It says problems many owners have experienced are caused by dropping the phone.

A number of iPhone 6 owners and independent repair techs have been complaining for months about something called "touch disease" killing their phones, and now Apple is responding. The problem's symptoms have been described as a flickering gray bar across the top of the screen and problems with the touchscreen responsiveness, which continue to get worse until it's addressed or the phone is unusable. Repair techs like Jessa Jones have reported seeing multiple devices per day afflicted by the same problem, with no end in sight.

Going by Apple's description of its "Multi-Touch Repair Program for iPhone 6 Plus," the problem is really the owner's fault, caused by "being dropped multiple times on a hard surface and then incurring further stress on the device." Still, if you have the problem and your screen isn't cracked, Apple says it will fix the issue for $149, and its repair program is available for five years after the original sale date.

That's less than the usual out of warranty repair price of $329, but it's not free, and it does nothing for people who opted to replace their phone instead of fixing it. Some owners have reportedly filed lawsuits against Apple concerning the issue, and it remains to be seen how this will affect their progress. If you've already paid to have an iPhone 6 Plus repaired due to the problem, Apple says it will reimburse the difference between that cost and $149, if you used its service or an authorized technician.

While some have reported similar problems with the smaller iPhone 6, there's no indication of a program for owners of that device. In a blog post on iFixit, Jones noted the larger size of the 6 Plus made it more susceptible to the problem, despite reinforcements implemented to resolve the phone's tendency to bend. The actual problem seems to come from the touch controller chip separating from the phone's logic board, which is why twisting the device can sometimes fix it for a short time.

Source:
courtesy of ENGADGET

by Richard Lawler , @Rjcc

If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]