You Have Less Than a Week to Declare Your Participation in the Global Agreement to Restrict Access to the Apple IPhone
Earlier this year, Apple admitted it was secretly suppressing older iOS devices and subsequently agreed to pay $ 500 million to settle a class action lawsuit . Millions of iPhone owners are eligible for a payout share, but you have less than a week to submit your claim (s) – deadline is Tuesday, October 6th.
You are eligible for a settlement if you have one of the following iPhones before December 21, 2017:
- An iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus, or SE with iOS 10.2.1 or later.
- An iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus with iOS 11.2 or later.
Under the terms of the settlement , claimants are eligible for up to $ 25 for each eligible device, and you need to file individual claims for each device. The amount you receive depends on the number of claims received – if more than $ 500 million is claimed, your individual payment may be less than $ 25.
If you have a suitable device, you can go to the website created for iPhone owners in the United States; there you will find more information and several options for applying online or by mail.
In either of these ways, you will need the serial number of your eligible device – and if you don’t have one on hand, you can find it by entering more information on the online claim form.
In addition, you can exclude yourself from the settlement , which will allow you to sue Apple directly in the future on similar issues. You can also object to the settlement, ask to speak at the final hearing, or do nothing at all if you don’t like money, I suppose. The only way to get money is to apply by the October 6th deadline.
Of course, you won’t see your money right away. The Settlement FAQ notes that the judge in the case can sign the deal after the final hearing on December 4, but if there are any appeals, the process could drag on for a longer time and delay payments.
Update: This story was originally published in July 2020 by Emily Long. We’ve updated it to remind you of the timeline.