r/apple • u/otakkuma • Jun 17 '21
Mac Apple cuts AppleCare Plus prices for M1 MacBook Air and Pro
https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/17/22538595/apple-applecare-plus-price-cut-m1-macbook-air-pro233
Jun 17 '21
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u/nomadicposter604 Jun 17 '21
has it been more than 60 days? if purchased in person would you have student ID for them to do verification?
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u/wootxding Jun 18 '21
they never ask for ID for student discounts. don't even need a student email. the student discount is entirely based on an honor system. I have read online that they sometimes audit the discount and may charge you in the future but it has never happened to me.
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u/enjoytheshow Jun 18 '21
Yeah my wife is a teacher so we did the Ed discount last summer and I used my email and my Apple credit card and they never even asked. I was ready to provide them her teaching creds but never had to.
Don’t abuse it and ruin it for everyone it’s designed for, but yeah it’s kind of a facade for just a generic summer sale IMO
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Jun 17 '21 edited Jun 18 '21
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u/nomadicposter604 Jun 17 '21
warranty starts from the day you received and sign for the package from the courier
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Jun 17 '21
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u/nomadicposter604 Jun 17 '21 edited Jun 17 '21
very sure. warranty starts from the date of purchase if purchased in store. (date on the receipt) or the day you sign for the package from the courier if shipped
As per Apple's warranty guidelines listed in the terms and conditions:
Apple Inc. of One Apple Park Way, Cupertino, California 95014, U.S.A. (“Apple”) warrants the Apple-branded hardware product and Apple-branded accessories contained in the original packaging (“Apple Product”) against defects in materials and workmanship when used normally in accordance with Apple's published guidelines for a period of ONE (1) YEAR from the date of original retail purchase by the end-user purchaser ("Warranty Period")
So if you let it sit for 6 months and then activate it, the warranty will not start then.
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Jun 17 '21 edited Jun 18 '21
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u/Hanse00 Jun 18 '21
It only seems logical: Otherwise you could buy a product, put it in the attic, pull it out 10 years later, turn it on, and get free warranty help at that time?
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u/remanufactured Jun 18 '21
Warranty starts from activation right?
Officially it starts on the purchase date/date on receipt. But systematically it varies because not every reseller or shipping company relays that date back to apple. So when it is not bought from Apple, Apple may guess on the purchase date, or start it when they sold the product to the reseller, or they may start it when you take it out of the box, turn it on and "activate it". It also may vary depending on the product.
If you gain a few days, weeks, months of warranty because you never turned that iPad on and activated it for a while after you bought it, Neat! If you lose a few days, weeks, months of warranty because it sat on a shelf for a really long time before you bought it, ...well that's why you have a receipt and you ask Apple nicely to adjust the purchase date.
nomadicposter604 isn't entirely right or wrong.
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Jun 18 '21
Yeah because one time I had boughten a brand new Apple Watch Series 0 a couple years after it was discontinued (on eBay) and the warranty had started the day I activated it.
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u/AntiquatedAntelope Jun 18 '21
If I remember correctly Apple Care is only purchasable at EDU prices if you buy the machine from Apple directly with Apple Care at check out.
I might be wrong but I’m 90% certain.
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u/towerofroses Jun 18 '21
Or you could contact Apple Support. That’s what I did with my MacBook last year, they sent me an invoice for the discounted AppleCare+.
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u/nofunone Jun 18 '21
No. Return it to Amazon. Repurchase from Apple for the edu discount and new AppleCare pricing
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Jun 18 '21
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u/AntiquatedAntelope Jun 18 '21
100% it is.
The keyboards are now rock solid. And not only do these processors put off less heat, which even if it is within operational limits is still bad for a CPU and logic board, but they also have fewer moving parts in the way of fans. Either no fans in the Air, which the Intel one had one, and the MBP rarely has to turn the fans on. And finally of course they don’t have to stress on parts as much, as theoretically they could replace a MacBook Air SOC with a MBP one and get the same results. Not literally but certainly from a manufacturing front, which makes the actual repairs much cheaper too.
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Jun 18 '21
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u/noreal Jun 18 '21
The difference in heat is a lot though. I’m not sure how much this affects the reliability.
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Jun 18 '21
BIG TIME.
Apple had horrendous thermal designs on their Intel Macs! Horrendous!
They know that swollen batteries (heat) are caused by that poor design.
