Apple is offering a settlement of up to $349 to United States residents who experienced audio problems with their iPhone 7 or 7 Plus between September 16, 2016, and January 3, 2023.
CBS News reports that the tech giant has set aside $35 million to compensate users who reported covered audio issues to Apple or paid for repairs related to the problem. The settlement comes as a result of a lawsuit filed in 2019 by plaintiffs Joseph Casillas and De’Jhontai Banks, who claimed they experienced distorted sound and inability to hear callers without using the speaker function on their iPhone 7 devices purchased in 2017.
According to the complaint, “Plaintiff Casillas noticed that his phone’s sound was distorted with audible static while attempting to play a video on his phone. Plaintiff Banks noticed that she was unable to hear callers unless she used her iPhone’s speaker function. These are common indications of the Audio IC Defect.”
The lawsuit alleged that the audio chip issue was caused by inadequate casing on the phones and that Apple was aware of the problem but routinely refused to repair affected devices free of charge. However, in the settlement agreement, Apple denied the existence of any audio issues and maintained that it did nothing improper or unlawful.
How to know if you’re eligible
- Customers who either paid for a iPhone 7 or 7 Plus audio repair or reported an audio issue to Apple without paying for a repair are eligible.
- You must have owned an iPhone 7 or 7 Plus between September 16, 2016, and January 3, 2023.
- Customers who paid for repairs are eligible to receive up to $349.
- Those that reported issues but did not pay for repairs are eligible to receive up to $125.
- The minimum payout is $50.
You can find out if you qualify for compensation and submit a claim by June 3rd at the settlement website here.
