A handful of LG smartphones released over the past few years have been notoriously prone to “bootloops,” which cause the phone to shut down unexpectedly and then fail to fully boot (often restarting over and over, hence the “loop.”

Last year the law firm of Girard Gibbs filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of owners of Google Nexus 5X, LG G4 and G5, and LG V10 and V20 smartphones.

Now the firm has announced a settlement, although the rollout of that announcement seems to have been a bit haphazard. The good news is that if you participated in the suit, you may have a hefty payout coming your way. But if you didn’t you’re pretty much out of luck.

Update: The suit was not a class action, which helps explain some things. Clients that participated in the law firm’s suit get a payout. Nobody else does… but LG has agreed to extend the warranty for everyone, which is good news for those that didn’t get in on the suit. You can contact LG for support if your phone bootloops any time up to 30 months from the date of purchase.

The original article continues below. 

Yesterday Android Police reported that a settlement web site has been set up, letting participants in the class action lawsuit know that they had two options:

  1. Receive a cash payout of $425
  2. Get a $700 rebate that could be used to purchase a new LG smartphone

Both options seem pretty generous, especially for Nexus 5X owners, since many paid substantially less than $425 to get that phone (which is a pretty good phone with a great camera… when it’s not caught in a bootloop).

Unfortunately, while there had originally been documentation on the settlement page suggesting that owners of affected phones could still sign up to participate, that’s been removed… as have all the other contents of the website.

Meanwhile, the LG Bootloop Litigation page on the main Girard Gibbs website has been updated to suggest owners of affected phones contact LG, who has agreed to extend the warranty period of affected phones (which means you can get your phone repaired or replaced, but you won’t get a cash payout or rebate). You can contact LG online or by calling 1-800-243-0000.

Previously, that page on the law firm’s website had included information about the lawsuit, a link to a copy of the suit, and information about how to join the class action lawsuit.

When I saw that the websites had been altered (and noticed that the link to the settlement page was on a Wix site), I wasn’t sure if this settlement was real or some sort of hoax. But a number of folks on reddit and in the Android Police comments have reported that they’ve also received email messages about the settlement.

So it seems like this is the real deal. It’s just too late to get in on the action. But it is nice to know about the warranty extension… especially since my wife is still using a Nexus 5X that hasn’t bootlooped… yet.

Support Liliputing

Liliputing's primary sources of revenue are advertising and affiliate links (if you click the "Shop" button at the top of the page and buy something on Amazon, for example, we'll get a small commission).

But there are several ways you can support the site directly even if you're using an ad blocker* and hate online shopping.

Contribute to our Patreon campaign

or...

Contribute via PayPal

* If you are using an ad blocker like uBlock Origin and seeing a pop-up message at the bottom of the screen, we have a guide that may help you disable it.

Subscribe to Liliputing via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 9,501 other subscribers

5 replies on “LG settles lawsuit over smartphone bootloops, offers cash or rebate payouts”

  1. Now think of all those millions of No Brand handsets people buy from China which have even shoddier copypasta kernels, ROMs, and drivers. As well as little to no Quality Control.

    Let’s have a silent prayer and weep for those victims.

  2. I have a bricked LG G4 & LG V20 boot looped that LG conveniently said both had water damage! Good luck on getting anything repaired or replaced.

  3. This looks like a settlement that has so little benefit for the overwhelming majority of the class it was purportedly acting for that the Judge should disallow it.

    I personally have never been convinced that the LG V20 has a propensity to boot loop. I have not experienced it and the frequency of reports on V20 problems are very low. But whatever the extent of the actual damages, my registering with the class by a certain date should be irrelevant.

  4. Technically, LG “lost” the suit. But it’s so difficult for individual users to get a payout (have to know about the suit, have to sign up in time, might have to prove ownership or prove bootloop issues via official previous documented support ticket, etc.) that only a fraction of affected users over the years will get part of the settlement.

    In the end, LG may end up paying so little that there’s no incentive on their part to stop cutting corners.

Comments are closed.