Apple Suggests Solution for 'Ghost Touch' Issue on Apple Watch Series 7 and Later

[JcxaL]

I had to reset and erase my ultra 2 today due to this bug again causing "too many password attempts, reset and repair" while it's just on my wrist with no touches .... hope 10.4 fixes this

 

[TracesOfArsenic]

haVE yOU ReINsTALled The oPeratinG syStem?

Apple are not about quality anymore. It's such a shame.

 

[rjp1]

I hate when they advise not replacing a device. If I'm having an uncommon isssue, then let me swap it out.

I've had this issue on a run before with AWU2 and was highly annoyed. I would have been ultra pissed if it was during a marathon.

 

[TimHalfCooked]

i love my watch, it lives life by its own rules. sometimes it will play a sound randomly, sometimes it will turn the 'torch' on and off like a disco. it has its own personality not conforming to the norms of basic technology. it's the tesla wipers of the apple world

utter ****.

 

[klky]

My Series 9 has been flawless. Never even heard of this issue until now.

 

[citysnaps]

My Series 9 has been flawless. Never even heard of this issue until now.

Same here. Typical forum reactions.

 

[sdhalpern]

Upgraded to the Series 8 from the 4 and dealt with this issue for years waiting for them to acknowledge or fix. I use the timer as a complication in the bottom left corner, and even when AOD disabled (theater mode on), my timers would pause themselves all the time. Infuriating because if the timer isn’t functioning correctly it can cause serious medical problems given my use case. It does seem like 10.4 fixed the issue, but I regret ditching my Series 4 as it never had this problem.

We as consumers are far too tolerant of Apple’s slow-going lax QA approach to their high end pricy products. This BS needs to be remedied quickly given Apple’s size, financial resources and capabilities.

 

[Cholo]

There could be something to that. I’ve never had the issue but turning off the always on display was one thing I did immediately when I received my refurbished 7. I thought I’d be ditching it for the 8 when that came out but after seeing how much of a “meh” update the 8 was I hung on to the refurbished 7. Then the 9 comes out and it’s more of the same. I’m hoping the 10 has at least one new feature that makes me want to upgrade but I’m not holding my breath on that one. They may ship a new form factor to sell more accessories but I’m starting to doubt we’ll get any kind of new hardware like a blood pressure sensor or monitoring that can give you useful data even if all it can do is tell you if you’re BP is starting to become elevated more than your usual baseline over time.

In fact IMO the 9 you can buy since Apple had to shut off the blood-oxygen feature isn’t even as advanced as my un-hobbled 7 at this point. If they ship the 10 without either paying the licensing fee or replacing the tech with a version of their own that doesn’t infringe on the existing patent then it’s hobbled in a way that my 7 isn’t. The blood-oxygen monitor in is it consistent with my readings if I put on a third party monitor and check it that way. My wife’s an RN so we have things laying around that not every household might have and with sleep apnea it’s important that if my CPAP starts to fail without making some kind of noise that would alert me to it that the blood-oxygen monitor in my watch will catch it.

I have ‘always on’ disabled on my Ultra 2 and still had it happen once. Did the update and have not seen it again.

 

[Luposian]

Makes me EVER so glad I don't have nor own an Apple Watch... of any model or series. Yay, me!

 

[svish]

Not too sure whether a force restart will fix the issue.

 

[Wando64]

...and the update affected others.

I am not sure what article you have read, but this statement is not present, and neither can it be deducted, from the article at the top of this thread.

”A fix for the ghost touch issue was added in watchOS 10.4, so presumably that version of the software addresses the issue on all impacted models.”

 

[aknabi]

This had happened multiple times on my Apple Watch Ultra 2. Haven’t had it happen again since 10.4.

I just hit it yesterday… and locked out all day… the timing couldn’t be worse as had a pace training run and needed to track… so had to go get the Garmin to use and will keep as a back up.

Note also on the Apple support forums I see the comments like “stuff happens, just reboot or be an adult and deal until Apple fixes which will happen quickly”.. do Apple fans not remember when we ridiculed Microsoft users for this line of thought with our air of superiority and being smart to pay more for “it just works”? I don’t give Apple excuses for screwing up… if I were in Tim’s shoes I’d do an airline move and give users who own impacted models a $20 (or equiv) gift card to apologize. Would cost them basically net zero (or even slight profit) and earn goodwill. Remember when the Genius Bar was famous for that? Not doing so creates doubt… I now have a Garmin… I know I can go for a run and have tracking with more trust than I have with Apple… that’s a no bueno impression to leave with users.

 

[PixelsMaster]

I just hit it yesterday… and locked out all day… the timing couldn’t be worse as had a pace training run and needed to track… so had to go get the Garmin to use and will keep as a back up.

Note also on the Apple support forums I see the comments like “stuff happens, just reboot or be an adult and deal until Apple fixes which will happen quickly”.. do Apple fans not remember when we ridiculed Microsoft users for this line of thought with our air of superiority and being smart to pay more for “it just works”? I don’t give Apple excuses for screwing up… if I were in Tim’s shoes I’d do an airline move and give users who own impacted models a $20 (or equiv) gift card to apologize. Would cost them basically net zero (or even slight profit) and earn goodwill. Remember when the Genius Bar was famous for that? Not doing so creates doubt… I now have a Garmin… I know I can go for a run and have tracking with more trust than I have with Apple… that’s a no bueno impression to leave with users.

