Apple may not have been able to get a November 2024 class action lawsuit over its first-generation AirPods Pro dismissed, but it was able to convince the judge presiding over the case to throw out some of the claims related to the case this week.
Soon after Apple released its first-generation AirPods Pro wireless earbuds in 2019, buyers began complaining of issues with crackling noises coming from their new earbuds. While Apple initially tried to fix the issue with firmware updates, the company eventually launched an AirPods Pro repair program in October 2020. While AirPod Pro owners experiencing the issue were able to bring them into an Apple Store for repair or a replacement, many customers soon found that the replacement earbuds also suffered from the same issue.
This led a trio of Apple customers to file a class action lawsuit against Apple, accusing the company of violating California consumer protection laws and false advertising for continuing to sell AirPods Pro earbuds with crackling noises.
In the lawsuit, plaintiffs requested “relief” due to the defective nature of the AirPods Pro. The lawsuit claimed customers would not have purchases the AirPods Pro had Apple made the flaw clear.
The lawsuit also accuses Apple of false advertising for using ad copy like “superior sound quality” and “pure, incredibly clear sound,” while they were aware there was an issue with the earbuds making crackling and static noises.
In March 2025, Apple filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which resulted in the dismissals handed down this week. US District Judge Noël Wise in San Jose dismissed claims related to some state fraud and consumer law, as well as those related to express warranty and implied warranty.
Thrown out were nationwide claims, because the plaintiffs failed to present a representative plaintiff from each state, which the court said is required for nationwide counts. Some plaintiff-specific claims were also dismissed, along with a claim for unjust enrichment in California . Injunctive relief was also denied, as the original AirPods Pro are no longer offered for sale.
Apple is still faced with fraud by omission claims, and Apple is accused of failing to disclose known AirPods Pro defects even after acknowledging them publicly with the 2020 service program.
Several of the state, nationwide, and warranty claims can be amended and refiled with additional information sometime in the next 21 days, meaning some of the claims could be revived in the future.
Judge Wise ruled that plaintiffs can move forward with “claims that Apple omitted material facts about its AirPods’ sound quality.” The court also ruled it was “too early to weigh whether Apple had a duty to disclose the alleged defect after the devices’ one-year warranty period expired.”
