Class action against Apple for systems damaged due to lack of dust filters

[Spotty]

Source: https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/11/28/class-action-suit-accuses-apple-of-selling-macs-without-needed-dust-filters

 

Quote

A new class action lawsuit charges that Apple is selling iMacs and MacBooks without air filters, knowing it can lead to dust damage with processors and displays.

Affected computers may have "dark smudges or spots" on the inside of their displays, and/or slowdowns and crashes caused by dust accumulating on the logic board. The suit charges that people have had to pay for expensive repairs as a result, spending as much as $650 for non-warranty screen replacements when the fix might be as simple as removing the screen and wiping with a rag.

 

Quote

Ahern, who bought a 27-inch iMac, is said to have encountered screen smudges after just nine months, and learned through Google that many other people were dealing with the same problem. Apple's support staff were purportedly unable to help, further denying knowledge of any widespread issue.

Evans had the screen on his iMac replaced three times, twice at his own expense, and also paid $900 to have his logic board replaced after his computer began to overheat and slow down.

The case is being handled through the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose. The plaintiffs' lawyers are asking for a halt to "Apple's unfair and/or deceptive acts or practices," plus damage payments, including up to $5,000 for class action members who qualify as senior citizens or disabled.

It appears that a law firm is representing several clients in a class action law suit against Apple for failing to install dust filters in their iMacs and Macbooks which has resulted to damage to systems, including dust leaving dirty marks on the inside of screens, as well as performance issues presumably as the result of thermal throttling. Customers contacting Apple for repairs to these issues have been charged for expensive fixes including replacement screens and logic board replacements, with some devices requiring to be fixed multiple times.

I wonder how Apple will respond to this and if they will make any design changes on future devices. Knowing Apple they will remove all the fans and fully seal their devices. #thinkdifferent /s

[r2724r16]

3 minutes ago, Spotty said:

I wonder how Apple will respond to this and if they will make any design changes on future devices.

 

[Speed Weed]

[PCGuy_5960]

1 minute ago, Spotty said:

Knowing Apple they will remove all the fans and fully seal their devices. #thinkdifferent /s

[GoldenLag]

This really should be a surprise to noone.

 

But its a design fault and consumer protections should cover a free repair in a multitude of countries

[NumLock21]

How are dust filters going to help. It won't work.

[AHaskin14]

I 'm in no way trying to side with apple on this, but how can someone create a case over a "design" that limits the life of a product. That's like saying you need new tires, because the tread wore down and the manufacture knew that was going to happen, without doing anything about it.

 

With any product, you are "knowling" purchasing the piece in whatever state it was designed. If the design is poor, that's your fault for still buying it.

[Docretier]

2 minutes ago, NumLock21 said:

How are dust filters going to help. It won't work.

It would prevent the dust from getting in there in the first place, or at least the majority of it which is causing the problem. Without filters all dust gets in and it builds up super quick, with one you could go 6 months to a year(depends on the conditions of environment) before there would be any noticeable build up. Even then it wouldn’t damage the components 

[Blademaster91]

2 minutes ago, NumLock21 said:

How are dust filters going to help. It won't work.

It would require the user to clean out a filter, which I doubt most would do anyway. The "smudges" appearing on the screen though, i think could maybe be fixed by using a gasket to seal the gap in the display glass.

[Docretier]

1 minute ago, AHaskin14 said:

I 'm in no way trying to side with apple on this, but how can someone create a case over a "design" that limits the life of a product. That's like saying you need new tires, because the tread wore down and the manufacture knew that was going to happen, without doing anything about it.

Tires are meant to be used in that way, that is how they are designed. What apple has created is a design flaw that causes problems with the product. 

 

[Blademaster91]

3 minutes ago, Docretier said:

Tires are meant to be used in that way, that is how they are designed. What apple has created is a design flaw that causes problems with the product. 

 

Yeah this is more like to change tires you need proprietary tools that most users don't have to service their own car.

[Docretier]

2 minutes ago, Blademaster91 said:

Yeah this is more like to change tires you need proprietary tools that most users don't have to service their own car.

That is a much better parallel to what apple is doing

[AHaskin14]

7 minutes ago, Docretier said:

Tires are meant to be used in that way, that is how they are designed. What apple has created is a design flaw that causes problems with the product. 

 

There's plenty of computer cases and other computer products with no dust filter, or very minimal dust filter. It's the design choice made by the company, that the consumer agreed to when they purchased it. There's no filter on my gpu, and if it cloggs with dust it could go bad, but I bought it knowing that. There's no filter on an open air case, but you buy that knowing you can clean it yourself and that's the design.

 

A design flaw doesn't mean an illegal design that a company should be tried over. Else everyone and there mother could sue companies over everything that has ever broken, because the company didn't engineer it to last literally forever.

[AHaskin14]

11 minutes ago, Docretier said:

Tires are meant to be used in that way, that is how they are designed. What apple has created is a design flaw that causes problems with the product. 

 

 

4 minutes ago, Docretier said:

That is a much better parallel to what apple is doing

 

Why should a company be liable for your capabilities. If my grandma struggles to use google chrome, should she sue google for not making it convenient for her?

 

Even with any car part, lets say a wheel bearing. 99% of people can't replace/fix that themselves. But they don't sue ford for not making it reliable enough to last forever.

