Apple Hit With Two Class Action Lawsuits Over iPhone 7 Audio Issues

[JedWare]

Two of the Six iPhones I purchased had this issue. My daughter was forced to upgrade her phone to have something that worked. My son currently has this issue and doesn't have money to upgrade so is stuck with a phone that can't make or receive calls and heaven forbid if he has to reboot the phone.

This lawsuit is justified and Apple's removal of past acknowledgement of problem makes it seem all the more reasonable.

 

[MattMJB0188]

I'll assume that you're paying for their new iPhones?

After you...

 

[4ransom]

i see, well yes, that is unfortunate. still doesn't justify a lawsuit imho. i've had a serious of issues over the years, some that apple won't even acknowledge, but i think these lawsuits are just silly.
[doublepost=1557254448][/doublepost]

that's terrible advice) i had a 7 - it was fine, my wife still uses hers. and if she buys a new one, it will come with warranty.

[doublepost=1557265165][/doublepost]Good luck come September with that iPhone 7!

 

[alexandr]

[doublepost=1557265165][/doublepost]
Good luck come September with that iPhone 7!

yes? did i say that the 7 was the only iphone i owned?.. or did you mean something else?

 

[4ransom]

Obsolete is a strong word. My iphone 7 plus is going strong and shows no signs of dying any time soon.

I want at least another year out of it, two more would be great

That’s cool if you don’t want the latest iOS.

 

[MRI3T]

What Apple does by forcing these people to upgrade their devices is what’s breeding this sort of rude attitude toward a big issue like this. My very best friend and I bought our iPhone 7 Plus’ together on the same day. Just over a year and a half or so, past warranty, and I’ve already upgraded to the iPhone X, her phone has this issue. I swap her out with my old one and it almost immediately had the same issue. She is, like I’m sure many are, not in a financial position to just add monthly costs to their phone bills for upgrades that shouldn’t be necessary for what should be a perfectly working and still relevant phone. A lot of people fail to think about those struggling to just pay their normal bills and can’t even use hand me down phones because of an issue like this one. I hope this gains traction and they make a repair or replacement possible

I’m glad you clarified that it was your “very best friend”...??? Random?? Anyways, i agree that we shouldn’t have to deal with these simple defects, especially when apple is charging 1000$ or more for these phones.... but does your “very best friend” have an issue with always placing her phone in her very back pocket??? These phones, believe it or not, are NOT meant to be repeatedly sat on ???? Just saying....

 

[4ransom]

yes? did i say that the 7 was the only iphone i owned?.. or did you mean something else?

No that’s what I meant.

 

[rizzo41999]

Happens to me often.

 

[alexandr]

No that’s what I meant.

yea, you shouldn't assume things. the 7 i actually had absolutely no issues with for the 2 years that i used it. the 4s had some cracking sound issues, and of course the infamous 4 antenna problem.

 

[DeepIn2U]

This is a real issue, my brother had to replace his phone over it. People couldn't hear him on phone calls.

I've also experienced this o 2 separate iPhone 7 256GB models ... I really really loved that iPhone the most thus far (since iPhone 3GS). Either way I think this suit will be settled as small fries to Apple - a Warranty/Out-of-Warranty upgrade to the same spec iPhone 8 would be sufficient to all users (with proof of purchase or contract and ownership via their device registered to iCloud) would suffice. Nobody looses TouchID, nobody looses functionality, better IP spec, slighter better battery life (plus new), same storage, same ecosystem sandbox, no real data lost (end users responsibility of course) ... and new warranty (new devices).

I think that would be a VERY fare resolution ... customer wins ... Apple wins (retention of disgruntled users being happy, potentially furthering services revenue).
[doublepost=1557286433][/doublepost]

Apple really needs to be sued over the claim of the new iPhones being IP67 water resistant. I have seen so many people with damaged phones because of rain, puddles, splash damage and users are not as careful because they think the phones are water resistant to a depth of 3 feet for 30 minutes.

