iPhone 4 owners that felt Apple sold them a phone with bad antennas and didn’t take advantage of the free Bumper case the company offered can now sign up for their slice of a class action settlement. Participants are eligible for US$15, or a free Bumper case.
The class action lawsuit alleged that Apple intentionally misled customers by knowingly withholding information about iPhone 4 antenna performance. Lawsuits began to appear shortly after reports hit the Internet showing cell signal strength drop off when the iPhone was held in a specific way.
Apple said that all mobile phones can suffer from some signal strength loss because our hand will block some of the cell signal. Several competing smartphones were shown to do the same thing during a special press conference Apple held to address the issue.
Along with that explanation, the company also offered iPhone 4 owners a free Bumper case to help cut down on signal strength loss, said they would refund the cost of Bumper cases to customers that already purchased them, and even offered complete refunds for users that weren’t happy with their new iPhones.
To claim your $15 from the settlement, you’ll need to meet a few requirements. The settlement website states,
To be eligible for the cash payment, you must have: (a) experienced antenna or reception issues; (b) been unable to return your iPhone 4 without incurring any costs; (c) been unwilling to use a case or free bumper for your iPhone 4; and (d) completed certain troubleshooting steps or are unable to complete the troubleshooting steps because you no longer own your iPhone.
Participants have until August 28 to complete the claim form.