In a nutshell: If you bought an iPhone 7 or 7 Plus that suffered from microphone issues, you may be eligible to receive between $50 and $349 as part of Apple's $35 million class action settlement. If you believe you are entitled to a payment, make sure to file your claim before the June 3, 2024, deadline.
To be eligible for some money, you need to be a US resident and have proof of ownership of an iPhone 7 or 7 Plus between September 16, 2016, and January 3, 2023. You also need to have reported the audio issue to Apple within that time frame or paid from your own pocket to fix it. If you satisfy all the aforementioned conditions, head over to the class action lawsuit's official website and file a claim within the stipulated time frame.
To file a claim, print out and fill in the Payment Attestation Form, then mail it to the Philadelphia address provided on the website. You will also have to inform the Settlement Administrator of how you want to receive the payment. The offered modes include electronic check, physical check, and ACH transfer. In addition, the claimants will need to provide their email address along with banking information or mailing address for the payment's distribution.
Do note that if you choose to stay in the Settlement Class, you will give up the right to sue Apple in a separate lawsuit for the same issue. You can opt out of the settlement and retain your right to sue Apple later, but in that case, you will not be entitled to receive any payment from this settlement.
You could also object to this settlement by writing to the court about what you don't like and what you think needs to happen for you to accept it. The court overseeing the case has yet to decide whether to approve this settlement, so your letter could still influence the decision.
The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in 2019, alleged that the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus had a faulty audio chip that resulted in various issues, including problems with hearing the person at the other end of the line during voice calls.
The issue was initially attributed to a buggy iOS 11.3 rollout before it was established that it was due to a malfunctioning audio IC. Apple eventually offered free repairs for all affected devices, but that didn't stop disenchanted owners from going to court.