Google, Huawei to Nexus 6P owners: You'll get up to $400 for battery, bootloop issues
Google and Huawei, the Android maker's partner on the 2015 Nexus 6P, have proposed a $9.75m fund to settle a class-action lawsuit over complaints that the device was prone to endless 'bootloop' cycles and battery drain.
If the court gives the go-ahead to the proposal, the claimants who sign up on time could receive up to $400, The Verge reports.
The bootloop problem caused the Nexus 6P to freeze or reboot while the claimed power-drain issue harmed the device's battery life, causing the device to shut down even when a battery hadn't completely discharged.
Anyone in the US who bought a Nexus 6P is eligible to participate in the class action by filing online or by mail, according to the lawfirm for the plaintiffs' motion for preliminary approval.
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A judge at the US District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose will assess whether or not to grant the preliminary approval on May 2, 2019, and will then schedule a hearing for final approval.
Google launched the Nexus 6P in September 2015, but over the following year the company's product forums filled up with complaints about the device shutting down when the battery was at a quarter full charge.
Nexus 6P owners on Reddit got the issue on the radar in December 2016 after complaining that Google was ignoring a problem that was common to many owners of the device.
Google then acknowledged the complaints and said it was investigating the issue with Huawei.
In April 2017, law firm Chimicles & Tikellis began exploring a class-action lawsuit, claiming that Google passed Nexus 6P owners to Huawei, which punted them back to Google claiming it was a software issue.
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Nexus 6P owners in the US can still join the class action by signing up at the law firm's website.
In October 2018, Google and Huawei argued to have the plaintiffs' allegations of breach of warranty dismissed. However, the parties agreed on the preliminary settlement before the court ruled on the matter.
Google and Huawei continue to deny any alleged wrongdoing and deny that the Nexus 6P was defective.
Payments to Nexus 6P owners will depend on the individual user's experience with the device.
The first group would include cases where there were no bootloop or battery-drain issues. This group will receive between $5 and $10 per device.
Users with documented alleged bootloop or battery-drain problems will receive $325, while users with "multiple documented alleged bootloop or battery-drain" issues will receive $400.
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