When the original launched in the fall of 2016, some users experienced several audio issues. Google fixed some of them with the help of software updates, but a microphone problem would just not go away. Some users fought microphone problems even after returning the faulty phone for a brand new one. In March of the following year, Google explained that a manufacturing defect was to blame for the malfunctioning microphone. A class action suit was filed in February 2018 and, more than a year later, Google is ready to settle.
The manufacturing issues that caused those microphone problems was a “hairline crack in the solder connection on the audio codec,” as Google explained in March 2017, and it affected some 1% of the original Pixels.
“This will affect all three mics and may result in other issues with audio processing,” Google employee Brian Rakowski said back then. “Based on temperature changes or the way you hold the phone, the connection may be temporarily restored, and the problems may go away.”
Class action members sued Google alleging that the company has failed to take definitive measures to fix the issue properly. At best, Google replaced defective phones with other defective phones they said.
Google will pay up to $500 to class action members who experienced multiple failures, including on replacement Pixel phones, CNET reports. Those who only experienced one failure are set to receive up to $350. Anyone who didn’t report the matter will get $20 from Google, and those who received payments from third-party insurance companies will be judged on an individual basis.
Google set aside $7,250,000 for the settlement.
