Does the water resistance of iPhones really live up to Apple’s marketing promises? This is the question raised by a Quebec law firm that wants to launch a class action against the Apple company. LPC Avocats accuses Apple of systematically refusing to repair or replace iPhones damaged by contact with liquid, despite the manufacturer’s reassuring statements on this point.
Apple accused of false advertising about water resistance
At the heart of the complaint is a discrepancy between Apple’s sales pitch and the reality experienced by some iPhone users. The firm LPC lawyers denounces:
Apple advertises its iPhones as “water resistant,” but Apple Store employees consistently refuse to repair or replace devices that have come into contact with liquid, citing a warranty exclusion for water damage.
Yet Apple’s communication suggests that iPhones can withstand immersion. “In short, Apple iPhones are regularly damaged by contact with liquid when Apple has advertised and promised that they can withstand it,” summarizes the law firm. Hence this legal action which aims to cancel the exclusion of warranty clause for “contact with liquid” and to obtain damages for all affected customers.
As a reminder, the IP68 certification of iPhones is not a guarantee at all. It is used to indicate the degree to which the smartphone can, possibly, resist dust and water during accidental immersion, but the assurances and guarantees of Apple and Care+ exclude damage related to oxidation.
$500 Canadian claimed for each injured customer
Attorney Joey Zukran, who is leading the case, represents a 19-year-old student whose iPhone was damaged by water near a swimming pool in Mexico. “It immediately stopped working, even though she had bought her phone new eight months earlier,” Zukran told the radio station.
When his client took the phone to the Genius Bar, Apple’s after-sales service, she was told that it was excluded from the warranty due to contact with water. The lawyer protests:
“It’s completely ridiculous when you look at the marketing that Apple uses,” the lawyer protests. “How can you exclude liquid damage when you advertise that it can fall into a swimming pool and come out unscathed?”
The class action therefore aims to render the exclusion for “contact with liquid” null and void, to reimburse those who had to pay to have their phone repaired and to pay $500 to anyone who registers for the legal action.
Apple already fined for violating consumer protection law
This is not the first time that Mr. Zukran has taken on Apple for violating Quebec’s Consumer Protection Act. In 2018, he won his case against the brand for failing to adequately inform Quebec consumers about the legal warranty and the obligation for manufacturers to guarantee their products, in this case the phone’s battery, for a reasonable period of time.
The Quebec Court of Appeal confirmed this decision in 2021. It remains to be seen whether justice will once again rule in favor of users duped by Apple’s fine promises. One thing is certain: the waterproofing of iPhones has not finished causing a lot of ink to flow, and water…