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A Design Defect Is Plaguing Many iPhone 6 and 6 Plus Units (iphonehacks.com)

Evan Selleck, writing for iPhoneHacks (edited and condensed): For many iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus owners out there in the wild, a design defect is apparently causing some huge issues. Gadget repair firm iFixit has reported about a flaw dubbed "Touch Disease", which it claims is cropping up. With it, owners of the phones are experiencing, to start, a gray bar that appears at the very top of their display. And, for many others, the display itself becomes unresponsive to touch, or less responsive overall. In the blog post, iFixit says the problem stems from issues with the touchscreen controller chip, which is soldered onto the logic board. Interestingly enough, iFixit posits that the same internal design decisions that led to "Endgate" might be causing the issue leading to Touch Disease, too: "In both the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, the Touch IC chips connect to the logic board via an array of itty-bitty solder balls -- "like a plate resting on marbles," Jessa explains. Over time, as the phone flexes or twists slightly during normal use, those solder balls crack and start to lose contact with the board. "At first, there may be no defect at all. Later you might notice that the screen is sometimes unresponsive, but it is quick to come back with a hard reset," Jessa explains. "As the crack deepens into a full separation of the chip-board bond, the periods of no touch function become more frequent."

7 of 222 comments (clear)

  1. YouTube video showing BGA damage under microscope by JoeyRox · · Score: 5, Informative
  2. Re:So much for Apple's "better design" by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 4, Informative

    "you're soldering it wrong"

    isn't that what nvidia said?

    these bga's really scare me. so fragile and so unworkable from a tech POV. I can rework square flat packs but I can't do bga's. I hate them since they are just not really repair-friendly, not to mention its not inspection-friendly.

    flat packs with leads flex and bend. bga's are a fucking abortion, especially if they are at all big, in chip size.

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  3. Re:Apple to fix it? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 4, Informative

    Reminder to EU residents, all electronics must come with a minimum 2 year guarantee under EU rules. Each country implements it a little differently, but you have at least a 2 year warranty.

    Reminder to UK residents, in the UK the Sale of Goods Act applies. An expensive, high end phone should last 6 years. If it dies after 3 years then Apple can either repair it or offer you a 50% refund, excluding any damage you did and fair wear and tear.

    If they argue, mention the Sale of Goods Act (loudly, in their store) and if that fails Small Claims Court.

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    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  4. Re:So much for Apple's "better design" by AmiMoJo · · Score: 4, Informative

    Consumer Reports did some tests:

    http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/09/consumer-reports-tests-iphone-6-bendgate/index.htm

    Apple iPhone 6         70 lbs
    Apple iPhone 6 Plus    90 lbs
    LG G3                  130 lbs
    Apple iPhone 5         130 lbs
    Samsung Galaxy Note 5  150 lbs

    So an iPhone 6 is about twice as easy to deform as an iPhone 5 and other manufacturer's high end phones.

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    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  5. Re:YouTube video showing BGA damage under microsco by Wargames · · Score: 4, Informative

    FYI: BGA = Ball Grid Array,
    "Ball Grid Array rework is one of the most challenging procedures performed at assembly facilities and repair depots around the world. " ---
    http://www.circuitrework.com/f...

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    -- Each tock of the Planck clock is a new world and here we are still life. --
  6. Re:Defective by Design by ilsaloving · · Score: 3, Informative

    Apple pay isn't on android, by definition. Unless you're talking about the competing Google Pay, which is a different competing standard. And then there's Samsung pay because they have to duplicate everything Google does.

    The real question is whether your institution supports it. If your bank, etc, supports Apple Pay but not Google Pay, or vis versa, and you really want that functionality, then your answer is clear, regardless of your brand loyalty.

    Also, what is this facetime equivalent you speak of, assuming you're not just talking about Skype?

  7. Lead free solder to blame??? by labnet · · Score: 3, Informative

    Yep. BGAs are difficult to rework, but perhaps the real blame for this can be aimed at the EU when they forced the electronics industry to transition to lead free solder 15 years ago, while not touching other industries, like car batteries.
    Solder used to be 60%tin 40% lead. Lead was a great modifier to give ductility to solder joints. By going to almost 100% tin, solder joints are now more brittle, thus micro BGAs suffer more from thermal expansion fractures and shear fractures from physical drops.
    The crazy thing, is the transition, which cost the industry Billions, was based on unproven science that tin/lead solder leached in ground fill rubbish dumps. It doesn't unless you have acid. But here we are today, stuck with a EU mandated change that increases energy to manufacturer and decreases reliability (see tin asker problem as well).

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