iPad Pro 2017 iPad Pro 12.9" becoming randomly unresponsive?

[kasakka]

I looked into this before making this post and there there were various solutions to this in https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View...touchscreen+is+unresponsive+from+time+to+time

Unfortunately none of them seemed to solve the problem for me. I am running the latest version of iOS.

I love my 2017 iPad Pro and since it generally works fine I have had zero need to upgrade it just for smaller bezels and FaceID (or for making my Apple Pencil 1st gen a paperweight).

The problem I am having is the touchscreen becomes unresponsive in some very specific situations. It is most obvious when typing on the virtual keyboard. I use the virtual keyboard because adding a real keyboard would make the device too heavy. When it is unresponsive, some keys will just refuse to output anything and I have to hit them several times for the touch to register.

This seems to occur especially if I am sitting in a chain and have the iPad Pro on my lap, in landscape, bottom edge resting against my belly, propped up a bit on my leg. Orientation does not seem to matter.

It can also occur just when it is on a table, propped up slightly with the Smart cover folded. I have tried Smart cover removed as well, has no effect. Swiping (e.g. scrolling a website) can also become unresponsive in this situation.

Is this a hardware fault? It seems completely random and I tried to check if my iPad is bent but nope, seems completely straight.

 

[Harlandos]

I have this issue also. Although I find the issue is intermittent and the unresponsive issue resolves after a few seconds. Really frustrating, keen to establish if this is a common issue. Am using the 12.9 iPad Pro 2nd generation.

 

[AutomaticApple]

keen to establish if this is a common issue.

The issue is commonly reported on this forum.

 

[Harlandos]

The issue is commonly reported on this forum.

Thanks! Will search it out..

 

[sracer]

This issue is somewhat common to both the 1st and 2nd gen 12.9 Pro. It started happening to my 1st gen after about 2 years and I ended up trading it in. It is prevalent enough that some Best Buys incorporated a check specifically for that behavior when trading one in.

 

[Girlsmouth]

I looked into this before making this post and there there were various solutions to this in https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View...touchscreen+is+unresponsive+from+time+to+time

Unfortunately none of them seemed to solve the problem for me. I am running the latest version of iOS.

I love my 2017 iPad Pro and since it generally works fine I have had zero need to upgrade it just for smaller bezels and FaceID (or for making my Apple Pencil 1st gen a paperweight).

The problem I am having is the touchscreen becomes unresponsive in some very specific situations. It is most obvious when typing on the virtual keyboard. I use the virtual keyboard because adding a real keyboard would make the device too heavy. When it is unresponsive, some keys will just refuse to output anything and I have to hit them several times for the touch to register.

This seems to occur especially if I am sitting in a chain and have the iPad Pro on my lap, in landscape, bottom edge resting against my belly, propped up a bit on my leg. Orientation does not seem to matter.

It can also occur just when it is on a table, propped up slightly with the Smart cover folded. I have tried Smart cover removed as well, has no effect. Swiping (e.g. scrolling a website) can also become unresponsive in this situation.

Is this a hardware fault? It seems completely random and I tried to check if my iPad is bent but nope, seems completely straight.

It’s a common issue.
Worst iPad ever made for screen issues

 

[DamonOrl]

Happens with the 10.5” as well. Mine was virtually unusable all day yesterday and earlier today. Works perfect with the Apple Pencil. But I don’t want to use a stylus...

I restored several hours ago and it seems better, but still not good enough.

 

[Dave-Z]

My 2nd gen. 12.9" iPad suffered from this. It got so bad I couldn't even use it anymore. I eventually used Apple's trade-in program to get an Apple gift card for it. Not ideal but better than nothing.

 

[DamonOrl]

Happens with the 10.5” as well. Mine was virtually unusable all day yesterday and earlier today. Works perfect with the Apple Pencil. But I don’t want to use a stylus...

I restored several hours ago and it seems better, but still not good enough.

It’s been a few days since I restored. Haven’t had any issues...yet. May just be coincidence considering previously I’d go days without issue.

 

[Philly]

I only started using my 2018 iPad Pro in March this year, fresh out of its box. The touchscreen issue started happening after about a month and got worse. Only the home button would work. I contacted Apple support and they first had me reset it. That didn’t work and I contacted them again. Eventually they told me to go to my near Apple store for a replacement. It’s a two hour drive. When I got there, I was then told that I would have to pay £600 for a new screen! I can’t afford that...and drove two hours home in a bad mood.

The problem has got even worse now, probably about 50% of the time not working. The only solution is to press the home button and go back to the app again. There is also now a slight click noise near the top of the screen. I contacted support again but it’s like talking to robot. I’ve been buying Apple computers since 2004. They used to fix things like this...

 

[doboy]

Maybe I’m just so lucky that my 1st gen 12.9” from work doesn’t suffer from this and my personal 10.5” Pro doesn’t have a white spot even after close to 3 years of owning both.

 

[danmart]

Is this a hardware fault?

Do you have any backlight bleed at the edge of the screen? My gen 2 Pro (I think it was the gen 2... it had TouchID) became unresponsive and also showed some light bleeding on the screen.

My local Approved Repair centre told me there was quite a common problem with the screen de-laminating that caused both issues to manifest. My device was replaced under the standard warranty.

 

[Philly]

I’ve heard about the de-laminating issue but I have no issue with bleeding. It’s just that the screen randomly goes completely unresponsive. Also there is now a random clicking noise at one corner of the screen.

Apple are not helping with mine because it is out of warranty. It is from 2018 but I only took it out of the box this year. I have just been told about UK consumer law though and for six years they are legally bound to replace faulty items, so if anyone is having this issue In the UK...

