SAN JOSE, Calif. — A $5 million class action lawsuit filed on Friday in federal court in California claims Apple did not properly warn its users of a new iOS9 feature called “Wi-Fi Assist.”
The feature automatically switches the Internet connection from Wi-Fi to data when the signal is not strong. According to Apple, the intention of the feature is to avoid slow connections on Wi-Fi, but users have reported seeing their data charges soar.
According to AppleInsider, the lawsuit claims overuse charges exceed $5 million. The lawsuit also claims Apple mislead customers because the setting is enabled by default and is in violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law.
After receiving complaints, Apple posted instructions on its website showing how to disable Wi-Fi Assist:
“Wi-Fi Assist is on by default. If you don’t want your iOS device to stay connected to the Internet when you have a poor Wi-Fi connection, you can disable Wi-Fi Assist. Go to Settings > Cellular. Then scroll down and tap Wi-Fi Assist.”
