AppleCare+ details have been updated to include the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max. Read on for a look at what it will cost to protect your shiny new iPhone.
Have you already purchased an Apple Watch but now decided that you’d like to protect it with AppleCare? Follow along for how to add AppleCare to your Apple Watch within 60 days of purchase, even if you didn’t buy it from Apple.
A new report on smartphone damage trends offers some interesting details on how many devices were broken in 2018, how much consumers paid to fix them, and how repair costs have increased significantly in the last few years.
Apple has today expanded its AppleCare+ for Mac accidental coverage program to several more countries. The program was previously available in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand but is now available in new countries across Europe, North America, and more.
Along with the launch of the new iPad Pros today, we’re getting more details about aspects like iPad Pro replacement costs. As these are the most expensive iPads to date, they also carry the saltiest replacement fees with accidental damage costing up to $650 for those without AppleCare+.
If you’re planning to buy Apple’s latest iPhone, and wondering whether or not to get AppleCare+, the company has today revealed how much an iPhone XR repair will cost if you don’t.
The good news is that the iPhone XR repair cost is significantly lower than that of an iPhone X or XS …
The Information is reporting today on Apple’s five-year struggle to tackle iPhone repair fraud. The scheme centres around crime gangs who were buying or stealing iPhones, removing valuable parts like CPUs and screens, and then claiming their devices were broken at Apple Stores and getting the Genius to replace them under warranty. The parts were then sold on.
At its peak, Apple was seeing 60% of warranty repairs in China and Hong Kong as being fraudulent, literally costing Apple billions of dollars per year. Apple first started taking the problem seriously in 2013, and the report goes on to detail the cat and mouse game that then ensued between the criminals and Apple as the company tried to tackle iPhone repair fraud …
AppleCare+ for iPhone was refreshed after Apple’s event yesterday, and so was the protection plan for aluminum Apple Watch Series 4 models. Since 2015, AppleCare+ for the aluminum models has been $49, this year it’s seeing an increase.
Alongside releasing its new iPhone Xs, Xs Max and XR, Apple has updated is AppleCare+ protection plan. For an additional cost, customers can now opt for lost and stolen coverage. Apple has also introduced monthly payment options for both the standard and new AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss plan.
Hot on the heels of Apple’s education event, the company has now announced AppleCare+ pricing for its newly released $329 ($299 for education) iPad with support for Apple Pencil.
Apple has today extended its AppleCare+ for Mac program, previously only available in the United States and Japan, to New Zealand and Australia
[Update: Apple has changed its page back to allowing users to check their device’s warranty status without logging in with an Apple ID.]
In an update to its warranty coverage utility, Apple now requires users to log in with the Apple ID associated with a device before being able to check its warranty coverage status.
Previously, users could check the warranty of an iPhone using just its serial number or IMEI. This was especially useful for second-hand buyers.
Deciding whether or not to buy AppleCare+ with Apple products can be a tough decision, and the $999-$1149 price of the iPhone X doesn’t make the decision any easier. The cost of AppleCare+ increased for pricier iPhones, but so did the repair costs for out-of-warranty damage.
No one wants to get stuck with a huge out-of-pocket fee to repair a busted iPhone X, although it’s worth considering the math before buying or passing on AppleCare+ for iPhone X.
One of the decisions any iPhone buyer has to make is whether to take out AppleCare+ coverage, rely on other insurance policies or just pay out yourself for a repair should you break it.
For anyone tempted to assume the risk themselves, Apple’s newly-revealed pricing on iPhone X repairs may make you think again …
[UPDATE: It appears that Apple is back to offering a 60-day window for adding AppleCare+. It’s unclear if the 1-year window was a mistake or if Apple decided to revert back to the previous timeframe. Thanks, Don!]
Although Apple’s information page for AppleCare+ hasn’t been updated yet, it is now possible to add the AppleCare+ extended coverage to iPhones within a year window, instead of the previous 60 day limit.
I noted a few weeks ago that, given the ultra-low repairability of the new MacBook Pro, I was buying AppleCare for the first time. Pretty much anything going wrong with the machine – RAM, SSD, Touch Bar, even the power switch – is likely to require a whole new motherboard. And given that the screen is bonded into the lid of the case, we can also forget about repairing that.
So I bit the bullet and handed over the cash for an AppleCare policy. What we need when buying AppleCare is the 15-character registration code. What we actually get is a cardboard box containing not just one but two separate booklets totalling 92 pages …
I don’t generally bother with AppleCare. My usual view is that, like any other extended warranty, it offers poor value for money. You’re paying a lot of money upfront for coverage you’ll likely never need.
