iPhone 6 Plus units are much more likely than their smaller siblings to get “Touch IC Disease,” the flickering gray bars that are appearing on the screens of a growing number of aging devices, according to a smartphone repair expert who helped bring the problem to light.
Touch IC Disease, which affects the touchscreens of some older iPhones and renders them practically unusable, could potentially become a bigger problem for Apple than Bendgate, the “scandal” that followed the launch of the super-slim iPhone 6 line in 2014.
The two controversies are actually related in way, according to iPad Rehab’s Jessa Jones, the independent smartphone repair shop owner who played a major role in revealing the latest design flaw Apple would rather you not know about.
“Nearly 90 percent of devices with Touch IC Disease are iPhone 6 Pluses,” Jones told Cult of Mac, claiming iPad Rehab and other independent repair shops started noticing problems with iPhone 6 Plus units losing their touch sensitivity last year.
What started with just a few reports a week has now turned into hundreds of weekly repair requests, she said.
Design flaw leads to Touch IC Disease
What caused the problem?
Apple introduced a small but major change with the iPhone 6 logic board that resulted in Touch IC Disease, Jones said. Instead of using a metal shield to protect the board like on the iPhone 5s, Apple instead added a sticker shield.
The sticker doesn’t do nearly as good a job of protecting the chips on the board when the device bends. And because of the placement of the iPhone 6 Plus’ Touch IC chip, it’s especially susceptible to damage.
“This is a signature failure,” said Jones. “Every phone has one, but this one is a signature failure that got to epic proportions.”
The problem was initially associated with some sort of bend with the iPhone 6 Plus, but Jones says her shop is getting an increasing number of requests to fix Touch IC Disease on the smaller iPhone 6, too. The older the iPhone gets, the more likely it is to malfunction due to the flaw, she said.
How to avoid Touch IC Disease
There’s really no foolproof way to steer clear of Touch IC Disease if you have an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, but you can take some simple steps to stave off the symptoms, according to Jones.
- Keep your iPhone in a case.
- Don’t sit on your iPhone.
- Don’t keep your iPhone in your back pocket.
Basically, treat your aging iPhone like the frail little baby that it is.
Why iPhone 6s and 6s Plus aren’t susceptible
Luckily, Touch IC Disease doesn’t affect the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus at all, because the touch chips were moved to the display to power the innovative 3D Touch feature introduced with last year’s model.
If the chips in an iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus ever go on the fritz, Apple can just swap in a new display.
Genius Bar won’t cure Touch IC Disease
If you contract Touch IC Disease on your iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, Apple employees at your local Genius Bar will almost certainly tell you there’s no way to fix the device. And Apple will likely charge you to replace it.
However, some reputable independent repair firms are able to resolder the Touch IC chip back onto its array for much less money than it would cost to replace the entire device. Having the Touch IC chip resoldered will void your warranty, but if you’re at that point it’s probably expired (or about to) anyway.
Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
26 responses to “Why iPhone 6 Plus is susceptible to ‘Touch IC Disease’ (and how you might avoid it)”
Sure there is mysterious disease affecting iPhone 6. It’s about to turn 2 years old and new gen iPhone is around the corner. The disease’s name is Planned Obsolence.
It’s about time too, if your still using a 6 series iPhone then it’s time to upgrade. You detract from your own experience by sticking with older technology. I have the 6s Plus and I can’t wait for what’s next!
I use a 6 and it continues to operate flawlessly, as do the 3GS and 4S I used previously. Sorry, Apple, but I won’t be upgrading until the 8 comes out.
I am with you. Nothing wrong with my 6. We will see how iOS10 will behave on the 6.
You know when you shill you could be a little more subtle…
Except Bendgate was a media manufactured “problem”.
Well except for the fact that these phones really do fold up like an accordion when you fall down with the phone in your pocket. Unlike, say, every other phone in the world.
Didn’t Apple replaced all 3 of them which suffered from “Bendgate”…?
Anyway. The problem with absolutes is many other phones have had this problem so it’s anything but restricted to the iPhone nor was it a real problem with them either.
Do a google for bending Samsung 6 if you don’t believe me.
Agree. Everything is always blown totally out of proportions when an iPhone is involved. Doesn’t matter that it is old phones that obviously being handled in a way they should not.
Which pocket are you referring to? Front or back? I think it’s more a case of an idiot keeping their phone in their back pocket and then sitting on it. I’ve fallen with my phone in my front pocket (I’m disabled and use a cane as my balance is not good) and have never had a problem with my phone “folding up like an accordion” as you suggest.
Here’s the problem with having an unauthorized Service Provider “MODIFY” the product. If the Mfg. were to issue a recall, don’t expect to get re-imbursed if you took your phone and had it’s modified. This is the problem with some of these unauthorized service providers. They may ACT like they have your best interest at heart, but they are charging money for this and not necessarily telling you the potential problems with having THEM perform the modification.
So you’re saying taking your phone to someone and having them fix it so it works again is a problem you should be wary of.
Apple gives a ridiculous 1 yr limited warranty. Most “diseased” phones are past warranty, so really Apple won’t care if phone’s modified. Plus it’s clearly a fault of h/w, not “urholdingitwrong”.
Here’s the problem with only getting service from the authorized service providers. While you are waiting for the manufacturer to voluntarily offer a free service for a widespread issue that they’ve known about for months—your phone is broken.
They may ACT like they have your best interest at heart, but when the Genius takes your $329 and pushes you a refurbished copy of a phone you already paid full price for—in his heart he knows that phone is UNMODIFIED and therefore likely to have the exact same failure occur.
