Are you one of the many people who is having problems with your touchscreen on the iPhone? Hack you hacked your iPhone, unlocked your iPhone, or a non AT&T customer? Now that Apple’s warranty requires you to have an AT&T phone number to get your iPhone replaced or repaired, how do you fix your touchscreen problem?
There are a few options for you at the moment. You can purchase replacement parts, virginize your iPhone and try to return it, or modify your phone even more to try and fix the problem.If you are experiencing a touchscreen issue you can edit the sensitivity of your touch screen to make your iPhone more responsive. You simply need to replace your general.plist file with a modified version found here:
UPDATED:
Modified General.plist and Touch.plist,
updated for FW3.0, tested and working on 2G iPhone.
http://www.zshare.net/download/61836600ca79e240/
http://www.zshare.net/download/618365907ed6a23c/
Placed under:
/var/stash/Applications/Preferences.app/
You will need to overwrite your general.plist located in Applications/preferences.app
The default sensitivity on the iPhone’s touchscreen is 3.5. You have the option to set it from 0-16, where 0 is the most sensitive. Recently I have had a few issues with my touchscreen and applied this modification and everything is working 10x better.
This hack may work for the majority of iPhone users, but there may be a few that will need to replace their LCD completely.
You add the code below to the General.plist:
<dict>
<key>cell</key>
<string>PSLinkCell</string>
<key>label</key>
<string>Touch</string>
</dict>
Yost edited the General.plist file, for people who have a dead strip on the top of the screen, so that the touch option is now on the bottom right under “reset” under pref>general>touch.
(take out the “.” in the link in “rapid”)
heres the link to download it if you have a upper dead strip:
http://ra.pidshare.com/files/7620461…ral.plist.html
1.0.2 firmware General.plist for low dead strip:
http://ra.pidshare.com/files/6058341…ral.plist.html
1.1.1 firmware General.plist for low dead strip:
iPhone 專屬ä¸æ–‡ç¤¾ç¾¤ç¶²ç«™ iPhone4.TW - [分享] 銀幕壞了嗎....å¯ä»¥è‡ªå·±ä¿®äº†å–”..apple 太利害了 è‡ªå·±åŽ»çœ‹çœ‹å§ // Feb 21, 2009 at 2:52 AM
[…] 銀幕壞了嗎….å¯ä»¥è‡ªå·±ä¿®äº†å–”..apple 太利害了 è‡ªå·±åŽ»çœ‹çœ‹å§ iPhone Touchscreen Fix: Increase Sensitivity […]
That’s right. http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1827 is the link and that should do a trick.
Hey, The problem with the touch screen is not software related. I have researched this problem and come up with a fool proof 5 min permanent fix for a completely unresponsive screen, This works because I have tested it on numerous iphones. The adhesive over time looses some of its pliability and unable to unload so to speak from compression, The adhesive is also a medium for transfering heat. So after much testing I found that if you heat the outer screen to 160*F for about 1 min and then gently work the screen using your thumbs starting at the middle and working to the edges. Apply firm pressure and slide your thumbs to the edges while watching the color of the LCD. When you get to the point where the LCD shows some distortion while applying pressure(light greyish look) around the edges then you are close to being done with the repair. No need to alter sensitivity. I have done this on the 2G only but it has worked 100% as a long term fix for several iphones.
Leeh, what did you heat it with?
Amrit, I used the heat gun from a hot air rework station but a hair dryer or craft type heat gun will work. Just don’t get the screen too hot or you can crack it, I refrained from posting this info until I was able to reproduce the results on numerous phones. This is the only place I have posted this info.
Hi, i have the same problem on an iphone 2g.
BOTTOM LINE DOES NOT RESPONDE TO THE TOUCH.
ARE YOU SURE THAT HEATING THE DISPLAY WILL FIX THIS PROBLEM?
FOR HOW LONG SHOULD I HEAT IT?
