How to tell if you have MLC or TLC flash iPhone 6/6 Plus

[thalazy]

My November build 6+

Is a r&B hip hop group from the 90's. So far so good, only had it since last Friday but have had no crashes or reboots(Hollywood stay the hell away from my phone).

 

[Lloydbm41]

Release day space grey iPhone 6/64gb has MLC.
Write - 110MB/sec Read - 782MB/sec

iPad Air 2 LTE variant / 16gb has MLC as well.
Write - 55MB/sec Read - 557MB/sec

Not sure why the write speed is so slow on the iPad?

 

[yjchua95]

iPhone 6 + 64gb

Write = 263 MB/s
Read = 754 MB/s

I am glad I have TLC, because I don't care what you say, faster is ALWAYS better period. Now if they are having issues due to crashing that is entirely different, but no MLC is NOT better because its slow.

I have never crashed, or had any issues with safari or games, apps crashing and I don't even monitor what open apps I have. I also do not have any lagg on my phone using Spotlight or other GUI issues people have reported.

I heavily use my phone. I would have been disappointed if my write speed was under 100 MB/s.

A lot of people in this thread making baseless claims, like TLC uses more memory, etc. And it's funny people wishing they had MLC and slower memory.

Thanks to the OP for the link to the app and the idea behind testing different memory.

In sequential performance, the TLC may be faster, but random performance is where it really matters.

And the MLC flash performs consistently better than TLC in random I/O.

I've an iPhone 6 16GB white, 16GB MLC and also a 6+ 64GB space grey with TLC (boy, was I mad to find out that my 6+ had TLC).

 

[Newtons Apple]

Both my 6 and 6 Plus 128GB phones are working perfectly.

That is what is important and what I care about!

 

[bunnicula]

Crap. That's exactly what I was afraid of.

I think odds are a bit better trying to exchange it in person. Of course, at this time of year, going to the Apple store in the mall is pretty much the last place on Earth I want to go...

What will you do at this point?

I'm going to try calling on the phone. Last night was via chat. If that fails, I may drag myself to the mall, but my opinion of them this time of year appears to mirror yours.

Damned annoying, this whole mess. I mean, they'll send a refurb unit to my house, so there's that option. But, they suggested I try to restore my phone via iTunes and set it up as a new phone. Because everyone with a 128GB device that has that baby about half full has a couple days to spare rebuilding a phone with faulty flash memory just so they can prove it to Apple, no?

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Both my 6 and 6 Plus 128GB phones are working perfectly.

That is what is important and what I care about!

My son has a 128GB TLC 6+ that works fine for him, too. Go figure. I suspect the NAND in his is different than mine, but I've not checked to see if I'm correct.

 

[IrishVixen]

I'm going to try calling on the phone. Last night was via chat. If that fails, I may drag myself to the mall, but my opinion of them this time of year appears to mirror yours.

Damned annoying, this whole mess. I mean, they'll send a refurb unit to my house, so there's that option. But, they suggested I try to restore my phone via iTunes and set it up as a new phone. Because everyone with a 128GB device that has that baby about half full has a couple days to spare rebuilding a phone with faulty flash memory just so they can prove it to Apple, no?

I caved and went to the Apple Store this morning. I'd just completely had it with the crashes every time I dared to play music in the background while simultaneously otherwise using my phone. I couldn't get an appointment until Friday, and wasn't about to wait that long at this point. I wiped the phone, moved the SIM back to my 5, and just went in there, figuring a Monday before noon was likely to be the least aggravating time at the mall in December.

I did not mention the TLC NAND possibility as being the problem, just detailed the bootloops, crashes, and the two kernel panics. The Genius actually was the one to wonder aloud if it was the NAND, at which point I told him I was reasonably certain they'd eventually decide that was the issue.

They replaced it without any fuss. He did comment that there was no guarantee that the new phone wasn't also TLC, as in the 64 GB model it can be either. That was fine by me, since not everyone with TLC has the issue and I'm frankly curious still to see if it turns out to be linked to just one manufacturer.

But my testing days are probably over. The replacement phone has MLC. So with any luck, my crashing, bootlooping, and BSOD days are also over.

Now I just have to go rebuild the damn phone for the fourth time this month...

(New 6/64: Write--93 MB/sec, Read: 638 MB/sec)

 

[tonyy]

I haven't had any issues, crashes, errors, etc. of any kind on my 6 Plus 64gb. I also haven't checked whether I'm running TLC or MLC.

In this case - ignorance is bliss. My UI experience hasn't been affected and I'm cool with that.

 

[IrishVixen]

I haven't had any issues, crashes, errors, etc. of any kind on my 6 Plus 64gb. I also haven't checked whether I'm running TLC or MLC.

In this case - ignorance is bliss. My UI experience hasn't been affected and I'm cool with that.