 

I'm just trying to say, as absurd as it is. If the design of the product was to not have a dust filter, then that's the design you paid for. If you were un-capable of cleaning that or getting it fixed yourself, then maybe you should have bought something else. It's absurd, but a customer buys a product as it is made

[Shally]

3 minutes ago, AHaskin14 said:

There's plenty of computer cases and other computer products with no dust filter, or very minimal dust filter. It's the design choice made by the company, that the consumer agreed to when they purchased it. There's no filter on my gpu, and if it cloggs with dust it could go bad, but I bought it knowing that. There's no filter on an open air case, but you buy that knowing you can clean it yourself and that's the design.

 

A design flaw doesn't mean an illegal design that a company should be tried over. Else everyone and there mother could sue companies over everything that has ever broken, because the company didn't engineer it to last literally forever.

Cleaning out a computer case requires two Phillips head screws, and at best thumb screws. I don't have to take my case to corsair or HP to have them clean it for me because I can't get the tools required.

[KuJoe]

I don't have anything against Apple users, but I really thought they were smarter than this. This is so disappointing to read that some of them are falling right into (and announcing to the world) the Apple fanboy stereotype. 

[Shally]

14 minutes ago, Blademaster91 said:

Yeah this is more like to change tires you need proprietary tools that most users don't have to service their own car.

This is like this, except the manufacturer also made the tyres much less resistant to wear and tear and therefore has to be done much more regular at absurd prices. 

[AHaskin14]

Just now, Shally said:

Cleaning out a computer case requires two Phillips head screws, and at best thumb screws. I don't have to take my case to corsair or HP to have them clean it for me because I can't get the tools required.

Apple laptops can still be disassembled enough to clean the logic board atleast. If you buy a regular computer, you "need" to buy a screwdriver to open it. If you buy a macbook  you need to buy a more advanced toolkit to open it. If that's not what you want to do, then don't buy the product, or don't blame the company

 

[AHaskin14]

17 minutes ago, Blademaster91 said:

Yeah this is more like to change tires you need proprietary tools that most users don't have to service their own car.

And there's nothing proprietary about changing a tire. Absolutely anyone can purchase the pieces to do it themselves, with no restrictions. If that's too expensive for you (apple) then take public transportation (other "easier to fix" product)

[Shally]

1 minute ago, AHaskin14 said:

And there's nothing proprietary about changing a tire. Absolutely anyone can purchase the pieces to do it themselves, with no restrictions. If that's too expensive for you (apple) then take public transportation (other "easier to fix" product)

What I'm saying is Apple purposely made it proprietary when nobody else does. 

[KuJoe]

7 minutes ago, AHaskin14 said:

If you buy a macbook  you need to buy a more advanced toolkit to open it. If that's not what you want to do, then don't buy the product, or don't blame the company

I disagree, they should entirely blame the company. The company shouldn't go out of their way to make their machines harder to maintain. This lawsuit shouldn't be about dust covers, it should be about allowing the owner of a product to do required maintenance to keep their property in good order. Yes, you can buy special tools to do it, but Apple shouldn't be changing their screws as often as they do (and the only reason to even change the screw is to prevent access to the machine). Apple is known for it's extremely anti-repair stance, but being anti-maintenance is a step too far.

 

Come on Apple users, don't settle for dust filters when you're already getting screwed over in so many other ways.

[Shally]

4 minutes ago, AHaskin14 said:

Apple laptops can still be disassembled enough to clean the logic board atleast. If you buy a regular computer, you "need" to buy a screwdriver to open it. If you buy a macbook  you need to buy a more advanced toolkit to open it. If that's not what you want to do, then don't buy the product, or don't blame the company

 

The iMac is and incredibly hard device to open and dissemble. ONE accidental slip, that can happen to ANYONE(looking at you LTT team), can cost you thousands. Tell me one other product that that can happen to.

[AHaskin14]

1 minute ago, Shally said:

What I'm saying is Apple purposely made it proprietary when nobody else does. 

What's proprietary about it? If you would like to disassembles the product and clean it, you have every right to do so. Ifixit sells the tools. If you your not capable of doing it yourself, you take it to someone to do it for you. Apple is proprietary with the purchasing of its parts, but dusting something shouldn't require you to replace anything.

[AHaskin14]

1 minute ago, KuJoe said:

I disagree, they should entirely blame the company. The company shouldn't go out of their way to make their machines harder to maintain. This lawsuit shouldn't be about dust covers, it should be about allowing the owner of a product to do required maintenance to keep their property in good order. Yes, you can buy special tools to do it, but Apple shouldn't be changing their screws as often as they do (and the only reason to even change the screw is to prevent access to the machine). Apple is known for it's extremely anti-repair stance, but being anti-maintenance is a step too far.

 

Come on Apple users, don't settle for dust filters when you're already getting screwed over in so many other ways.

I still agree with what you say, honestly. But it's still like the car example. There's no reason that you can't go and replace every single piece on your car by yourself. No company prevents that. It does take a variety of expensive tools though, and unless you want to purchase them yourself, you have to take it to someone who is capable.

[Shally]

1 minute ago, AHaskin14 said:

What's proprietary about it? If you would like to disassembles the product and clean it, you have every right to do so. Ifixit sells the tools. If you your not capable of doing it yourself, you take it to someone to do it for you. Apple is proprietary with the purchasing of its parts, but dusting something shouldn't require you to replace anything.

What makes it an issue is how hard it is to do this. And that's on purpose. They want you to pay them for their design flaw.