San Francisco, Sep 1 (IANS): Apple has launched a free repair programme for iPhone 8 handsets that were sold between September 2017 and March 2018 with a manufacturing defect in the "logic board" which has been causing unexpected restarts, frozen screens and issues with the device turning on.

The "logic board" is the main circuit board consisting of the central processing unit (CPU), main system memory and circuitry that controls the disk drive, keyboard, monitor and peripherals.

"Apple has determined that a very small percentage of iPhone 8 devices contain 'logic boards' with a manufacturing defect. Affected units were sold in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Macau, New Zealand and the US, and if your iPhone 8 has an eligible serial number, Apple will repair it free of charge," the iPhone maker wrote in a post on the website on Friday.

The free programme covers iPhone 8 units sold up to three years after the first retail sale of the device in September 2017.

The company recommends that before submitting the device users should fix their hardware like broken screens, as well as update iCloud and iTunes, as the programme does not cover these.

"Your iPhone will be examined prior to any service to verify that it is eligible for this programme," the post added.

The Cupertino, California based company also stated that this programme does not extend the standard warranty coverage of the iPhone 8.