On stage Apple protected themselves, and in commercials with fine print NOT to submerge the iPhone 7 as that can voice warranty. Splashes acceptable. I do not agree with Apple on that, but any case against them would fail due to the fine print.
[doublepost=1557287342][/doublepost]

My theory, the defect would manifest after usage, so no amount of testing could’ve predicted it. Apple then rely on its support system to gauge whether the problem is real or not. I’m sure they have internal metrics to see if there’s a really underlying consistent issue across many devices from different batches (meaning actual design flaw), or it’s an occasional issue but the numbers are not significant enough to make an obvious correlation with a real design flaw.

The problem is, this support system relies on humans, both users and the genius, and I’m sure the reporting process are not entirely foolproof.

We’ll see if this lawsuits go somewhere. Apple is known to take risks in allowing things just because Ive team wanted it. Case in point antennagate, where it is revealed that Apple engineers did warn Jobs about it, but Jobs sided with Ive, and the rest is history.

You have your facts slightly wrong.

Jony Ive was NOT involved with the iPhone 4 Antennae gate! It was an IBM engineer that proposed this ...

https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-exec-mark-papermaster-leaves-probably-because-of-antennagate-2010-8
Mark Papermaster, Apple SVP for devices hardware engineering, has left the company (7.8.2010 - Aug 7th, 2010)

Papermaster joined Apple in 2008 from IBM. IBM sued Apple over the hiring of Papermaster, so you know this wasn't just another executive. Clearly Apple thought very highly of him at one point. But that's all in the past now

Bob Mansfield, previously solely responsible for the Macintosh hardware division took over Papermaster's responsibilities.

Jobs thought this was a COOL braggin right and chose to stick with Papermaster then. It worked quite well for me here on Rogers Wireless in Toronto ... network congestion I'm sure was nowhere even close to 1/10TH that of NYC for AT&T/Cingular or even T-Mobile USA. Yet it was a big issue.

 

[Silicon-Surfer]

The IP68 (XS, XS Max) standard means that a device is dust tight and mostly water resistant, meaning some water may get in.

This is not correct.

The first digit in the Ingress Protection rating refers to protection from solids, and 6 is the highest being fully sealed against all solids - even fine dust. The second digit is protection from water, 7 is short-term protection from shallow submersion, 8 indicates protection from long term submersion. No way can something be IP68 and get any water inside.

You correctly highlight that damage such as bending or even having the screen replaced will compromise the IP protection and allow water ingress.

 

[DeepIn2U]

On an aside ... does anyone feel that the iPhone 4/4S has stronger front glass than even the current iPhones?

 

[cbaca51]

These lawsuits are always so funny to me

I’ve owned the 4s, 5s, 6s, 7 and now the X and every time there’s some “-gate”, I’ve never experienced it

 

[iamMacPerson]

These lawsuits are always so funny to me

I’ve owned the 4s, 5s, 6s, 7 and now the X and every time there’s some “-gate”, I’ve never experienced it

Just because an issue didn’t affect you doesn’t mean it didn’t exist. I have a 2018 MBP, and haven’t had a single keyboard problem, but I know the problem exists because, last time I was at the Genius Bar, most Mac appointments were for keyboard issues. To add to it, there is a repair program out for it.

Apple obviously knows it’s an issue. They had a repair program for it at one point that just abruptly and arbitrarily ended. I never had the problem with my 7 Plus, neither did my father or grandmother. But my brother and sister in law had the issue on their 7 Plus and 7 respectively. So if 0% failure rate for you means it doesn’t exist, then I submit my results of a 40% failure rate to show that it does, indeed, exist. I should add all but mine (which was ProductRED) were early units (within a month of launch).

 

[DJDarkGift]

What a dumb case. You really can sue for anything in the USA lol.

