A broken iPhone and some dollar bills.
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Remember that iPhone battery throttling news back in 2017? If Apple slowed down your iPhone, you may be eligible to claim “around $25” from a $500 million lawsuit settlement.

Here’s who’s eligible, according to the settlement’s official website:

You may be entitled to settlement benefits if you are or were (1) a United States owner of an iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 7, 7 Plus, and/or SE device (2) that ran iOS 10.2.1 or later or, in the case of iPhone 7 and 7 Plus devices, that ran iOS 11.2 or later before December 21, 2017, and (3) you experienced diminished performance on your device(s).

If that applies to you, you can head to the settlement website and submit a claim either online or via the mail. You will need the serial number of the affected iPhone, but there’s a form on the website that will let you look it up with information like the Apple ID, name, and address you used on the iPhone.

You must submit your claim before October 6, 2020.

Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee you’ll get $25 from this settlement. That’s how these things usually work—companies will pay “up to” a certain amount but, as more people apply, the payout is reduced for everyone. There’s a fixed pot of money everyone can claim from. However, you will get something if you’re eligible—and that’s more than you would have gotten before this lawsuit was filed.

Apple has denied any wrongdoing, of course. That’s how these settlements work.


By the way, this problem has been solved in newer versions of the iPhone’s iOS operating system: Apple now informs you if it’s slowing your iPhone down due to an old battery and lets you make a choice.

RELATED: How to Disable Your iPhone's CPU Throttling in iOS 11.3

Profile Photo for Chris Hoffman Chris Hoffman
Chris Hoffman is Editor-in-Chief of How-To Geek. He's written about technology for over a decade and was a PCWorld columnist for two years. Chris has written for The New York Times and Reader's Digest, been interviewed as a technology expert on TV stations like Miami's NBC 6, and had his work covered by news outlets like the BBC. Since 2011, Chris has written over 2,000 articles that have been read more than one billion times---and that's just here at How-To Geek.
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