Submitted by Fred Straker on
Some iPhone 6 Plus owners who have dropped their devices are experiencing a gray flickering bar at the top of the display. This visual problem is often accompanied by issues with the touch screen and gestures not working, in a bug that has been described as "Touch Disease". Although this is rare, enough customers have been affected by the problem that Apple launched an official Multi-Touch Repair Program for iPhone 6 Plus. So how can one get their iPhone 6 Plus touch screen fixed?
Apple has released details of the repair program, which applies to any iPhone 6 Plus device up to five years from original retail sale. This means at the current time all iPhone 6 Plus devices are covered since it launched on September 19, 2014. In order to qualify for the repair program, your device must meet these conditions:
- Exhibits display flickering or Multi-Touch issues after being dropped multiple times on a hard surface and then incurring further stress on the device
- The screen is not cracked or broken
- The device is in working order
If this sounds like you, Apple will repair the iPhone 6 Plus Multi-Touch problem for a service price of $149. The process can be completed through any Apple Retail Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider, however Apple cannot guarantee the $149 pricing at authorized service providers. You can also send in an affected device for repair through Apple Technical Support.
Make sure to back up the iPhone 6 Plus with iTunes or iCloud before the repair. Customers who have already had their iPhone 6 Plus repaired can contact Apple to receive a reimbursement for charges exceeding the $149 service price.
The Touch Disease issue was highlighted in August by an iFixit video describing failed touch controller chips as well as structural differences between the iPhone 6 Plus logic board vs. earlier models.