Most Mac faults are going to make themselves known well inside the first year of standard Apple warranty coverage. The likelihood of a major fault occurring in the interval between the standard warranty expiring and AppleCare doing the same is very low. (There’s an additional factor at play in the EU, which I’ll get to later as it won’t be relevant to U.S. readers.)
But I am opting for it this time. Because the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar is not only non-upgradable, but also pretty much non-repairable …
Apple appears to be rolling out a new iOS app called Support that works on iPhone and iPad. Support for iOS includes helpful links to support articles as well as access to AppleCare services.
Buried inside all of Apple’s announcements today were some notable changes to the company’s AppleCare+ repair program. While Apple has long charged $99 for repairs of current-gen devices and $79 for previous-gen repairs, the company today announced that there is now a flat $99 charge for all incidental repairs under AppleCare+. For one of the most common repairs, however, there’s a nice pricing improvement…
Apple today has been hit with yet another class action lawsuit, this time concerning the company’s process of replacing damaged devices under AppleCare+ with a refurbished device. This isn’t the first time Apple has been the target of scrutiny for this process and other AppleCare issues, with other lawsuits having been filed in the past.
According to The Moscow Times, Apple is planning to open a central center for iOS device repair in Russia after a lawsuit argued Apple does not sufficiently supports its products in the country. Dmitry Petrov raised a lawsuit last year that Apple chain stores and service companies were not equipped to deal with screen repair problems, having refused a device replacement or paying for an outside company to perform the repair.
Apple is gearing up to launch a pair of new retail initiatives centered around the iPhone: an upgraded iPhone trade-in program for iPhones with damaged screens, cameras, or buttons, and a new program that allows Apple Retail Stores to install screen protectors on iPhones.
The Apple Store Reuse and Recycle iPhone trade-in program currently allows a customer to bring in an older iPhone model and trade it in for credit toward the purchase of a new iPhone model. The main exception since the launch of the program is that this does not apply toward older iPhones with cracked displays, or broken cameras and buttons. That’s about to change …
Remember that class-action lawsuit alleging AppleCare+ customers were being given subpar replacement products? This week a federal judge rejected the case while calling the plantiffs’ lawyer “manifestly incompetent” and suggesting the counsel orchestrated the entire case.
ArsTechnica reports the judge’s rejection this week claimed the lawyer encouraged the plaintiffs to purchase AppleCare plans and record interactions with Apple employees “for the purpose of initiating this lawsuit.”
But none of the plaintiffs were disgruntled consumers who went looking for a lawyer after getting bad service. Galindo was a paralegal for Renee Kennedy, the lawyer who filed the lawsuit, and Adkins had also worked for Kennedy in the past. Kennedy gave them both “monetary gifts to thank them for their excellent work,” and both women used those “gifts” to buy AppleCare Plus, referred to as “AC+” in court papers.
While the case isn’t entirely over, it won’t be a class-action and therefore will likely be on a much smaller scale than it might have been otherwise (if it doesn’t eventually get thrown out altogether).
Under Apple’s current policy for AppleCare plans, the company promises to “exchange the Covered Equipment with a replacement product that is new or equivalent to new in performance and reliability, and is at least functionally equivalent to the original product.” It’s not always the case — the judge found one plaintiff in the case was actually given a brand new device as a replacement — that’s another way of saying you might get refurbished replacement units (or parts for repairs).
It’s a truism that insurance is a business where you bet you’ll break your toys and insurance companies bet you won’t – and that insurers have the stats on their side. The WSJ uses the example of a broken screen on an iPhone 6 to show how the numbers stack up, illustrating that most people are better off taking the risk.
Without AppleCare, Apple will charge you $109 for the repair. With AppleCare, Apple still charges a $79 deductible, and you laid out $99 for AppleCare in the first place, so you’re now out a total of $178. In effect, you paid $99 to cover a $20 cost.
Of course, you may manage to destroy your phone completely, and you may – if you’re an exceptional klutz – even manage to do it twice, when AppleCare could save you a lot of money. Some MacBook repairs are also very expensive, so again things could work out in your favor.
But overall, insurers make money because it makes more sense just to pay for things when they break. The WSJ got some simple advice from an economist on the most sensible approach for most of us.
Yet for most of us, here’s a better plan from Richard Thaler, a renowned economist at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business: “Every time someone offers to sell you insurance on a non-large purchase say no, and take that money and put it into a rainy-day account. With any luck, there will be plenty of money in that account the next time you drop your iPhone.”
The economics may be slightly different if you can get a deal on AppleCare. You can save a few bucks buying direct from Apple on Amazon, while B&H and Adorama also have deals. Apple’s education store currently offers the best saving if you qualify.
How has having or not having AppleCare worked out for you? Let us know in the comments.