How to fix my iPhone 6s Plus touchscreen that slowly responds or not responding to touches at all? [Troubleshooting Guide]

One of the things you don’t want to happen to your smartphone is getting it wet or dropped. Because if any of these happens, a chance of your phone to get damaged is higher. Among other components, the touchscreen appears to be the most susceptible to physical damage from accidental drops. For minor damage, the touchscreen may still be working but inconsistently like it will respond now and then not. Damaged and touchscreen that slowly responds also appeared to be among the common concerns of iPhone users including those with the iPhone 6s Plus with or without prior instances of dropping or liquid exposure on the device. Among the common symptoms are sluggish or slow response to touches and unresponsive touchscreen in general. Aside from hardware damage, these symptoms can also occur on your device due to software malfunctions. This means that the problem is isolated to an application rather than faulty hardware. If you’ve landed into this page for the same reasons, this content might be able to help you. Read on to learn more.

But before anything else, if you have a different issue with your device, visit the troubleshooting page we’ve setup for the iPhone 6s Plus. We list down every problem we address each week in that page so try to see if we’ve already addressed your concern before. If we did, try to use the solutions we suggested and if they won’t work, then you may contact us by filling up this form.

What causes your iPhone 6s Plus touchscreen to become dysfunctional?

Aside from physical or liquid damage, software glitches and errors can also cause your iPhone touchscreen to become sluggish, frozen, or unresponsive. Among the usual culprits are malfunctioning apps, memory problems, and faulty updates. In some cases, file types and sizes are also to blame. This usually happens when you try to multitask with huge files or complex apps on your device. While this may not be an issue for powerful devices it still can happen especially if the iPhone is running low on memory space.

In the case where apps malfunction causing your iPhone touchscreen to become unresponsive, frozen, or responding slowly, the symptoms are usually isolated to an application. This means that your iPhone can still function normally with other apps and services except with that app. Problems like this are usually triggered by minor bugs or random app glitches caused by some corrupt files. Loading of corrupted files including photos, videos or other media contents can also cause the iPhone screen to freeze. What happens is that your iPhone attempts to load the content but couldn’t do so because something is wrong with the content. Most likely, you will be prompted with relevant error codes and alert messages telling you of what happened.

Touchscreen problems due to hardware damage would already require service for damage repair or screen replacement. But if you think you still can do something to try to save your iPhone without taking a trip to an Apple Genius bar, then you may consider the highlighted workarounds below.

Recommended workarounds to deal with touchscreen problems on your iPhone 6s Plus

Other iPhone users were able to obtain remedy without paying extra for tech service by performing the following methods. For as long as your iPhone does not have major damage to any of the pertinent components, your chance of resolving the problem is higher. So here are your options.

1. MacGyver Method.

This is actually not recommended but considered an effective workaround in dealing with touchscreen problems caused by accidental drops on the iPhone. This usually works if some touchscreen components get loose from minor drops or impacts. Should you wish to give it a try, here’s how it’s done:

  • Press down on the upper-right side of the your iPhone screen, where the cables connect to the logic board. Do it with care so as not to cause any further damage to the screen.

Again this method is only applicable if you’ve dropped your iPhone and then relevant symptoms began to manifest.

2. Remove any casing or screen protector.

Sometimes third-party accessories like casing and screen protectors can also cause your iPhone screen to give delayed response to touches. If you the problem instigates upon using a third-party casing or screen protector on your iPhone, then most probably that is the root cause. Try to remove any casing or screen protector from your device and then see how the touchscreen works without them on.

3. Keep the screen clean.

Your iPhone may also respond slowly especially if the screen is covered with dirt or if your finger is oily. To make sure this is not causing your trouble, clean the screen using a soft, slightly damp, lint-free cloth. Also make sure that your fingers are clean, dry, and oil-free when using the iPhone.

4. Perform a soft reset.

Minor apps glitches and random errors caused corrupted files or applications are usually rectified by a reboot on the device, in the process referred to as soft reset. It is done by restarting the iPhone the usual way or forcibly. Both are considered safe methods as no data or information is affected in the process. So if this is the first time your iPhone touchscreen becomes sluggish or unresponsive, give this reset a try.

  • For standard reboot, simply press and hold down the Power button until the iPhone powers off and then after a few seconds press the button again to turn it back on.

Meanwhile, if your touchscreen is not responding to touches, then you may need to go for a force restart which is carried out this way:

  • Press and hold down the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button simultaneously for a few seconds and then release both buttons when the Apple logo appears.

Wait until your iPhone completes the reboot process and then try to observe if the touchscreen is already working normally again.

5. Manage third party apps.

If your iPhone touchscreen shows unusual symptoms only when using certain app, then most likely the problem is within the application. It could be that the app gets corrupted and therefore misbehaving. To determine whether or not this is what’s causing the problem, try to disable or remove the suspected app and then see how the touchscreen works without it active on your device. To remove an app on your iPhone 6s Plus, follow these steps:

  1. Go to the Home screen.
  2. Locate the suspected app from the Apps Icons.
  3. Hold down the suspected app’s icon for a few seconds until it jiggles.
  4. Tap the X on the left corner of the icon.
  5. Tap Delete to remove it.

