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Iphone Apple Hardware Technology

Apple Launches 'Touch Disease' Repair Program For iPhone 6 Plus (macrumors.com) 176

Posted by BeauHD from the day-late-and-a-dollar-short dept.
Apple has ignored one of the biggest problems plaguing iPhone 6 Plus devices -- until now. The company today launched a new "Touch Disease" repair program for the iPhone 6 Plus, finally addressing complaints about a hardware defect that causes the display of the devices to become unresponsive to touch, or less responsive overall. If you have an iPhone 6 Plus that is affected by this defect, you will be able to have your device fixed for a service price of $149. You will be reimbursed by Apple if you paid more than $149 to have your device fixed before the repair program was implemented. MacRumors provides some extra details: Complaints about the iPhone 6 Plus touchscreen issue started in August, after iFixit published a video highlighting the bug and dubbed it "Touch Disease." Touch Disease presents as a gray flickering bar at the top of the screen and a display that becomes unresponsive or less responsive to touch. The problem is believed to be caused by the touchscreen controller chips soldered to the logic board of the phone, making repairs difficult. Third-party repair outlets speculated that the issue could be linked to the same structural design flaw that caused the major "Bendgate" controversy, and Apple's suggestion that it is caused by repeated physical damage seems to confirm that. Customers who have an iPhone 6 Plus with Multi-Touch issues can visit an Apple Authorized Service Provider or an Apple retail store to see if they qualify for the $149 repair fee.
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Apple Launches 'Touch Disease' Repair Program For iPhone 6 Plus More

Apple Launches 'Touch Disease' Repair Program For iPhone 6 Plus

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  • I typed t into Google (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    You know it's bad when you type "t" into Google and it starts showing you results related to touch disease.

  • Pay to fix a defect? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 17, 2016 @07:53PM (#53311035)

    Paying to fix a defect?? and $150 USD to boot? That's more than many android phones...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by msauve ( 701917 )
      You're touching it wrong.

    • Re:Pay to fix a defect? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by TheGratefulNet ( 143330 ) on Thursday November 17, 2016 @10:52PM (#53311783)

      fuck apple!

      they design it with flaws and then, after a long time denying it, decide to CHARGE you to fix THEIR error.

      apple - go fuck yourself. this is the kind of thing that stops me from ever considering apple junk.

      they used to be a good company. past tense.

      • Can you name a company without flaws?

        Tech related or not.

        Or maybe you just need a little medicine.

        • Can you name a company without flaws?

          Tech related or not.

          Or maybe you just need a little medicine.

          So because no company is without flaws it's ok for apple to ignore an issue for years only to come out and acknowledge it's an issue with their design and then charge you a not insignificant sum to fix it?

        • Microsoft replaced my Xbox 360 out of warranty for free twice. While inconvenient that the Xbox was a piece of crap hardware-wise, their response was great. They even provided the box and paid shipping both ways. For consumer electronics, Phillips has replaced all sorts of things for me for free without receipt. Duracell gave me money for a new flashlight and a coupon for a free battery package when one of their batteries swelled inside the light and couldn't be removed. So there aren't companies witho

          • I've had Apple replace parts for me out of warranty too. A screen on an iPhone that I broke myself, and admitted to.

            So, what's the problem?

        • Western Digital. MTBF on their drives is above average (but not yet anything to write home about, but if one of their drives croaks, their RMA policy and handling is stellar.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        Since this is clearly a design defect, the law in the EU requires Apple to fix it for free for the first two years minimum. After that it is down to each individual country, but in the UK for example you might reasonably expect a high end smartphone to last five years, so you would be due either a 3/5ths refund or a heavily subsidised repair as the legal minimum. The retailer is responsible for this, so if you bought it from Amazon or whatever you need to talk to them.

        Anyone in the UK with this issue should

        • But it only happens "if you drop it repeatedly on a hard surface and handle it roughly". Now try to prove you didn't.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

            In the UK the onus is on the retailer to prove that you damaged it for the first six months. Beyond that, it comes down to a balance of probabilities. In practice, if you get as far as Small Claims Court and the retailer presents no evidence and you show a reasonable condition phone, the balance is clearly in your favour.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

              In the UK the onus is on the retailer to prove that you damaged it for the first six months. Beyond that, it comes down to a balance of probabilities. In practice, if you get as far as Small Claims Court and the retailer presents no evidence and you show a reasonable condition phone, the balance is clearly in your favour.

              And give it's $150, after small claims court fees, your time and everything else, it would've costed you far more. And that's provided Apple didn't provide evidence.

              I'm sure Apple could eas

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

                Small claims court is 30 quid in the UK, and the loser pays. No lawyer required. It's specifically designed to be a low cost, easy way to handle this kind of thing.

    • Paying to fix a defect?? and $150 USD to boot? That's more than many android phones...

