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

Apple today launched a new repair program for the iPhone 6 Plus, addressing complaints about a manufacturing issue that can cause the iPhone 6 Plus to become unresponsive to touch.

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.

iphone6plus
Customers who paid more than $149 to have their devices fixed before the repair program was implemented will be able to get their money reimbursed by Apple.

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.

Top Rated Comments

kevinkyoo Avatar
97 months ago
Except there are plenty of people whose phones weren't physically dropped and had these problems occur because of the manufacturing errors. But sure, Apple, let's make an excuse that points fault at the customers, and not at itself! And the fact that they're charging $150 instead of owning up to its mistakes and conducting these repairs for a lower price (Or free, IMO) is a laughable joke.

Tim Cook, you're the best CEO to get that profit.
Score: 136 Votes (Like | Disagree)
3349793 Avatar
97 months ago
Surely it should be free if it's a manufacturing issue...
Score: 79 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kevinkyoo Avatar
97 months ago
It isn't because customers drop them. Here's a video:


It's a manufacturing error, and not the customer's fault. To ask people to fork up $150 for their own mistakes is a joke. Stop sucking up to Apple.
Score: 62 Votes (Like | Disagree)
robotica Avatar
97 months ago
Wow they admitted it at last!! Pleasantly surprised.

Wait a minute $149....:mad:
Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ip67 Avatar
97 months ago
Wow they admitted it at last!! Pleasantly surprised.
Admitting it yet while charging $149 doesn't really seem like admitting it.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
32828870 Avatar
97 months ago
This is worse than "You're holding it wrong." At least Jobs issued free cases to iPhone 4 owners.

$149 to fix a defective product has the fingerprints of a tunnel vision CEO all over it.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Apple Silicon AI Optimized Feature Siri

Apple Releases Open Source AI Models That Run On-Device

Wednesday April 24, 2024 3:39 pm PDT by
Apple today released several open source large language models (LLMs) that are designed to run on-device rather than through cloud servers. Called OpenELM (Open-source Efficient Language Models), the LLMs are available on the Hugging Face Hub, a community for sharing AI code. As outlined in a white paper [PDF], there are eight total OpenELM models, four of which were pre-trained using the...
iOS 18 Siri Integrated Feature

iOS 18 Rumored to Add These 10 New Features to Your iPhone

Wednesday April 24, 2024 2:05 pm PDT by
Apple is set to unveil iOS 18 during its WWDC keynote on June 10, so the software update is a little over six weeks away from being announced. Below, we recap rumored features and changes planned for the iPhone with iOS 18. iOS 18 will reportedly be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, with new ChatGPT-inspired generative AI features, a more customizable Home Screen, and much more....
maxresdefault

Apple Announces 'Let Loose' Event on May 7 Amid Rumors of New iPads

Tuesday April 23, 2024 7:11 am PDT by
Apple has announced it will be holding a special event on Tuesday, May 7 at 7 a.m. Pacific Time (10 a.m. Eastern Time), with a live stream to be available on Apple.com and on YouTube as usual. The event invitation has a tagline of "Let Loose" and shows an artistic render of an Apple Pencil, suggesting that iPads will be a focus of the event. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
Apple Vision Pro Dual Loop Band Orange Feature 2

Apple Cuts Vision Pro Shipments as Demand Falls 'Sharply Beyond Expectations'

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:44 am PDT by
Apple has dropped the number of Vision Pro units that it plans to ship in 2024, going from an expected 700 to 800k units to just 400k to 450k units, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Orders have been scaled back before the Vision Pro has launched in markets outside of the United States, which Kuo says is a sign that demand in the U.S. has "fallen sharply beyond expectations." As a...
iPad And Calculator App Feature 1

Apple Finally Plans to Release a Calculator App for iPad Later This Year

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:08 am PDT by
Apple is finally planning a Calculator app for the iPad, over 14 years after launching the device, according to a source familiar with the matter. iPadOS 18 will include a built-in Calculator app for all iPad models that are compatible with the software update, which is expected to be unveiled during the opening keynote of Apple's annual developers conference WWDC on June 10. AppleInsider...
macbook pro purple february

Best Buy Introduces Record Low Prices on Apple's M3 MacBook Pro for Members

Thursday April 25, 2024 7:41 am PDT by
Best Buy is discounting a collection of M3 MacBook Pro computers today, this time focusing on the 14-inch version of the laptop. Every deal in this sale requires you to have a My Best Buy Plus or Total membership, although non-members can still get solid second-best prices on these MacBook Pro models. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a...