Apple Products and Consumer Laws in the United Kingdom

im going to pursue this line of attack.

 

[ejin222]

I feel for everyone who has this problem. Happened to my 2017 12.9”. Sold it and purchased a 2018 and no problems since. My second favorite iPad next to my Mini 5.

 

[muzzy996]

Yup I’m on my second gen 2 12.9 and several months in it started exhibiting the touch sensitivity issue, no light bleeding. Taking the Logitech kick stand back case off that I like to use has helped to improve things but the issue is still there at times. My experience tells me that this is a hardware issue possibly exasperated by external conditions that aren’t necessarily outside of any reasonable standards of care by the user but nonetheless are contributing factors to the manifestation of the issue. That would explain how some of us have had the issue (some like me even twice) while others never see it. I’m by no means hard on my devices but there has to be some reason why I have had the issue with two different devices in a 2 year period. I have never dropped either device nor subjected them to extreme temperatures. The issue has persisted for multiple iOS versions too so it shouldn’t be software related.

 

[kasakka]

Do you have any backlight bleed at the edge of the screen? My gen 2 Pro (I think it was the gen 2... it had TouchID) became unresponsive and also showed some light bleeding on the screen.

My local Approved Repair centre told me there was quite a common problem with the screen de-laminating that caused both issues to manifest. My device was replaced under the standard warranty.

I haven't noticed any such issues. For me it mostly seems to manifest itself when it is used on my lap in some specific position. I tried removing the smart cover and that also might have helped but I don't think it fixed the issue by any means.

Mine is out of warranty at this point but other than this issue I have no complaints about the device so I am not keen to buy a new one until some significant upgrade comes along. Mini-LED version might be it for me.

 

[grad]

It is called planned obsolescence for a reason. And nowadays it can be achieved by a combination of deliberately closed hardware design, 3rd party repair control & bullying, and forced software updates.

 

[danmart]

I haven't noticed any such issues. For me it mostly seems to manifest itself when it is used on my lap in some specific position.

I think that could be the de-lamination issue; certain forces on the device might cause the layers to separate and then when those forces go away the layers close up again? I’m not a hardware engineer...

If there is an authorised repair centre near you (and open...) and your jurisdiction has appropriate consumer protection laws it may be worth going for a friendly chat to see if they will replace it or not?

 

[Philly]

It is called planned obsolescence for a reason. And nowadays it can be achieved by a combination of deliberately closed hardware design, 3rd party repair control & bullying, and forced software updates.

Mine was in its box until March this year, and started doing it within a few weeks. It was never in a case, and always handled carefully. Apple products when built well last for years. My G4 lasted seven years of constant travel and use. My iPad Pro clearly has a fault or poor component. I’ve stuck with Apple for over sixteen years for a reason, but I am disappointed with them on this occasion.

 

[Philly]

Mine is out of warranty at this point but other than this issue I have no complaints about the device so I am not keen to buy a new one until some significant upgrade comes along. Mini-LED version might be it for me.

Are you in the UK, by any chance? Anything bought in the UK is covered under consumer law for six years.

Apple Products and Consumer Laws in the United Kingdom

 

[grad]

Mine was in its box until March this year, and started doing it within a few weeks. It was never in a case, and always handled carefully. Apple products when built well last for years. My G4 lasted seven years of constant travel and use. My iPad Pro clearly has a fault or poor component. I’ve stuck with Apple for over sixteen years for a reason, but I am disappointed with them on this occasion.

The problem suddenly started to occur many months ago, and it might have been after an OS upgrade or not. The iPad was always at home and in a case, I never treated it badly.

 

[ejin222]

I don't think this is a software issue... It's most likely a hardware issue and that's why Apple hasn't fixed it through software updates by now.

 

[muzzy996]

I don't think this is a software issue... It's most likely a hardware issue and that's why Apple hasn't fixed it through software updates by now.

Agree.

I can tell you why I don’t think it is software - for my first 12.9 gen 2 at least a clean install did nothing, that tells me that the issue wasn’t software. To clarify - once I got Apple to send me a replacement under AC+ I wiped the broken one and set up as new just to see for myself if the problem would go away bone stock with no apps added. I did this on purpose so as to not leave anything on the iPad unnecessarily but also to check to see if they’d experience the same issue with the iOS software clean. The wipe did not fix the issue.

That experience coupled with the thought that surely hundreds if not thousands of other iPads experiencing this issue were returned to Apple leads me to think it’s hardware. With all of those samples to examine, knowing what AppleIDs are associated with each and being able to narrow down what apps were on each unit accordingly surely a software issue would have been found.

 

[kasakka]

Are you in the UK, by any chance? Anything bought in the UK is covered under consumer law for six years.

Apple Products and Consumer Laws in the United Kingdom

I am in Finland and bought my iPad Pro in Japan so all I can do is contact Apple, which probably means they will say "pay X amount for display replacement since it's out of warranty" which at this point would be money better spent on a next gen model. Might contact them in any case.

I have no idea what the recourse is for manufacturing defects in this type of situation. My country's laws say it should be covered on a case by case basis based on expected lifetime which I would assume is longer than 3 years. I don't know if that applies when the device is not bought from a vendor in my country. We do not have Apple stores here, just resellers.

Apple probably also does not admit this is a manufacturing defect.

 

[pdoherty]

I feel for everyone who has this problem. Happened to my 2017 12.9”. Sold it and purchased a 2018 and no problems since. My second favorite iPad next to my Mini 5.

Sorry - don’t mean to call you out, specifically, but I find it dishonorable to sell a known-defective iPad to someone else. I let mine (12.9”) die on its own from this unresponsive screen issue, without attempting to pass it off on some unsuspecting secondhand buyer.