I've replaced a couple iPhones for Home button issues and one for a battery, but that's it. I want to see how other "common" issues compare with this touchscreen controller issue.
We're accumulating data on other failures now.
As a point of fact for all, the 11 percent of all iPhone repairs in a day being related to the problem is from BEFORE the reports started circulating, not after. Like we said in the article, the surge in the last few days is likely because of media exposure, and the geniuses we spoke to expect it to go back to "normal" levels after the surge period is over.
Mike - have you noticed that the quoting is broken on the forums here? it's reverted to rendering every single level of quotation, resulting in huge posts that incur more scrolling and less content. this is a usability bug. this was fixed after the new forums launched by showing only the last quote. it's apparently back.
So let dive right in, and let me share with you all the experience i had at the Apple store in Bridgewater New Jersey yesterday. My iPhone has been acting up for quite some time and I didn't know how to describe it. I noticed and read several posts here on apple insider on the issues with the grey band (top of screen) and unresponsive screen. Great articles in here on describing the issue exactly. So yesterday, like many of us hard core apple eco system users, made an appointment at the genius bar. Long story short, my genius bar lady very nice very cordial, really tried to help me. She did in fact, state that many customers have been coming in, and having their phones diagnosed, for what it appears to be "called the touch disease".
I was shocked to hear from her own words, that even if i replaced the screen, the issue would remain. I feel handicapped, that i along with the rest of us, original IPhone 6 plus users, purchased the phone when it first came out. I was out of warranty, even though by her own words, this genius bar tech, did in fact state, that the issue is an INTERNAL HARDWARE issue, and my diagnostics has indeed failed. If i purchased the new iphone 6s, the issue would no longer remain.
I am a loyal APPLE DIE HARD, own 7-9 devices, and yesterday that loyalty was put to the test. Why is it, that this genius bar tech, stated that the issue is hardware related, and that customers are starting to pour in complaining of this "TOUCH DISEASE", and apple does not do a thing about a device that appears to have a possible design flaw. So now us USERS- IPhone 6 plus owners now cannot receive a repair, cant get a new device, due to a design flaw, which now will cost us USERS additional money. While, i really appreciated this genius bar tech, honesty, i was truly disheartened. She did try to solicit that i buy another iphone because there is an ongoing issue with this "TOUCH DISEASE".
Its annoying when my phone rings and i cant even answer it due to this flaw that appartrently happens over time. She tried to get me to fork over $329.00 for another replacement phone, but what's the use. Apple is supposedly coming out with a new phone next month, so i sit here with a current iphone that has a sporadic issue, identity crisis, until the new one comes to market.
I didn't purchase the apple care program which i learned a very valuable lesson now to do so in the event that i decide to stay with an Iphone. It isn't fair, that design flaws aren't covered after the initial 12 months of hardware related issues surface. Maybe TIM COOK and the rest of his executive team realize that "TOUCH DISEASE" is a real issue, and support a universal replacement program or a possible recall. However, knowing Apple, this post will fall on deaf ears, be swept under the rug, and not much said about it. Great Products are suppose to last. Apple always states that they are committed to making great products--how about making great products that last past 24 months!!! I will truly miss my iPhone for now, anyone know how the new Galaxy phones compare to the iphone. I haven't been a HUGE SAMSUNG phone, and would hate to cross over to the "DARK SIDE", but with many hot promotions that are currently running on the Galaxy phones, and i cannot afford at this time a new phone. (And for the record, i have been an avid Iphone User since the original iphone) I did swallow the Apple KOOL-AID, and became heavily involved in Apples ecosystem. TIme will tell...Thanks Apple for 9 years of my loyalty. However, this experience has shaken my loyalty in the Iphone. I was hoping to anniversary 10 years of loyalty to the iphone next year. Looks like i may not make it.
Making the phone thin and weak to make it nice was stupid.
Tim Cook is not free from blame. Ultimately he's the top guy and needs to take the fall for this. I'm not saying he should be fired but he needs to get the blame.
Apple desperately needs a shake up at the top. I'm sorry but most of the top level guys seem lazy and comfortable.
I would fire Tim Cook personally, I know that isn't a popular opinion.
