunes

This next step may be the most frustrating, but it could also be your last hope before making the trek up to your local Apple Store.

When all else fails, you should factory reset your iPhone in order to try and work out any bugs.

Backup First 

However, before doing that, there are a few steps that you need to take. The first of which is creating an iCloud backup or iTunes backup of your iPhone.

This saves all of your app data, media files, photos, and more so you can restore your iPhone back to normal

1. Open Settings
2. Tap your Apple ID at the top
3. Select your iPhone from the list of devices
4. Tap iCloud Backup
5. Tap Back Up Now

Turn off ‘Find My iPhone.’

The next step before completing a factory reset is to turn off ‘Find My iPhone.’

• Open Settings
• Tap your Apple ID at the top
• Select your iPhone from the list of devices
• Tap Find My iPhone
• Toggle Off
• Enter Apple ID password

If you do not turn find My iPhone off, then you will not be able to reset your phone back to factory settings.

If your iPhone is entirely non-responsive to touch, you can use a different iDevice to remove the one with the touchscreen problems. Or visit your Apple ID or iCloud Account via a web browser and remove the device there.

Wipe Everything Clean With iTunes

Now that you have a brand new backup and have turned off Find My iPhone, you can now factory reset your iPhone to its original settings.

1. Open iTunes on your Mac or PC
2. Connect your iPhone
3. If a message asks for your device passcode or to Trust This Computer, follow the onscreen steps
4. Select your iPhone when it appears in iTunes
5. In the Summary pane, click Restore 
   
6. Click Restore again to confirm
7. iTunes erases your device and installs the latest iOS
8. After your device restores to factory settings, it restarts
9. Set it up as new or connect to your recent backup

Erase Content and Setting With iOS

1. Open Settings
2. Select General
3. Scroll down and tap Reset
4. Tap Erase All Content and Settings 
   
5. Confirm

It’s important to note that if there is a new software update available, your iPhone will likely download and install it.

This is to keep your phone in tip-top shape with the latest version of iOS on board.

Turn off automatic iOS Updating

iOS 12 and above feature automatic updating of your device. We suggest you turn this setting OFF.

With Automatic Updates, your iOS device updates automatically to the latest version of iOS when connected to a power source and a WiFi connection. The updates usually take place overnight, when you are not using your device.

Quite a few of our readers discovered that after their iPhones updated automatically, their phones became unresponsive to their touch.

That’s why we recommend updating manually!

To turn it off, go to Settings > General > Software Updates > Off.

Suspect Hardware Issue? Take it to Apple 

The final option if you continue to have issues with your iPhone X Series touchscreen is to take it to Apple. Remember that Apple covers your device for one year from the date of purchase and for two years with the additional purchase of Apple Care+ for iPhone.

Some users discover that they need a screen replacement or that the cable connecting their screen inside their device is loose or not making good and consistent contact.

Regardless of whether you have AppleCare or not, setting up an appointment with your Apple Store’s Genius Bar or chatting with Apple or contacting Apple Support (800-692-7753 or 1-800-MY-APPLE) could result in you getting an entirely new iPhone.

Of course, if your iPhone X Series was previously damaged, then you might run into some issues and may end up having to pay some type of deductible.

Nonetheless, it’s better than paying another $1,000+ for a phone or being stuck with a paperweight.

Let us know if any of these methods worked for you, or if there’s a method that we didn’t make mention of!

Andrew is a freelance writer based on the East Coast of the US.

He has written for a variety of sites over the years, including iMore, Android Central, Phandroid, and a few others. Now, he spends his days working for an HVAC company, while moonlighting as a freelance writer at night.