APPLE has agreed to pay some customers a settlement amount after they allegedly knew of a broken feature on one of their devices.
There have reportedly been complaints about sticky keyboards on some of Apple’s MacBooks for years, per CNET.
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In 2015, Apple introduced its butterfly keyboard design to consumers on the then-new generation of MacBooks.
Although, they immediately got pushback about the keyboards sticking and being relatively ineffective.
This ultimately led to a class-action lawsuit in 2018, with the plaintiffs alleging that Apple knew the keyboards had issues and “fraudulently concealed” them.
They further claimed that MacBooks were knowingly distributed with “characters repeating unexpectedly; letters or characters not appearing; and/or the keys feeling ‘sticky’ or not responding in a consistent manner.”
In 2019, Apple got rid of the butterfly keyboard and introduced the Magic Keyboard instead, operating on a similar typing system as most computers and laptops.
Former Apple marketing director Phil Schiller told CNET that some people liked the butterfly keyboard and others didn’t, but it ultimately had some “quality issues” they had to improve upon.
Back in July of this year, Apple ultimately agreed to a $50 million settlement in the case.
However, in the filings, they allegedly denied any wrongdoing on their part.
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Then, on November 28, a court in California granted preliminary approval, allowing some MacBook owners to receive emails about what their portion of the payout will be.
How to know if you’re eligible for a payment
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Any customer who purchased a MacBook from 2015 to 2019 and had to replace some keys on their keyboard or the entire keyboard itself is eligible for the settlement money.
A website dedicated to the lawsuit also has information on the exact models of MacBook that are included, if you’re unsure.
However, knowing how much money you’ll receive is a different story.
It reportedly all depends on how many repairs you had to have on your MacBook model.
If you had to change out multiple keyboards within four years, then you’re in the ‘Group 1 Settlement Class Members.’
That payment will be anywhere from $300 to $395 and you should be getting an email by the end of December for that.
For only one replacement, you qualify for Group 2, which will get up to $125, but you need to file a claim for that on the settlement website.
You can also still allegedly qualify for the Group 1 membership if you get two or more ‘topcase’ replacements before Nov. 28, 2024.
For more information, the phone number for a claims administrator is (855)-579-1311.
There’s a final approval hearing on March 16, 2023, for the case, so anyone who qualifies should expect payment to reach their account after that date.
For related content, The U.S. Sun has coverage of Apple’s recent issues with their AirTag accessory, as it has been used by criminals to stalk and steal.
The U.S. Sun also has the story of Apple’s warning over the specific actions that are a ‘battery killer’ for your phone or gadget.
This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