So I have a 2 G iphone – It has a dead strip down the center of the screen… it started as a thin line (not being able to hit send for texts) and then spread downwards so that now I cant access the middle shelf of applications or dial 7 8 or 9 … and its still going. Running firmware 2.1…
its jailbroken and I have a whole bunch of stuff on it that I dont want to lose…aka(dont want to upgrade to 2.2 because i tried once and it didnt work)
1. Which plist files should I use and where can I get them.
2. Which install method should I read?…
(i downloaded the files from thread 404..can I use these?)
Filippo, Yes heat it directly on the glass screen until its hot to the touch but not to the point that it will burn you. It’s not so much about how hot you get the outer screen but more about heating the adhesive that bonds the digitizer to the glass screeen so maintaing an even heat long enough to allow you to rebond the 2 pieces with firm pressure.
Yes this does work.
Okay, so heat for a minute globally and then apply pressure everywere?
Alex, First thing download all of these:
1.iPhoneBrowser 1.81
2.plist Editor for windows
3. general.plist
4.touch.plist
Using the editor modify touch.plist, Here you can change where your slider is located and the default sensitivity level.
Open iPhoneBrowser and follow the string from root: application/preferences where you will add the touch.plist and replace the general-simulator.plist with the downloaded general.plist
do this at your own risk.
Or you can try heating the screen like I suggested for a unresponsive touch screen.
Filippo, Yes you are correct except when applying pressure to the screen do it from the middle and work out towards the edges all the way around the screen. As you go ou will see a dull grey line forming near the outer most edges of the screen from pressure being applied to the digitizer and LCD work on this dull grey area until you can make the line appear all the way around the screen by applying pressure in those areas. I will try to make a video and post up for everyone but I am currently layed up in bed recovering from knee surgery.
Also make sure the phone is turned off, I seemed to have forgotten to mention that i earlier posts.
Alex, i did the thing of the General Plist and it does not work for me. At all.
I’ll go wild with my girlfriend hairdryer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m going to melt that f.. display down!
ahhahaah
See you guys thanks
Lee,
thanks a lot…. I did what u said but couldnt figure out exactly how to modify the plist properly…
so i ended up moving the slider down but i think i changed the functionality of it…it started messing with my touch screen all over the place… it actually started allowing me to access middle parts of the screen that were previously dead by hitting right above where the icons are… but then the bottom stopped working so i replaced it back to the original(thank god I saved the original files…)
can you tell me exactly what to do to move the slider to the top of the screen or bottom?…
thanks very much,
alex
Lee H. The heating method sounds great, Lee if you put up a video please let me know.
Alex, It’s a good idea to back up all files prior to making changes. If you will go to the information just above the first post on this page you will find altered .plist files that are modded to change the position of the slide bar from top/center or bottom, It’s easier that way. To change the default go to the spot in the files where you see:
cell
PSSliderCell
default
3.5
defaults
com.apple.springboard</string
3.5 is the default setting and can be tweaked to as low as the min set in the file which in this case is 0.
Alex, i dont know what the problem is but your method did not work with my phone.
I mean, still bottom line not responding.
I can slide the bar to open but only because it’s still sensitive on the top of the bar.
I dont know what to do, i was thinking is it possible to rotate the entire operative sistem, icons etc.. upsidedown?
so i can still “use the phone”?
LeeH, I tried the method you posted, heating one…
But din´t work for me…
I´ll be looking for the video,
Thanks!
awww yeahhhhh
so i ended up just getting the “Supreme Preferences” app off of Cydia…
By turning up the sensitivity I was able to regress some of the touch screen death!…
It originally started off as just a line down the center of the screen (not being able to hit send on texts.)
It then spread so that I couldnt dial 789 or access the middle row of apps…or the top row of the keyboard… While I still cant get the apps open or dial 789, I am able to use the top row of the keyboard…so at least i can type txts in normal layout and then switch to landscape to hit send…
I would experiment further…but after going to 14 on a scale of 0-16, the touch got whacky in the upper portions of the screen…i managed to turn it back down…im now at 11.. but i dont want to test my luck…
I’ll deal…hopefully my phone will last until I get back to the states in May…
2G iPhone no longer touch sensitive: which part do I need? - AVForums.com // Feb 24, 2009 at 9:20 AM
[…] anything at all. I had the same exact problem and fixed it using the information on this page: iPhone Touchscreen Fix: Increase Sensitivity I used these files: general_info_plist.rar – Windows Live Just follow the guidelines on the […]
Guys, changing the General.plist and heating the display didn’t work for me.
