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A judge has allowed a class action lawsuit against Apple to proceed regarding allegations the company schemed to purposely “break” FaceTime on all iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S smartphones that didn’t upgrade to iOS 7.
What Is FaceTime?
FaceTime is Apple’s video and audio calling service that is built in to every iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Apple Watch and Mac.
The FaceTime app was first introduced in 2010 on the iPhone 4, which was the first iPhone sold with a front-facing camera.
Why Would Apple Stop Me From Using FaceTime?
In 2012, Apple sued and lost a lawsuit against VirnetX, a company that alleged FaceTime infringed on its patents.
After losing that case, Apple began routing FaceTime calls through servers owned by a company called Akamai Technologies Inc. Apple reportedly paid Akamai nearly $50 million to use its servers for just six months, a figure that was exposed in a 2016 retrial, according to Fortune.
Apple purportedly disabled FaceTime on iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S models that didn’t upgrade to iOS 7 because the iOS 7 operating system used a cheaper routing system for FaceTime calls.
I Heard Apple Tried To Get That Lawsuit Dismissed. What Happened?
Apple tried to persuade a California federal judge to dismiss the case based on the reasoning that no defendants were injured by FaceTime being disabled because the app is free on every iPhone. U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh ruled in July 2017 that the case could proceed.
The judge said that plaintiffs purchase iPhones based on the advertised features and that FaceTime was an advertised feature included in the purchase of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, Tech Time reported.
Why Wouldn’t Owners of the iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S Want to Migrate Their Phones to iOS 7?
The iOS 7 operating system was released on Sept. 13, 2013. Many consumers who migrated their operating systems from iOS 6 to iOS 7 reported various bugs and impaired functionality of their iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S smartphones.
Can I Try iOS 7 on My iPhone 4S But Revert to iOS 6 if I Need to?
No. Unfortunately, once you download iOS 7, Apple will not allow you to revert back to iOS 6. If your phone loses functionality after migrating to iOS 7, that is how it will remain.
What Does Apple Have to Say?
Judge Koh read an internal email that purportedly came from an Apple employee that said iOS 6 operating system users were “basically screwed” because Apple disabled FaceTime on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S smartphones that did not upgrade to iOS 7.
Does the Disabling of FaceTime Qualify as Crippleware?
This is a rather gray area because the true definition of crippleware is that a feature has been disabled until the customer buys something, such as a “key” to again enable the certain feature, according to Tech Times. Apple did not require a purchase, but required a system upgrade to be completed in order to reestablish FaceTime capability. [SAME AS
I Still Use My iPhone 4S, But I Miss Having FaceTime. What Can I Do?
If your iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S had FaceTime disabled on or after April 16, 2014, and you still have that phone, you could be eligible to join a FaceTime class action lawsuit investigation.
8 thoughts onWhy Does FaceTime Not Work on My iPhone 4S?
Man I thought I was all by myself in the iPhone 4 issue so of course I kept getting a newer phone ie 6,7,8
Please add my name. I own the iphone 4 for years just got the iphone 7 in july 2019.
I have always owned an iPhone and always had to upgrade to a new one
I still own 2 of them they did not transfer.
I owned one 4 and purchased a SECOND as a backup phone-and then?-I was Screwed…still have the phones..new batteries..as well-I was angry when My plan to have a reasonable monthly bill-Again failed since I now had to buy another ridiculous piece of tech- a New phone that -does the Worst job at its primary function-Talking to people.
I still own the 4-S I phone and mines didn’t transferred all my stuff over?
This was terrible I have always had apple phones but you were basically forced to get a new phone.
I still own the 4s but had to buy a new phone and transferred all my stuff over, do I still qualify?