This Class Action case is no dumber than your comment. I had this issue with my iPhone 7, and when I got someone from Apple on the phone they walked me through some basic commands and tests that would help them see what the issue may have been and having heard of the Loop Disease in the news was hoping this wasn't the case. The Apple Rep eventually told me there was an issue with a piece of hardware in my phone and that I would have to take it to my nearest Apple Store or an Authorized Service Provider. Well I checked their list of locations and had a Best Buy (which Apple itself has them listed as an ASP and upon getting to the store the Geek Squad idiot tells me that there wasn't anything he could do for my phone and that I needed to take it to the Apple Store. I guess you all can see where I'm going with this one?

So I scheduled an appointment for the Apple Store, they did some kind of test in-store then told me that they had to send the phone out to California to be fixed and that I'd have it back in a week. When I stated that I needed my phone for business reasons they told me that they did not have any loaner phones at that store, and when I asked to speak to the Associates Bosses Boss they somehow "Located a phone for me to use while mine was being fixed." After getting the call back that my phone had come in I proceeded to the store to pick it up and when the Associate and I tried to power it up after sticking my SIM back into it, it would not connect to my cellular network. After wasting some more of my overflowing free time, the Associate went into the back of the store and walked out with a brand new phone because she couldn't get my repaired one up and running. I then had to make several trips around the mall between the Sprint and Apple Stores because the new phone would not activate with my Sim Card and eventually I had to get a new sim from the Sprint folks who were more than 1000% more helpful than those over at the Apple Store.

I myself was so relieved to get a working phone back, and was grateful that the Associate was able to give me a brand new phone because I had no way of paying for a pricey repair let alone a brand new device. Which is why I just love many of the usual discussion group trolls suggesting to just run out and buy a new phone, or upgrade to a new device. I commend those compassionate members here who've commented that not everyone can afford to run out and just buy a new one, but then again, those that were suggesting that probably still live in their parents basements and their phone and service is on their parents accounts.

 

[iamMacPerson]

This Class Action case is no dumber than your comment. I had this issue with my iPhone 7, and when I got someone from Apple on the phone they walked me through some basic commands and tests that would help them see what the issue may have been and having heard of the Loop Disease in the news was hoping this wasn't the case. The Apple Rep eventually told me there was an issue with a piece of hardware in my phone and that I would have to take it to my nearest Apple Store or an Authorized Service Provider. Well I checked their list of locations and had a Best Buy (which Apple itself has them listed as an ASP and upon getting to the store the Geek Squad idiot tells me that there wasn't anything he could do for my phone and that I needed to take it to the Apple Store. I guess you all can see where I'm going with this one?

So I scheduled an appointment for the Apple Store, they did some kind of test in-store then told me that they had to send the phone out to California to be fixed and that I'd have it back in a week. When I stated that I needed my phone for business reasons they told me that they did not have any loaner phones at that store, and when I asked to speak to the Associates Bosses Boss they somehow "Located a phone for me to use while mine was being fixed." After getting the call back that my phone had come in I proceeded to the store to pick it up and when the Associate and I tried to power it up after sticking my SIM back into it, it would not connect to my cellular network. After wasting some more of my overflowing free time, the Associate went into the back of the store and walked out with a brand new phone because she couldn't get my repaired one up and running. I then had to make several trips around the mall between the Sprint and Apple Stores because the new phone would not activate with my Sim Card and eventually I had to get a new sim from the Sprint folks who were more than 1000% more helpful than those over at the Apple Store.

I myself was so relieved to get a working phone back, and was grateful that the Associate was able to give me a brand new phone because I had no way of paying for a pricey repair let alone a brand new device. Which is why I just love many of the usual discussion group trolls suggesting to just run out and buy a new phone, or upgrade to a new device. I commend those compassionate members here who've commented that not everyone can afford to run out and just buy a new one, but then again, those that were suggesting that probably still live in their parents basements and their phone and service is on their parents accounts.

