(Credit: Shutterstock / James Abl)
Apple has finally started sending payments to customers who had issues with the company’s butterfly keyboard.
A class-action lawsuit related to the keyboard was filed in 2018 after customers complained about sticky and unresponsive keys and the keyboard’s susceptibility to debris.
The lawsuit alleged that Apple knew the keyboards had issues but chose to conceal those issues from consumers. Apple used the butterfly keyboard in laptops between 2015 and 2018 and moved to a new keyboard design with the launch of the 16-inch MacBook Pro in 2019.
In the end, the company denied the keyboards were defective, but still agreed to pay out $50 million to impacted customers.
MacBook owners who had to get one top case replacement within four years of purchasing the computer are entitled to $125, while customers who had to get two or more top case replacements are entitled to $300-$395. Customers who only needed keycap replacements will received $50.
The settlement was reached in 2022 and applied specifically to customers who purchased their laptops in California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Washington. If you didn't make a claim then, it's too late now.
Payments were scheduled to start in August, and 9to5Mac notes that some customers are already seeing those payments arrive in the form of a paper check. If you made a claim back in the day, make sure you’re watching your mailbox.