The deadline to register to receive a share of Apple's $35 million settlement with iPhone 7 or 7 Plus users who experienced audio problems with their device's microphone is approaching. Those eligible to make a claim can receive between $50 and $349 from the tech giant.
The deal is restricted to US residents who owned one of these phone models between September 16, 2016 and January 3, 2023 and reported a covered audio issue to Apple or they paid the company for the repairs.
The deadline for filing a claim is June 3 through the settlement website.
Those who paid for repairs can receive up to $349, while people who reported the problem but didn't pay for repairs can receive up to $125. The minimum payment for eligible claimants is $50.
The lawsuit was originally filed in 2019 by plaintiffs Joseph Casillas and De'Jhontai Banks, who bought iPhone 7s in 2017 and claimed they started having problems the following year.
“Plaintiff Casillas noticed that the sound on his phone was distorted with audible static while trying to play a video on his phone,” the complaint says. “Plaintiff Banks noticed that he could not hear callers unless he used his iPhone's speaker function. These are common indications of audio IC defect.”
The lawsuit describes the audio chip problem as a result of the phones' inadequate casing, further stating that Apple “has known about the audio IC defect for some time” and routinely refused to repair the affected phones for free.
In the settlement agreement, Apple denied the phones had audio problems and said it did nothing improper or illegal.