Other then changing display any suggestions?
I am new to Iphones when you guys talk about Plist and all that I have no clue. Is there a good place to learn how to go about doing the steps for dummies?
hi there…I am having problem with the lower strip where the phone, mail, safari and ipod icons are situated….they just dont respond to any touch….since the iphone is jailbroken to 2.0.2 firmware + i dont live in STATES so no chance of getting a new phone from an apple outlet.
I was going through the posts and found out about general. plist and touch. plist i followed the instructions and did exactly the way u ppl mentioned. I was successful in replacing the general.plist but in settings > GENERAL > an addtional feature was established called TOUCH.
I then shifted it to ‘0’ for sensivity level but then when i rebooted my iphone it just started respringing on every touch…CAN ANYONE PLZ HELP ME WITH THIS SINCE ITS BEEN 48 hours im working almost non stop on this…
THANKS
PauloRG,
I have tried it a few more times and have concluded that the heat fix only works on phones with a completely dead or half dead display. It does nothing for the phones that have random dead spots on the digitizer, What needs to be done with the phones that have a dead row is the general plist and touch plist but there again that fix causes calibration issues with the icons which I have yet to find a cure for. If anyone knows where the factory calibration file is we could possibly compile a fix that wont compromise finger placement on the screen.
Leeh: Is there any method to calibrate the screen having replaced the plist file and having the problem when you have to press the display a little bit higher than you should?
Johan, That is something I am trying to work on. With any touch screen there is a utility software that is used to calibrate the screen with, Finding and tweaking it are the challenge. The touch.plist is just changing the scale of the touch area, The locations of the icons in the operating system need to also change to fit the larger and much coarser touch screen field.
hallo all,
i have the sampe problem descibe…
iphone 2 G firmware 2.2.1 already unblocked
I try to replace the file touch.plist and General.plist
but not working…HELP please..!!!!
ps sorry for my bad english
CIAO from Italy
I shifted it to ‘0′ for sensivity level but then when i rebooted my iphone it just started respringing on every touch…CAN ANYONE PLZ HELP ME WITH THIS SINCE ITS BEEN 4 days im working almost non stop on this…
THANKS….DO REPLY GUYS
LeeH,
My touch screen is completely dead, but the heat method din´t work for me…
I´ll still wait for the video….
Thanks!
When i touch text message my iphon I K N M is doesn’t function.So please help me.
I have done all restore but still not functioning.
James,
So it seems that the top middle portion of your screen isnt working…
you need to use a program to load cydia or an equivalent onto your phone… I used quickpwn but theres plenty of other programs…
This will jailbreak your phone and load cydia onto it.
Once you have cydia you need to download the program openSSH onto your phone… it doesnt appear as an application..but allows your computer to connect to your iphone.
After you have openSSH, you can download WinSCP if you have a pc…I used FUGU because I have a mac… youll have to use a wireless connection to connect your computer to mac… using usually the user name as root and pass as alpine.
Once connected you access the preferences folder within your iphone. You then should make copies of the files “general.plist and touch.plist” and move them to your desktop, or just rename them within your iphone… then drag the general.plist and touch.plist files that you can find on this page.
This will add the option of “touch” to your general settings on your iphone. When you access this menu, there will be a bar that allows you to increase your sensitivity… go slowly and see if your touch gets better… dont increase it too fast or it may mess up your touch in other areas of the screen…if this occurs you have to replace these plist’s with your backups…
good luck…
expect to spend even more time than you already have!…
alex
Dear ALex,
Where can i download touch.plist?
Dear Alex,
I have follow your instruction,But it won’t work for me.Still have any idea?I have done to replaced general.plist and touch.plist.
“dear Alex”..
None of your suggestions work, so my “dear” guys..
