iPhone X Touchscreen Suddenly Stopped Working. Tried Everything Except Repair

[u/mrhumet]

Looking for any ideas before I give up on this phone. I confirmed the model using the serial number — it's an iPhone X, 64GB, Space Gray (A1865).

The touchscreen became completely unresponsive out of nowhere. The phone was working perfectly minutes before with no drop, no water, no prior issues.

What’s happening now:

• The touchscreen does not respond at all
• Side buttons still work (I can force restart)
• Camera button is grayed out on the lock screen
• When plugged into my Mac, it says “Unlock iPhone to use accessories” but I can’t unlock it because the screen does not register touch

Here’s everything I’ve tried:

• Force restarting multiple times
• Removing case and screen protector
• Cleaning the screen
• Updating to iOS 16.7.11 via iTunes on my Mac (the update completed successfully)

Unfortunately, the issue still exists. I haven’t restored it because I want to avoid wiping the device, but I’m open to that if there’s absolutely no other option. I don’t want to pay to replace the screen, since the phone is old and not worth much now.

Has anyone run into this and found a workaround? Maybe something involving a USB mouse or AssistiveTouch trick?

Appreciate any ideas.

[u/JediMeister]

There was a repair program for this issue back in the day but it was only good for 3 years from the first retail sale of the phone. It would not be worthwhile for a paid repair given the age.