Mikey Campbell
Apple was hit with another class action lawsuit over iOS 9's new Wi-Fi Assist feature on Friday, with plaintiffs seeking a jury trial for damages in excess of $5 million.
The complaint, filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by Arizona native William B. Cottrell, reads almost identically to a separate suit leveled in the same jurisdiction last month. Both class actions foist responsibility on Apple for not disclosing the potential for cellular data overages resulting from iOS 9's new Wi-Fi Assist feature, a move plaintiffs argue costs unwitting customers exorbitant carrier fees.
Apple is accused of negligent misrepresentation and violation of California's unfair competition law and false advertisement law for rolling out Wi-Fi Assist without first properly informing customers of its potential pitfalls. Plaintiffs go further in today's filing, saying Apple purposely mislead iOS 9 device users by omitting or concealing various material facts about the feature.
A new software function in iOS 9, Wi-Fi Assist automatically switches to a cellular data network if it determines the user's device is connected to a weak Wi-Fi signal. For example, devices connecting to a free Wi-Fi hotspot will remember that network and automatically reconnect whenever it is in range. This might pose a problem for people living in metropolitan areas, as their iPhone or iPad latches onto known networks even if it's signal is comparably weaker than an available cellular data connection.
The feature is designed to provide a seamless experience for smart device owners increasingly reliant on data connections to drive Web browsers, apps and other third-party services. Prior to Wi-Fi Assist, some users were forced to "forget" particularly bothersome networks — an iOS Settings menu option — or switch off Wi-Fi connectivity altogether.
As noted by the lawsuit, however, Apple chose to enable Wi-Fi Assist by default. While convenient, customers unaware of the feature's inclusion in iOS 9 might chew through capped data allotments thinking their device is on an all-you-can-eat Wi-Fi network.
After a barrage of complaints Apple published a support document on its website detailing how Wi-Fi Assist works and, perhaps more importantly, how to disable it. Plaintiffs, however, contend the company did not act swiftly enough.
According to today's filing, "millions" of consumers were negatively impacted by Apple's actions. It is unclear how customers are running through such large amounts of data, however, as Wi-Fi Assist does not activate with data-intensive third-party apps like music or video streamers and email clients.
Sponsored Content
Wesley Hilliard
AppleInsider Staff
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
59 Comments
I'm puzzled because I got a request to turn on this feature and I said no. If I said yes and then had overages who's fault is it?
This is what made this country great: dumb people! Having worked in corporates for a long time and we did a lot of risk assessments that were unbelievably dumb for just an average high school student, not professionals with college degrees....like : "Don't put foods/drinks in toxic chemical fridges or Do not place your hand inside this hot oven..."...
I'm puzzled because I got a request to turn on this feature and I said no. If I said yes and then had overages who's fault is it?
Actually, it really is partly Apple's. I am one of the few remaining AT&T subs who still have the original unlimited data plans. So when I updated and initially saw that notice, I naturally thought it was a fine idea. In October, I went to Spain. I remember to get an international plan with the same data plan I'd used in past travels. On day 2 I was shocked to receive a notice that I'd already used 75% or 80% of my plan. It was then that I remembered that damned data assist thing. I purchased a bigger data plan then went through iOS switching apps off from using data, and of course I nixed the data assist. Now obviously, a good deal of the above situation was my own lapse. But one of the things that killed me was that I was still mostly using my iPhone in places where I had wifi. The wifi must not have been very good and the iPhone started gobbling up my cell-data. But you have no real way of seeing that this is happening. And there's where the problem is. This is a feature that potentially will use your data very rapidly and not give you any sense of how much or how fast.
Implicit in your post is that you understood how obvious it was that you'd have overages. If it's so obvious that it needs to be turned off, then there is potential liability in creating the feature without better safeguards. Personally, I have enough money to swallow the bitter pill of my lesson. But maybe you should have a little empathy for people who were genuinely caught off guard.
I think it would be a nice feature if there was something (like a band across the top of the screen, similar to the green "phone call in background" thing) that changes color to warn you of how much "data assist" you're getting. This was a very clever feature, implemented without the attention to detail that Apple used to be good at.
[quote name="Ronbo" url="/t/190156/apple-hit-with-second-class-action-lawsuit-over-wi-fi-assist-data-overages#post_2806374"] Actually, it really is partly Apple's. I am one of the few remaining AT&T subs who still have the original unlimited data plans. So when I updated and initially saw that notice, I naturally thought it was a fine idea. In October, I went to Spain. I remember to get an international plan with the same data plan I'd used in past travels. On day 2 I was shocked to receive a notice that I'd already used 75% or 80% of my plan. It was then that I remembered that damned data assist thing. I purchased a bigger data plan then went through iOS switching apps off from using data, and of course I nixed the data assist. Now obviously, a good deal of the above situation was my own lapse. But one of the things that killed me was that I was still mostly using my iPhone in places where I had wifi. The wifi must not have been very good and the iPhone started gobbling up my cell-data. But you have no real way of seeing that this is happening. And there's where the problem is. This is a feature that potentially will use your data very rapidly and not give you any sense of how much or how fast. Implicit[COLOR=000000] in your post is that you understood how obvious it was that you'd have overages. If it's so obvious that it needs to be turned off, then there is potential liability in creating the feature without better safeguards. Personally, I have enough money to swallow the bitter pill of my lesson. But maybe you should have a little empathy for people who were genuinely caught off guard. [/COLOR] I think it would be a nice feature if there was something (like a band across the top of the screen, similar to the green "phone call in background" thing) that changes color to warn you of how much "data assist" you're getting. This was a very clever feature, implemented without the attention to detail that Apple used to be good at. [/quote] If you're WiFi is disconnected from your status bar and you're using data, then it's going to be over the cellular connection. You can also check in Settings to see what apps are using and how much they are using over the cellular connection. It's a great feature that's long overdue, but if you have a shitty route and/or a shitty wireless setup that's not Apple's fault. It's off by default.
Ehm... I'll just leave it here but first of all I agree with rondo. Meanwhile, it's interesting but why haven't I heard about any complaints and suits for Google for the very same Android feature... I guess it's because suing Apple makes your PR boosting and suing Google is not that much... ----------------- With my Regards, Denis Volin ----------------- I'm a switcher. I mean that I've switched from Apple to big SK rival earlier this year (2015) but only with mobile devices. I did it after a bit loosen fulfilling of expectations for the iOS8. Nevertheless, it took me one day to get the device, two weeks to push myself into actual using and three hours to start liking and loving it. After a month of iOS deprivation I've got clean and started questioning some recently so seemed to be brilliant Apple ideas.