Ok my goodness. Tim Cook is certainly not Steve Jobs, but he is a decent CEO. The problem with the ultra skinny phone can be assessed to the same person who is responsible for the really hard to read user interface. Jonathan Ive and his penchant for minimization is totally at fault. Stuff that looks pretty does not always work well for the user.
Making the phone thin and weak to make it nice was stupid.
Tim Cook is not free from blame. Ultimately he's the top guy and needs to take the fall for this. I'm not saying he should be fired but he needs to get the blame.
Apple desperately needs a shake up at the top. I'm sorry but most of the top level guys seem lazy and comfortable.
I would fire Tim Cook personally, I know that isn't a popular opinion.
Ok my goodness. Tim Cook is certainly not Steve Jobs, but he is a decent CEO. The problem with the ultra skinny phone can be assessed to the same person who is responsible for the really hard to read user interface. Jonathan Ive and his penchant for minimization is totally at fault. Stuff that looks pretty does not always work well for the user.
a "decent" CEO...thanks for the laugh.
as as for device thinness, it's still far too thick. the quest for thinner hardware will not end until tech is paper thin, as seen in sci-fi. that's advancing the state of the art. it's how we get better at miniaturization. it's innovation that paths the way for new things we haven't even thought of yet.
Making the phone thin and weak to make it nice was stupid.
Tim Cook is not free from blame. Ultimately he's the top guy and needs to take the fall for this. I'm not saying he should be fired but he needs to get the blame.
Apple desperately needs a shake up at the top. I'm sorry but most of the top level guys seem lazy and comfortable.
I would fire Tim Cook personally, I know that isn't a popular opinion.
Ok my goodness. Tim Cook is certainly not Steve Jobs, but he is a decent CEO. The problem with the ultra skinny phone can be assessed to the same person who is responsible for the really hard to read user interface. Jonathan Ive and his penchant for minimization is totally at fault. Stuff that looks pretty does not always work well for the user.
a "decent" CEO...thanks for the laugh.
as as for device thinness, it's still far too thick. the quest for thinner hardware will not end until tech is paper thin, as seen in sci-fi. that's advancing the state of the art. it's how we get better at miniaturization. it's innovation that paths the way for new things we haven't even thought of yet.
Blah, blah, blah. Back in the real world, battery tech isn't close to being there, monolithic totally integrated or grown production techniques are pie-in-the-sky ScFi and the thinner you make phones, the more easily they will bend and fail, as we are seeing with the iPhone 6. Phones are more than thin enough, stating they aren't is just tech poseur affectation to try and convey an impression your wants and expectations are somehow superior.
Making the phone thin and weak to make it nice was stupid.
Tim Cook is not free from blame. Ultimately he's the top guy and needs to take the fall for this. I'm not saying he should be fired but he needs to get the blame.
Apple desperately needs a shake up at the top. I'm sorry but most of the top level guys seem lazy and comfortable.
I would fire Tim Cook personally, I know that isn't a popular opinion.
Ok my goodness. Tim Cook is certainly not Steve Jobs, but he is a decent CEO. The problem with the ultra skinny phone can be assessed to the same person who is responsible for the really hard to read user interface. Jonathan Ive and his penchant for minimization is totally at fault. Stuff that looks pretty does not always work well for the user.
a "decent" CEO...thanks for the laugh.
as as for device thinness, it's still far too thick. the quest for thinner hardware will not end until tech is paper thin, as seen in sci-fi. that's advancing the state of the art. it's how we get better at miniaturization. it's innovation that paths the way for new things we haven't even thought of yet.
I had problems from minor bending of my iPhone 6 Plus such that I've had a few warranty replacements, and even now, my cellular is dead and I'm stuck on wifi calling until the 7 comes out, and then the 6 Plus goes to a preteen who doesn't need cellular. I'm not giving up on keeping my iPhone in my back pocket, where it is easy to access and secure, and I still don't want to use a case.
It is what it is, but yeah, I want thin, light and powerful and it looks like the 6s fixed most of the mechanical issues of bending, and I'd argue that the 7 will be even stronger. The important thing is that even with the 6 issues, it still has a fairly low failure rate given the few hundred million that have been manufactured and are in service worldwide. If it does become an issue, I'm confident that Apple will handle it fairly, even providing retroactive reimbursement for users that bought replacements, but right now, it's more sturm and drang than a widespread "epidemic".
