Not solved for me as well. Support ticket cannot be opened as I use /e/ and it will rejected by support though it is Fairphone device associated not OS associated. As this is obviously a hardware issue, it was expectable, that a firmware update cannot solve this.
Really unfortunate that I had to inform folks to not buy Fairphone due to these problems.
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Are you sure you’ve already got the according firmware update?
Almost 2 years and they still have no official explanation. Can’t sell the phone because it has this issue and can’t trust it enough to use it either. $800 waste. Thanks Fairphone.
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I had the Ghost Input Bug that was discussed in this topic Ghost inputs on FP4
and after the update released to fix that specific problem i had 0 ghost inputs, so it was purely software.
Today after a week or so after the update to android 13 the issue is back and occasionally i get the same input pattern in the linked discussion.
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Yes, sure. The problems are less but already there. Fore example, when opening a page like this forum, the FP clicks sometimes one link or it swipes up or down. It is less but not gone.
What update? e/OS/ doesn’t get any! The last update was in February 2023 and I’d say that’s fine by me, because let’s be real here - this is a very clear hardware issue. The hardware is self destructing, no amount of software bandaid is going to prevent or undo that damage. Maybe FP5 is out because that fixed the design flaw, idk. I wouldn’t be surprised if e/OS/ dropped support as a reaction to this, because why waste time supporting hardware that self deducted often enough for the manufacturer to provide a pseudo-fix in a patch, just hiding the problem until it gets to bad to contain.
Anyway, I’ve actually not updated anything for months (not by choice either), ever since I’ve started having the ghost. And it’s gotten so unusable, I absolutely couldn’t use the device, period. And after still not patching anything, not even opening it up again because it’s all for naught anyway, what happened?
The ghost all but disappeared on its own, for MORE THAN A MONTH, entirely at random. I’ve had just a tap here or there once every week or so. Then a few short swipes for less than half a second, for about a week, and now it’s getting back towards unusable (ghost already interfered with typing this post 3x - really. Okay, now that’s 4x. Real time commentary, people!)
My point?
Easy. Done nothing. Ghost gone for a month. Done nothing. Ghost returning and getting really bad again. Point: It’s all ultimately voodoo of the finest. Your messiah patch may hide the fault to a point, but if it gets too bad, it still breaks through anyway. With, and without the ztzvztz thank you ghost, 5x now zgv zgzvzzzzv zt aaaand 6x.
Where was I? Right. With or without patch, we’re all frakked. The toasters are burning up, and none of our voodoo will do anything about that. You may think it helped for a bit, I’d know since I’ve tried it all twice over by now (all documented in my posts above), but it only prolonged the inevitable. If it even did anything, it just shuffled something to buy a few hours or days without a ghost.
And, if most devices are actually fine, then how come all replacements have had the same issue within weeks to months? Only thing I can think of, latest batches of FP4s are faulty, first batches maybe weren’t. Allow me to project a bit and speak for the others, I wouldn’t know what we’re doing different with the phone than “the majority” does, and if it is because of environmental circumstances, the device is still defective because if it can’t operate in average temperatures with average humidity and average atmospheric pressure and average moon phases, then it’s too fragile. And it’s usually fine for zgzvzzzzv… fine for tzztzgtn zvtt gzgzm… FINE FOR MONTHS WHEN NEW, jeez ghost, chill…
A colleague of mine now bought a ShiftPhone instead of FP, on my recommendation.
Final svgt… sigh.
Final score: 14x interrupted by ghost.
Was worse about qzz tvt gztvzztzgtvzzttzgt… about one and a half months ago, then was fine for a month, and it’s degrading again. Oh yeah, 15 Final Score. Nothing changed, zero attempts to, this is just my life now. Thanks for the lesson, Fairphone. Won’t forget it.
If you can’t get an update in /e Murena, then go to Settings, Apps, Updater and clear the cache and storage.
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Hmmh. If that is true and I can get the patch that paralyzes the display because it’s trying to counteract ghost inputs and has false positives, then I probably don’t even want that patch. Yes it may hide most of the ghost inputs, but it may also make playing games and the like where you give rapid inputs on purpose, unplayable because it triggers the ghost input suppression 24/7, even on your manual inputs (it doesn’t know the difference). Can’t play if the ghost sabotages me either, but can play whenever it doesn’t on a good day.
It’s not a solution, to anyone but casual users, and I’m not willing to risk that, being probably the only one here that actually plays games on FP4 e/OS/. If you’re not gaming, it’s probably much more likely to be fine / unnoticeable.
