Help moto droid touchscreen problem

[mkw87]

My droid 2 is doing the same thing. Sometimes it works, usually for first 1 min of the screen being powered on, then it starts selecting whatever it wants. Usually I can hit the power button, then turn the screen back on and finish what I'm doing but not always.

I ordered a new battery to see if that fixes the problem.

 

[Abby Normal]

My Droid 1 just did all of the above.... I took it back to the store last week and they removed some apps and it worked great until this morning....

After reading all of the above I went back into the store today...

As soon as he unlocked the phone it started calling people and wouldn't respond to the hang up icon.... LOL Frustrated he was....

They wiped it and then flashed the phone . Then they gave me the phone and asked me to log into my gmail account. It started opening windows and calling people again....

They then decided to replace it.. So I should have a replacement Droid within 2 days... I am hoping the replacement phone will be in as good of shape as my current one but I doubt it. I don't hear good things about replacement phones but it is better than having to buy a new one...

 

[Danzilla]

I'm so thankful I found this thread. My Droid 1 just starting doing this today while I was at the gym. (No, I wasn't sweating all over it!). I uninstalled the two most recent apps I installed, hoping that would be the solution, but as you can guess, it wasn't.

The frustrating part is that I'm trying to wait for the LTE phones to start coming to market (Droid 3, etc), so I'm not ready to give this one up yet. But like most of you, I can't be without it at this stage. Grrr.

I'll admit, though, it was pretty funny to watch Swype try to keep up with what it thought the touchscreen was doing!

 

[0vermind]

DAMN IT!! Second Droid this has happened to for me. Never dropped my phone, never gotten it wet or anything. It's like a ghost is using my phone. Happened in December, and I tried EVERYTHING, wiped the entire phone and reflashed, cleaned the screen, etc. Nothing worked. Finally took it to Verizon, apparently I was 2 days past my warranty, but they replaced it anyways. Never saw the problem again. Now, just like just 10 minutes ago it started happening to this new replacement one I got 5 months ago. Frick!!!! I don't afford another phone.

 

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

Your replacement should have a 1yr warranty. This is a known issues. They should replace it with no problems.

 

[spanishshark]

New to the forum. I found you doing research as to why my DROID was going nuts. Same problems explained here. And it also seems like it started after the last update. A ghost operating my phone. This all started 3 days ago. I have done everything suggested in these pages. Keep in mind, my phone has never gotten damp, dropped, and humidity was never a factor since it's always indoors. After 2 frustrating days trying to get it to work I finally called Verizon. I purchased this phone almost 2 years ago. Never, ever had a problem with it. When the service person got on the phone with me she was very sympathetic to the problem. She advised me that although I did have insurance on it, they would be happy to let me upgrade even though I was 2 months short. I decided to upgrade to the Droid X as it only would cost me $16 dollars more than my insurance and it's a nicer phone for me. Well guess what, not even 1 hour after I made the upgrade my DROID started working perfectly. Just like always. Red flags went up everywhere for me. So I called a friend of mine that had purchased the same phone at almost the same time as I had. Well whata you know. His phone did the exact same thing. Went haywire. He also talked to Verizon and the same routine. Upgrade was suggested. Well, same thing. As soon as he ordered the upgrade within a few hours his phone was also working beautifully. What the heck. Coinsidence ? hmmmmm.
Soooooo, has anyone checked their old phone after they replaced it to see if it's working? Just curious and pissed.

 

[0vermind]

My experience is that it will start working perfectly again for a while, and then starting acting up really bad. All day yesterday is was PERFECTLY fine. But today, I couldn't even answer calls!!! And right now... well what do ya know it's working.. haha. Seems intermittent for me, but I got a replacement anyways, cause I still have insurance on it, which extends the warranty.

 

[robbratton]

My Moto Droid has had the ghost operator problem with the touch screen on-and-off for a couple of months.

I first had it when I tried to use a 3rd party charger. That problem went away when I went back to my Motorola standard USB charger.

The last time it happened, I restored my phone to a stock Android 2.2 image without root and it was still happening.

Sometimes cleaning helps. I even bought some cleaner for LCD screens. It's hit-or-miss. Sometimes, just wiping with a soft microfiber cloth or even a towel works. Other times, even cleaning solutions don't work. I haven't tried just plain isopropyl alcohol yet.

I was going to upgrade to a newer Android phone, but I'm afraid to get another Motorola Now I'm also questioning whether a resistive screen would be better like my old AT&T Tilt (HTC).

 

[dimebag049]

Had the same problems with my droid. Sent in for replacement and worked fine. After a couple months this one started doing the same thing. Also, on both phones my power key quit working off and on

 

[pushdrops]

All of the sudden my Droid started the "Ghost Operator" deal (selecting items on the screen randomly).

The only way it's usable at all - sliding out the keyboard and the issue isn't quite so bad (it stops selecting things at random to at least allow for calls - to use the phone at a basic level though when you select something on the screen that can't be done with the physical keyboard it starts flaking out a little)

But at least sliding out the keyboard makes it usable (just barely).

