A new class action lawsuit could get original Google Pixel owners a payout of $500.
Google will settle a class action lawsuit brought against it by owners of the Pixel who say that the company knowingly sold phones with broken microphones. Google confirmed in March 2017 that some Pixel phones were suffering from microphones that worked intermittently or stopped working altogether, with the issue being caused by a hairline crack in the solder connection on the audio codec.
At that time, Google said it would take steps to reinforce the microphone connection on its Pixel phones. Some Pixel owners filed a lawsuit against Google less than one year later because they were upset that Google continued selling its Pixel phones despite knowing about the microphone problems.
Pixel and Pixel XL devices manufactured before January 4th, 2017 are covered by the lawsuit, and Google's proposed $7.25 million settlement includes a few different payout tiers. The highest is $500, which will be given to anyone who had a Pixel with a defective microphone, returned it for another Pixel, and got another phone with a broken mic. Anyone who had just one Pixel phone with a broken microphone could get up to $350, and anyone who had to pay an insurance deductible could get that amount repaid. Finally, Google Pixel owners who had no microphone problems at all could get up to $20.
The court hasn't yet given its approval in this case yet, so Google Pixel owners can't yet submit a claim for their cut of the $7.25 million settlement. There will be a hearing on June 5th at which preliminary approval for the settlement could be given.
A phone's microphone is pretty important, letting you talk to people during phone calls and ask the Google Assistant to perform tasks for you. It's no wonder that Pixel owners were frustrated about the broken microphone issue, and now it looks like a resolution is close.
