Apple Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over Erroneous 'This Accessory May Not Be Supported' Alerts

[MacRumors]

California resident Monica Emerson has filed a class action lawsuit against Apple this week, accusing the company of releasing iOS updates which were "specifically designed and programmed to reject, starting on November of 2016, old iPhone chargers from properly charging the iPhones."

Image Credit: iGeeksBlog​

The complaint, obtained by MacRumors, alleges that Emerson bought an iPhone 7 in September 2016 and charged the device with Apple's power adapter included in the box without issue until around October 2017, when it stopped working alongside the alert "this accessory may not be supported."

In or around October 2017, Plaintiff attempted to use her Apple Charger and received a message that read "This accessory may not be supported." Thus, requiring that people buy a new charger for her iPhone. Upon learning this, Plaintiff felt ripped off, cheated, and violated by Defendant.

The alert is part of Apple's system that aims to protect iOS devices against potentially dangerous aftermarket accessories.

Emerson believes the alert forced her and thousands of other customers in her situation to buy new chargers, with total claims exceeding $5 million. As a result, she is suing Apple for damages, accusing the company of false advertising, unfair business practices, fraud, and other violations of California laws.

Emerson supposedly always used Apple's first-party charger, but it's unclear whether it was connected to the iPhone with an Apple-certified Lightning to USB cable under the Made for iPhone program. If she was using an Apple power adapter with an uncertified cable, then the message was correctly displayed.

While it's hard to believe that Apple released an iOS update that prevented its own chargers from working--it simply doesn't make sense--there have been scattered complaints of the "this accessory may not be supported" system throwing false positives for Apple-certified chargers and cables over the years.

False positives can occur for a variety of reasons, including something as simple as a dirty pin on the Lightning connector.

Emerson is seeking a jury trial in the U.S. District Court for Central California.

Emerson v. Apple Inc. et al by undefined#from_embed on Scribd​

Article Link: Apple Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over Erroneous 'This Accessory May Not Be Supported' Alerts

 

[Maclver]

Ohhhh FFS....

 

[JWiLL1988]

So instead of going to the Genius Bar or calling customer service to have it replaced for free, let’s file a lawsuit.

America

 

[normang]

I find i t amazing that she might get anyone to join such and obviously frivolous lawsuit... The warning is largely to protect you from using chargers that may burn your house down..

 

[I7guy]

Hopefully this goes into the bit-bucket, and quickly.

 

[mcalict]

No company can win in our litigious society. You fail to protect people and you're sued. You proactively protect people and you're sued.

 

[Baymowe335]

Yawn. Next.

 

[macduke]

This is some class action BS. The warning is to help save people from all the dangerous knockoff chargers and cables on Amazon and elsewhere that have caught people on fire or electrocuted/shocked them or fried their phones. She, like many other people probably bought one of these $1 cables and is too dumb to know the difference.

 

[ikramerica]

It’s the cable lady. It’s alwsts the cable. If your cable is damaged OR your lightning port is clogged with lint, this will happen.

The iPhone 7 will charge with ANY USB power source capable of delivering power to it. Apple charger, third party, computer (Mac or pc), powered usb hub, chargers built into power strips, built into wall outlets, airplane seats, cars. I’ve used them all with my 7.

It just requires a good cable. No iOS update for the iPhone 7 has disabled any chargers, not even a dot release via temporary bug. But a bad cable won’t send the right confirmation to the iPhone.

 

[AngerDanger]

Thank goodness! I was really struggling for those few hours since somebody filed a class action lawsuit!

 

[CaptMarvel]

These lawsuits seem like frivolous attempts to regain money from overpriced Apple products. Seriously, for an alert that you can dismiss?

 

[Kaibelf]

It would be great if people who are found to have brought frivolous lawsuits were forced to pay the legal costs of those they sue regardless of any countersuit from the other party. A lien on their taxes/home or a reduction in their benefits would put a quick stop to a lot of these get-rich-quick schemes.

 

[scrapesleon]

Alright y’all getting out of hand with these ridiculous lawsuits

 

[Blackstick]

They'll "think different" when their cheap $5 gas station charger starts a fire in their house.

Don't cheap out on electrical gadgets, folks...

 

[NinjaHERO]

Can I sue Apple for damages because of all these silly lawsuits I have to read about??

 

[deannnnn]

50 bucks says she bought an aftermarket charger on Amazon thinking it was a genuine Apple product.

 

[scrapesleon]

Your cable is probably fake

 

[EvilEvil]

Good. I hope she wins. I get these error messages every now and then with official Apple lightning cables.

 

[tylersdad]

We used to see this message all the time in our GMC Acadia. And that was when we had it plugged into the USB port in the Acadia. It was just refuse to charge or play music. It didn't happen every time. The USB ports were clean and so were the cables. I even tried using brand new cables, but it would just intermittently give us that message.

Super frustrating and it's not like you can return a car like you can the wall wort.

 

[Apple2GS]

"Upon learning this, Plaintiff felt ripped off, cheated, and violated by Defendant."

Violated? Lawyers.

 

[now i see it]

I've had one genuine Apple cable I purchased directly from Aople fail with this warning as well.

I also had one "perfect counterfeit" eBay Apple fake cable fail in this manner too. The eBay China fake Apple cables look identical to genuine Apple cables in every way, even when under a magnifying glass. So does its box. Perfect copy. But the box had Chinese writing on it too, where the genuine Apple box did not.

As stated in this article- she'd have to prove that she used a genuine Apple cable- and that's really hard to do.

 

[Attirex]

$100 bux says there is 3 lbs of lint gunking up inside of lightning port on "Monica's" phone.

 

[Abazigal]

The message isn’t wrong. It stated that her product *might* not be supported (meaning there is still a chance that it might), not that it would not be.

 

[code-m]

They'll "think different" when their cheap $5 gas station charger starts a fire in their house.

Don't cheap out on electrical gadgets, folks...

Monster Cables

Hopefully if there are any licensing fees for MFi it is further reduced or eliminated. Still think this class-action is an over reaction.
[doublepost=1549381672][/doublepost]

"Upon learning this, Plaintiff felt ripped off, cheated, and violated by Defendant."

Violated? Lawyers.

Free lightening cables and power adapters for all.

 

[DocMultimedia]

The alert message on my iPhone isn't quite the same color as it used to be in iOS 8. Anyone want to join me in filing a lawsuit? /sarcasm

 

[1rottenapple]

No company can win in our litigious society. You fail to protect people and you're sued. You proactively protect people and you're sued.

Exactly this person is a scumbag. This error has happened to me. I plug, unplug, it works again. It has never occurred to me to sue the company. Heck Anker and other cable manufacturers have better quality cables for a cheaper price.
[doublepost=1549381794][/doublepost]

We used to see this message all the time in our GMC Acadia. And that was when we had it plugged into the USB port in the Acadia. It was just refuse to charge or play music. It didn't happen every time. The USB ports were clean and so were the cables. I even tried using brand new cables, but it would just intermittently give us that message.

Super frustrating and it's not like you can return a car like you can the wall wort.

Did you try to sue apple lol.