      It will be interesting to see what happens if Apple try to charge to fix in the EU. Here there is a 2 year guarantee on faulty goods [europa.eu] under EU law. Thus Apple have to repair at their own cost. I suspect that they will wiggle hard to try to avoid their responsibility; maybe time to lay in some popcorn.

    • Here, buy this really expensive thing we make, it just works. Oh it's stopped working? A hundred and fiddy bucks please. We'll make it just work again, designed in California dontchaknow.

  • So, Apple is charging to fix their design flaw? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by waspleg ( 316038 ) on Thursday November 17, 2016 @07:54PM (#53311037) Journal

    Did I read that right? I think some class action lawyer cocks are straining at their dress slacks.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by msauve ( 701917 )
      I'd be interested to hear from a real lawyer here - warranties are typically time limited, and cover defects in material and workmanship.

      But, the actual defect in design (i.e. "workmanship") is present from day 1, within the warranty period. So, should not the warranty for such defects apply indefinitely, even if they do not manifest until later?

      (I understand that a lawyer could take either side of the argument, money permitting. But, is there any case law in this regard.)

      • Re:So, Apple is charging to fix their design flaw? (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 17, 2016 @09:05PM (#53311375)

        Lawyer here.

        The warranty does not apply indefinitely off the bat. The company has to extend the warranty to cover the specific defect (see the airbag recalls by all major manufacturers as an example). They usually do this because a threat of lawsuit is going to cost more than to repair the defects (if X + Y > Z then we settle). Right now the threat is not large, especially with the iphone 7 out. A lot of people just decided to upgrade. However as waspleg noted, there are lawyers who are salivating at the mouth. This is obviously a design flaw that was mentioned within the first year of the iphone 6 release. If they can get enough people to show they had issues in the first 2 years this can easily become a lawsuit.

        However, if it reaches class action status, anyone who pays the $149 will ultimately get $20 back for being part of the class, the rest of iphone 6 owners will likely get back $5-$10 in the end. Apple will still need to shell out all of the money they should have paid in the beginning to fix the issue, so while it's lose-lose for Apple and the Consumer, it's still a net positive because Apple will be motivated to not do play these shenanigans in the future because not only does it hurt their wallet, it hurts their brand.

         

        • Re: (Score:1, Troll)

          by msauve ( 701917 )
          Well, that's a typical lawyer response, meaning it's not a response at all. The question boils down to whether a design defect is present from day one, and should therefore be covered under warranty, or if it's only a defect after an actual failure occurs (i.e. root [distal] cause - the phone wasn't adequately designed to withstand ordinary use vs proximate cause - the solder joint eventually broke because of flexing).

          • Re:So, Apple is charging to fix their design flaw? (Score:5, Insightful)

            by lucm ( 889690 ) on Thursday November 17, 2016 @10:26PM (#53311681)

            Well, that's a typical lawyer response, meaning it's not a response at all.

            That's because the law is not an exact science, it's usually a matter of opinion, just like accounting or union grievances. Even when "the law is clear" it's usually a gray area, especially torts. Trying to get a formal answer is like asking at what point something stops being hot and starts being cold.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by msauve ( 701917 )
              I asked if there was case law. That's a positive or negative, with bonus points for a citation.

              • Re: (Score:3)

                by lucm ( 889690 )

                Even that is a matter of opinion. When you say "as shown in Buster V Keaton..." the other party can simply say "we don't think it applies".

        • ... there are lawyers who are salivating at the mouth ...

          Well, I'm very glad to know that they're not salivating at some other part of their anatomy!

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by fred911 ( 83970 )

          You touched on in it a bit but, if it reaches class action status one thing is pretty well guaranteed, the class gets fucked and the attorneys get paid.

    • Re:So, Apple is charging to fix their design flaw? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Anubis IV ( 1279820 ) on Thursday November 17, 2016 @11:07PM (#53311835)

      Based on what Apple's saying (which wasn't in the summary), it sounds like they're placing the blame on the customers for dropping the devices onto hard surfaces repeatedly. If what they're suggesting is true, then this service really is a courtesy on their part, since they owe those customers nothing of the sort. If it's false, then it's a way for them to try and appease most people without acknowledging any guilt that might get them in trouble if/when there's a class action suit later.

      • If what they're suggesting is true, then this service really is a courtesy on their part, since they owe those customers nothing of the sort.

        Maybe in the USA but not necessarily in many parts of the world. Many countries have fitness for service laws and a company can be forced to repair, replace or refund a device that failed to perform as the customer reasonably would expect. Microsoft found this out the hard way with the red-ring of death issue in Australia where in the past the expectation was that a console would reasonably last the life of the generation until the following one is released. When the red-ring issue appeared some 14 year old

  • $149? WTF? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by thesupraman ( 179040 ) on Thursday November 17, 2016 @07:54PM (#53311039)

    So, you pay them $149 to 'repair' what appears to be a design defect?
    Fantastic customer service! Go Apple...