If your touch screen is not working, do not spend time like a geek trying to fix the phone like i did.
Because it wont work, not heating… no “touch bullshi..” sensitivity…
Some iphones are just defected.
So spend your time with girls or having fun!
And if your iphone does not respond… smile and get the f…away!
Good bless you!
Jame, FOR GOD SAKE stop writing “DEAR Alex”…
I did the same thing you an other 1000 people…
Forget about it.
YOUR PHONE WONT WORK!
Now relax and enjoy your sunday!
Wake up dude!
Come one!!!
hey,
i originally used the links from post 338…
they didnt work as well as when I installed supreme preferences from cydia…which automatically adds the touch menu..and has a slider to increase ur sensitivity by moving from zero up to a value that works…
I just figured it might not work on your phone because the slider it creates is in the top portion of the screen…
what doesnt work when you replace your plist files?…does the touch menu even come up?…
filippo…quit being a miserable hater… this doesnt work for everybody… so instead of making multiple posts of why other people should stop wasting their time and “get with girls”… unsubscribe urself from the email notification and go do that yourself….
I’m at med school outside the country… 2000 miles away from my girlfriend… and the apple store… so to me..it was worth taking the time to figure out how to get this to work so that I could continue using my iphone…after all i did spend a decent amount of time figuring out how to hack the phone to get 500$ worth of medical school software onto it…
ps. I just got back from the beach drinkin beers so dont you worry about me…herb.
“Dear Alex”…
First of all, you have no right to call me Miserable, so whatch your “typing”.
Second, YOUR “Tips” does not work, for real, i mean it.
So stop being like the “father”… and giving suggestions about how to repair your iphone with my uneard and cool tips…
The only wise thing to do for someone who has problem, is to REVIRGINIZE YOUR IPHONE!
And bring it to the apple store and hope they can help.
You assumed that your “repared” a “lot” of IPHONES… This is bullsh..
Regarding my suggestions of spendid time with girls, thats something real, you may want to consider it to..
This wont be a back and forth beet. me and you..
Bu certanly i wont let you tell me to “leave” this forum…
I’ll leave it when ever i think is the time to.
Cheers
“Dear Alex”…
First of all, you have no right to call me Miserable, so whatch your “typing”.
Second, YOUR “Tips” does not work, for real, i mean it.
So stop being like the “father”… and giving suggestions about how to repair your iphone with my uneard and cool tips…
The only wise thing to do for someone who has problem, is to REVIRGINIZE YOUR IPHONE!
And bring it to the apple store and hope they can help.
You assumed that your “repared” a “lot” of IPHONES… This is bullsh..
Regarding my suggestions of spendid time with girls, thats something real, you may want to consider it to..
This wont be a back and forth beet. me and you..
Bu certanly i wont let you tell me to “leave” this forum…
I’ll leave it when ever i think is the time to.
Cheers
lol… dude…
let me just say i never claimed to “repair” any phones…
in fact I was a complete newb to the whole SSH process…
I just needed to fix my screen and cant bring my phone to a store because I’m out of the country..and am unwilling to revirginize my phone…
Thanks to constructive comments from other people on the forum I was able to fix my phone well enough.
As for this forum..I’ve already benefited from it… and dont want to deal with people who are looking to get a rise out of other people…
in case that got by you… thats you buddy…because apparently you dont have time to trouble shoot your iphone annnnd interact with women … but magically you do find time and reason to still be on a forum called “increase sensitivity…” …
so im done here… apparently you need this forum much more than I…
douchhhee
Alex,
If i’m here it’s because i like to get back to you while i’m working, it’s so fun
I can guarantee you “touchscreen sensitivity” not the reason i’m here now.. i happened to see it
Btw you are soo cool man
ahhahaha
Now douchhhee me a favor, f.. o..
Cheers
I have a 2.0.2 iphone cracked and bought in US. Currently in India. Unable to exchange
Was stuck with the “dead strip” Problem for about 1 year. Phone was only partially usable.
Read Article 245 here by Brian Egan.
Downloaded the archive files from
http://rapidshare.de/files/40045605/Archive.zip.html
Extracted them.