Mike - have you noticed that the quoting is broken on the forums here? it's reverted to rendering every single level of quotation, resulting in huge posts that incur more scrolling and less content. this is a usability bug. this was fixed after the new forums launched by showing only the last quote. it's apparently back.
I have been using iPhone from long and got it upgraded to 6 plus. Running into same issue since last two months and it is really frustrating. Took it to Apple Store, tried all options(restore/upgrade to lastest software etc). In last suggested that they can offer discount in buying replacement. That's a know issue with Apple but they are not recognizing as of now. Wait until some class action comeup against them and they will settle. Logic board issue/ghost typing/touchscreen disease will widely spread across the board then what people are thinking.
My wife dropped her phone and we had to pay $329 to get a new one from SimplyMac 5 months ago. The "new" phone out of the box started developing this exact issue slowly over the past few months. I originally thought it was the Otterbox Defender case with the built-in screen protector causing the issues. I ripped out the plastic screen and it didn't make any difference. We bought the beefy case to protect the new phone, but it turns out the new phone is defective.
After calling Apple, I received the run around where I finally received a "no, we can't replace the phone" from a supervisor named Carlos as it's out side the 90 day replacement warranty. Hopefully the fact that so many other people are having this problem will cause Apple to acknowledge they made some batches of crappy phones.
This is very frustrating! The products and phone support have gone downhill in my mind.
I've replaced a couple iPhones for Home button issues and one for a battery, but that's it. I want to see how other "common" issues compare with this touchscreen controller issue.
We're accumulating data on other failures now.
As a point of fact for all, the 11 percent of all iPhone repairs in a day being related to the problem is from BEFORE the reports started circulating, not after. Like we said in the article, the surge in the last few days is likely because of media exposure, and the geniuses we spoke to expect it to go back to "normal" levels after the surge period is over.
Wouldn't it have been a good idea to accumulate the data on other failures at the SAME TIME as you were counting devices with this particular issue? Especially before this became news?
Wow. For those of us who have this problem (I'm on my third iPhone 6 Plus 128GB) it's truly fantastic that the main tech websites such as AppleInsider have begun reporting this. I can't begin to tell you how lonely it's been as a defective iPhone user. The problem for Apple is that this isn't simply a recall issue. For iPhone owners who only had the standard warranty (I bought AppleCare Plus as usual in case I dropped the device down the toilet) many of those have paid the requested $300+ for a refurb replacement if their device was even a few days out of warranty - one owner in the Apple forums reported being ONE day out of warranty. This is then an unholy mess for Apple, and I think the government (or at least state's) attorneys will step in - this goes beyond class action lawsuits which are famously great for the lawyers but the owners end up with extremely limited vouchers. Totally lost my faith not only in Apple hardware but more importantly their standing behind it.
Wouldn't it have been a good idea to accumulate the data on other failures at the SAME TIME as you were counting devices with this particular issue? Especially before this became news?
Sure, but we didn't think we'd get the opportunity.
It presented itself, so we're taking advantage of it.
I have a 6 Plus with no such issue, but my concern is the resale value once I decide to upgrade from the 7. People aware of this issue will shy away from the used 6 because it cannot be repaired.
Agreed. I think you'd need your head testing buying an iPhone 6 Plus off ebay. Another comment from the Apple Forums from someone who bought his iPhone 6 Plus off eBay and is now effectively stiffed with the touch issue. I was planning to offload mine when I upgrade. I'd be interested to see how this hits the pricing paid by places like Gazelle for used iPhone 6 plus devices.
Apple Insiders--you need to check out this you tube video. Strictly based on this touch disease issue.People all over the world mail their broken iPhones to microsoldering specialist Jessa Jones. Aided by powerful microscopes and precision soldering irons, experts like Jessa pluck tiny chips off logic boards, swap them for new ones, and resurrect devices over which Apple’s Genius Bar would say a eulogy. Great Video
Heads need to roll . I would fire Tim Cook personally, I know that isn't a popular opinion.
