"Ghost touches" and screen protector?

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So, my current XT720 started having episodes of that dreaded "ghost touches" insanity two weeks ago with escalating frequency. Last week it started to happen roughly every two hours. I found that wiping the screen off on my shirt would help for a few minutes, but I just assumed placebo effect (somewhere I had read that the ghost touch problem results from ground wires coming loose--so I was contemplating disassembling and reassembling--except I can never get that stupid "8.0 xenon" sticker to come off cleanly in the past so I was holding off). On a whim I googled a bit and found on a droid forum that someone was claiming that cleaning the screen with an electronic wipe solution solved the problem but that success can depend on which cleaning solution was used. I was skeptical, but I had a pack of Windex electronics wipes so I figured "try it"... the ghost touches disappeared immediately and have not returned (it's been 5 days). So, clearly some sort of residue on the screen was responsible.

So that got me thinking. I'm currently using an XT720 I got used that came without a screen protector (My wife is using my original one that has a zagg invisible shield since day one and has never had a ghost touch problem). When I got my current one, I debated whether or not to install a screen protector and decided to give it a shot without (which is really nice by the way--the screen does not scratch even when you forget and drop your keys in the same pocket--but it does develop get a weird patina which is what the cleaning seems to have removed--the zagg has a nice feel to it, but it's got a strange uneven surface that takes some getting used to, so the shield-free experience was a nice change for the fingers--my only objections were that sometimes it seemed way to sensitive to touch and that the bevel edges around the screen feel too recessed so the design seems to anticipate that a screen protector is installed).

So, my question is: I can hand-wave an explanation that a conductive/capacitive membrane develops on the surface of the screen and interferes with normal operation of the digitizer. And that perhaps a screen protector counteracts this either by keeping whatever this conductive/capacitive residue is slightly further from the digitizer or possibly by preventing generation of this residue due to different surface properties. Have people had the ghost touch problem with screen protectors?

I can t really help you i never try any screen protection
But i had ghost touches but not at all like yours it happened 5times max(in 2years of heavy use) i think and always when it was raining when my screen get a little wet... and it stop maybe 5min after drying the screen
Never got it with out rain...

Same for me... the phone start to open apps alone jaja xD

Sent from my XT720 using XDA App

I've had the ghost touch problem twice now, both with screen protectors. The first time was with the screen protector that came with my Otterbox and the second was with the protective film that comes with the phone new (it worked fine to my surprise). Each time, it happened about 6 months after receiving the phone. However, I've not tried the electronic wipe solution nor any physical disassemble/reassemble operations.

BTW...my previous thread about this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1102074

Hm, seems like what's actually happened is that the left-most strip of the screen doesn't respond to touch at all anymore. I just found it's difficult to type "q" and "1" So, probably the ghost touching was while that element was dying. It's still mostly usable (I can get the q and 1 by slowly moving my finger from the edge). If it gets worse I'll have to think about repair, I guess. I see the glass is available from ebay and I've also amassed a few for-parts XT720s so I've been looking into what's involved in replacing the digitizer but I can't figure out how to remove the front glass from the chrome frame...

Originally Posted by Mioze7Ae

Hm, seems like what's actually happened is that the left-most strip of the screen doesn't respond to touch at all anymore. I just found it's difficult to type "q" and "1" So, probably the ghost touching was while that element was dying. It's still mostly usable (I can get the q and 1 by slowly moving my finger from the edge). If it gets worse I'll have to think about repair, I guess. I see the glass is available from ebay and I've also amassed a few for-parts XT720s so I've been looking into what's involved in replacing the digitizer but I can't figure out how to remove the front glass from the chrome frame...

Hello guys,

I had these "ghost touches" until two weeks ago. Then, I installed a screen protector and had no problems at all later. I am not an expert of touch technology, but I assumed that putting something between the dirty and the screen would help, and I can say I was right so far
Ah, just one note: just before applying the screen protector, be sure to clean perfectly the screen, otherwise it will not counteract the problem (use for example an electrostatic "cleaner" and a properly clean cloth).
Hope this helps!