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All these findings sound quite similar, and seem to point to one flaw / weakness of the phone: the connector. it seems to losen up a bit after a few months, at least, that´s my guess.
my fp4 had these ghost touch issues, too, but after dis- and re-assembling the screen, cleaning everything and then putting a small piece of folded paper ON TOP of the connector, to highten the pressure the “sponge” puts on it, the ghost touches are gone and haven´t returned yet, after 4 months of daily use.
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I’m sorry you’re not satisfied with your device!
In this case I’d recommend you contact support (either FP or Murena, depending on where you bought the device).
Ranting here on the user forum does not bring anyone further.
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It would be nice if Fairphone could at least let us know what they’ve looked into, if they caused a regression in the patch in the latest update or security update, if they know it’s input from the touch screen or possibly noise in the connector. Support isn’t sure. Maybe someone needs to write a letter. It’s like it’s a defect that they are ok with just ignoring. Support can’t offer an actual solution.
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Experiencing the same here
Official case
No screenprotector
Usually while typing or swiping
In developer settings I turned on the possibility to visualise clicks on the screen (with a small white dot)
These clicks occur on the centre vertical axis
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Just happened to me twice in a row. Definitely not as severe as it used to be before the software update, but happened nonetheless.
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Also in my FP4, Ghost inputs are back a few days after updating to Android 13.
Don’t Fairphone engineers use Automatic Software Testing wirt new Firmware Version including Testing all earlier Bugs?
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I can now confirm that I spoke too soon. The ghost inputs are still happening but are less persistent. I did also open the back cover and tighten the screws but they were already tight.
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I wonder if the ghost touches, same as the unresponsive touch inputs may be caused by static buildup.
It’s well-known by now, that the screen becomes much more responsive if you hold the phone in your hands versus using the touchscreen while the phone is on the table.
Even if you are using a plastic case, having more conductive mass nearby reduces static buildup a lot.
If that theory is correct, both issues should be less of an issue in higher humidity areas, since humidity also affects static buildup.
That would mean, the issues are worse in dry air and better in humid air.
For people with ghost touch issues, could some of you please check if humidity changes the issue? Maybe compare it to when you are in the bathroom and let the shower run some hot water for a few minutes to steam the place up a bit. (Don’t put the phone in contact with water though!)
Over at this link, someone noted a very similar issue on an OnePlus phone where the cause is static buildup: OnePlus Community
They attributed that to tiny variances in the build of the phone. The modularity of the FP4, I suspect, makes this problem much more pronounced, since screwed parts can move more than glued parts.
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Are you sure they are getting the same berserk input issues as here? In the demonstration video that is 10 minutes long I couldn’t find an example of the same thing. Need to check it on the computer.
Fairphone support is claiming that screen replacement has been effective for some customers but I don’t believe it?
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This is a neat idea, but I don’t believe this to be correct. I live in an area with a relatively high air humidity and I still encounter this problem frequently. Besides, I have two FP4’s in active use and only one of them shows these symptoms.
These problems begun when the original screen broke, and persist even with the changed screen. What I can tell is that the problem became even worse after changing the screen. Loosening and tightening the screws did not seem to have any impact.
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I don’t have ghost touches, I have a screen that doesn’t react at all if there’s nothing capacitative/conductive next to it.
It doesn’t work if I try to use it with one finger while it’s lying on a non-conductive surface, but it does work if I place it on a metal surface, even though I have a plastic case, which makes me think it’s not about grounding but rather about static charge.
The issue is that capacitative touch screens work by detecting changes in static charge, but if the whole phone gets statically charged, it can’t discern these tiny changes any more (or at least not reliably).
I found a few sources on Google that say that these static charge issues appear if there is too much manufacturing tollerance e.g. in the way the screen is mounted, and that tiny differences in positioning make a big difference for the static charge issue. With the modularity of the FP4, these tolerances might be more pronounced than on phones that are glued shut.
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I contacted support and got a replacement screen and installed it today. Will report back with results after it’s been on for a good while or sooner if the ghosts come back. I’ve had ghosts multiple times a day for a long time now so if the issue was on the screen side of things and the new one is fine it should have stopped completely.
I didn’t, however, see any physical damage on the connector or traces around it when I did the swap and it was tightly connected. I hadn’t removed the screen before even once except tightening the screws which either had a placebo effect or it only worked for a week or so.
Will say that it did get more severe after later updates to the OS so it does seem the hack to mitigate the erratic behavior got removed either intentionally or by accident.
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