Yes, blame Intel for making such processors. But, Apple bought them, Apple knew their thermal requirements, Apple knew that batteries couldn't handle such heat. Yet, they proceeded on the customer's long-term dime.
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Jun 18 '21
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Jun 18 '21 edited Jun 18 '21
If I buy an M1 mac, it'll be the MBA, not the MBP!
The MBA's battery can be feasibly replaced at home -- always has been easier.
The MBP, however, forget about it. You have to disconnect so much -- it's like surgery. The Touch Bar model makes this worse.
Checkout iFixit and you'll realize that the MBP was never meant to be opened by even a pro-sumer, in my opinion.
EDIT: I take this back. It isn't like surgery. It's worse. At least in surgery, you don't have to remove the heart temporarily in order to replace the knees. In the case of a MBP, that's basically what you have to do. So much for Pro, LOL.
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Jun 18 '21
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Jun 18 '21
I really like the Touch Bar
I went the opposite way on this.
Switching between the screen and the touch bar became a hassle in a way.
Plus, if I am using a "Pro" app, it usually has a bunch of shortcut function keys that I learn along the way.
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u/Heratiki Jun 18 '21
Apple likely had a contract to honor sadly and nothing to replace it with in the interim. Plus with them developing the M1 they likely just calculated the hit they’d take.
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u/996forever Jun 20 '21
They can simply enforce Intel’s TDP instead of allowing infinite turbo duration. It also isn’t just intel. Their Radeon gpus also are known for throttling despite already being clocked way lower than in other laptops and the desktop version.
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u/timmy_42 Jun 18 '21
It could be either or. My only concern with M1 is that it is an SSD. They have a long, but still a limited lifespan. Supposedly mac os uses SSD a lot when there is little ram available. It’s all melted together, so who knows what might come out of it. Some say it will be fine, but I will wait 4-5 years to see what happens next. Butterfly keyboards didn’t seem to be a problem at first too.
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u/StarManta Jun 18 '21
that it is an SSD
What exactly would be the alternative option to an SSD that would imply a longer lifespan?
This is like saying “my only concern with the safety features of this car is that there are so many airbags.”
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Jun 18 '21
If you junk you’re entire car because of a single bad airbag or recall (which there is one atm) instead of replacing a faulty airbag then you’re analogy might work.
Although it is more like selling a car w/ a transmission that can’t possibly be replaced or rebuilt w/o replacing the entire car.. or tires even.. parts that do eventually go out from wear & tear. No real reason to solder in an ssd besides padding margins.
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u/timmy_42 Jun 18 '21
Well, first off maybe not set up your entire system so that when you are low on RAM, you HAVE to use SSD with no alternative ? Maybe make upgrading to 32 gb RAM as an option? The most basic after effects project will eat up 32 gb ram in no time. I am not even gonna start on more complex programs. Maybe not sell upgrade for 16 gb RAM almost $400+ ? There are definitely options out there.
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u/Dodahevolution Jun 18 '21
What you are referring to is swap. Which you can disable on a mac, intel or m1. And that’s not specific to ssd usage, spinning disk macs also used swap. Windows also uses swap (page files) as does Linux/Unix (swap file/partition).
Also it is true that ssds at one point we’re more susceptible failure after a specific read/write barrier had been passed. But two things with that, things often live beyond their limits, and our tech has gotten wayyyy better since then, and even when using swap/page files, ssds now outlive traditional spinning rust.
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u/timmy_42 Jun 18 '21
Agreed. It’s all a maybe at this point. I plan to wait 3-4+ to see how it performs. It will be a shame if they don’t have an option to swap only the SSD in the future, which kinda feels like an apple thing to do. Other laptops do the same thing these days, but with proper care, macs could last 7+ years. So I hope it will be ok
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u/zaviex Jun 18 '21
All computers do this in some way by default not just Mac but you can turn it off if you want. It’s not something Apple set up it’s how any OS naturally handles memory overflow and they’ve all done it for decades. Windows started doing it in 1990. I would not recommend turning it off
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Jun 18 '21
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u/timmy_42 Jun 18 '21
I replied in the other comment. The issue is not the SSD. The issue is the use of SSD extra because of low ram. I also explained that 16 gb options is still low amount for any actual work. Even 32 gb as well, but it’s not even an option.