Alternatively, you can remove apps through your iPhone’s Settings menu. Here’s how to get there:

  1. Tap Settings.
  2. Scroll down and tap General.
  3. Tap Storage & iCloud Usage.
  4. Tap Manage Storage.
  5. On the next screen, select the app you want to remove.
  6. Tap Delete App button to proceed and confirm action.

Once you’re done disabling or removing the suspected application, reboot your iPhone again and then see if that will fix the touchscreen problem afterwards.

6. Configure touchscreen and display settings on your iPhone 6s Plus.

Incorrect configuration on the iPhone’s display settings is also one factor that can cause the touchscreen to misbehaving or not work as intended. Adjusting the 3D touch settings on your device might be able to help. Here’s how:

  1. Tap Settings to launch the Settings menu.
  2. Scroll to and tap General from the options.
  3. Tap Accessibility to continue.
  4. Tap 3D Touch to view and access more options.
  5. Try to adjust or change the sensitivity settings.
  6. After making changes to the 3D Touch settings, reboot your iPhone.

This method often works with problems on unresponsive touchscreen or other symptoms associated with 3D Touch presses on the iPhone.

7. Free up some space of your iPhone’s memory.

It is possible that your iPhone is already running low on memory and thus beginning to show symptoms of degraded performance like sluggish response, random freezes, or crashes due to insufficient memory. As remedy, you can free up some space by removing all unnecessary contents including unused apps, old messages and files from your device. To get started, check your iPhone current memory status, review the information and carry out necessary actions. Here’s how:

  1. Tap Settings from the Home screen.
  2. Tap General.
  3. Tap Storage & iCloud Usage.
  4. Tap Manage Storage.

On the next screen, you will see more details on current memory status, available memory, and how much memory percentage is allocated for each apps and services on your device. To free up some space, delete unnecessary contents or move some of your important files to your computer or other backup storage media.

8. Restore your iPhone.

In the case where a software update is to blame like when your iPhone touchscreen starts to act weird after installing an update, you can consider the possibility something in that update triggers the screen to show unusual behaviours. If you think so, then you can restore your iPhone to a previous error-free backup. And in order to get this done, you will need to secure a computer (Windows or Mac) that has the latest version of iTunes installed.

Once you have everything set, follow these steps:

  1. Connect your iPhone to the computer using the supplied USB cable or compatible high speed USB connector.
  2. If necessary, open iTunes on the computer and then wait until your iPhone is recognized.
  3. Select your iPhone 6s Plus from the list of available devices.
  4. Navigate to the Summary section.
  5. Click the button to Restore.
  6. Select the preferred iOS backup file to use.

Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the process.

9. Perform a DFU restore.

If the usual restore doesn’t work, then you may consider performing a DFU restore instead. Device Firmware Update mode restore is considered the deepest type of iOS restore that is usually carried out by Apple technicians in fixing major software issues on various iOS devices including iPhone 6s Plus. You too can give it a try on your end if you want but before you do be sure to note that not all DFU mode restores yield positive results. It is also possible that instead of fixing the problem, you will end up having a completely dysfunctional iPhone when DFU mode restore gets interrupted or not successful. For this reason, be sure to back your iPhone before you begin. Also ensure that your iPhone has enough power to  complete the DFU restore. You can connect to a power source and let it charge while performing the DFU mode restore. And finally, make sure that your iPhone has no liquid damage because if it has, the process may not be able to complete and should that happens your iPhone will get bricked.

On the positive side, a successful DFU mode restore will make your iPhone restored, back up and running without any more issues.

If you’re decided and willing to give it a shot, follow these steps:

  1. Connect your iPhone to your computer.
  2. Open iTunes on the computer.
  3. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and Volume button simultaneously on your iPhone  6s Plus for about 8 seconds.
  4. After the elapsed time, release the Sleep/Wake button but keep holding down the Volume button until you see the iTunes screen saying that iTunes has detected your iPhone in recovery mode.
  5. Release the Volume button when you see that screen then.
  6. When your iPhone screen becomes completely black, that means you have successfully entered DFU mode. If not, go back to the very first step.
  7. Restore your iPhone using iTunes in DFU mode.

Wait until your computer is done erasing and reloading every bit of code that controls the software and hardware of your iPhone.

Contact Apple Support

Your final option would be to escalate the problem to Apple Support or your device carrier for further assistance and recommendations. But if you suspect that a faulty hardware is to blame and causing your iPhone 6s Plus touchscreen to become dysfunctional, you can just take your device straight to a technician for hardware check, component replacement and/or repair, if needed.

Connect with Us

If you have other problems with your iOS device including iPhone 6s, you may visit our Troubleshooting Page or complete and submit this form to get further assistance from our support team. Just be sure to provide us with all necessary information, such as your iOS device model, as well as more details about the issue you have with your device. For example, when did the problem start to occur or what you did before the problem shows. This way, it would be easier for us to determine the main cause(s) and help you towards finding the best possible solution available. You can also visit our Youtube channel for more troubleshooting information for different devices. 

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