It seems that Apple has agreed to pay between $25 to $79 for bad power adapters that came with some laptop units between 2003 to 2007. Details of the refund will not be fully known until the final court settlement hearing scheduled for September 8, 2008. According to the story in the LA times:

Customers who bought certain replacement adapters for PowerBook and iBook computers are eligible for the settlement, according to documents filed in federal court in San Jose. U.S. District Court Judge James Ware granted preliminary approval of the agreement March 24.

The class-action suit, filed in 2006, alleged that Apple misrepresented problems with the power adapters. In 2001, Apple recalled about 570,000 adapters sold with PowerBooks after reports of overheating. Apple advised customers to stop using the adapters and offered free replacements.

The adapter “dangerously frays, sparks and prematurely fails to work,” the plaintiffs said in court filings.

Hopefully more details will be available when the settlement is concluded. Apple users should be notified by mail of the settlement.

Comments welcome.

LA Times article is here.

Tags: apple, power, adapters, frayed, cords, replacement, settlement