Apple Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over Unresponsive iPhone 6 Touchscreens

I actually just had a replacement iPhone do this to me. My iPhone 6 was replaced by the Apple Store and the next day the touch screen would no longer work. I went back in and they replaced the replacement. Thankfully I am covered under the AppleCare+ warranty so I did not have to pay anything.
 
I don't begrudge anyone having this issue so I cannot fault them or their methods of resolution, class action or otherwise.

Anecdotally, I don't know anyone who's had this issue, and that's at least 6 people with a 6 or 6+. That's hardly scientific but not unique; if this was anything like the Xbox 360 RRoD with its 70%+ failure rate, you'd have iPhones failing left-and-right. So far as we can see, they're not, whether it is or is not a "design flaw" as the iFixit video portends.*

My guess is Apple knows that people are complaining about it, an investigation was launched, they're studying it (or have studied it), and will only make a hard-case decision once they have a large enough sample to justify further action. If/when a warranty extension comes around (there's already one for the iSight camera), those who paid for a warranty repair/replacement will be refunded by check. There are too many unknowns to assume much of anything beyond that.

*I lost a lot of respect for iFixit on this video; I see marketing, not science.
 
840quadra said:
Yes lets join in, pad the pockets of the lawyers, and get nothing ourselves.

I am sure there are plenty of people who Apple has helped, but we won't hear about it. It's nothing about media. In tech, compliments are rare, but when people feel shorted our culture appears to reward more for complaining.

Not defending Apple, but I am not sure what people are expecting on a failure that happens outside of Warranty. Granted, it would be poor for Apple to expect customers to foot the bill for such an expensive phone that isn't even 2 years old yet. Perhaps the iPhone 7 will have a 2 year base warranty?

We can only hope.
Click to expand...

It's escalating quickly. In less than a week we've gone from #8 to #12. For those who are experiencing the problem hang in there... Apple should be admitting to it (#13) and offering a solution soon.


Here's the typical cycle for problems reported on Apple products:
1. A few members post reports of the problem, report it to Apple
2. No response from Apple
3. Increased number of people report the issue
4. No response from Apple
5. Apple apologists dismiss the reports as very rare, the result of trolling, or exaggeration by drama queens
6. Even more reports of the problem
7. No response from Apple
8. News of the problem hits blogs
9. Apple apologists dismiss the blogs as simply engaging in clickbait
10. No response from Apple
11. Those affected by the issue threaten a class-action lawsuit
12. Apple apologists decry the "sue happy" nature of American consumers
13. Apple acknowledges the legitimacy of the problem
14. Apple apologists are silent
15. Apple release an update to correct the problem
or
15a. They set up a "program" to address the problem.
16. Apple gains some positive publicity
17. Apple apologists applaud Apple for doing the "right thing". (for an issue that they said from day-1 was not actually an issue)
18. First hand experience with the “program” reveals very strict guidelines and restrictions that greatly reduce the number of affected customers that can participate in the program.
 
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IJ Reilly said:
Here we go again. All we have is iFixit reporting "increasing" numbers (as opposed to decreasing?), "dozens" of complaints and "multiple customers." Sounds like nobody knows what percentage of the tens of millions of iPhones sold have this problem.
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Well, I'm sure Apple has more information to clear up any confusion we may have. They made modifications to the 6s/6s+ to correct the problem so they've known and have documents on this dating back over a year. We just have to wait for the sound of crickets in Apple's direction to stop first.
 
BGA is not an unusual manufacturing choice in mobile electronics, so proving "fraud" for BGA failure outside of warranty is probably a lost cause.
 
aloshka said:
First poster? Weird.

Just wanted to say, I had this issue a lot and pretty much most people I know did too. It was impossible to recreate, so I just accepted it as a "just works" bug. Sucks they are being sued, wish they'd fix it instead.
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It will probably be fixed. This type of thing, for this type of issue, is usually a precursor to a repair program of some sort being launched by Apple.
 
The Apple Premium has always been expected, you pay more for better quality, better service and a product that "just works".. When paying upwards of $900 for a phone, Apple had damn well better acknowledge and strive to correct a serious defect in the product and apologize to everyone affected . The fact that a class action lawsuit is necessary for Apple to even recognize an issue that isn't merely cosmetic, but affects core functionality doesn't bode well.
 