    • Defect? No, it's a disease. Next time be a little more careful where you put that thing.

    • Please... Apple will need all the money it can get when President Trump slaps a $150 tariff on all smartphones imported into the U.S.

  • If you're lucky... (Score:3)

    by DogDude ( 805747 ) on Thursday November 17, 2016 @07:56PM (#53311053)
    ... Apple will let you pay $150 to fix a manufacturing problem. Kneel down, loyal Apple servants, and offer up your $150 to the Company today!!

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      It only happens if you have "multiple hard drops and further stress". Much like a baby tiny computers shouldn't be dropped. Calling it "disease" is like saying a guy "got a disease" after jumping to the ground from the 5th floor. That is not a "disease" if he doesn't work right after. That is BRAInlN DAMAGE.. much like this should be called "phone drop damage"

  • Am I reading this right? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by duke_cheetah2003 ( 862933 ) on Thursday November 17, 2016 @08:01PM (#53311081) Homepage

    From TFA:

    According to Apple, some iPhone 6 Plus devices may exhibit Multi-Touch issues after "being dropped multiple times on a hard surface," causing damage to the device. Under its repair program, Apple will fix affected iPhone 6 Plus devices for a service price of $149.

    and

    Third-party repair outlets speculated that the issue could be linked to the same structural design flaw that caused the major "Bendgate" controversy, and Apple's suggestion that it is caused by repeated physical damage seems to confirm that.

    So, basically, they're saying it's physical damage, as in, people who stick their phone in their back pocket and sit on it, and/or drop it a lot?

    I'm not sure what to think, is that a design flaw, or user error?

    One thing I think I can conclude is Apple isn't admitting flaw here, cuz if they were, the repair would be free.

    • Re:Am I reading this right? (Score:5, Informative)

      by JoeyRox ( 2711699 ) on Thursday November 17, 2016 @08:18PM (#53311181)
      It's a design flaw. Watch this video, jumps to 2:27

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhJW140kLCY#t=2m27s [youtube.com]

    • I'm not sure what to think, is that a design flaw, or user error?

      User error is something that is caused by a completely new technology or device that someone has never seen before. The fact that there was no "touch disease" on the iPhone 5, 4, 3, and isn't a "touch disease" on any competitor phones effectively rules out user error, unless holding that one specific model of phone significantly alters the holder's use and interaction with the device, at which point one would ask "is this fit for service"?

  • Class action lawsuit (Score:5, Informative)

    by XSportSeeker ( 4641865 ) on Thursday November 17, 2016 @08:24PM (#53311201)

    For those who don't know, there is already an ongoing class action lawsuit in the works:
    http://bgr.com/2016/08/31/ipho... [bgr.com]

    And if you heard something about bendgate or about it being a problem with people who dropped their phones, just know that there has been multiple reported cases of phones that never suffered any physical damages, and that were never put inside tight back pockets and whatnot that also had the defect.

    It usually happens overtime. Solder balls from a specific chip gets loose or cracks, which then causes the issue.

  • It is an engineering defect. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Lumpy ( 12016 ) on Thursday November 17, 2016 @08:28PM (#53311209) Homepage

    They dont backfill the BGA chip so it freaking cracks solder balls. They should fix the phones for free.
    Mine started having it, so I did the online trick of a reverse bend and then took it to the apple store for a trade in. got full value because it was perfect looking and functioned perfectly at that moment.

    Now I dont put my 7plus in a pocket at all. a holster or in a jacket inside pocket. no pants pockets ever

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Gr8Apes ( 679165 )

      Now I dont put my 7plus in a pocket at all. a holster or in a jacket inside pocket. no pants pockets ever

      I tend not to put stress prone flaming things in my pocket when I sit down or do anything else that would tend to flex said object, inducing stress and the potential for flaming pockets. I always cringe when I see someone with a phone in their back pocket as they climb into a car. I can only imagine that sooner or later one or more of those will burst into flames, especially if they are anything with "S7" in the name.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by inflex ( 123318 )

      Initially we were thinking it was a ball/pad issue, but we've found even with the jobs redone and bracing on the chassis to stiffen up the area, there's still a non-insignificant number of units coming back with the same issue (across multiple shops, not just one). Starting to look a bit more like an issue with either the actual chip itself or the PCB, not to say it definitely isn't a ball issue but it's not clear cut.

      Either way, it's good to see Apple now admit the issue, though the $149 cost is still a b

    • Any phone that I buy, first things I do is get a wallet case for it, as well as a matte screen protector. Which gives it plenty of shielding. And as far as pockets go, since it's my wallet, it goes into my front left pocket, never a back pocket. Keeps it out of those issues
  • So, a hardware defect they caused is something YOU should be forced to pay them to fix? Fuck Apple.
    • It's only a hardware defect in the way that they didn't design the circuit board to bend.

