Users of Apple’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are having a hard time liking photos on Instagram and texting Taylor Swift GIFs, so they’re suing.
Three customers filed a suit due to problems with the devices’ touchscreen that leads it to be unresponsive. They allege the technology company is breaching its implied warranty, as well as accusing it of fraud and negligent representation. The problem, dubbed “touch disease,” occurs as a flickering grey bar appears on the top of the display screen which then becomes non-operational. It can be caused when a phone is dropped, but some consumers have also had malfunctioning screens without abusing the device.
When users brought their phones to the Genius Bar to be fixed, some were told it would cost as much as $300 to remedy out of warranty. Apple Insider reported that the issue was now 11 percent of the help desk’s repairs.
The problem is caused by a manufacturing difference between the 6, released in 2014, and previous iPhone models in attempt to make it skinnier. The touch chips are not properly secured to the logic board, which causes the screen to “fail from normal wear and tear,” according to the lawsuit. Past iPhones had a substance that acted like a glue to keep the chip properly connected, but the 6 doesn’t have the reinforcement.
Apple release its 7th generation phones last month.
Although some consumers were quoted for repair costs, Genius Bar employees don’t know how to fix the problem. Third party technicians invalidate the warranty, so Apple won’t send customers to get their devices fixed elsewhere.