Downloaded open ssh bundle on to the iphone and installed it.
Connected to iphone from laptop password for root is alpine.
cd /
cd applications/preferences.app/
backup general.plist, general-simulator.plist and Touch.plist files. (renamed them)
Copied the new files from the arhive file into the directory.
copy general.plist
copy general-simulator.plist
copy touch.plist
Changed the permission of the newly copied files from rw-r–r— to rw-rw-r–
Rebooted the phone.
Changed the sensitivity on Settings/General/Touch to (-3.7)
and whao…
The dead paper weight (partially working iphone) springs back to life… and a new iphone is born!!
I haven’t touched another button Show Touch in Settings/General/Touch.. some users have mentioned that
fiddling with it will cause your phone to reboot every second.. other users pls post your experiences.
Hey friends 🙂 Please check bbb.org and fill a complaint , i did.
Louis Carter
Dear Indian Archer,
Can u plz brief me a little about the whole process which you have mentioned above step by step. I would really appreciate your efforts
Kind regards
Ali
I can’t even unlock my phone. I can’t get the slider all the way over. Is there another way to unlock it? Is there anyway to adjust the sensitivity through the USB port?
You should be able to Jailbreak and unlock with this site.
http://www.winpwn.com/index.php/Main_Page
Then if you want to try to increase your sensitivity I found the easiest way was through a program called Iphonepcsuite, do a search for this program, then you will need to do a bit of reading from other people from this forum and learn how to change the appropriate settings. It is a bit tough at first, but it can be done. Hope for the best but it might not work for all.
Got into my iphone by changing over to tap to unlock. Change the sensitivity but didn’t help. I thought lower is better but once I got below about -5, more of my screen became dead. 6.8 seems best for me.
All very nice and maybe doable.
I have a dead lower strip
2.2.1 2g 8GB model
tried all of the above
Problem is: SLIDE TO UNLCOK lol
…in the dead part
So no setting sensitivity
tried post 160
Chinese soft won´t work, stops and gives chinese menu wit tickbox, can´t tick it
Anybody have solved this yet?
Cheers
I had 2.0.2 firmware. i tried different fixes. for the dead strip problem.. none of them worked properly.
Finally… i upgrated my firmware to 2.2.1
This for now was for me the easiest method.
Get the General.plist file from here.
http://members.netmadeira.com/dstf/General.plist.zip
Easy instructions:
– Update your firmware to 2.2.1
– Use QuickPwn to unlock, jailbreak
– Run Cydia, install OpenSSH
– Disable the autolock feature from iPhone
– Used iPhone Tunnel Suite 2.7 to connect to the phone from the windows desktop.
– use “root†as username and “alpine†as password to login to iphone from desktop
– Change the path to “/Applications/Preferences.app/â€
– Drag & Drop the General.plist (you need to extract the zip) to that folder, replacing the one that’s there.
– Reboot iPhone and then on Settings>General you will see a new item – Touch
– Decrease the value to 0 (most sensitive)
– Enjoy your screen again 🙂
A similar post can be found on this list earlier.
like most other people i have a non responsive lower half of the screen.The phone has no cracks or visible damage. i have a jailbroken phone to firmware 2.21 .Ihave compleated all the steps when using tunnel suit 2.7 my problem comes when restarting the phone. Because i restored the phone with the custom ispw im getting the iphone start up where it tells you you can move icons bla bla bla .This is my problem because i have to click on continue which is at the bottom of the screen. How do i adjust the sensitivity without doing it in the iphone.
James, what I did was after jailbreaking it, in Itunes where it give you the option to restore the Iphone to a previous state or a new state I put previous and it took that continue button away. The next problem is the settings button was too low for me so I used Iphonepcsuite to get into my general.plist witch took a bit of reading of other peoples info on here to learn where and what it is.
I hope this helps.
Hey, i have recently had this problem with my iphone also! the lower strip of my phone is dead. i have managed to allow myself to get into the settings but i cannot click on general in order to change the touch sensitivity! could anyone help me with this?