Q: Touch disease

Pretty much every 6/6+ has this solder design flaw. Some will show up earlier, some won't, and some will never show up if you're lucky

Oh really? Then you might want to know that Samsung is stopping shipment of the Note 7 because its batteries are exploding. So you might have trouble finding one to buy. Just saying.

http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/08/31/samsung-stops-shipments-of-exploding-g alaxy-note-7-phones

Nonsense. There are 230 MILLION of these phones in use. If even 1% of them developed the problem, that would be 2.3 million. And 2.3 million phones with the same problem would make worldwide news.

Only Apple can know this number and it has been nothing but crickets from them since this issue rose above statistical standard failure rates and came to be recognized as an epidemic by independent repair months ago.

What I do know is that this problem has trumped all others by leaps and bounds.  Honestly I don't enjoy the work of replacing touch ics, it is thoughtless and boring and I will be thankful when this problem runs its course.  In the meantime, touch ic repair accounts for over 50% of the mail-in repair volume in recent months seen by all microsolderers performing this repair.  This is unheard of volume. 

Every phone has signature failures--a specific problem at we see many many times, but none occur at epidemic rates like 6+ touch disease.  I had to build special shelving just to accommodate the huge volume of this one repair.

As far as putting numbers out there--I think the anecdotal evidence of a business that bought 12 launch day iPhone 6+ and now 2 of the 12 have failed may be on the money.  I wouldn't be surprised to see 10% of all iPhone 6+ end up with touch disease over the life of the phone, but only Apple can know the number. 

yes--have you read the news lately?

Yes, I have, and I haven't see 2.3 million affected phones in any news story. In fact, every story on the subject is vague about the number. I've seen "a lot" and "a ton" mentioned, neither are meaningful numbers. You might have a better idea, because you know how many have been sent to you for repair. But remember you only see the broken ones, not the ones with no problems.

I CAN tell you that the last time there was a problem affecting over 1 million iPhones about 5 years ago there were 15,000 posts in Apple Support Communities in a thread with 2.3 million views. All in the 2 weeks that it took Apple to fix it.

Remember that with this problem until now it has been hard for users to recognize that the flashing grey bars on their phone = a well known design flaw (to be clear, as negative as I am around here, I don't fault Apple for failing to recognize the long-term consequence of the choices made in the touch it area at design time).  If a user came to this forum to ask about the problem, it would be difficult for them to get information on the touch ic failure.  You've seen me posting about touch disease dating back to Feb 2016.  Nearly all of my posts describing the underlying defect were deleted and I have been banned from the forum for posting this content many times. 

The forum standard advice suggests software restore and a trip to the Apple Store.  At Apple there is no mention of this being any inherent design flaw.  The answer is "yeah your phone doesn't work, its out of warranty, would you like a replacement for $329?"  This isolates users and prevents them from connecting with each other. 

It is also a disease that occurs with normal use over time.  We may still be at the beginning of the Avalanche.  Initially users with bend and drop triggered early onset of the disease, but now we are seeing more and more users with babied phones in cases develop the fault as the phone ages.

Also, I will only ever see a tiny slice of the overall problem.  These forums teach users to be wary of the dirty industry of "unauthorized" hacks that can boil delicate chips off a motherboard.  The moms and dads that build their lives around providing quality service for the problems that Apple chooses not to handle are vilified, even bullied, within this very forum.  Combine that with the headache of mailing your phone to a microsolderer and living a week in 1985--- it is only the rogue minority of users that would ever consider it.

And yet---my God the relentless onslaught of touch ic repairs that find their way to our incoming queue every day.  My employee Mark in Florida just messaged me.  There must be some mistake--this entire batch of repairs is nothing but touch ic!  (Like all microsolderers, touch ic repair stopped being fun a long time ago.)

Among the 100 students I've trained to do precision board repair in the last year, most are seeing somewhere between 10-100 per week.  That is almost enough to compete with screen replacements!

I know the Internet had a tendency for the dramatic, but in this case "epidemic" in relation to other repairs we see is not an exaggeration.

In the short time I've followed this issue, I've seen your posts. I've noticed that you hardly ever mention that you have a monetary investment in this. I mean, you are in the business of making these repairs. You also don't mention that it could take away any warranty or option with Apple, since I do believe you are making mods. And what about where you get your repair parts from? A video of yours about this issue talks about the shady ways in which you have to get the repair parts. That's hardly in any of the posts I see from you about this issue.