      You wouldn't take the same stance if your Car's manufacturer refused to repair your car under warranty because YOU BENT IT, would you? (You should be answering "no" here.)

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by lucm ( 889690 )

        It's only a hardware defect in the way that they didn't design the circuit board to bend.

        You wouldn't take the same stance if your Car's manufacturer refused to repair your car under warranty because YOU BENT IT, would you? (You should be answering "no" here.)

        How do you explain that this only happens with the iPhone? Feel free to make up another irrelevant car analogy if you don't have an answer in you fanboi handbook.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Luthair ( 847766 )
        Depends on whether the car bent while you just drove normally around town.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by kuzb ( 724081 )
        Yes, because so many phones easily bend under normal usage to the point where they break. You sir, are an idiot.

      • Make the damn phone thicker than a sheet of tinfoil and it won't bend any time anyone looks at it oddly. Might even let you put sensible connectors back in.

  • The shot in the butt where you keep your wallet will hurt. I guess if you're in the UK it's the jab in the buttocks.

    That's total nonsense. It shouldn't cost even as much as an aspirin in a 500 pill bottle obtained from Walmart.

  • 149? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by hcs_$reboot ( 1536101 ) on Thursday November 17, 2016 @08:47PM (#53311305)
    First, starting to be sick about these always ending by 9 numbers? 99.99, 149... Come on Apple, you're expensive enough no to have to be cheap and use that cheap marketing strategy ; do a straight 150 or a 145. Then, reading the summary quickly, I was really expecting the prior-normal cost to be $149, and due to complaints, the repair cost would be either free or way cheaper than that! $149 for a design flaw? Sounds like a (bad) joke.

  • Touch Disease presents as a gray flickering bar at the top of the screen and a display that becomes unresponsive or less responsive to touch

    Does it mean only some 6+ are/will be affected, or, eventually, that all 6+ are to be affected some time in the future?

    • In normal usage, where the weak case design allows the circuit board to flex, all 6+ phones should eventually fail.

      If you keep your iPhone 6+ in a glass display case or in your office safe, it should not fail.

      But no guarantee.

  • They're at least half-assedly acknowledging it, finally. I'll be curious to see whether this eventually turns into a free repair, a la the original MacBook Air hinge replacement.

    My 6 Plus fortunately hasn't exhibited this problem yet - but I only carry it in a loose cargo pant pocket or a coat pocket. I really don't get why so many people store their phones in a butt pocket, though. I've been paying attention since this "touch disease" thing surfaced... and a lot of people seemingly keep their phones back

    • Women's pants don't have functional front pockets, often. As for me, I use it when I'm shopping and needing to check prices online and so on frequently, but otherwise I agree and keep it in front.

  • If hell is not raised (Score:4, Insightful)

    by wjcofkc ( 964165 ) on Thursday November 17, 2016 @09:39PM (#53311491)
    If Apple's user base does not call them out on charging $149 to fix a device that shipped defective to a point damaging to the company then perhaps a lot of the fun that has been poked at iPhones users over the years is true.

    • There is a class action suit, so there are iPhone customers who are raising hell and awareness.

      There are always lickspittle Apple fans, though. I wouldn't say they are clueless. Just infected by a religion.

      Steve Jobs spent years studying under a guru and was an expert on cult-like religions.

    • It's the new service economy. You pay to 'service' Apple.

      • Good lord, in other cults at least the service is free! It only steals your time, not your money.

        Then again, there's offering, so... but who drops that much into the plate?

  • ... but I can't. Apple is a for profit company and flat profits don't make the corporate gods and investors happy. Besides, if the morons are so hooked into the Apple eco system that they are willing to pay for issues with their devices that likely are not even of their own making then let them. For all the bad press that Samsung has deservedly garnered over the last few months and the stock and profit hits that followed the phones by them I have had have been remarkably tough and long lasting. My S4 ga

  • ...but can't spare a few million to fix this issue to make their customers happy. It would barely even register on their balance sheet. Thanks Apple!

  • I haven't seen comments on this pointing out that the 6s was the first phone with Force Touch added.

    Doesn't it seem possible that that people pressing firmly against their screens may have accelerated the problem? Especially since it's using an earlier phone design that wasn't made with these stresses in mind.

  • So , this is a problem caused by poor design and or manufacturing so that the device does not perform as advertised, but rather then issue a recall or repair this under warranty the manufacturer is expecting people to pay out of pocket to fix it?
    So , answer is , never buy from them again.

  • Fixed or not (how do you tell?), I think the market for used iPhone 6 Pluses just tanked. What's Apple offering for an upgrade trade?

  • [...] Apple's suggestion that it is caused by repeated physical damage [...]

    So....this is a disease in the same way that blunt force trauma is a disease?

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