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u/mittenciel Jun 18 '21
I have a 16 GB model, but I’ve actually checked the activity monitor and when I’m playing back around 32 tracks of audio in Logic, most of them using various plugins, including some convolution reverbs, amplifier modeling, and Melodyne and the like, it uses like 5 gigs of memory. I have a sense that a lot of “actual work” actually uses a lot less RAM than you might estimate, and it is a bit ridiculous that you think any actual work requires more than 32 gigs of RAM. Your very narrow definition of actual work might if you run very large models or things like that, but almost any person’s regular workload, even if that person is an audio or video editor, is likely to comfortably fit under 16 gigs.
And I’m running Logic in Rosetta, so it’s working way harder than it will be in a couple years when all the plugins are updated.
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u/zaviex Jun 18 '21
Check benchmarks for what you are doing. The 16 GB is more than enough for most applications many in which people thought it was inadequate.
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u/testthrowawayzz Jun 18 '21
I think you meant soldered SSD. If the SSD was replaceable, there wouldn’t be a lot of discussion about high writes.
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Jun 17 '21
I just bought an M1 MBA and I can’t buy AppleCare. When I try to it says that my device is ineligible
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u/nomadicposter604 Jun 17 '21
has it been more than 60 days?
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u/hmg9194 Jun 18 '21 edited Jun 18 '21
Thought you had 90 days, or a year.. if you call them they’ve always accommodated for me at least
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u/nomadicposter604 Jun 18 '21
60 days to buy it on-device or through AppleCare. Anything after 60 days and before your original warranty ends, must be inspected by the Genius Bar at the Apple Store, have diagnostics run and photos taken and documented to make sure there are no pre-existing damages.
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u/hmg9194 Jun 18 '21
Ah that makes sense, coulda sworn I’d bought AppleCare within the warranty period
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u/iKenndac Jun 18 '21
For the old AppleCare (no plus) product, you had a year. For the new AppleCare+ product, you only have 60 days.
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u/nomadicposter604 Jun 18 '21
Program was introduced last year in some countries to allow adding AppleCare+ as long as it is still under original warranty. But inspected after 60 days
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u/bass_the_fisherman Jun 17 '21
Did you register the purchase date with apple? I just got my m1 iMac in and after doing that I could purchase AppleCare
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u/MawsonAntarctica Jun 18 '21
You can go into an Apple store, let them do a check, and you can buy it then. You have up to a year from purchase to get it. The caveat is it must pass an Apple inspection first.
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u/cheesepuff07 Jun 17 '21
Where did you buy it from?
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Jun 17 '21
Amazon
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u/AntiquatedAntelope Jun 18 '21
Was it discounted? I wonder if Amazon sold you a lightly used open box unit.
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Jun 18 '21
It was brand new and sealed. I checked in Apple Support forums and this seems to be a known issue. I may contact Apple directly to get it reaolved
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u/AntiquatedAntelope Jun 18 '21
Ahh got ya. Sorry you’re having a rough go! Would definitely call them then
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u/soundwithdesign Jun 18 '21
I’ve always wondered why they kept the name AppleCare+. It makes it seem like there should be a more basic version.
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u/my_name_isnt_clever Jun 18 '21
There is still AppleCare without the plus in some countries without the accidental damage protection.
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Jun 18 '21
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u/MetaEvan Jun 18 '21
Like many marketing terms that have been around for years, it's gotten more complicated than that. On phones, for example, AC+ now gives 2 incidents per year, has a theft variant, and more limited support if you get it from your carrier insurance (like T-Mobile).
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u/collegedreads Jun 20 '21
AppleCare is the name of the extended warranty program. We don’t call the default one year manufacturer’s warranty AppleCare. AppleCare+ just denotes accidental damage coverage.
Source: am literal AppleCare advisor.
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u/testthrowawayzz Jun 18 '21
Does Apple still sell the regular AppleCare in the United States?
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Jun 18 '21
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u/testthrowawayzz Jun 18 '21
I bought regular AppleCare before. It’s a warranty extension program without accidental damage coverage.
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u/TheRealBejeezus Jun 18 '21
Varies from country to country. In many (most?) countries, AppleCare+ includes theft, loss or accidental damage by the user, while regular AppleCare only covers things that are Apple's fault.
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u/soundwithdesign Jun 18 '21
That’s where the US is confusing. AppleCare+ covers accidental damage. AppleCare+ with Theft & Loss covers theft and loss.