I tend to think this is the best attitude to have towards it--if the phone performs fine for you under your normal usage patterns, it's a non issue. I didn't have that kind of experience, unfortunately, and the daily crashes and intermittent bootloops led me to explore whether or not the specific NAND in my phone was part of the problem.

I doubt I would have gone looking if the phone hasn't already been showing signs of a hardware failure.

 

[sunking101]

I haven't had any issues, crashes, errors, etc. of any kind on my 6 Plus 64gb. I also haven't checked whether I'm running TLC or MLC.

In this case - ignorance is bliss. My UI experience hasn't been affected and I'm cool with that.

All well and good but TLC has half the expected lifespan of MLC. Why pay the same money for an inferior product?

 

[tonyy]

All well and good but TLC has half the expected lifespan of MLC. Why pay the same money for an inferior product?

I get your point and I'm probably not the best person to answer this - but I upgrade every year so the lifespan of the phone isn't my concern. It's a legitimate question for people who use the same phone for multiple years.

If and when the phone starts acting weird, I'll take it into Apple to get it replaced. No big deal.

 

[lakaiordie]

iphone 6plus, 64gb silver week 48 phone

write: 155mb/s
read: 357mb/s

 

[newellj]

All well and good but TLC has half the expected lifespan of MLC. Why pay the same money for an inferior product?

It can't possibly matter. Have you seen the test-to-failure figures for TLC SSDs at Techreport? *No* tablet any of us owns is going to be usable for long enough for that to be an issue.

 

[sunking101]

It can't possibly matter. Have you seen the test-to-failure figures for TLC SSDs at Techreport? *No* tablet any of us owns is going to be usable for long enough for that to be an issue.

Any links?
I pass my phones onto family members and would feel more comfortable handing down a SSD with double the write longevity.
For the price we pay over the 16GB version, why should Apple skimp on the storage quality?

 

[Surf Monkey]

Checked mine with the app linked on the first page and I have TLC flash in my 128gig 6 Plus. I haven't had any crashes or panics yet, but I do have a frequent and recurring problem with background audio stuttering and crackling, particularly when Safari is in the foreground. I had assumed this to be a software issue but now I'm inclined to think it's the flash...

 

[ttNB]

 

[bunnicula]

I caved and went to the Apple Store this morning. I'd just completely had it with the crashes every time I dared to play music in the background while simultaneously otherwise using my phone. I couldn't get an appointment until Friday, and wasn't about to wait that long at this point. I wiped the phone, moved the SIM back to my 5, and just went in there, figuring a Monday before noon was likely to be the least aggravating time at the mall in December.

I did not mention the TLC NAND possibility as being the problem, just detailed the bootloops, crashes, and the two kernel panics. The Genius actually was the one to wonder aloud if it was the NAND, at which point I told him I was reasonably certain they'd eventually decide that was the issue.

They replaced it without any fuss. He did comment that there was no guarantee that the new phone wasn't also TLC, as in the 64 GB model it can be either. That was fine by me, since not everyone with TLC has the issue and I'm frankly curious still to see if it turns out to be linked to just one manufacturer.

But my testing days are probably over. The replacement phone has MLC. So with any luck, my crashing, bootlooping, and BSOD days are also over.

Now I just have to go rebuild the damn phone for the fourth time this month...

(New 6/64: Write--93 MB/sec, Read: 638 MB/sec)

I'm glad you got yours sorted out. That's really good!

I'm still waiting to hear back from Apple about mine. I'm running a 128 so who knows how that'll pan out.

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Checked mine with the app linked on the first page and I have TLC flash in my 128gig 6 Plus. I haven't had any crashes or panics yet, but I do have a frequent and recurring problem with background audio stuttering and crackling, particularly when Safari is in the foreground. I had assumed this to be a software issue but now I'm inclined to think it's the flash...

Safari is weird right now in general for me running a unit with TLC. It seems to be involved in a good many of my phone's crashes.

 

[Aegyo]

Checked mine with the app linked on the first page and I have TLC flash in my 128gig 6 Plus. I haven't had any crashes or panics yet, but I do have a frequent and recurring problem with background audio stuttering and crackling, particularly when Safari is in the foreground. I had assumed this to be a software issue but now I'm inclined to think it's the flash...

I have the same issue while playing songs on music app.
Using safari gives me randomly clack/pop sound for a millisec.
Have kept an eye on it and i mostly happens when loading a rich content website.

 

[IrishVixen]

Safari is weird right now in general for me running a unit with TLC. It seems to be involved in a good many of my phone's crashes.

Interesting... Safari generally sucks for me on 8+ regardless of device, but it wasn't as common a factor in my crashes as audio was (regardless of app--youtube in the foreground on the worst kernel panic, the rest were with backgrounded protube, backgrounded Music [both on-device and streamed iTunes Radio], backgrounded Cesium [music on device] ). It was the one constant I could find among the most notable crashes I experienced. I haven't had time to do much with audio yet on the new MLC phone, but I'll report back if I start seeing the same issues.

