Apple Watch ‘ghost touch’ problem continues to haunt users as Apple investigates

Apple has once again acknowledged an ongoing “false touch” problem affecting Apple Watch users. Oftentimes referred to as “ghost touches,” this issue causes the Apple Watch to act as if the display is being tapped, even when it isn’t.

Apple first referenced this problem in a memo sent to Authorized Service Providers in February. At the time, Apple said it was aware of reports that “false touches” were affecting Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 users. In that memo, Apple told service providers to not replace any affected units and instead advise customers to wait for a software update as it investigated the issue.

In a new memo sent to Authorized Service Providers this week, shared by Stella Fudge on social media, Apple has also confirmed that the problem affects the Apple Watch Series 7, Apple Watch Series 8, and the first-generation Apple Watch Ultra.

Still, Apple advises its service providers not to replace affected Apple Watch units. Apple says that affected Apple Watch users should restart their device by holding the side button and Digital Crown for 10 seconds, while also staying up-to-date on watchOS software updates.

The “ghost touch” problem has haunted Apple Watch users for months. On Apple’s Support Forums and Reddit, some Apple Watch users go as far as to say the problem makes their devices unusable. The problem is particularly nefarious on the watchOS passcode screen:

“Had by Ultra 2 for just over 2 months. Yesterday evening my watch became possessed. Ghost touching to the extreme and the screen was glitching as if it had a power issue. After the thing locked me out by randomly tapping numbers itself, I put it in the charger.”

“A few days ago my Ultra 2 was “possessed”, I woke up and it was “wrong passcode try again in 3 hours”. It was having ghost touches and failed to respond to my touch, and I couldn’t shut it down either so I had to force restart, but the problem persisted.”

Ideally, Apple will actually roll out a software fix for this problem sooner rather than later. For the time being, however, the ghosts may continue to haunt.