Glossary → Screen & Display Terms
What Is a Digitiser?
The invisible touch-sensitive layer on top of your phone’s display.
Definition: The digitiser is the transparent layer on top of a phone’s display that detects touch input — turning the position of your finger into coordinates the phone’s processor can act on. If the screen displays a picture correctly but won’t respond to touch, the digitiser has failed.
Why it matters for your repair
On most modern phones the digitiser is fused directly to the display panel — they’re sold and replaced as one unit called a screen assembly. On older iPhones (6 and earlier) the digitiser was separate and could be replaced independently. If your screen shows a perfect image but touch doesn’t work, the digitiser is the fault. However, if touch still fails after a screen replacement, the problem may be the Touch IC on the logic board — not the digitiser at all.
Common digitiser faults
No touch response: Complete digitiser failure — phone displays normally but ignores all taps. Requires screen assembly replacement.
Ghost touch: Digitiser registers inputs that weren’t made — apps open, text types itself. Caused by physical damage or a low-quality replacement screen.
Dead zones: Certain areas of the screen don’t respond to touch while others work fine — usually caused by a crack in the digitiser layer from an impact.
Related terms
→ Ghost Touch — common digitiser fault
→ OLED — the display panel below the digitiser
→ Touch IC — the board-level chip that processes digitiser signals
→ Flex Cable — connects the digitiser to the logic board
Touch not working on your phone?
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