Hopefully if enough people with these kinds of problems exchange their phones, Apple will eventually have to acknowledge the issue and start using MLC in the 128 GB models too.

 

[Surf Monkey]

I have the same issue while playing songs on music app.
Using safari gives me randomly clack/pop sound for a millisec.
Have kept an eye on it and i mostly happens when loading a rich content website.

That's it for sure. TLC flash in your phone too?

----------

...and start using MLC in the 128 GB models too.

Oh, yeah. That's right. I totally forgot that the 128s only come with TLC. Hmm...

 

[IrishVixen]

Oh, yeah. That's right. I totally forgot that the 128s only come with TLC. Hmm...

That part sucks. At least those of us with 64s have a chance at getting MLC on an exchange.

Even so, there's still lots of people who know they have TLC and don't seem to be having issues. It does make me wonder if it depends on who made the chip--we know from those who've jailbroken & run a more detailed report in Terminal that TLC chips from at least 3 manufacturers are being used, so it's theoretically possible that one is worse than the others.

 

[bunnicula]

That part sucks. At least those of us with 64s have a chance at getting MLC on an exchange.

Even so, there's still lots of people who know they have TLC and don't seem to be having issues. It does make me wonder if it depends on who made the chip--we know from those who've jailbroken & run a more detailed report in Terminal that TLC chips from at least 3 manufacturers are being used, so it's theoretically possible that one is worse than the others.

I think some chips are more crash-prone than others. I also think those same chips will crash more frequently if you're using a good amount of the storage capacity. My phone is nearly half full. I'm right around 50GB of storage.

I also think Apple is producing either MLC 128GB units now or they've identified the supplier of the poor-quality TLC chips and have stopped using them.

Check any iPhone stock map for 128GB devices (particularly non-Sprint devices). There are very few in stock. They're slowly beginning to reappear, but I've had my eye out for 6+ units in 128GB and the entire world has VERY few. It's been that way ever since the first leaks out of Korea about the faulty TLC chips.

I'm thinking it's not entirely a coincidence.

 

[nateo200]

Woohoo! I got 300MB/s write and 800MB/s read on my 128GB iPhone 6 (Verizon). Its TLC, I haven't had any issues. Very zippy.

 

[Buringcoals]

In sequential performance, the TLC may be faster, but random performance is where it really matters.

And the MLC flash performs consistently better than TLC in random I/O.

I've an iPhone 6 16GB white, 16GB MLC and also a 6+ 64GB space grey with TLC (boy, was I mad to find out that my 6+ had TLC).

Samsung has had higher random IO from its TLC SSD drives, its all how you implement it. I would agree MLC to be more robust.

However, were talking 100% performance decrease with sequential in some cases even greater. The applications are probably coded for sequential reads. I am not convinced random reads are the cruch of Smartphone performance, it's all about application performance. Either way were not talking about a big difference even in the random performance.

personally I had more crashing happening with my iPhone 5S, so there are indeed versions of the memory (different manufacturer) that are performing as expected.

Personally, I am on the next plan, and will have a iPhone 6s + next year anyway. If you are indeed mad over it, take it into the Apple store.

Apple has not confirmed ANYTHING about this NANDGATE issue that one website is drudging up and every other website regurgitating. My iPhone which is new, had the TLC memory, if Apple wanted to eliminate TLC they could easily do this, 3 months after iPhone 6 was released phones are still being manufactured with this memory.

I am not saying there is no issue, I am saying that some people who have TLC and no crashing should not worry about it or get caught up in it.

 

[Aegyo]

That's it for sure. TLC flash in your phone too?

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Oh, yeah. That's right. I totally forgot that the 128s only come with TLC. Hmm...

Yeah, it got the TLC chip in it. This is my second device tho and the,
First unit did exactly the same so i thought it could be software issue.
So i already got an replacement, as soon i had found out this issue.

However everything else of the phone is perfect, so i decided to keep it for now and wait out.
And i didn't wanted to risk getting to get a 3rd one,
That could have even more problems.

For a moment i thought i only had that this odd issue.
I listen to music very often while browsing so i noticed the clack/pop sound right away.

 

[Aegyo]

Yeah, it got the TLC chip in it. This is my second device tho and the,
First unit did exactly the same so i thought it could be software issue.
So i already got an replacement, as soon i had found out this issue.

However everything else of the phone is perfect, so i decided to keep it for now and wait out.
And i didn't wanted to risk getting to get a 3rd one,
That could have even more problems.

For a moment i thought i only had that this odd issue.
I listen to music very often while browsing so i noticed the clack/pop sound right away.

And oh yeah it happens randomly too when opening an heavy app like for example the photo camera.

I've kept an eye on it and it seems to happen only when doing this kind of things.
So the heavy parts things, since safari is very heavy and buggy too on ios 8..