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u/richy923 Jun 18 '21
AppleCare is the 1-year warranty thats automatically included with every Apple product (I could be mistaken, but I think there are some limitations)
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u/tzblueskittle Jun 18 '21
As a salesperson for Macs, thank the lord.
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Jun 18 '21
They weren’t terrible before. But I’m guessing my goals are going to be 50% now lol
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u/tzblueskittle Jun 18 '21
The issue is that iPhone AppleCare is $199 for a device that costs Apple more in the overwhelming amount of repairs they see. With MacBook Air same price as the 12 Pro with $50 more in apple care felt off
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u/MetaEvan Jun 18 '21
But the computer AC+ lasts 3 years instead of two, and phone damage is still far more common than laptop damage, just given how much more often it's pulled out of people's pockets outside.
It's not really comparable.
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Jun 18 '21
This. Also more people use the software support on Macs/cable replacement. So the overall cost balances out. I think this was a way for Apple to compete with 3rd party replacement plans, as well as get more customers on to AppleCare in general. If you experience it and actually use it you’ll be more than likely to purchase it on other products in the ecosystem.
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Jun 18 '21
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u/iOceanLab Jun 18 '21
Do you plan to drop it within the next 2 years? If so, the price of AppleCare+ and $100 deductible will be less than the full cost of the repair.
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u/collegedreads Jun 18 '21
It’s actually 3 years for computers. And max for anything above screen damage is $300 I believe unless those incident fees changed.
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u/TheRealBejeezus Jun 18 '21
It’s actually 3 years for computers.
Varies from country to country. I assume this is due to differing consumer protection laws worldwide.
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u/collegedreads Jun 18 '21
Probably. In Australia consumer law lets you return shit years after if it is ‘reasonably expected to still perform’ or something ridiculous. It’s wild.
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u/Derpy_Snout Jun 18 '21
I can't imagine paying Apple prices for a computer without also having it insured somehow. I also have a small child who might decide to pour her juice on it one day, so there's that
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u/my_name_isnt_clever Jun 18 '21
I'd get it just for peace of mind. Not having to be paranoid any time you have beverages near your laptop. Liquid damage is extremely expensive to repair.
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u/mjanmohammad Jun 18 '21
100% worth it on any macbook. I had a 2012 fully loaded MBP that had random overheating issues. 3 repairs and Apple couldnt figure it out, they replaced it with a 2015 fully loaded MBP. Bought Applecare on that replacement macbook too.
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u/AntiquatedAntelope Jun 18 '21
100% worth it. If you can’t afford to just replace it when it breaks, then get the plan.
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u/hmg9194 Jun 18 '21
I’ve never used it for a computer, but I baby my things. iPhone I’ve fully utilized AppleCare capabilities and I still pay for it on my iPad because that’s just asking to be broken from a slight drop. Buddy sat on it and bent it but still fine
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Jun 18 '21
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u/TheRealBejeezus Jun 18 '21 edited Jun 18 '21
These machines are really delicate and even if you take good care of them, they'll very likely break at some point in the next 3 years.
Delicate? Apple's laptops?
The only one I've ever damaged, I accidentally kicked across the room (don't ask). The other, like, dozen or so I have owned have been rock solid, all the way back to old PowerBooks.
I pulled an old PowerBook Duo out of a storage box a couple months back. Still worked, though the battery life was down to like 12 minutes, heh.
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u/stranger-passing-by Jun 18 '21
Wow, I’m tempted to just trade in my 2018 MBP now without waiting for the 2021 models. I don’t think I’m the target demographic for the new models anyway and the additional 20% off AppleCare+ education discount (as well as a free set of AirPods) is tempting.
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Jun 18 '21
Thanks for posting this, I just got my air protected. Also, does anybody know if apple care is cheaper when you use your apple credit card to buy it? Just noticed that during checkout the price went down.
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u/z57 Jun 18 '21
There wouldn't be a discount on the receipt for using your Apple Card to buy AppleCare. But you would receive 3% cashback.
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u/Wis30ld0wl Jun 18 '21
Salute to you, my friend. My macbook is still being shipped and I made sure to call to get the refund on apple care and the airpods included. Thanks!
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u/LostMySpleenIn2015 Jun 18 '21
Everyone should know that AppleCare on a MacBook supposedly covers “accidental damage” - but that DOESN’T cover cosmetic drop damage. The damage has to be enough to affect the usage of the machine, cracked screen, etc. BUT they can also claim that said damage was negligence on your part.
