Apple Sued Over iOS 9 Wi-Fi Assist

Some people have complained about seeing a significant uptick in cellular data usage since downloading Apple's iOS 9, and now the iPhone maker is facing a legal battle over the issue.

Florida-based William Scott Phillips and Suzanne Schmidt Phillips filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple over Wi-Fi Assist, according to AppleInsider. The pair claims Apple failed to adequately warn users that the feature would use data from their cellular plan, resulting in overages.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose on Friday, argues that Apple should reimburse customers for the costs of those overages, which could top $5 million, according to the filing.

The feature in question — which is on by default within iOS 9 — switches to cellular data when you have a weak Wi-Fi connection. "For example, if you're using Safari with a poor Wi-Fi connection and a webpage doesn't load, Wi-Fi Assist will activate and automatically switch to cellular so that the webpage continues to load," Apple explains.

That's super handy and all, but ZDNet last month reported that some people were seeing their cellular data usage skyrocket on iOS 9 due to Wi-Fi Assist.

Apple earlier this month updated its About Wi-Fi Assist page with more information about the feature, but the plaintiffs claim to have incurred overages on their iPhone 5s handsets after updating to iOS 9, and say they were misled about cellular data usage on their devices.

"Plaintiffs were unaware that a simple upgrade to their operating system – as recommended by their iPhones – could result in their devices silently switching over to cellular usage," the suit says.

Apple "has attempted to downplay the nondisclosure by claiming any increase data usage would only be by a 'small percentage' for most people. But the numerous complaints available online do not support this position," according to the filing, which points to several tweets from people who were irked by increased data usage.

The suit charges Apple with violating California's Unfair Competition law, False Advertising Law, and of negligent misrepresentation.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

If you're worried about the feature gobbling extra data, you can turn it off via Settings > Cellular. Towards the bottom of the page, you'll find the Wi-Fi Assist switch; just toggle it off.