Emily Sortor  |  March 4, 2020

Category: Cellphones

iPhone update screenA $500 million settlement has been reached between Apple and customers to resolve a multidistrict litigation claiming that the tech giant intentionally released iPhone updates that would slow older phone models and eventually require the users to buy new phones.

Of the $500 million, attorneys for the customers have requested as much as $93 million in fees and $1.5 million in expenses.

Class Members will receive $25 each for their phones if the payments total $310 million. If the total payments made do not add up to $310 million, the settlement terms dictate that Class Members will receive up to $500 each until the total reaches $310 million. Apple has agreed to pay no more than $500 million to compensate Class Members and attorneys. 

Class Members who may be eligible for compensation include all current or former U.S. owners of the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 7, 7 Plus, and SE smart phones, whose devices ran iOS 10.2.1 or later (for iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, and SE devices) or iOS 11.2 or later (for iPhone 7 and 7 Plus devices), and who ran these iOS versions before Dec. 21, 2017.

Now, the company and customers await preliminary approval for their settlement, the hearing for which is set for April 3, 2020. The settlement was reached with the help of retired Judge Layn R. Phillips of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. 

Representatives for the iPhone owners spoke favorably of the settlement, calling the settlement “fair, reasonable, and adequate” to Class Members and arguing that it presents “substantial benefits.”

The iPhone MDL consolidated multiple class action lawsuits across the country. In these Apple iPhone class action lawsuits, customers claimed that the company intentionally created iPhone updates that would slow down older models of the phone and intentionally released them close to the release of a new iPhone model.

Allegedly, these updates could slow the functions of the older iPhones so much that customers could no longer use the phones. According to the iPhone class action lawsuits, many customers were effectively forced into purchasing a new phone because their older iPhone no longer worked.

The customers argued that Apple was unjustly enriched by this practice and claimed that the practice harmed consumers financially. The class action lawsuits were later combined into a multidistrict litigation. This iPhone MDL survived a dismissal bid by Apple, despite having some claims trimmed by a judge in the process.

Do iPhone updates slow down your phone? Tell us about your experience in the comments below.

Class Members are represented by Mark Molumphy and Joseph W. Cotchett of Cotchett Pitre & McCarthy LLP, and David A. Straite and Laurence D. King of Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP.

The Apple iPhone Slow Down MDL is In re: Apple Inc. Device Performance Litigation, Case No. 5:18-md-02827, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. 

UPDATE: July 2020, the Apple iPhone performance class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim. 

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1,212 thoughts oniPhone Throttling MDL Ends With $500M Settlement

  1. Garth says:

    How do we file a claim as an iPhone 6s Plus owner?

  2. Timothy Schultz says:

    $25 is an insult and an assault on my intelligence. New phone cost me in excess of $600. I want my money back because it was an expense in to which I was deviously and deceptively manipulated by Apple. This was a shameless display of dishonest and reprehensible abuse of their customer base. This behavior must not be permitted and needs to be severely punished, and not only financial penalty, but a criminal punishment as well.

  3. P Joan Russell says:

    I had an iPhone 5 with the maximum memory in perfect shape and an update because the battery to expand such that it even popped the OtterBox case open Apple admitted their updates would cause battery failures yet they wanted $80 to replace the battery. Instead I bought the iPhone X for over $1000 because I had the iPhone 5 am I not eligible for any compensation?

  4. Ed forcier says:

    I have an iPhone 6splus and have had similar problems. Add me please

  5. Anita M Vigil says:

    Every time I’ve done an update my phone slowed down and then my speaker started failing depending on how I hold my phone. Seems like as soon as you pay them off it malfunctions. My phone is a 7 plus and is in perfect conditions no glass breakage or scratches
    I want in on the lawsuit

  6. Julie Pittman says:

    My daughter had an iPhone6 Plus and she updated and the phone became so slow and the charge also went away in minutes. It became not useable and had to get a new phone. She is afraid every time an update comes out now.

  7. Annie Hill says:

    Hi, my family has always used the IPhones and yes each and every time we update our phones through out the years it would get slow and we upgraded when it was time. If Apple has been doing this to us, I want to be a part of this law’s suite!

  8. Beth Susi says:

    I would like to be added please, have a very slow iPhone 6.

  9. Madison A. Hill says:

    I’ve had the iPhone 6s for quite a while now. I never planned on switching my phone, but recently, all these notifications telling it was mandatory to upgrade my phone and sometimes doing it without my permission, now I can’t keep my phone off the charger! Add me please!

  10. Windy says:

    I have always thought this to be true. As soon as phone is paid off it quits working. I always knew it was a scam. Add me please

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