Some iPhone 16 Pro users are experiencing touchscreen issues, but there’s a simple solution

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Avoid accidental touches

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max Hands on
The iPhone 16 Pro Max (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

The newly released iPhone 16 line seems to be plagued by its fair share of bugs, as following reports of a nasty iOS 18 Messages bug, we’re now hearing that a number of iPhone 16 Pro users are suffering from partially unresponsive touchscreens.

While the screens in question are mostly functioning, affected users claim that taps or swipes are occasionally ignored, leaving them unable to interact with their iPhone 16 Pro display at all. 

These users have, however, also figured out the likely reason for this annoyance, and it relates to the phone’s accidental touch algorithm being oversensitive.

Basically, the iPhone 16 Pro's screen can become unresponsive if you accidentally rest part of your palm or another area of skin on the edge of the phone's display. You can see the issue in action in a Mastodon post by Khaos Tian (via 9to5Mac). 

Could the cause be the Camera Control? 

Apple iPhone 16 Camera Control

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

While the video linked above shows significant contact with the edge of the screen, reports on Reddit and elsewhere suggest that the iPhone 16 Pro's display can become unresponsive with even a tiny amount of accidental contact. 

Interestingly, some users claim that the issue only happens when touching the area next to the new Camera Control button, but other reports suggest that any part of the display edge can cause the problem.

This issue appears to be affecting both the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max when running either iOS 18 or the iOS 18.1 beta. We haven’t seen reports of other iPhone models having the same problem, though this is perhaps because the latest Pro phones have smaller bezels, so it’s easier to make accidental contact with the display.

Still, while definitely annoying, there are two pieces of good news here. The first is that it’s likely a software issue, so it’s probably something Apple can fix with a software update. The second is that, in the meantime, you can avoid the issue by being careful about how you hold your iPhone 16 Pro – and if you do notice the screen becoming unresponsive, simply adjust your grip.

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James Rogerson
James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.