Replies

All modern electronics use non-lead solder that can grow Tin Whiskers which is the real cause of this.

That's not how Apple describes it:

Colloquially called "touch disease," the issue appears to stem from failure of the chips that translate the user's touch to information the iPhone can use. These controller chips are sometimes failing outright, and in other cases the microscopic solder joints connecting each chip to the motherboard are breaking, causing the progressive failures.

http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/08/26/sources-iphone-6-series-touch-disease-now-accounting-for-about-11%-of-apple-store-repairs

That's not how Apple describes it:

Apple has not described it at all. That's a blog.

I've talked to the techs at one of the largest Apple Authorized repair depots in Northern California and they have not even had a single one come through it's so rare. However, they have been talking to people who have micro-examined specimens that have developed the symptoms and each and every one of them has shown Tin or Zinc Whiskers growing from a solder pad and touching another Tin or Zinc Whisker growing from another solder pad. When they touch, they short out. A slight bend in the phone will break the short, allowing the phone to work for a while.

Tin Whisker growing between contacts

The claim that Apple Touch disease accounts for 11% of Genius Bar visits is totally bogus. That claim came from a company that developed the fix of soldering new chips on iPhone 6 Plus boards that had the problem and issued a press release. After the claim was picked up by the press, and was debunked, it pretty much disappeared from sight. As I said, I investigated this claim and went to the largest Apple Authorized Repair shop in Northern California (I had another reason to be there) and asked about the "Touch Disease" and they had never had even a single one with the problem come in. . . and they got thousands of iPhones for repair. Not a single one. So 11% is absurd.

In fact, when I tracked things down, I found that even the company who made the claim said they were getting "a few dozen a month with the problem sent to us to fix." That's out of 250 MILLION of the iPhone 6 and 6 plus produced. Dozens a month is not a huge problem.

Out of their press release to generate business, this whole "iPhone Touch Disease" meme was built. You may have the problem. It does exist and more will come because the government forced the electronics industry to use a new mixture of solder that did not have lead in it. Lead inhibited the growth of the Zinc and Tin whiskers. They will still grow, but at a much slower rate and not until years later.