How to fix Surface's screen get touch input by itself

Today, I want to share a problem with a touchscreen issue that I found on my Surface RT. Most of the time, I don’t use my Surface RT as I use my Surface Pro 4 for most of my work. So, I have installed many kids’ apps and games and given the tablet to my kid to play with.

Recently, my Surface randomly registers touch input (phantom touches). Here are all the related issues that I found:

  • It often gets touch input by itself  (at the left side of the screen).
  • After about 5 minutes with the screen on, it will not accept any more touch input. I need to turn the screen off and on again to get it to work.
  • It happened more often when it was in charge.
  • Most of the time, my device doesn’t charge properly; I have to reconnect the charging connector many times. Sometimes, it gets charged without an LED light indicator as well.

Here are all the solutions I have tried and don’t fix my problem:

  • I tried to clean the screen many times to ensure no dust or wetness.
  • Restart my Surface.
  • Install all the latest updates.
  • Reset my Surface.

Table of contents

  1. Step 1 – Clean the Surface Charging Port
  2. Step 2 – Tighten the device’s screws

Step 1 – Clean the Surface Charging Port

Here is what I have figured out: the root cause of the problem. As I noticed that the touchscreen problems occur more often while the device is charging, I think the charging port should be the root cause. And here is what I did to resolve the touchscreen problems:

  • Unplug charging cable
  • Use a soft, wet cloth to clean dirt and dust inside the charging port.
  • Use another soft dried cloth to remove the wet. Make sure it is clean.

Surface RT/2, Surface Pro/2 Charging Port

Step 2 – Tighten the device’s screws

The Surface RT is about five years old and might travel with you. Over time, the screws on your Surface loosen without any notice. When your device is not closing tightly, it will also affect your Surface’s touchscreen. The simple solution to fix this issue is you need to use a T5 Torx screwdriver to tighten those loose screws.

Tighten the Surface RT's loosen screws

After I’ve done the above steps, there are no more touchscreen issues. Another thing I also noticed is that my device gets a better charging experience; plug in the charging cable, and it gets charged immediately. Finally, I hope this guide will fix your problems as well. Please let me know whether the above solution can fix your issues in the comments section below.