It was another sleepless night with me doomscrolling my way through life when I suddenly saw my Apple Watch sitting on the bedside table. Somehow, the display had turned on, and the watch was typing on its own.
I kid you not, I actually looked around the room for a second until I realized this is just Apple being stupid again. After a quick Reddit search and a few disappointed sighs, I figured it was a ghost touch bug on the Apple Watch.
What did not disappoint me was the fact that this same bug has not just been in my Apple Watch Series 8, but in Series 5, SE, 8, 9, Ultra 2, and Series 10 as well. Apple has actually responded to fixing the bug, so let’s dig in and solve the Ghost touch on the Apple Watch.
What Exactly is Ghost Touch on Apple Watch?
When I say Ghost Touch, I mean false, accidental touches and swipes that Apple Watch sometimes does on its own without any user input. It looks like someone has hacked your watch and is now trying to control it.
Many users have reported false login attempts, sending typos, and even accidental calls. What happens after is what makes the whole bug very irritating.
If you’re lucky, you’re basically logged out of your own watch for a few minutes. And if you’re unlucky, the swipes and taps don’t stop even after manually trying to control the device.
What you are left with afterwards is a device that’s trying to do something but isn’t making much sense, and hence is rendered useless. So, how do we fix this?
Is there a Fix to Apple Watch’s Ghost Touch Problem?
To my surprise, Apple actually acknowledged the bug and even announced that the Ghost Touch error will be resolved in the coming update (WatchOS 10.4). This was last year’s first quarter. And even though many users didn’t encounter the Ghost Touch problem, it’s not resolved for good.
So, what can you do?
1. Hard Reset
First, do a hard reset on your Apple Watch by pressing the Digital Crown and the side button below it.
2. Update your WatchOS
You can update your WatchOS to the latest version from both your iPhone and Apple Watch.
On iPhone-
1. Launch the Apple Watch app, then click on the My Watch tab.
2. Tap General > Software Update.
3. Download the update available, and if asked for a passcode, enter it.
On Apple Watch-
You need to have an Apple Watch with watchOS 6 or later, and only then can you install the update without your connected iPhone.
Also, before beginning the steps, ensure that your watch is connected to a secure Wi-Fi.
1. On your watch, open the Settings app.
2. Hit General > Software Update.
3. Click Install and follow the instructions on screen.
(You’ll only be able to install if there’s an update available.)
Now, whether you update from your connected iPhone or Apple Watch, you’d need to wait for a while until you can normally use the watch again. For me, it has always taken around half an hour, but your experience might vary from a few minutes to an hour.
I also prefer leaving my Apple Watch charging during the update. I do not touch either my iPhone or Apple Watch the whole time. And once the update has finished, the Apple Watch restarts on its own.
Wrap Up
Hard Reset and updating watchOS are the only two ways to fix the Ghost Touch problem on the Apple Watch for now. Fortunately, I haven’t encountered the bug again, but if you do, the two mentioned options are the only settings you can try. Maybe restart the watch a few times and see what happens.
Just in case you are worried, there’s seriously something wrong with your Apple Watch; reach out to Apple Support.
