There are several troubleshooting methods you can try when your iPad touchscreen won’t work.
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- If your iPad touchscreen isn’t working, the solution might be a simple one.
- Make sure there’s nothing preventing the touchscreen from reading your fingertips, like gloves or moisture.
- Restart the iPad to see if that solves the problem; it could also be attached accessories, extreme temperature, or a misbehaving app.
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Your iPad relies on its touchscreen for control, so if the screen isn’t responding to your fingers, that’s a serious problem. The good news, though, is that often this is not the catastrophe it might first seem — there are some mundane reasons why the iPad’s touchscreen might not work, and you can often solve the issue on your own without resorting to Apple’s customer support.
Take off your gloves
Most gloves don’t work with the iPad’s touchscreen (or any touchscreen, for that matter). While there are specialty gloves that are specifically designed to work with touchscreens, test your iPad by removing the gloves and using your bare fingertips.
Thoroughly clean and dry the screen
In addition, before you try more complicated fixes, make sure your screen is absolutely clean and dry. Use a microfiber cloth or another kind of soft, lint-free cloth to remove any debris from the screen, and — this is the most important part — ensure it’s absolutely dry. Any water or moisture on the surface of the display can confuse the screen and make it impossible to detect your fingers.
Force restart the iPad
If your iPad has a Home button, press it and the power button at the same time until it restarts and you see the Apple logo.
Dave Johnson
Turn the iPad off, wait several minutes, and turn it back on again — rebooting a computer can solve a wealth of issues, including a glitching touchscreen. If the touchscreen isn’t working, though, you won’t be able to swipe the button to turn it off. The solution? There’s a way to turn it off using just the buttons on the iPad.
- If you have an iPad with a Home button: Press and hold the power button and the Home button at the same time. When the Apple logo appears, release the buttons.
- If you have an iPad without a Home button: Press and release the Volume Up button, then immediately press and release the Volume Down button. Then press and hold the Power button until the Apple logo appears, then let go.
Make sure it’s not too cold (or hot)
Touchscreens can be sensitive to temperature, and if you are using your iPad in extreme temperature conditions, such as in freezing temperatures or in blistering summer heat that’s over 100 degrees, the touchscreen might misbehave (or other components on the iPad might start to temporarily fail). Wait until you can use the iPad in more nominal temperature conditions and see if that solves the problem.
Disconnect any accessories
On rare occasions, a malfunctioning accessory or glitchy software can cause the iPad’s touchscreen to stop working when there’s an accessory connected. The good news is that unlike a computer, there aren’t many places to check — just unplug anything connected to the iPad’s Lightning or USB-C port, even if it’s just a charging cable. It’s a good idea to also restart the iPad after unplugging any accessories.
Isolate the app causing the problem
Check for an update to problematic apps in the App Store.
Dave Johnson
If your iPad’s touchscreen only stops working intermittently, it might be that a particular app is causing it the problem. If you can verify that the screen stops working only when you start a particular app, check to see if there is an update available for that program. If not, you’ll want to delete the app or stop using it until it’s updated and the glitch is resolved.
Remove the screen protector
If you have a screen protector on your iPad — a thin plastic film designed to protect the iPad from scratches and other damage — it’s possible that this is impeding your tablet’s ability to read your fingers. Remove the film and try using the touchscreen again.
Reach out to Apple’s customer support
If none of those options worked, the problem is probably hardware related and you’ll need to seek help from Apple’s customer service.
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