There's also the fact that you post here for visibility. I mean, I'd have to imagine, since there's always a similar screen name in posts about this on those other news sources, and you seem to be in every thread about this stuff. Always talking about how independent repair will solve your problems, with none of the above in those posts either.

On top of that, none of those articles reveal their numbers about what they're seeing. There's one, throwing up a silly percentage they gathered from 6-ish days of data from 4 stores. But the other posts and stories and articles, especially the one almost every outlet links back to, doesn't have a good amount of actual data.

Looking at all of this, why should I believe the source?

Lawrence Finch wrote:

 

Yes, I have, and I haven't see 2.3 million affected phones in any news story.

My observations would lead me to believe that 1% is an excessive estimate. But, I have no hard data to support that.

I Agree; I chose 1% to show how ridiculous claims of Massive failures" is. Even 1% isn't massive. 10% might be.

This is 9.3.5!!! My iPhone 6Plus was fine until the upgrade to 9.3.5!!

I have the same issue....I also know a co-worker who has experienced the same thing....he told me that he would twist the phone a little bit and it will eventually work.   My issue is getting much worse over time.

TheOnlyCyberWizard wrote:

 

In the short time I've followed this issue, I've seen your posts. I've noticed that you hardly ever mention that you have a monetary investment in this. I mean, you are in the business of making these repairs

I have said that I find touch ic to be a boring and repetitive chore, and said that I can't wait for this epidemic to be over.  My motivation for posting on these forums is to educate consumers about ALL their options for repair of a problem.  I'm a well known advocate for the independent repair industry.  The reality is that the voice of independent repair is vilified and suppressed--especially on these forums---and that is unfair.  The independent repair industry for automotive problems, for example, enjoys cultural acceptance as a viable alternative to repair from the manufacturer.  My goal is to represent the voice of quality independent repair as an industry, and people are free to form their own opinions on independent repair based on the content I provide in my posts.   Independent repair is a viable option for many, while for others it is not for them.  However in my view the consumers deserve the right to be informed of ALL their potential options to solve their problems and allowed to make their own choices.

Do I make money from posts on this forum?  No.
I have never posted any links to my repair services or suggested that someone send their device to me for repair.   In fact, I have attempted to directly connect interested users with competing quality independent repair options that are local to them (those posts are all deleted by the host).   Indirectly, you could make an argument that by de-vilifying independent repair that more people consider this as a viable alternative to what is often weak manufacturer support and thus as an industry independent repair sees more overall business, and as an operator within this field so would I personally.  However that seems silly to point out.
It is typical for people to be passionate about the field in which they spend most of their time.  Sharing a passion for making broken things work again is not the same as self-promotion for monetary gain.   I don't believe that a pie maker who posts to the world about how wonderful the scent of apple pie baking on a forum needs to disclaim "I make money from baking pies if one were to happen to figure out who I am and stop by my pie shop"   I don't make money from posting on this forum, and I don't feel that I have anything to disclaim.  

You also don't mention that it could take away any warranty or option with Apple, since I do believe you are making mods.

I would never recommend anyone with a phone under warranty go anywhere for repair outside of Apple, and I would never take a repair for an in-warranty phone.  In my experience, which is vast, I have repaired many phones--mostly for the purpose of data recovery---that have gone on to go to Apple for out of warranty replacement.  A few also for touch ic repair that recurs after touch ic replacement which we've refunded under our warranty and sent to Apple.  None have ever been declined.  I have personally asked my Apple Store representatives if they would ever decline a phone that I worked on for out of warranty replacement---the answer was no.   I have asked Apple Refurbishing Depot employees about out of warranty declines and the answer was 'we decline board/housing mismatch and CPU damage that's it.'   I have asked others in the independent repair industry about out of warranty declines after repair and the general experience for board repair is that if this ever happens it is very rare.     Whenever I make a post about PARTS swapping repair, I always disclose that this may void out of warranty support.   I care very much about providing the best possible solution for every question I answer, and providing the user with the same support that I would provide if they were a friend or relative---which is why I've taken it to heart that there is a common understanding among forum regulars that Apple does in fact decline out of warranty swap for boards that have gone to independent repair.   I have been active on this forum for several months and have yet to see a bona fide case of this actually happening, nor have any forum regulars provided any verifiable examples from which they base this belief.   In a nutshell---I don't believe that board repair work does in practice void out of warranty support from Apple which is why I don't mention it.

And what about where you get your repair parts from? A video of yours about this issue talks about the shady ways in which you have to get the repair parts. That's hardly in any of the posts I see from you about this issue.

