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Apple Launches 'Touch Disease' Repair Program For iPhone 6 Plus (macrumors.com)
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.
You know it's bad when you type "t" into Google and it starts showing you results related to touch disease.
Paying to fix a defect?? and $150 USD to boot? That's more than many android phones...
Did I read that right? I think some class action lawyer cocks are straining at their dress slacks.
So, you pay them $149 to 'repair' what appears to be a design defect?
Fantastic customer service! Go Apple...
... 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!!
I don't respond to AC's.
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.
For those who don't know, there is already an ongoing class action lawsuit in the works:
http://bgr.com/2016/08/31/ipho...
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.
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
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
So, a hardware defect they caused is something YOU should be forced to pay them to fix? Fuck Apple.
BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
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.
In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. George Orwell
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.
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
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?
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
This sounds like a pretty good situation, except, the merchant/manufacturer will probably build the cost of legal challenges into the price of refrigerators purchased by the next group of buyers. The best situation would be for manufacturers to recognize a problem exists and execute a recall to fix problems and pay for that instead of pay for the fix and the court and legal fees. Corporations are in the business of making a profit and should build costs of repairs into the original price of items they sell.
In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. George Orwell
Get an iphone repair kit on ebay for $5. There's a YouTube video on how to open the phone and reseat the chip.
Very simple
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 there. I watched one of my coworkers pull his Samsung out of a back pocket today. It just seems dumb, and uncomfortable to boot!
#DeleteChrome
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.
Brought to you by Carl's Junior.
Wait until we start having troubles with water.
If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
Option 1: pay $149 to fix a design and manufacturing defect on an otherwise excellent product.
Option 2: pay $900 to buy an iPhone 7+ that will probably have some other defect.
Option 3: buy a $149 Android phone and flip Apple the bird.
This sounds like a pretty good situation, except, the merchant/manufacturer will probably build the cost of legal challenges into the price of refrigerators purchased by the next group of buyers.
That's not how pricing works. Fat margin companies (and Apple is one) always go for the highest possible price point past the profit line. They don't itemize reasons to add a dollar here or there, it's all based on market research, price sensitivity of their core market, and so forth. For instance Apple will never pass down a discount to their customers if they get a better deal on batteries or screens.
At the other end of the spectrum there's Walmart, where the price of products is expected to go down year after year. They also will not take into account issues such as the cost of litigation, they will go for the rock bottom price.
lucm, indeed.
Good news! Once President Trump forces Apple to bring manufacturing back home, the quality will improve and you won't have cheap plastic shit breaking all the damn time. Apple is of its father, Satan, the devil, and, left to its own fiendish devices, its father's work it will do.
Bringing manufacturing back would not improve quality. There's no infrastructure in place for this kind of volume, and it takes years to build this kind of local expertise. By the time the plants are up & running, Apple will have a smaller market share than Blackberry.
lucm, indeed.
Or a master server...
Which Android phone that's even vaguely in the same ballpark as an iPhone in terms of performance costs $149?
Note, since you're clearly not counting contracts as you cited $900 for a phone that retails for $649 without any contract at all, I fully expect you to mark up any android phone by $250, meaning, what I'm really looking for is for you to find an android phone which has similar specs to an iPhone, but they'll give you $100 for using it, even though it doesn't come with any strings attached.
... 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 gave me well in excess of 3 years service, only the power button failing forced me to buy a new phone. My S7 has been great so far. Is it as nice a device as say the apple 5S, for sure not but at least they do not force obsolesce on me via poor manufacture and OS updates. LG, Motorola, Sony, and Google etc all make very nice devices and they stand behind the products better than Apple seems to be willing to. If you can stomach Android and some of the interfaces that they force on you then maybe apple needs to be taught a little lesson the next time a phone refresh becomes necessary.
Since the problem concerns about Apple, the retarded customers are implied. Are there any sane person who would pay $149 for company to fix a design flaw they have?
Way to dodge the point!!
that will exhibit the same problem in a year. That's what they did with their 2011 Macbook Pro GPU problem.
Which Android phone that's even vaguely in the same ballpark as an iPhone in terms of performance costs $149?
Wileyfox is getting close.
...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!
Hire Elon Musk, he keeps proving people wrong time and time again.
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.
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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.
âoeTolerance applies only to persons, but never to truth. Intolerance applies only to truth, but never to persons.
Mr. President, I didn't know they allowed you to access Slashdot again. I thought you were prohibited the last time you tried telling the funniest joke in the world.
If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. 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?
In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. George Orwell
Prices have gone up, and the crappy quality has spread to other retailers.
love is just extroverted narcissism
Hmm...
Option 1: pay $149 to fix a design and manufacturing defect on an otherwise excellent product.
Option 2: pay $900 to buy an iPhone 7+ that will probably have some other defect.
Option 3: buy a $149 Android phone and flip Apple the bird.
The comparison you are making is apples (in a manner of speaking) to pineapples. No iPhone costs $149 either. I'm assuming that whatever it cost the 6s owners here is sunk cost, so the $149 is something one would have to shell out either to repair the phone, or get a new one.
So if they are getting a new one, they are under no constraint to match the spec of the defective phone that they don't want to foot the bill to repair. In which case, there are plenty of phones within $149 that they can get. I myself bought an unlocked Lumia 550 last year w/ Windows 10 for exactly that amount, which I use as a travel phone
A lot of people may not have upgraded from 6 to 7. Usually, the contracts last ~2 years, by which time a generation has been skipped. Like I went from a 5s to a 7 (could have gotten a 6 had I bought my first phone just weeks later). But while there is added value going from 5s to either a 6 or 7, there ain't one when going from 6 to 7. In particular, you have the loss of the headphone jack, and a thinner phone ain't a 'feature'!
[...] 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?
My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
Everyone knows that the right way to carry an iPhone is inside of a man purse. Duh!
I welcome our new 99% overlords.
Thank you, AC.