Apple settles class-action suit over iPhone 4 antenna, offers US customers $15 or Bumper

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014


A new settlement reached between Apple and members of a class-action lawsuit over an antenna issue with the iPhone 4 will offer U.S residents who purchased the device $15 in cash or a free bumper case.



CNet reported on Friday that preliminary approval for the settlement had been reached in the deal. The class-action complaint, which drew together 18 separate suits, accused Apple of "misrepresenting and concealing material information in the marketing, advertising, sale, and servicing of its iPhone 4--particularly as it relates to the quality of the mobile phone antenna and reception and related software."



Ira Rothken, co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs, told the publication: "We believe that the Apple iPhone 4 settlement is fair, adequate and reasonable. We believe that it allows members of the class to choose, and they can get $15 of cash or a bumper, so we believe that type of choice is proportional to the circumstances."



It's not immediately clear what limit Apple has set on the total settlement payout, but, given the success of the iPhone 4 over the past year and a half, the company could face requests for hundreds of million of dollars from tens of millions of eligible customers. Of course, any settlement is unlikely to make much of a dent in Apple's savings, as the company has stockpiled close to $100 billion in cash.



Not long after the iPhone 4 was released in June 2010, reports emerged that the handset was subject to a loss in signal when held a certain way due to Apple's antenna design, which divided the steel band around the side of the device into multiple antennas.



The issue quickly snowballed and was informally dubbed "Antennagate" by some pundits. A number of lawsuits cropped up over the issue just a week after the launch of the iPhone 4. Apple held a press conference that July to address the problem and offered free bumper cases for iPhone 4 units purchased through Sept. 30, 2010.





Apple instituted its 2010 free Bumper program via its App Store app.







Interested parties will eventually be able to get more information about the settlement at www.iPhone4Settlement.com, but the website is not up yet and is expected to go live in the coming weeks, according to the report. Eligible customers will also be notified of the settlement by email before April 30.



Apple redesigned the antenna for the iPhone 4S in order to resolve the previous generation's reception issues. The company promises better reception and fast data transfer speeds with the new design. The iPhone 4S includes new intelligent-switching technology that allows the device to transmit and receive on dual GSM and CDMA antennas.









[ View article on AppleInsider ]

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 97
    Shouldn't have given them a dime.
  • Reply 2 of 97
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member
    So what happens to those who already took advantage of the free bumper program?



    I hope Apple weeds them out as they have already been compensated.
  • Reply 3 of 97
    I thought the Apple-branded bumpers retailed for $29...
  • Reply 4 of 97
    malaxmalax Posts: 1,598member
    So after a big suit, Apple agrees to the same solution they already offered (a free bumper). At least the lawyers will get a HUGE payment.
  • Reply 5 of 97
    daharderdaharder Posts: 1,580member
    Interesting ...but at least it's over, even though it allegedly never was an issue. \
  • Reply 6 of 97
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member
    Just for fun Tim Cook should arrange for ten million bumper cases to be delivered to the law firm's office.



    Ger a delivery docket signed at reception then give a street full of trucks the signal to start unloading.
  • Reply 7 of 97
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by malax View Post


    So after a big suit, Apple agrees to the same solution they already offered (a free bumper). At least the lawyers will get a HUGE payment.



    Yep. That's why the lawyer said, "We believe that the Apple iPhone 4 settlement is fair, adequate and reasonable."
  • Reply 8 of 97
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post


    Yep. That's why the lawyer said, "We believe that the Apple iPhone 4 settlement is fair, adequate and reasonable."



    I'm not implying Apple did anything wrong, but as with all class action lawsuits, this settlement is BS. Either they did something wrong and should have to actually compensate the victims more than 2-3% of the (subsidized) purchase price of the defective product, or they shouldn't have to pay anything at all.
  • Reply 9 of 97
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by moooooser View Post


    I'm not implying Apple did anything wrong, but as with all class action lawsuits, this settlement is BS. Either they did something wrong and should have to actually compensate the victims more than 2-3% of the (subsidized) purchase price of the defective product, or they shouldn't have to pay anything at all.



    With the iPhone in the US you had 30 days to return it without a restocking fee and switch your plan back to the original one. On top of that Apple already offered the free Bumper or case, and I think they even extended the 30-day return policy. There was absolutely no reason these people would have had to endure the iPhone 4 since June 2010.
  • Reply 10 of 97
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hill60 View Post


    So what happens to those who already took advantage of the free bumper program?



    I hope Apple weeds them out as they have already been compensated.



    I"m sure they will as disqualified for this program. this kind of thing is likely why you had to submit your serial number to get a case last time and while you will have to this time as well
  • Reply 11 of 97
    Just don't hold it that way.
  • Reply 12 of 97
    I keep forgetting, were there any reports of this problem outside the United States?
  • Reply 13 of 97
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DaHarder View Post


    Interesting ...but at least it's over, even though it allegedly never was an issue. \



    It was an issue but not the level of issue that the media and these cases have tried to make it. Most people had no issue with their phones. Only those in crappy service areas were affected. Hell even Consumer Reports brought up the service area issue although all the reposts ignored that part.



    No one was ever able to prove that the antennas were actually defectively designed or that the issue was overwhelming. The bumper game before and now is just a PR ploy because it is easier to placate people with a token than to try to educate them with the facts when they don't want to hear it.
  • Reply 14 of 97
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    Well, that was worh the bother. Whoop-de-fucking-doo!!
  • Reply 15 of 97
    This is the sort of stupid thing you can do when you've got billions in the bank.



    But seriously, if it's so bad, why are these folks still using their iPhone 4? $15 seems high. $15 x however many were sold sounds like a bad business decision. I guess, like a rebate, not that many folk will really take them up on this, huh? I mean the battery on my Optimus V doesn't always last the day. I bought an extended battery for $20. Where's my settlement?
  • Reply 16 of 97
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    I keep forgetting, were there any reports of this problem outside the United States?



    A scant number of reports. All of which came from areas where service from the carrier was known to be less than stellar. And were perhaps 1/100th of a percent of the units sold in that particular country, same as in the US.



    The real Antennagate wasn't that the phones were defective or that Apple released a shoddy design, but rather that the media blew the whole thing up to sound like something huge all for the page hits that any mention of Apple gets
  • Reply 17 of 97
    Ridiculous lawsuit. Never had a problem. I guess I never learned to hold the phone purposely to screw with the reception -- something that had to be done to experience the problem.



    Maybe I can start another class action suit against CRT vendors. I still have this monitor that warps the image when I get my hand to close to the screen.



    And, my iPad can get so smudged with my hand oils that I have difficulty reading on it. I need to be compensated!
  • Reply 18 of 97
    galbigalbi Posts: 968member
    All of your are customers and should be happy that Apple is giving out fixes or compensation for us.



    Why all the hate? You people dont own Apple or even work for them.
  • Reply 19 of 97
    When you can drop a call with the light touch of a single fingertip, it's a big problem. The "poor service area" excuse was just that; an excuse?wasn't an issue with the 3 previous iPhones I've owned in the same service area (and isn't an issue with my current iPhone 4S). The problem wasn't the media blowing it out of proportion, but that the media called it good and collectively walked away with the bumper case program (cases don't fit where I use the phone most; was not a solution).



    If I used my phone as a phone more than I do, it would've been a deal-breaker and a refund for me rather than an annoyance that I decided to live with.
  • Reply 20 of 97
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by fishbert View Post


    When you can drop a call with the light touch of a single fingertip... /snip



    I have sold and handled well over a thousand iPhone 4's since they were launched (including my own), I have NEVER seen this happen, not once in eighteen months.
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