Two years after the settlement of the class action lawsuit over defective MacBook computer keyboards, Apple is finally sending the payments to thousands of people who qualify for their refunds.
Although the court approved the class action settlement on May 25, 2023 and the initial review of the claims was completed, the court issued the payment order only on June 27, 2024. With this, the payments of the approved claims’ payments will be issued from the month of August 2024.
The class-action lawsuit alleges that certain MacBook laptops sold between 2015 and 2019 include a defective butterfly keyboard that could cause characters to repeat unexpectedly, or characters or letters not to appear when those keys were pressed. Some complainants claimed that the keys felt somewhat “sticky” or did not respond consistently when typing.
“I’m Not Wrong,” Says Apple, But Will Pay $50 Million to Plaintiffs
For its part, Apple has denied at all times that these are defective computers and assures that it has not done anything improper or illegal. During the process, they presented numerous defenses to the accusations, and although a settlement was reached for several million dollars, the company does not admit guilt or wrongdoing of any kind.
Who can claim payments from Apple in this $50 million class action settlement?
If you bought an Apple MacBook, MacBook Air or MacBook Pro laptop between 2015 and 2019, and did not buy it for resale, you are one of the possible beneficiaries of one of these court-ordered payments.
If your precious computer has the infamous “butterfly” keyboard, then you are part of the select group of affected, affectionately known as “Group Computers”.
This agreement brings a succulent fund of $50 million for those who suffered with the “Butterfly” keyboard of their MacBooks. The repairs covered by this wonderful agreement are two: (1) the “Topcase Replacement”, which consists of changing the entire keyboard module; and (2) the not-so-expensive “Key Replacement”, which only changes one or more keys.
Groups of class members
If Apple’s records show that they made two Topcase Replacements for you, congratulations, you’re from the exclusive Group 1. If you only had one Topcase Replacement or several Key Replacements, and still your keyboard keeps giving you problems, then you fall into Group 2 or Group 3.
The amount you will receive from the settlement depends on which group you are in. So, check your repairs and wait for your check, because, after all, suffering with a “butterfly” keyboard deserves compensation.
Some of those affected in these groups claim to have received up to $395 in a check from Apple, a despicable week when you have paid thousands of dollars for an Apple computer that claims to be one of the best in the world.
Regardless of the type of repair you received, you should have already filed a claim, as all deadlines expired on March 6th. If you did not make the claim in time you have been excluded from this class action settlement, and you will not be able to sue Apple for this same issue or claim a payment of the $50 million.