I’m curious if this swap was done during the repair extension or before it. I wonder if your phone was sent to engineering for testing so they could have a real life example of the issue. Regardless, I know where you’re coming from. My sister in law’s phone was replaced while the program was in place, on top of it she had AppleCare. My brother’s phone failed a month later, just 2 days after the silent repair program ended. It was a bad time to find out that the incapable rep from the store they bought them from only put AppleCare on her phone and not his, as they had requested, and they had to plead with the manager to swap it. I don’t even think it was 2 days between them ending the program and his Genius Bar visit, it was more like 36 hours from what the genius said.

Luckily the manager did the right thing and authorized the swap. The phone would intermittently either boot loop or hang at start up if you had to reboot it. And this phone was babied. It was in an Otterbox case with a Zagg screen protector.

I hope Apple does the right thing. Heck, they still sell the iPhone 7. I think a lot of people forget that.
[doublepost=1557301150][/doublepost]

That’s cool if you don’t want the latest iOS.

iPhone 5s was released in 2013 and is still getting software updates, and will continue to do so until iOS 13 is released this fall. That’s 6 full years of software support. iPhone 7 will be easily supported until 2022, through iOS 15. Apple still sells iPhone 7. Rumors of it being dropped from software support are greatly exaggerated.

 

[DragonX]

I wonder when the iPad finally gets a proper class action lawsuit treatment with its unresponsive touchscreen in all new models?

 

[4ransom]

yea, you shouldn't assume things. the 7 i actually had absolutely no issues with for the 2 years that i used it. the 4s had some cracking sound issues, and of course the infamous 4 antenna problem.

I'm a huge proponent for using an iPhone model as long as possible (being that it still works). I wish my 7 did. I felt it was a pretty solid model till I updated it to 12.1 and lost the audio capability completely. There are enough instances I found online of this being a real problem (for Apple to not acknowledge). I answered a question to someone who wanted to buy a 7 for their son to avoid it especially with new iPhone models and an overhauled iOS coming out in 4 months. You should be responding to their post (not mine) on how great the 7 is because I know it's not.

 

[alexandr]

I'm a huge proponent for using an iPhone model as long as possible (being that it still works). I wish my 7 did. I felt it was a pretty solid model till I updated it to 12.1 and lost the audio capability completely. There are enough instances I found online of this being a real problem (for Apple to not acknowledge). I answered a question to someone who wanted to buy a 7 for their son to avoid it especially with new iPhone models and an overhauled iOS coming out in 4 months. You should be responding to their post (not mine) on how great the 7 is because I know it's not.

i did respond to her post, not to worry. honestly if you google any smartphone model, i'm positive you'll find many instances of many problems. i'm in no way trying to tell you that you're making the problem up, i'm just saying i know many people with 7's, myself and my wife included, who had no issues whatsoever.

 

[acconda81]

Americans don't do much besides sueing each other trying to get rich

They stand up for their rights, where everyone just accepts **** and rolls over. Somethings can be excessive, but Apple are ********ters, coming from a previously long term fan.

 

[ElRojito]

This is a real issue, my brother had to replace his phone over it. People couldn't hear him on phone calls.

As a former technician, I empathize with that. I hated charging people for this issue -- it was so frequent!

 

[mi7chy]

I wonder when the iPad finally gets a proper class action lawsuit treatment with its unresponsive touchscreen in all new models?

Also class action for Fake ID.

Tons more on YouTube by searching for "face id fail".

 

[dannyyankou]

As a former technician, I empathize with that. I hated charging people for this issue -- it was so frequent!

Well there you have it, hard proof from someone who dealt with these cases first hand. Copy and paste Apple’s statement with the butterfly keyboards and change a couple words, it’ll probably look like this:

“We are aware that a small number of users are having issues with phone calls on the iPhone 7 and for that we are sorry. The vast majority of iPhone 7 customers are having a positive experience with phone calls.”

 

[I7guy]

Also class action for Fake ID.

Tons more on YouTube by searching for "face id fail".

Nothing like the high bar Youtube sets for anecdotal scientific evidence.

 

[JosephAW]

This is one of the many reasons I don't upgrade my iOS 10 iPhone 7+ to iOS 12 because once you update and the audio cuts out you have to pay $300 to fix the new software issue.