Apple Hit With Class-Action Over Wi-Fi Assist

Two iPhone users say in a new lawsuit that Apple's iOS9 default settings result in unexpectedly high data usage.

Florida residents William Scott Phillips and Suzanne Schmidt Phillips allege in a court complaint that they didn't realize iOS9's new "Wi-Fi Assist" setting, which is enabled by default, would automatically switch people from Wi-Fi networks to cell networks when Wi-Fi wasn't available.

That setting "unfairly subjected consumers ... to overuse charges," the Phillipses assert in a potential class-action lawsuit filed late last week in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. They say Apple violated California's false advertising law by failing to disclose the details about how the Wi-Fi Assist feature operates.

Both of the Phillips say they upgraded their iPhone 5s devices to iOS 9 in September, and were subsequently hit with overage charges by their carriers. "Defendant failed to disclose to consumers that this automatic switch to cellular data caused by an activated Wi-Fi Assist (the default setting) may result in exceeding the data capacity allowed under their phone plans," the lawsuit alleges. "This is especially true as there is no warning or disclosure when the phone switches from Wi-Fi to cellular data."

Apple says on its site that most people should only see a small increase in total data consumption as a result of Wi-Fi Assist.

But some industry observers, including Gizmodo's Chris Mills, reported big spikes in data usage after using Wi-Fi Assist. "This would be great, if I had an unlimited data plan," he wrote in September. "I don’t, but now I do have a very expensive cellphone bill."

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