Erratic touch screen malfunction

[Detroit_Izzy]

I've had my HP Spectre x360 convertible now for a little over a year and the problem has been getting worse and worse -- rendering the laptop completely unusable at times.  When I first got the computer, the "phantom" touch screen clicks only happened in one spot on the screen once or twice a month, so I didn't think much of it.  Now it happens every day, randomly in a vertical straight line about 1/3 of the way from the edge.  The phantom clicks become so erratic that anything I'm working on has to be aborted (power down).  I've been very diligent at updating my system and even tried the BIOS updates to no avail.  I only recently searched HP forums for a solution and was surprised to find an old post dating back several years that sounds identical to the problem that I have been experiencing.  This is looking more and more like a known flaw or systemic problem.

My touch screen problem is identical to a post from "Abby501" back in 12-21-2014.  [see: https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Hardware-and-Upgrade-Questions/HP-Spectre-13-touch-screen-mal...   The Abby501 post accurately describes the exact same malfunction that I'm experiencing, so I reproduced part of it here:

"The touchscreen on my Ultrabook malfunctions in a seemingly random fashion.

It appears to randomly and independently trigger the touchscreen in a clearly visible vertical line about two thirds of the way across the screen.

The screen reacts as if it has been touched with a finger - but it has not.

Because these 'ghost' touches are so rapid, it completely trashes whatever I am trying to do at the time as the cursor moves to these random locations and it triggers the opening of mutliple additional webpages, changes to font sizes and screen resolution and prevents me from useing the mouse to try and close down webpages etc.  The touchscreen malfunction is visible in all applications. 

The only way to stop it is to press the power button until the laptop switches off.

I am not aware of a definite trigger, although at times I may have been trying to click on something with the mouse in the area where this 'flaw' appears to be located."

[KrazyToad]

Hi @Detroit_Izzy

Welcome to HP Support Forums. A really great platform for posting all your questions and finding solutions.

I understand that you are having issues with the touchscreen been erratic.

I'd like to help.

I suggest you download the Bios once again from Here

If the issue persists, please run the Diagnostic for the Touchscreen.

- Shut down the Notebook completely
- Turn it back on, then tap the Esc key repeatedly until the Startup menu screen is displayed.
- Press F2 to select System Diagnostics.
- Click Component test, then select Touchscreen / Display
 

Let me know how it goes.

Thank you. 🙂

If the information I've provided was helpful, give us some reinforcement by clicking the Solution Accepted and Kudos Buttons.
 

[Almac18]

I've been getting the same problem. After contacting HP Support and being advised to update drivers, doing a factory reset without success, I eventually updated the firmware for the touchscreen controller. Access this for your particular model by:

(a) use link https://support.hp.com/us-en/products to select your product (I used serial number to select my laptop)

(b) on the resultant page select software and drivers and click to view all drivers

(c) scroll down to Firmware and open

(d) select the most recent firmware for your particular hardware (my one was HP F-HD Touchscreen Controller Firmware Update March 17 2017) ****read the associated release notes as there are reports of people using the wrong firmware and disabling their touchscreen so proceed at your own risk here!!!!! It worked for me ****

(e) follow the instructions for installing

I did this a couple of days ago and no ghost cursors since then.....fingers crossed and hope it works for you if you decide to try it.

[nortonx3]

My desktop is an HPTouchsmart 9300 Elite that appears to have a ghost touching the screen. What should I do?