iPhone 4 owners begin receiving ‘antennagate’ settlement checks

check-iphone-4-settlement

Ah, who could forget the infamous iPhone 4 ‘Antennagate‘ debacle? It had barely been a month since Apple had introduced its newly-redesigned handset, when users began to complain of severe signal attenuation when holding the device a certain way.

Steve Jobs and company held a press conference to defend their product, but it wasn’t enough to keep the lawsuits at bay. Apple was forced to offer free bumpers, or $15 in cash, to iPhone 4 owners. And now, 3 years later, the checks are finally on their way…

9to5Mac reports:

“Payday has come for some of the first responders to the iPhone 4 class action lawsuit.  LastFebruary a settlement was reached that granted iPhone 4 owners who had not previously received a free bumper for their “defective” iPhones a $15 payout.  Several of our readers are now reporting that they received their settlement checks today.  The first checks were issued on April 17 2013 and are void after July 16th.”

This settlement stems from one of the larger (out of several) class action lawsuits filed against Apple for the so-called ‘Antennagate’ issued. Eligible iPhone 4 owners were told last February that they could choose either a free bumper, or $15 in cash if they 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.”

I went with the free bumper option, and got a $30 Griffin case out of the deal. So I feel like I came out on top. But it’s still nice to see that folks who opted for the cash are finally starting to receive their checks. And if you haven’t yet, it should be on the way.

You know, as much as Apple tried to downplay it, the whole Antennagate thing was actually a big deal. Not only did it result in tons of bad PR, and the firing of SVP Mark Papermaster, but it’s believed that it’ll end up costing the company $150+ million in expenses.