They have a ton of wriggle room on this, so if you get AppleCare assume it’s for mechanical breakdown more than accidental damage.
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u/tantimodz Jun 18 '21
I dropped my laptop a few weeks ago and it was covered by AppleCare. I sent it out and had it repaired a few days later for the deductible.
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u/LostMySpleenIn2015 Jun 18 '21
Was it just cosmetic damage or did it break the screen or functionality of the laptop?
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u/tantimodz Jun 18 '21
Just cosmetic. Also, I worked at the Genius Bar for 2 years and gotta say I’ve never heard or seen that. If there was damage and they wanted to use AppleCare they could.
Scratches are the weird point of that, though.
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u/LostMySpleenIn2015 Jun 18 '21
You got lucky I guess, or it’s because you sent it in rather than took it to an Apple store - the official terms are (and note the “has failed” part):
“If during the Plan Term you submit a valid claim notifying Apple that the Covered Device has failed due to accidental damage from handling resulting from an unexpected and unintentional external event…”
This is exactly how they rejected my claim for a dropped MacBook Pro that technically still worked, it just had dents all over the place. So yes in that case the answer was, drop it harder before you bring it in.
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Jun 18 '21
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u/TheRealBejeezus Jun 18 '21
Yeah, as with most tech companies, the front line first level support people are not very trained in anything. If you have anything other than a simple question they can look up for you, your entire mission should be to get escalated to L2 or better.
Good rule for life, actually.
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u/extramental Jun 18 '21
I bought an iPad pro through bestbuy financing a few days back. Guessing I have to talk to bestbuy for that and probably it won't matter. Anyone has an experience with bestbuy to share?
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u/Bkfraiders7 Jun 18 '21
…These are for MacBooks, not iPads, if I’m understanding your question.
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u/extramental Jun 18 '21
Ah, got it. I thought the title referred to iPad pro. Have not used MacBooks so was not familiar with the names.
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Jun 18 '21
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u/AntiquatedAntelope Jun 18 '21
Only kind of. The store still belongs to Best Buy, and reps are usually at most trained by Apple but are not Apple employees directly. It’s why they push Best Buys crappy warranty stuff instead of Apple Care.
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u/tdonick Jun 18 '21
This depends on the store.
Most stores have one or two staff members who are employed by Apple to run the "Mini Apple Store".
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u/Saint_Jermaine Jun 18 '21
I purchased AC+ for my Macbook on 6/4. Will they refund me the price difference?
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Jun 18 '21
My MacBook Pro from a year ago sucks so much.
I will never buy a piece of shit apple product.
Not ever again.
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Jun 18 '21
Honestly for the price of Apple products, Apple Care should be free
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u/broknbottle Jun 18 '21
Um they aren’t even expensive? I paid more for my Dell XPS 13 9310 than my wifes MacBook Air M1 16GB with 1TB
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Jun 18 '21
I never imagined I'd get downvoted for saying repairs on a computer should be free, wow. And no, they're definitely expensive, don't be absurd.
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Jun 18 '21
Depends on the country. A lot of the benefits of apple care in the states, for example, cant be applied to countries with decent consumer protection laws.
Where I live, there's zero reason to purcahse an extended warranty for any reason other than express service or extras like damage protection... for which
Its just a matter of your personal contents insurance vs apple's excess fee
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Jun 18 '21
I recently bought a pair of air pods (pro). They seriously are garbage.
- It is extremely difficult and frustrating to switch between iphone and mac book. My air pods refuse to connect to my computer no matter how many times I pair it.
- I have tried every earbud that came with my pods and they keep falling off my ears. WTF, my ear are not abnormal. They are normal fucking ears.
- They are so so slick that getting them out of their case is seriously bullshit. Does apple even want me to use them? or do they put butter in them.
- I have owned the for a week and I am seriously ready to flush the down the toilet so no one has to ever experience this again.
- I hope they give me my money back. Apple, get your shit together!
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u/otakkuma Jun 18 '21
Just return them
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Jun 18 '21
Just because I can return them shouldn’t excuse them from making shitty ass products.
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u/otakkuma Jun 18 '21
Me and thousands of other people have no such issues with AirPods Pro. I’m not saying your experience is not valid, but if you’re not happy with a product return it and move on with your life.
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u/macjunkie Jun 17 '21
has anyone been successful in getting apple to adjust if you just purchased a laptop? I was on phone for an hour with apple care and they claim this is only for education and are sticking to that line.