Apple Hit With Class Action Lawsuit for New Wi-Fi Assist Feature

The MacBook producer looks at a $5 million class action lawsuit due to Wi-Fi Assist, a feature that caused debate since the release of iOS 9.

While Wi-Fi Assist can be disabled, the plaintiffs say that Apple should reimburse anyone who found they were pushed over their data usage limits.

That brings us to the class auction lawsuit, which has been brought forth by William Scott Phillips and Suzanne Schmidt Phillips. Couple that with the fact that Wi-Fi Assist is enabled by default and you have a situation where customers who have upgraded to iOS 9 and might not even have a clue that Wi-Fi Assist even exists may be heavily relying on the feature and eating away at their monthly data allotment. While it has an advantegeous goal in delivering a smooth internet connection when Wi-Fi networks are not up to their optimal speeds, Wi-Fi Assist will automatically switch to the iPhone’s cellular data to stabilize or improve the data speeds. This could be bad for people with limited data plans.

Wi-Fi Assist on iPhones running iOS 9 was created to help its users achieve optimum network connection whenever the local wireless network is found to be faulty or spotty. The feature can be toggled on or off in the Cellular section of the phone’s Settings menu. The suit also notes that Apple did not clearly explain the feature until the media covered user complaints, but that at that point it was too late for the plaintiffs.

The couple that started the lawsuit makes the claim that Apple’s behavior was both deceptive and unfair under California law, and that the tech company is guilty of negligent misrepresentation. They add that Apple falsely advertised the update to iOS 9, which led them into error. According to the federal court’s rules, the sum of $5 million in damages is the minimum threshold necessary to file such a suit.

Apple has not issued any comments on this case.