Eligible for upgrade but NOT at this moment when VZW does NOT have an LTE with Dual Core option! (either LTE or dual core now with the Charge, X2, Tbolt)

Was planning on moving to another carrier for the HTC Sensation or Evo 3D or even LG G2X or Samsung Galaxy SII whenever released..... but now I need to get something else ASAP (did not spring for the ext warranty on the Droid, not regretting that i didn't as the warranty is quite a bit per month and this late I'd rather put that $$$$ toward a new phone that have them send me another outdated Droid anyway)

Agree with others, this sucks.

 

[MicroNix]

Wow, this thread describes everything I've experienced for the last couple months now. First off, this is not a software problem. I can flash roms all day of any kind and the problem persists. It is also not an app problem. Right after flashing a rom and before any apps restore from Google, the screen is unresponsive as always.

Also in the same boat where I'm waiting for the big summer phones though I'm not so keen on Motorola anymore. LTE or 3G, that Sammy S2 is looking real good. The Bionic/Motorola just isn't that appealing to me anymore.

Has anyone ordered up a digitizer kit and replaced it? They have them new with tools for around $25 on ebay. There's a youtube video showing it done and it doesn't look too bad. Since I want to hand this one down when I get a new phone, this might be a relatively cheap fix. Has anyone done this on their own??

 

[monkeyhoward]

I have the same problem described by just about everyone in this thread and I've determined that it is a heat related issue, for me anyway.

It only happens when my droid 1 has been in my back pocket or if it's been in my car on a hot day. As soon as it cools off, the unit works as expected.

 

[pushdrops]

I cleaned my Droid's screen with LCD alcohol based screen cleaner as it was pretty full of smudges .

After the cleaning the "ghost selecting" went away! I thought i lucked out and that was the issue = things got better - now the only remaining issue (which is a big pain but the phone is usable) - the HOME button is not functioning as well as an entire strip vertically the width of the HOME button from top to bottom isn't responding to touch.

This leaves a few keys on the soft keyboard inactive when in portrait mode, rotating to landscape mode all soft keys are accessible BUT you cannot select the auto correction / selection choice strip .

Also icons and any buttons on an app on the "home strip" cannot be selected - rotating the phone around when needed to access diff parts of the screen gets me by but a pain - will have to do until I can get into a dual core , 4G phone - if i can just get thru another month or so ....

What would be really great - if i could get an app that would replace the HOME button - allow the search button for instance to work as the home button, the closest is in CyanogenMOD the Search button can be set on long-press to open an app, I have that set to open up Taskiller and use Taskiller to "switch to" other apps (as w/o the Home button and an app that does NOT have an exit choice like the stock browser, there's no way to easily get out of the Browser <hitting the back key a million times>).

An app that would allow the Search capacitive button to act as the Home button would be great but don't think that's possible.

At least the phone is usable & the ghosting effect is history - if only it can get me thru until the Sensation / Evo 3D or Galaxy S2 etc. arrive ....

So def try cleaning the screen well and hoping for a better result if not tried that yet - i wasn't going to worry about it and seek out the LCD Screen cleaner but glad that I did...

 

[cranky_dan]

At least it's nice to know I'm not alone.

I woke up from a nap to see my phone with the 'ghost operator' you all mention. I noted two things: the battery was *really* low, and the phone was very warm as if I had been using it a lot.

It was unusable. Repeated battery pulls would not stop anything. As it calmed down, I began to notice the center column on the screen and parts of the right side (irregardless of orientation) did not work. It's now back to normal 45 minutes later. And much cooler.

I believe these are heat-related issues. Software problems do not slowly go away.

That being said, this is the first time I've seen this on my Dec-2009 obtained droid 1. I suppose I'm just gonna have to ride it out.

 

[pushdrops]

mine is still permanently screwed, around 3 weeks now - the home button and a column the width of the home button all the way up the screen , thru landscape and portrait orientation i make it thru daily use but it's a pain

at least no signs of the ghost action (freaking out of the touch display / actions)

if only vzw would have a decent phone to pickup as a replacement , soon the Evo 3D will be out .....

 

[meiriko]

When this happens, make sure you touch (firmly) the metal frame or the metal dot at the back (milestone). If this doesn't help, open the back and touch the metal strip that holds the sim. This, for some strange reason removes capacitance noise. The bad news that you have to keep touching the metallic part.

 

[Dockrockdj]

Newbie here. Just got my first dose of shaking icons, unresponsive unlock bar, and unable to shut down with power key/screen touch combination. Bummed that there have not been any recent posts also. My Motorola Droid was new in Dec 09, tech installed AK free for me, and suggested Lookout AV free, which is installed. I've installed compass, googles, Dolphin more than once. I've also used Gmaps to navigate several times, and kept the app map course on for an hour or more while on car charger. The car charger is an aftermarket from Radioshack, as the original from VRW would no longer stay connected to phone. Worried now about losing use of phone before replacement in Oct....js I've had a screen protector on since new-is that ok to leave on so long? And can I save all contact info to Google, or is it saved already if I allow sync?

