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The deadline to file for a piece of Apple’s $35 million settlement with some iPhone 7 users is approaching. Here’s who qualifies.
The deadline is approaching to register to receive a piece of Apple’s $35 million settlement with iPhone 7 or 7 Plus users who experienced audio issues with their device’s microphone. Those eligible to make a claim can be awarded $50 to $349 from the tech giant.
The settlement is restricted to United States residents who owned one of those phone models between September 16, 2016 and January 3, 2023, and reported a covered audio issue to Apple or paid the company for repairs.
The deadline to submit a claim is June 3 via the settlement website.
Those who paid for repairs can receive a maximum of $349, while people who reported the issue but didn’t pay for repairs can receive up to $125. The minimum payout for eligible claimants is $50.
The lawsuit was originally filed in 2019 by plaintiffs Joseph Casillas and De’Jhontai Banks, who both purchased iPhone 7’s in 2017 and claimed they began experiencing issues the following year.
“Plaintiff Casillas noticed that his phone’s sound was distorted with audible static while attempting to play a video on his phone,” the complaint reads. “Plaintiff Banks noticed that she was unable to hear callers unless she used her iPhone’s speaker function. These are common indications of the Audio IC Defect.”
The suit describes the audio chip issue as a result of inadequate casing on the phones, further claiming that Apple has “long been aware of the Audio IC Defect” and routinely refused to repair affected phones free of charge.
In the settlement agreement, Apple denied the phones had any audio issues and said it did nothing improper or unlawful.
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A teacher and student killed in a shooting earlier this week at a school in Madison, Wisconsin, were identified Wednesday by authorities.
The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office said in a news release provided to CBS News that 42-year-old Erin West and 14-year-old Rubi Vergara were fatally shot Monday morning at Abundant Life Christian School.
Preliminary examinations determined the two died of “homicidal firearm related trauma.” Both were pronounced dead at the scene, the medical examiner said.
An online obituary on a local funeral site stated Vergara was a freshman who leaves behind her parents, one brother, and a large extended family. It described her as “an avid reader” who “loved art, singing and playing keyboard in the family worship band.”
West’s exact position with the school was unclear.
The medical examiner also confirmed that a preliminary autopsy found that the suspected shooter, 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow — a student at the same school — was pronounced dead at a local hospital Monday of “firearm related trauma.” Madison Chief of Police Shon F. Barnes had previously told reporters that Rupnow was pronounced dead while being transported to a hospital.
Police had also previously stated that she was believed to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The shooting at the private Christian K-12 school was reported just before 11 a.m. Monday. In addition to the two people killed and the shooter, six others were wounded.
Police said the shooting occurred in a classroom where a study hall was taking place involving students from several grades.
A handgun was recovered after the shooting, Barnes said, but it was unclear where the gun came from or how many shots were fired. A law enforcement source said the weapon used in the shooting appears to have been a 9 mm pistol.
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