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Apple offers $50 credit if you paid for a new iPhone battery last year
After admitting that it was sometimes slowing processor speeds on older iPhones, Apple discounted its out-of-warranty battery replacement from $50 to $30 starting at the tail end of last year. But for anyone who bought one at any point in 2017 for iPhone 6 or later devices, the tech giant is offering a $50 credit.
Amazon is refunding Prime phone buyers who paid to remove ads
Amazon's Prime Exclusive phones have great prices, but there was a big catch. You had to allow ads on your home screen and if you changed your mind later, it could cost up to $50 to opt out. Buyers got a bonus last week when Amazon decided to eliminate the ads, saying they could interfere with facial recognition and cause other issues. That's great, but it what about folks who paid the fee to get rid of them? Amazon has agreed to refund it in the form of a gift card, essentially closing the chapter on its Prime Exclusive phone ad experiment.
Sony owes Xperia owners a refund over faulty water resistance
When you buy a phone billed as water-resistant, you generally expect it to survive accidental dunks. Some Sony phone owners have a very different story, though -- their supposedly resistant phones took water damage that required an expensive fix. If you're one of them, we have good news. A preliminary settlement in a class action lawsuit will offer a 50 percent refund of the retail price to US customers who bought a water-resistant Sony Xperia device and had to file water damage claims. The list of affected hardware covers a whopping 24 phones and tablets sold in the US, ranging from the Xperia Z1 through to relatively recent devices like the Xperia Z5.
Amazon offers refunds for dodgy solar eclipse glasses
Did you buy a low-cost pair of eclipse glasses hoping to watch the August 21st solar eclipse without spending a fortune? Amazon might be reaching out to you. The company has confirmed a recent Verge report that it's "proactively" refunding purchases of eclipse glasses that might not meet the ISO 12312-2 safety standards needed to protect your eyes. It also appears to be pulling product listings for those glasses to be on the safe side.
'Pokémon Go Fest' issues refunds after tech problems ruin event
After an up and down first year of existence, the Pokémon Go Fest was supposed to be a triumphant event where players could work together in news ways and earn unique awards. The event unfortunately suffered as cell networks and the game's servers couldn't keep up with the strain, preventing many attendees who had traveled from around the world from participating. Niantic Labs CEO John Hanke was actually booed when he appeared at the event, and later in the day the company announced it would refund attendees for their ticket costs, add $100 in PokéCoins to their accounts and give them the Legendary Pokémon Lugia. The issues, and Niantic's inability to deal with them before they derailed the event, recalled many of the problems Pokémon Go has dealt with since its launch. Incredibly popular right out of the gate, the game suffered with significant instability for months, and still occasionally has problems preventing players for logging in now. It's the first augmented reality game with participation and appeal on a massive scale, but putting its most hardcore players through a day like yesterday is just another strike against it, even as the money continues to roll in.
Amazon refunds $70 million your kids accidentally spent in apps
Last year, a federal judge ruled Amazon was on the hook for tens of millions of dollars worth of unauthorized in-app purchases made by kids in free-to-play apps. This week, the online retail giant officially started issuing over $70 million in refunds to eligible customers as part of its settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.
Juicero will refund unsatisfied buyers of its WiFi-connected press
We never bought the hype on Juicero's $700 connected cold-press machine, but the company's CEO says anyone who did pay for one can get their money back. In a blog post on Medium, CEO Jeff Dunn responded to a Bloomberg report that pointed out the company's produce packs can be squeezed by hand, without buying the juicer at all. According to Dunn, for the next 30 days any Juicero owner can return their machine for a full refund (since it launched, the price has dropped to $400) -- this courtesy presumably doesn't extend to any of the investors who backed it.
AT&T will finally refund $88 million in unauthorized charges
Thanks to some shady business dealings between AT&T and a pair of companies known for bloating customers' cell phone bills, roughly 2.7 million current and former AT&T mobile subscribers are getting more than $88 million dollars in refunds from the Federal Trade Commission. The refunds are part of a 2014 settlement in which AT&T was accused of "mobile cramming" -- the practice of tacking unnecessary third-party fees onto your bill without consent -- along with two known cramming companies Tatto and Acquinity.
Warner Bros. offers refunds for 'Batman: Arkham Knight' on PC
The failure of Batman: Arkham Knight's PC port is finally complete -- after being removed from digital stores for being completely broken at launch, going through a four month overhaul and returning with too many lingering issues to forgive, Warner Bros. has finally thrown in the towel. If you bought the game on PC, you're eligible for a refund between now and the end of the year.