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sracer said:
Thank you for filling the role of #12. :D

It's escalating quickly. In less than a week we've gone from #8 to #12. For those who are experiencing the problem hang in there... Apple should be admitting to it (#13) and offering a solution soon.


Here's the typical cycle for problems reported on Apple products:
1. A few members post reports of the problem, report it to Apple
2. No response from Apple
3. Increased number of people report the issue
4. No response from Apple
5. Apple apologists dismiss the reports as very rare, the result of trolling, or exaggeration by drama queens
6. Even more reports of the problem
7. No response from Apple
8. News of the problem hits blogs
9. Apple apologists dismiss the blogs as simply engaging in clickbait
10. No response from Apple
11. Those affected by the issue threaten a class-action lawsuit
12. Apple apologists decry the "sue happy" nature of American consumers
13. Apple acknowledges the legitimacy of the problem
14. Apple apologists are silent
15. Apple release an update to correct the problem
or
15a. They set up a "program" to address the problem.
16. Apple gains some positive publicity
17. Apple apologists applaud Apple for doing the "right thing". (for an issue that they said from day-1 was not actually an issue)
18. First hand experience with the “program” reveals very strict guidelines and restrictions that greatly reduce the number of affected customers that can participate in the program.
Click to expand...
Or...
19. Apple always does the right thing; They just don't do it on 'your' schedule.
 
I have this issue and just had my iPhone replaced under AppleCare+ and the Express Replacement option.
 
Honestly, I had no idea how this touch disease affected so many iPhone 6 users, more specifically the 6 Plus users. It's unfortunate.
 
ACG12 said:
Good. When you spend $1000 on a phone, it should last more than 1 year and 10 months.
Click to expand...
Apple's pricing is becoming increasingly unviable for me for what you get in return. Made the switch to a Galaxy S7, making my return to Android complete. My MacBook Air has been nothing but problems for the past year and now that AppleCare is up, I'll probably sell it and go back to PC. Apple has been an expensive four year experiment for me.
 
I am unaffected and don't own an iPhone 6 or 6s, but this seems well-deserved.
 
visualride said:
Um, my girlfriend, who has zero morality in this regard, also suggested that I sell mine because of it's problem. Morally, I could not do that. Hopefully you let your buyer know of the problem with your phone. Think of how you would feel if you bought a used phone just to find that it had this terminal problem? I'm suffering through my phone barely working till the 7 comes out...though I was originally planning on skipping the 7 and waiting one more year.
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Well at the time I thought it was just a software issue (Plus versions seem to be more buggy). So far no complaints but if I had known it was hardware I would of warned the buyer for sure.
 
Apple should repair affected iPhones by installing a metal shield or whatever it takes to fix the problem. I wonder if that's what they did to iPhones that they repaired. They should also reimburse people for expenses and provide the same fix for those who were given a replacement phone with the same defect. Or they could just give everyone iPhone 7's, since they may end up with lots of them around after the initial surge. :)
 
Guilty under the Lemon Law for touch disease, cheap bendable aluminum, deficient 1GB DRAM, NAND defect, display defects, etc. If there's such a thing as a Lemon award for highest number of defects iPhone 6 series would clearly win. The only verdict is to recall all iPhone 6 series and replace with iPhone 6S series.
 
mi7chy said:
Guilty under the Lemon Law for touch disease, cheap bendable aluminum, deficient 1GB DRAM, NAND defect, display defects, etc. If there's such a thing as a Lemon award for highest number of defects iPhone 6 series would clearly win. The only verdict is to recall all iPhone 6 series and replace with iPhone 6S series.
Click to expand...
Have to say, every S phone previous felt like a good mild upgrade with a neat new feature, but the 6S felt like what the 6 really should've been in the first place.
 
rageguy said:
I have this issue and just had my iPhone replaced under AppleCare+ and the Express Replacement option.
Click to expand...
It is interesting they replaced it indicating that Apple must therefore recognise the problem since if it was not a "problem" it wouldn't be replaced under warranty / Applecare. It would be interesting if the 6S etc has a modified design, which again would indicate that Apple would be aware of a latent design defect. Pretty poor for those individuals who were forced to pay or replace their phones as a result.
 
A "replacement" program will not fix the problem, unless the hardware is improved. The solder joints are disconnecting from the touch ID chip because the motherboard they are on is not rigid enough and the solder joints were not flow hardened in the manufacturing process.
 
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