Widespread issue? I’ve never heard of one instance of this happening to anyone I know with an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus. From managing an Apple reseller shop for many years, I know a lot. It was a story the media jumped on (must have been a slow day) and blew up.
ummm sorry to say but – my 6S fell prey to this just last month
completely annoying
Seems the problem is the lack of support to the logic board and lack of goo the chips were previously embedded upon.
ifixit has a pretty go video explanation of the fix
Were you keeping it in your back pocket? If not, how could it have possibly bent if you didn’t sit on it?
I had the issue, unfortunately whilst I was travelling in America and needed it desperately for camera taking and navigation. I was so annoyed. Originally I thought it was because I was running the beta software but no turned out to be hardware when I ran some tests. The guys in the Las Vegas Apple were poor but they clearly knew what it was.
Eventually when I got back to the UK I executed a Consumer Law claim on their ass and long and behold they gave me a new (likely refurbished) iPhone 6 Plus 64GB. So yes.. if you experience this as a UK citizen or anywhere else you have consumer protection laws… use them!!!
Not all EU laws are followed in the entire EU. Where I live it’s a painful procedure where you have to actually prove it’s their fault (it’s however assumed so within I thin 1 yr period following purchase). I guess this protection is limited in the UK to what – 2 years after purchase? Bet most of the iP6 were bought earlier than that. You have the newer one, clearly within the period of consumer protection.
That is true. EU Consumer Law is pretty good however there are many overriding laws in individual countries. In the UK I do believe it to be 2 years, however that is still before the iP6 was released so for UK people there is still time. I bought mine on release.
Having articles like this will help your case if you are trying to claim this is a default present at purchase. One way to avoid the spiel of Genius employees who may force you into paying is to get on the phone to apple and tell your story. Tell them you want to file a consumer law claim and quote articles like this, telling them the details of how this works. Make them know you know what you’re on about.
They’ll likely patch you through to a senior manager/engineer and he has the power to execute a CS code on the serial number of the device affected, however I wouldn’t ask for that (it implies you’re playing them) but if you’re lucky they might give you one. Once you have that CS code against your device you are on the home stretch and you can walk into an apple store and get a new replacement free of charge since the employees now have the power to do whatever they want – give you a new device.
Well.. that’s how it panned out for me…
Well, whatever the situation with the law is, it’s worth trying. If it worked for you….
And it might be luck or just that’s facts they have to face: the law, the fault. They might try to deny the facts but I bet not all the way up to the court of law.
so in other words don’t keep your phone in the back pocket – where it can be stolen, sat on, bashed and bumped. Don’t bend your phone or put physical stress on it…wow…are people really such idiots to treat a £500+ piece of equipment this way?
Careful, that hot coffee you ordered from Starbucks might be hot! Don’t sit your fat ass on your phone and expect it to survive! Geez.
I totally disagree about the issue with taking care of it. I am a long time Apple follower and nerd. I take extremely good care of all IPhones I have had. I knew the size of this one could be a problem, but I preferred it for sight. I use a very protective case, that I have attached into a very good rigid leather fold-over “wallet” that completely covers all of it. It has a cover. There is no abuse or mishandling this phone.
I am one with an affected phone and I already had an appointment with Apple before reading this article or another article with more details. Mine has occasionally not responded to touch, locked up etc. It got a lot worse to where it happens a lot. I called online services and the guy told me to reset it to make sure it wasn’t software. Okay, so now it is much worse. It grays out, I will be typing on any program, and it will zap into a black screen and lose everything I was typing. I lost the first response I typed because of that. It is much slower. I read once it starts graying out it is the kiss of death and only a matter of time. Yes, mine has started.
The other article stated if the phone is still under Apple Care, they will replace it with a newer (not newest) model. It said to expect your phone to be with Apple for about 3 days while they run tests, and they will give you a loaner phone. I’m hoping that is what the local store will do.
All Apple stores and geeks are not equal. I have a long history with Apple. You can get more from some geeks than others. My son takes his first generation IMac to his local Apple store in California and they work on it for free. It all depends on the Geek and the way you present yourself. Apple values customers more than any other product. When my PC friends complain about their products, I tell them to try taking their products back to the store for the same type of service I have had.
Believe me, I have gotten a lot of freebies from Apple over the years that I am not able to discuss in detail. Friends and my husband’s work associates come to me for advice and help on how to use and correct something with Apple products.
Apple used to be quite good at replacing things even out of warranty but not now. My iPhone 6 Plus failed to upgrade to iOS 10 public beta and wouldn’t restore with error 56 despite being updated earlier in the week to 9.3.3 public beta 5.
2 visits to the local Edinburgh Apple Store where they spent 2 minutes looking at it then decided it was a hardware issue and wanted £249 to replace it. The 3rd time, a manager tried a restore and basically told me they had tried all they could, the phone was faulty and if I took them up on the £249 offer then “that would be it” no further support. He kept stressing how is bought the phone from a phone shop not them and they had spent a lot of energy helping me. He also suggested I try one more time despite me and them trying over 40 times between us.
I downloaded MacOS beta on my aging Mac mini and iTunes 12.5 kicked the phone back into life so I saved £249. I had tried both Windows and Mac iTunes 12.4.*with a variety of ISPW files.
I was appalled at Apple’s customer service as I know other people were having the same issue from Twitter but they were just replacing phones and charging for a software issue they quietly addressed in the background.
I had to replace my phone with a 6S Plus while it was dead as I needed a phone but that stops me getting another phone for 2 years on my contract.
I’m looking at how I can get off my Apple dependency, I’m not a happy bunny.