Apple is facing a class action lawsuit alleging the company misled consumers with the release of iOS 7, and effectively made older iPhone models obsolete thanks to WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity issues. The suit claimed WiFi is disabled on many older iPhone after iOS 7 is installed, leaving several features unusable, and blocking the ability to install new OS updates.
Owners of older iPhone models sue Apple over iOS 7 feature issues
The lawsuit focuses on an issue where the iPhone's WiFi settings are greyed out and disabled so users can't join wireless networks. Without WiFi, the plaintiffs say, they can't perform iCloud backups or install software updates, and they're forced to use their cell data plans when they should be able to connect to broadband networks instead, according to Patently Apple.
The class action filing stated,
Once Plaintiff and Class members downloaded iOS 7 onto their iPhones, they were unable to connect to Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Because of the Grayed out Issue, Plaintiff and Class members could no longer access often free Wi-Fi and thus used data unnecessarily and/or incurred data charges for all data used on their iPhone 4s. In addition, Plaintiff and Class members could no longer backup their device using iCloud, wirelessly download iOS patches or the newest versions of iOS.
The filing went on to say Apple misrepresented iOS 7's capabilities and misled customers into installing an update that left them with devices that no longer performed as advertised.
The plaintiffs filed their case in California and are seeking US$5 million in damages. Apple has not commented on the case.