So I got around to getting a new digitizer (screen) and replacement battery for an ancient iPhone and got them installed.

Question for those who’ve replaced digitizers…

Any ideas as to why the screen will behave as if its being touched in a bunch of places without actually being touched?

Its not all the time, maybe 2 or 3 times in a day. All I have to do is turn off the screen and wait a few seconds.

This is the second digitizer I’ve replaced but the first time I’ve had this issue. Mostly just curious if there someone more technically inclined/experienced with an answer other than guessing.

  • abc [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    4·
    10 months ago

    Any ideas as to why the screen will behave as if its being touched in a bunch of places without actually being touched?

    It’s been a few years since I did mobile phone repair (and honestly I chucked most of that shit out of my mind as soon as I left that job) but cheap digitizers will do this. If a reboot/turning the screen off fixes it, that’d be my best guess. I also used to see that though with phones that’d been repaired elsewhere and someone didn’t properly screw the LCD shielding plate back in.

    • D61 [any]@hexbear.netOPEnglish
      2·
      10 months ago

      didn’t properly screw the LCD shielding plate back in.

      Would that be something visibly noticeable from outside (screen not seating against the body or bulging) or only noticeable when inside the case?

      • abc [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
        2·
        10 months ago

        Ehh it could definitely be noticeable if it wasn’t done properly. Same thing with like, the flex cable shielding for the battery - if that isn’t screwed in properly it can cause the screen to bulge noticeably. Usually you can both feel and see this though - it’ll feel like you’re pressing down on something when you touch and there’ll be like light leaking from the sides of the screen/it won’t be flush with the sides. This goes for a number of parts on the older iPhone displays - like the home button, front facing camera/mic, and the shielding for both the screen & the battery flex cables. If any of those are seated awkwardly or not screwed in properly, it can cause issues.

        • D61 [any]@hexbear.netOPEnglish
          1·
          10 months ago

          well… no bulges anything, so I guess I’ll just ride it out for a few months and see if it stays intermittent. If it gets worse I’ll go back in and poke around some.

          Thanks for info. comrade-fly

  • Rojo27 [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    4·
    10 months ago

    Two things.

    If it’s a third party digitizer and it had a plastic film on it, did you take it off before booting it? There are some phones where the touch is calibrated upon first boot and it still has the protective film it could cause touch issues.

    You say this is the second one you’ve done. Same models or is this one newer? On a newer iPhone it’s possible it’s detected it has a third party screen. While it shouldn’t cause touch issues you never really know with Apple.

    • D61 [any]@hexbear.netOPEnglish
      3·
      10 months ago

      iPhone 6 marx-guns-blazing

      Different brand or at least purchased source for each of the digitizers. Bought about 12 months apart.

      Pulled off the shipping plastic before powering it on.