• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechGlobal 500

Here’s How Much It Will Cost You for Apple to Fix iPhone ‘Touch Disease’

By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
November 18, 2016, 10:39 AM ET

The iPhone’s “Touch Disease” can be cured by Apple—if you’re willing to pay for it.

Apple on Thursday published a Support page on its site that says it’ll offer a “multitouch repair program for iPhone 6 Plus.” The support document says Apple will repair any iPhone 6 Plus owner’s device if they’re seeing the smartphone “exhibit display flickering or multi-touch issues.”

But there’s a catch: Apple is charging $149 to make the repair.

Earlier this year, hardware-repair company iFixit published a report, saying that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus released in 2014 are suffering from what it called, “Touch Disease.” The company found in its testing that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus come with chips that sit inside the device that permit the screen to interact with a user’s touch inputs. Those chips, called Touch IC Chips, connect to the iPhone’s main board with small soldered balls. Over time, iFixit says, those balls can crack and start to lose contact between the display and the board. As it gets worse, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus could lose all touch functionality.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter

Many iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users have complained of the problem over the last several months, and criticized Apple for forcing them to buy a new iPhone at full price in order to address their problem. Several lawsuits were also launched, citing Apple’s policy in response to Touch Disease.

Apple has largely remained silent on the Touch Disease and didn’t mention the term in its support document announcing its new program.

The support document also appears to differ in notable ways from user accounts, as well as the investigation conducted by iFixit.

For one, iFixit and users say that the iPhone 6 is also affected by the flaw, but Apple says it will only replace the iPhone 6 Plus. What’s more, Apple was clear in its support document that the Touch Disease occurs when the iPhone 6 Plus is “dropped multiple times on a hard surface and then incurring further stress on the device.” However, iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens said in a statement in response to Apple’s move on Thursday that his company experience the problem on devices that hadn’t been dropped.

For more about Apple’s iPhone 7, watch:

“Apple is correct that dropping the device onto a hard surface could cause this issue,” Wiens said. “But that’s not the only cause: we have seen this problem on phones that have never been dropped. And in phones that have lived their entire lives protected in cases.”

Wiens also criticized Apple for not acknowledging that the problem is caused by a “manufacturing defect” and noted that “many iPhone 6 owners have also been affected.”

Now that Apple (AAPL) is charging $149 to fix Touch Disease on the iPhone 6 Plus, the company will also issue a reimbursement to anyone who paid full price for a replacement for the same problem. The reimbursement amount will equal the difference between the amount affected customers paid for fix and $149.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment on the program.

About the Author
By Don Reisinger
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

AIBrainstorm AI
Cursor CEO warns vibe coding builds ‘shaky foundations’ and eventually ‘things start to crumble’
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezMarch 27, 2026
18 minutes ago
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei.
AIAnthropic
Exclusive: Anthropic acknowledges testing new AI model representing ‘step change’ in capabilities, after accidental data leak reveals its existence
By Beatrice NolanMarch 26, 2026
7 hours ago
Anthropic's logo on a wall.
AIAnthropic
Exclusive: Anthropic left details of an unreleased model, invite-only CEO retreat, sitting in an unsecured data trove in a significant security lapse
By Beatrice NolanMarch 26, 2026
7 hours ago
Startups & VentureDefense
Defense startup Shield AI is projecting more than $540 million in revenue this year as valuation more than doubles to $12.7 billion
By Jessica MathewsMarch 26, 2026
9 hours ago
AIAnthropic
U.S. judge blocks Pentagon’s ‘Orwellian notion’ to label Anthropic a supply chain risk and ban Claude from the government
By The Associated PressMarch 26, 2026
9 hours ago
AIData centers
Southeast Asia could become a booming AI market if its data centers can beat the heat
By Angelica AngMarch 26, 2026
13 hours ago

Most Popular

C-Suite
'I didn’t want anybody shooting me': Five Guys CEO gave away $1.5 million bonus to employees over botched BOGO burger birthday celebration
By Fortune EditorsMarch 25, 2026
2 days ago
Environment
Vail Resorts CEO says it’s time to think beyond the $1,000 ski pass that helped build the empire
By Fortune EditorsMarch 26, 2026
1 day ago
Success
Palantir’s billionaire CEO says only two kinds of people will succeed in the AI era: trade workers — ‘or you’re neurodivergent’
By Fortune EditorsMarch 24, 2026
3 days ago
Commentary
The Treasury just declared the U.S. insolvent. The media missed it
By Fortune EditorsMarch 23, 2026
4 days ago
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of March 25, 2026
By Fortune EditorsMarch 25, 2026
2 days ago
Economy
Social Security insolvency: How a six-figure cap to flatten benefits for the ultrawealthy could buy the program 7 critical years
By Fortune EditorsMarch 26, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.