WatchOS 10.4 busts annoying Apple Watch ‘ghost touch’

A few weeks ago, reports emerged that Apple Watch Series 9 or Apple Watch Ultra 2 users were experiencing unintended touches and swipes on their displays, causing the screen to jump about and behave erratically without any input from the owner.

Dubbed ‘ghost touches,’ this issue has caused mayhem for users, ranging from the embarrassment of making accidental calls or sending typos in messages, to more severe issues such as being locked out of their device completely because they couldn’t enter their password.

Also: My MacBook Pro stopped charging – here’s how I fixed it for free

I know it was annoying because I was affected. It wasn’t bad, and I was convinced that it was oversensitivity in the display’s touch mechanism because it seemed to get worse when I wore clothes that generated more static charge (such as a Gore-Tex jacket). It was annoying, but at least I never got locked out of my Apple Watch.

Who you gonna call?

Well, Apple’s advice to retailers was to hold off on any repairs while it investigated the issue, and it was reported that carrying out a hard reset — by holding the crown and side button at the same time for 10 seconds until the Apple logo disappears — seemed to sort out the issue temporarily.

Last week, Apple pushed out WatchOS 10.4 to Apple Watch users, and along with some improvements, bug fixes, and security patches, this update also, in Apple’s words, “resolves an issue that causes some users to experience false touches on the display.”

But does it work? 

I installed the update on my Apple Watch and immediately noticed that the touch display no longer felt as… touchy. It’s still responsive, but it now feels more precise and deliberate. I also noticed that wearing my rainproof jacket no longer caused the display to go crazy.

So, the ghost has been well and truly busted. 

If you’ve not installed this update, I recommend you get onto it. Fire up your iPhone, open the Apple Watch app, then tap the My Watch tab and then tap General > Software Update to get the ball rolling.

A few weeks ago, reports emerged that Apple Watch Series 9 or Apple Watch Ultra 2 users were experiencing unintended touches and swipes on their displays, causing the screen to jump about and behave erratically without any input from the owner.

Dubbed ‘ghost touches,’ this issue has caused mayhem for users, ranging from the embarrassment of making accidental calls or sending typos in messages, to more severe issues such as being locked out of their device completely because they couldn’t enter their password.

Also: My MacBook Pro stopped charging – here’s how I fixed it for free

I know it was annoying because I was affected. It wasn’t bad, and I was convinced that it was oversensitivity in the display’s touch mechanism because it seemed to get worse when I wore clothes that generated more static charge (such as a Gore-Tex jacket). It was annoying, but at least I never got locked out of my Apple Watch.

Who you gonna call?

Well, Apple’s advice to retailers was to hold off on any repairs while it investigated the issue, and it was reported that carrying out a hard reset — by holding the crown and side button at the same time for 10 seconds until the Apple logo disappears — seemed to sort out the issue temporarily.

Last week, Apple pushed out WatchOS 10.4 to Apple Watch users, and along with some improvements, bug fixes, and security patches, this update also, in Apple’s words, “resolves an issue that causes some users to experience false touches on the display.”

But does it work? 

I installed the update on my Apple Watch and immediately noticed that the touch display no longer felt as… touchy. It’s still responsive, but it now feels more precise and deliberate. I also noticed that wearing my rainproof jacket no longer caused the display to go crazy.

So, the ghost has been well and truly busted. 

If you’ve not installed this update, I recommend you get onto it. Fire up your iPhone, open the Apple Watch app, then tap the My Watch tab and then tap General > Software Update to get the ball rolling.