That’s disappointing to hear; assuming you’re running the latest version. At least I won’t be surprised when it happens to me again!

I’ve been using Apple products exclusively since the iPhone 3GS and problems like this have had me looking into alternative ecosystems lately.

 

[Wando64]

Apple said in a memo shared with Apple Authorized Service Providers.

This link leads to a Tweet (X post) by someone called @Stellafudge.

Who is she? And why is she credited as speaking on behalf of Apple?

Thanks

 

[MTShipp]

I rarely wear my Ultra 2 anymore because of this issue. I started having it before it was “known” and 2 Genius visits just made me more frustrated to be told to reboot. The issue would return within a few days. Fast forward and even now it still does it and support tells me to…you guessed it, restart.

I got my first iPhone in 2007 and my first Mac in 2009. For so many years ‘it just worked’ but within the last 5 or so (anecdotally), Apple products don’t ‘just work’ anymore. Quality, IMO, is much lower. I have said to myself for years, that Apple should not focus on getting a new OS version out every year and should go longer so they can work more on stabilizing the current. It seems that by the time WWDC rolls around we only get critical updates to last years OS as Apple focuses on the next big shiny new feature for the next new shiny iDevice which, several times releases as beta or “coming soon”.

 

[steve09090]

I am not sure what article you have read, but this statement is not present, and neither can it be deducted, from the article at the top of this thread.

”A fix for the ghost touch issue was added in watchOS 10.4, so presumably that version of the software addresses the issue on all impacted models.”

I was paraphrasing. I deduced it from these words. I’ll let you read it and maybe you can tell me what it means.

Apple first began looking into the touch-related problem affecting some Apple Watch models in February. At the time, it was a bug that had been seen on the Series 9 and the Ultra 2.

And it came from the memo to service repairers.

"This has JUST been extended to series 7, series 8, as well as ultra 1 just FYI"

I don’t know why it’s so hard for people to understand that it was first seen to be present on Watch 9 & Ultra 2 and then on a software update, it developed on earlier versions. It is literally what it says.

 

[downpour]

The Amazon delivery driver stole my first Apple Watch... Instead of replacing it I got a nice automatic watch instead. Really pleased with my decision. It looks way better, doesn't need charging, and will last for decades. It also doesn't bug me with annoying notifications or randomly start talking when I'm trying to have a conversation.

 

[Wando64]

I was paraphrasing. I deduced it from these words. I’ll let you read it and maybe you can tell me what it means.

And it came from the memo to service repairers.

"This has JUST been extended to series 7, series 8, as well as ultra 1 just FYI"

I don’t know why it’s so hard for people to understand that it was first seen to be present on Watch 9 & Ultra 2 and then on a software update, it developed on earlier versions. It is literally what it says.

I read it and quoted it.
I'll quote it again:
”A fix for the ghost touch issue was added in watchOS 10.4, so presumably that version of the software addresses the issue on all impacted models.”

Where I come from, to address an issue means to do something about it with the objective of resolving it or improve it.

 

[steve09090]

I read it and quoted it.
I'll quote it again:
”A fix for the ghost touch issue was added in watchOS 10.4, so presumably that version of the software addresses the issue on all impacted models.”

It means that the ghost touch issue was added in watchOS 10.4, so presumably that version of the software addresses the issue on all impacted models.

Ah. So you are simply ignoring the part where it says it was first on the Watch 9 & Ultra 2. Now that makes sense. 🤦🏻

Im not continuing this with you. If you’re not going to be reasonable G’Nite.

 

[UltraInstinct]

Both mine and my wife's S9 watches had this, fixed by rebooting then I think we both had an update to do. Not happened since.

 

[GrayFlannel]

Ctrl-alt-del is still going strong.

 

[Wando64]

Ah. So you are simply ignoring the part where it says it was first on the Watch 9 & Ultra 2. Now that makes sense. 🤦🏻

Im not continuing this with you. If you’re not going to be reasonable G’Nite.

I am not ignoring anything, least of all the fact that you are deducting something (the update introduced the problem to lower series) when the article actually suggests the opposite (the update addresses the issue on all series).
At no point the article (or anyone else apart from you) has suggested that the problem is now been recognised to affect lower series as a consequence of the OS upgrade.
I would be very much interested in knowing if anyone has recognised that this was the case, and this is was prompted my first reply to you when I actually thought you might have read a different article.
I agree that there is no point in continuing this conversation.

 

[coffeemilktea]

Service providers have been told not to replace watches for the ghost touch problem, instead instructing customers to fix the issue through a force restart.

"Get a replacement? Nah, you're just looking at the time wrong."

 

[goonie4life9]

It's the same advice given by every tech department in the world for every tech device in the world. It doesn't matter if it's a smart watch or a washing machine.

That data stuff and everything beyond that, that you're talking about is obviously just a troll.

Huh? It is SOP for Apple collect logs. I just said it in a purposely humorous way.

 

[siddavis]

After dealing with my trash "touch" interface on my iPad Air 3 for years, I have no faith they'll actually fix the issue other than to keep telling people to restart. That's as bad as ctrl+alt+del.