Aw... little soggy going to fire Tim. How cute! You know, Tim cannot be fired by a single person even if you were the chairman of the board. You would have to convince a majority of the board to remove him, and by the way he is also a member of the board. Just curious who you would like to replace him... Oh yeah, you haven't thought it through that far yet. Just noise.
Bought my Iphone 6plus unit in Dec 2014, went for camera replacement program last year, now thisss???? OMG, this is my first Apple purchase, not planning to add moree!!
Comments
Mike - have you noticed that the quoting is broken on the forums here? it's reverted to rendering every single level of quotation, resulting in huge posts that incur more scrolling and less content. this is a usability bug. this was fixed after the new forums launched by showing only the last quote. it's apparently back.
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/iphone6touchdisease
I was shocked to hear from her own words, that even if i replaced the screen, the issue would remain. I feel handicapped, that i along with the rest of us, original IPhone 6 plus users, purchased the phone when it first came out. I was out of warranty, even though by her own words, this genius bar tech, did in fact state, that the issue is an INTERNAL HARDWARE issue, and my diagnostics has indeed failed. If i purchased the new iphone 6s, the issue would no longer remain.
I am a loyal APPLE DIE HARD, own 7-9 devices, and yesterday that loyalty was put to the test. Why is it, that this genius bar tech, stated that the issue is hardware related, and that customers are starting to pour in complaining of this "TOUCH DISEASE", and apple does not do a thing about a device that appears to have a possible design flaw. So now us USERS- IPhone 6 plus owners now cannot receive a repair, cant get a new device, due to a design flaw, which now will cost us USERS additional money. While, i really appreciated this genius bar tech, honesty, i was truly disheartened. She did try to solicit that i buy another iphone because there is an ongoing issue with this "TOUCH DISEASE".
Its annoying when my phone rings and i cant even answer it due to this flaw that appartrently happens over time. She tried to get me to fork over $329.00 for another replacement phone, but what's the use. Apple is supposedly coming out with a new phone next month, so i sit here with a current iphone that has a sporadic issue, identity crisis, until the new one comes to market.
I didn't purchase the apple care program which i learned a very valuable lesson now to do so in the event that i decide to stay with an Iphone. It isn't fair, that design flaws aren't covered after the initial 12 months of hardware related issues surface. Maybe TIM COOK and the rest of his executive team realize that "TOUCH DISEASE" is a real issue, and support a universal replacement program or a possible recall. However, knowing Apple, this post will fall on deaf ears, be swept under the rug, and not much said about it. Great Products are suppose to last. Apple always states that they are committed to making great products--how about making great products that last past 24 months!!! I will truly miss my iPhone for now, anyone know how the new Galaxy phones compare to the iphone. I haven't been a HUGE SAMSUNG phone, and would hate to cross over to the "DARK SIDE", but with many hot promotions that are currently running on the Galaxy phones, and i cannot afford at this time a new phone. (And for the record, i have been an avid Iphone User since the original iphone) I did swallow the Apple KOOL-AID, and became heavily involved in Apples ecosystem. TIme will tell...Thanks Apple for 9 years of my loyalty. However, this experience has shaken my loyalty in the Iphone. I was hoping to anniversary 10 years of loyalty to the iphone next year. Looks like i may not make it.
as as for device thinness, it's still far too thick. the quest for thinner hardware will not end until tech is paper thin, as seen in sci-fi. that's advancing the state of the art. it's how we get better at miniaturization. it's innovation that paths the way for new things we haven't even thought of yet.
It is what it is, but yeah, I want thin, light and powerful and it looks like the 6s fixed most of the mechanical issues of bending, and I'd argue that the 7 will be even stronger. The important thing is that even with the 6 issues, it still has a fairly low failure rate given the few hundred million that have been manufactured and are in service worldwide. If it does become an issue, I'm confident that Apple will handle it fairly, even providing retroactive reimbursement for users that bought replacements, but right now, it's more sturm and drang than a widespread "epidemic".
Wouldn't it have been a good idea to accumulate the data on other failures at the SAME TIME as you were counting devices with this particular issue? Especially before this became news?
It presented itself, so we're taking advantage of it.