Some iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus owners may be eligible for a payout as part of a $35 million settlement.
Owners of iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus devices who experienced audio chip issues may receive up to $349 in compensation as part of a 2019 lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.
To qualify, users must have owned these models between September 16, 2016, and January 3, 2023, and either complained to Apple about issues such as FaceTime, the loudspeaker, Siri, or the voice memo app not working, or paid for a related repair.
Apple has denied that these devices had such issues and any allegations of wrongdoing, according to the Settlement Administration website. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The issue involved the audio chip, which manages sound output through speakers or headphones. In September 2016, Apple removed the headphone jack from the iPhone 7 models to improve sound quality, achieve a thinner design, and enhance water resistance.
Eligible users might receive an email or postcard about the settlement. The deadline to file a claim is June 3, and the final approval hearing will be held on July 18.
This isn’t the first lawsuit payout for iPhone 7 models. Apple customers who purchased the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 7, 7 Plus, or SE before December 21, 2017, were eligible for $25 as part of the company’s settlement of a $500 million class-action lawsuit that accused Apple of slowing down older devices with system upgrades, which in turn forced users to upgrade to the latest iPhone model.
