The judge has now approved Apple’s proposed payouts for the $50 million settlement for the 2018 class-action lawsuit filed over the faulty Butterfly MacBook keyboards. Depending on the extent of the repair needed, owners who need their machines repaired will receive compensation that ranges from $50 to $395. However, the payouts have certain conditions. Here’s how you can check if you’re eligible for a payout.
How to Check if You’re Eligible for Butterfly Keyboard Class Action Lawsuit Payout
If you meet the following three criteria, you will be eligible for a payout:
- Purchased a MacBook with a butterfly keyboard between 2015 and 2019
- Bought a MacBook with a butterfly keyboard in the state of California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, or Washington.
- Had a repair carried out by Apple.
If you satisfy the conditions above, you’re eligible for a payout. Customers who got their keyboards replaced multiple times would receive $395, those who got it replaced once would receive $125, and the ones who replaced key caps would receive $50.
If you purchased directly from Apple, you should be contacted automatically. The legal firms involved are creating a website so you can check if your details have been registered. At the time of writing, keyboardsettlement.com had no content but check back soon.
More About MacBook Butterfly Keyboard Class Action Lawsuit
The class-action lawsuit surfaced after the users discovered that the butterfly keyboard design was prone to failure, with keys repeating letters multiple times on a single press, sticking, and failing to type when dust particles entered the butterfly membrane. A lot of customers also complained about the key travel and the sound it made. The lawsuit was originally filed in 2018, and it was given a class-action status last year.
Apple first introduced the Butterfly keyboard design with the 2015 MacBook. It later launched several MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models with the same butterfly keyboard, but the keyboard design didn’t work out the way Apple intended. It launched a keyboard repair program in 2018, but the company replaced faulty butterfly keyboards with another butterfly keyboard, and the customers ran into repeated failures.
Apple finally switched to the good-old scissor-switch keyboards with the launch of M1 MacBooks in 2020. All the Mac models available today use the scissor-switch mechanism and not the old butterfly design.
Via: 9to5Mac