 

[hockeyguyinoc]

I got this Motorola Droid on the first day they came out. It has been doing random ghost movements on and off for awhile typically turning off the screen or pulling the battery cleared it up. It seems to be getting hotter than it used to and that is when the ghost movements happen the most. If I do any updates of apps it seems to get hot enough to start the ghost screen. Recently the far right column went out. I rarely use the phone. So I cleared the phone loaded another ROM and didn't install any apps. This didn't fix anything. I have a screen cover on it and have had one for most of the time I have owned this phone. I've cleaned it and it isn't fixing the problem. Another crap droid. I do have an extended warranty but I am wondering if there is a point since I'm up for renewal anyways...

With how common this is becoming it would be nice for them to replace this issue for free but I know they won't. Because of this I won't buy another Motorola product. Too many of the phones I have had from them end up with problems so I'm done giving them my money.

 

[xbakesx]

In case this helps anyone, I called up Virgin Mobile tech support when my LG Optimus touch screen was freaking out (touching the bottom of the screen clicked on top, touching the top clicked on the top, selecting items in settings visually looked like it was clicking one and would open another...).

Support told me to pop the battery out, hold down the power button for 20 seconds (while the battery was out), pop the battery back in, start up the phone. Worked great for me. I hope this helps someone else!

 

[NickP87]

I've been having the screen unlock problem & the phone randomly opening apps, as well as the keyboard double & triple keying letters for over a year. I've had the phone key letters as many as 7 times after one push.

I'm on my 3rd phone in a year. 1st was a Droid that bricked itself after a month. The 2nd was a Droid2 & since the day I got it it was slower than my OG Droid. After a few weeks it started with the screen unlock problem. Over the months it got progressively worse. The screen would go off & refuse to come back on until I pulled the battery.

To get my 3rd phone (Droid 2) it took me 3 trips to Verizon before one of the associates would replace my phone (which only had 1 day left on it's warranty.) Tuesday night I got off of work at 11:30PM & was unable to use my phone until after 12AM. I missed several calls from my girlfriend & was unable to call or text her back because the phone would not unlock.

That was extremely irritating but luckily not life threatening. Had I been in a car accident or needed some form of medical attention or a tow home I would have been stuck (or potentially dead) because of a faulty phone.

Right now my only guess is that the screen gets too hot because I keep it facing my leg while at work so the screen doesn't get broken on a hard surface. Regardless this will likely be the last Motorola product I buy. The other 2 Moto phones I've owned lasted me 3 & 2 years. I always loved Moto phones because of their service & reliability but after going through 3 phones in a year they've lost a potential lifelong customer.

At age 24 and potentially buying a new phone every 2 years, and considering the average life expectancy of 75 for a male I would have potentially bought another 25 phones from them. Unless they decide to do something to resolve the PITA this has been I'll move to another company.

 

[hackthisish]

yo i got the droid a855 and the whole strip of touch buttons on the face have crapped out. the home buttons the return buttons all of them. i bought it off a random crackhead so i guess i got what i paid for (only 4 dollars) is there anyway to fix it without payin a 100 bills im broke and at job corp

 

[Bleukiena]

starting to wish i didnt get the droid.My camera comes on and takes automatic pics like 80 at a time. I cant get to my pics the app comes up and goes off and now im stuck in safe mode! It shuts down whenever it feels like it and Ive only had it two months!

 

[zhaoxin1975]

I had the similar problems aforementioned.
The Menu key on touchscreen just won't react at all.
I tried the other solutions: uninstalling wiping, reboot, batteries pull.
They won't work.

I finally figured out a way working well on my Droid 2 Global:

Go to Settings>
Display>
Disable: "In-Pocket Detection".

Now the Menu key works fine.

 

[jwt123]

I don't have the ghost problem but the touchscreen stops working entirely after the first time the phone goes to sleep. If I take the battery out (because I can't shut it down once the touch screen fails), it works again, but only until the screen shuts off. Just tried a factory reset, which didn't fix the problem. The Verizon store said they hadn't seen this particular failure before. Of course, my warranty ran out last month and I'm not eligible for a new contract until March. Any advice on this one? Thanks

 

[rosenhauer]

My wifes only has the top half of the screen stop responding (unfortunately the part where the dialpad is or where the recent calls are that she wants to call again) but if she slides the keyboard open waiting until the screen rotates then closed again. It starts to work again.

So I think it's a software thing (unless there is a loose connection that sliding fixes). The only weird thing I can think of is that her purse had a magnetic latch on it that was triggering the Dock modes. So we installed Dock No-Op (i think that's what it's called). I haven't tried removing that and testing for a few days. But the dock thing was driving her more crazy than the screen not responding. She can answer calls since the slider is at the bottom. When the dock came up she couldn't do anything until it realized that it wasn't in a dock and went back to normal (sometimes took over a minute).