You might remember that I wrote about a new feature in iOS 9 called WiFi Assist and why you might want to turn it off. My logic was as follows:
This feature was designed to help you in situations where your WiFi connection isn’t the best by automatically switching over to cellular data so that you can do whatever it is that you need to do. Plus you won’t need to manually disable WiFi in that situation. The catch is that if you have a capped mobile phone plan, you’re going to consume more data That may not be desirable for some.
It clearly was not desirable for someone as Apple has been served with a lawsuit. Here’s the details from AppleInsider:
In the complaint, plaintiffs William Scott Phillips and Suzanne Schmidt Phillips allege that because of costs related to Wi-Fi Assist, the “overall amount in controversy exceeds” $5 million. Filed in a U.S. District Court in San Jose on Friday, the suit was first discovered by AppleInsider.
Once users update to iOS 9, Wi-Fi Assist is turned on by default. Its goal is ensure a smooth Internet experience, switching to cellular data in the event that the user is connected to a weak Wi-Fi signal.
The complaint asserts that Apple did not properly explain Wi-Fi Assist on its website until only after a “flood of articles” were written about unintended cellular data use. For the plaintiffs, that addition to the website was too little, too late.
“Defendant’s above corrective action, however, still downplays the possible data overcharges a user could incur,” the suit reads. “Reasonable and average consumers use their iPhones for streaming of music, videos, and running various applications — all of which can use significant data. Defendant’s corrective statement does not disclose any basis for its conclusion that an average consumer would not see much increase in cellular usage.”
The suit states that the plaintiffs incurred overuse charges on both of their iPhone 5s units after upgrading to iOS 9. It did not say exactly how much those charges were, but asserts that the plaintiffs and the class were mislead about cellular data usage on their devices.
In the complaint, Apple is accused of violating California’s Unfair Competition Law, the state’s False Advertising Law, and of negligent misrepresentation.
My $0.02 worth. Apple should have kept the feature off by default and had users turn it on if they so choose. Having said that, Apple does explain in this document how this feature works, and it’s pretty clear as it goes into a fair amount of detail. So as a result, I’m pretty sure that while Apple didn’t exactly do themselves any favors by enabling this feature by default, they’re going to dodge this lawsuit as they have the feature decently documented. Though I would like to know how the plaintiffs came up with that $5 million figure.
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This entry was posted on October 26, 2015 at 3:39 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags Apple, Lawsuit. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Apple Gets Served With A Lawsuit Over WiFi Assist Feature
You might remember that I wrote about a new feature in iOS 9 called WiFi Assist and why you might want to turn it off. My logic was as follows:
This feature was designed to help you in situations where your WiFi connection isn’t the best by automatically switching over to cellular data so that you can do whatever it is that you need to do. Plus you won’t need to manually disable WiFi in that situation. The catch is that if you have a capped mobile phone plan, you’re going to consume more data That may not be desirable for some.
It clearly was not desirable for someone as Apple has been served with a lawsuit. Here’s the details from AppleInsider:
In the complaint, plaintiffs William Scott Phillips and Suzanne Schmidt Phillips allege that because of costs related to Wi-Fi Assist, the “overall amount in controversy exceeds” $5 million. Filed in a U.S. District Court in San Jose on Friday, the suit was first discovered by AppleInsider.
Once users update to iOS 9, Wi-Fi Assist is turned on by default. Its goal is ensure a smooth Internet experience, switching to cellular data in the event that the user is connected to a weak Wi-Fi signal.
The complaint asserts that Apple did not properly explain Wi-Fi Assist on its website until only after a “flood of articles” were written about unintended cellular data use. For the plaintiffs, that addition to the website was too little, too late.
“Defendant’s above corrective action, however, still downplays the possible data overcharges a user could incur,” the suit reads. “Reasonable and average consumers use their iPhones for streaming of music, videos, and running various applications — all of which can use significant data. Defendant’s corrective statement does not disclose any basis for its conclusion that an average consumer would not see much increase in cellular usage.”
The suit states that the plaintiffs incurred overuse charges on both of their iPhone 5s units after upgrading to iOS 9. It did not say exactly how much those charges were, but asserts that the plaintiffs and the class were mislead about cellular data usage on their devices.
In the complaint, Apple is accused of violating California’s Unfair Competition Law, the state’s False Advertising Law, and of negligent misrepresentation.
My $0.02 worth. Apple should have kept the feature off by default and had users turn it on if they so choose. Having said that, Apple does explain in this document how this feature works, and it’s pretty clear as it goes into a fair amount of detail. So as a result, I’m pretty sure that while Apple didn’t exactly do themselves any favors by enabling this feature by default, they’re going to dodge this lawsuit as they have the feature decently documented. Though I would like to know how the plaintiffs came up with that $5 million figure.
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This entry was posted on October 26, 2015 at 3:39 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags Apple, Lawsuit. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.