A growing number of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users are reporting touch responsiveness issues combined with a strange flickering gray bar at the top of the display.
According to an iFixit report, the issue has been there since the launch of the phone, but was not noticed until recently because the phones are getting older. The problem is now being called “Touch Disease” as it is becoming a widespread problem.
While the grey flickering bar on the top of the screen will disappear when pressure is applied at that point or the device is twisted gently, it comes back after a while and continues to get worse until the touch display is completely damaged.
On the other hand, Apple has refused to acknowledge or address the issue, leaving several users disappointed.
When users approach Apple Store to get the issue resolved, their devices are replaced if in warranty, and all those who devices are out of warranty, are being told that Apple doesn’t recognise the problem.
“In both the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, the Touch IC chips connect to the logic board via an array of itty-bitty solder balls-"like a plate resting on marbles," Jessa explains. Over time, as the phone flexes or twists slightly during normal use, those solder balls crack and start to lose contact with the board,” iFixit quoted micro-soldiering expert and iPad Rehab's Jessa Jones as saying.
“At first, there may be no defect at all. Later you might notice that the screen is sometimes unresponsive, but it is quick to come back with a hard reset," Jessa explains. "As the crack deepens into a full separation of the chip-board bond, the periods of no touch function become more frequent." Any drops or heavy handling keep chipping away at the cracked solder balls. Damage enough of them, and the connections between the chips and the logic board are severed, signals are lost, touch gets glitchier, and then goes away altogether,” he further added.
While Apple is not doing anything to solve the issue, iFixit has recommended users to get their phone repaired at a third-party repair shop. Replacing the logic board or the Touch ICs on the logic board is the only solution.
