A charging issue with the Powerbeats Pro leads to another lawsuit against Apple

Another lawsuit over the Powerbeats Pro has been filed against Apple (via Engadget). According to the lawsuit, a design flaw in the Powerbeats Pro and their charging case may prevent the earbuds from being fully charged.

The earbuds can easily dislodge from the charging case and thus stop charging. Because of that, the Powerbeats Pro won't be able to last the 9 hours of usage that Apple promotes. According to the complaint, Apple misleads the customer to buy the Powerbeats Pro by promising usage time that the earbuds may not achievе.

The lawsuit also says that the charging contacts of the Powerbeats Pro, which are advertised as sweat and water resistant, may corrode due to exposure to sweat, and the product warranty won't cover this type of damage. Rust on the charging connections may prohibit the earphones from charging.

According to the complaint, the problem of the Powerbeats Pro not charging might be caused by a combination of a poor case design and the ear ‘gasket,’ which is the piece that enters the ear canal, preventing the earbuds from being properly placed in the casе. Because of that, the Powerbeats Pro may easily disconnect from the charging case even with a slight movement. The complaint also stated that some consumers were charging their earphones using a ‘wedge’ that they had placed in the case to keep the charging pins in contact.

The lawsuit demands Apple to stop misleading its customers with inaccurate claims of water resistance and battery life and wants Apple to compensate those affected by the misleading advertisement.

Many users have reported the same charging issue with their Powerbeats Pro earbuds, and this complaint has the potential to turn into a class-action lawsuit. When this problem occurs, Apple recommends that customers clean their earbuds and use another charging case or a different cable. But if this is really a design flaw, the steps that Apple suggests may not work so well. You may work around this issue by leaving the case open while charging your earbuds.

This complaint is not the first time consumers have filed a lawsuit against Apple's Powerbeats. Customers previously claimed that the Powerbeats 2 and Powerbeats 3 had a "design flaw" that prevented them from retaining a charge after being used for some time. According to a California federal judge, Apple misled its customers about the durability of its Powerbeats 2 and Powerbeats 3 earbuds. In 2020, the case was voluntarily dismissed.