There is a difference between board repair components and general repair parts.   The former are ubiquitous legos that are designed by semiconductor companies and are readily available from any industry source for circuit board design and repair.  Apple did not design or customize these small components in any way.  The broadcom touch ic that is used by Apple in the iPhone is the same chip that is available to anyone. 

For general repair, screens and batteries, the picture is different.  Apple does not allow easy access to bona fide original parts for independent repair.  We have to work very hard to identify non-pedigreed parts that are identical in form and function to the original part and import them from a parallel supply chain.  This is a major headache and is part of the reason that the independent repair industry supports the "Right to Repair" bills that are active in several states.  We believe that Apple has created a monopoly on repair by refusing to allow access to manufacturer parts.  In the automotive industry such practice was deemed unfair and now independent repair shops have legal access to the same pedigreed parts that the manufacturer uses.   In the meantime, consumers should be skeptical of the parts that they are getting.  Quality shops are able to source "original quality" parts with effort and base their reputation and warranty on these parts being indistinguishable from the original parts.

There's also the fact that you post here for visibility. I mean, I'd have to imagine, since there's always a similar screen name in posts about this on those other news sources, and you seem to be in every thread about this stuff. Always talking about how independent repair will solve your problems, with none of the above in those posts either.

I am a well known and vocal advocate for the independent repair industry.  In particular to touch disease, I coined that term and it is my work that has lead to the recent global recognition of this problem.  The iFixit article that 'broke the story' was based on my work and my recommendation to them that this problem deserved a broader audience than what I could give.   It is important to me that the underlying work be presented to the world as a set of facts that are not edited in a way that make them untrue.  The tech press has a tendency to 'run with the story' and you can see many errors as the story plays 'the telephone game' as it is rewritten by each news organization.  I do spend time on the comments sections of most versions of the article to correct errors and answer questions.  Of course I do, this is my work!  If I see a report that "this problem is not repairable" then I will challenge that assumption.  The reality is that this problem is repairable and we do not know how or if Apple will ever respond with the free solution that affected consumers hope for.  In my opinion, they are not responsible for failing to anticipate the underlying defect and should be allowed to produce a phone that often fails after the 1 year mark of their warranty.   If they choose not to invest resources into actual repair of the problem that is their choice.   I object to them not being forthcoming with the reality of the cause of the problem, and I object to the 'solution' of selling people expensive refurbished phones that are likely to experience the same exact problem with only a 90 day warranty.   I also think that it is a shame for potentially millions of phones to end up in the eWaste stream over this problem when there is another solution.  Allow, and in fact support, the many people that do choose to offer repair of the underlying problem.  There is no inherent reason that excludes a symbiosis between the phone designer who chooses not to put resources into board-level repair and the phone repairer who does not design.

On top of that, none of those articles reveal their numbers about what they're seeing. There's one, throwing up a silly percentage they gathered from 6-ish days of data from 4 stores. But the other posts and stories and articles, especially the one almost every outlet links back to, doesn't have a good amount of actual data.

The fact that actual data is not available (only Apple would know) does not negate the observation that this is the single biggest failure that all board-level repair shops have ever seen.  For any phone.  For any problem.  Ever.   The best we can do is say "a lot" 

Looking at all of this, why should I believe the source?

I can't tell you what you should believe.  In general people are pretty good at recognizing the truth when they see it.  Yes touch ic disease has been sensationalized and overstated by the media, but yes it is also a pretty big problem.

The same exact thing happened to me. I went to the Apple store and the technician said that there was no repair.  All he could offer me was half off the same exact phone that I have which was $379.99 plus tax for another iPhone 6 Plus.  I asked what would happen if I got the touch disease again, and he told me he could only warranty the replacement phone for 3 months, so I should buy the extended warranty. 

It especially hurts because I still owe $443 for this broken phone at AT&T next.  So I am paying off the phone and jumping ship from Apple. I hate having to pay $1,000 for an inferior product.

My last phone was the iPhone 4s which lasted me 4 years. I would have stayed with Apple for life until this happened.

And anyone with a warrantied phone who follows these instructions is in danger of voiding the warranty and getting stuck with a broken phone that Apple will not fix.

If "touch disease" happens and your phone is in warranty just call Apple immediately, the link is at the bottom of this page and whatever you do not start bending and twisting anything unless you want to wait the better part of the day for an Apple Store appointment so they can tell you that you completely voided your warranty. Apple considers 'bending and twisting' intentional damage regardless of what you needed to do to get your warrantied iPhone to work.