2020 Macbook Pro, Continue Applecare+?

[Kinda_Evil]

I was wondering what everyone's opinions are on continuing Applecare+ for my 2020 Macbook Pro.

The email said it'd cost $100 per year to continue it and I have 30 days to decide. The Macbook in question has been very gently used so far and I've never had to have anything repaired, but I'm afraid that hardware failures may become more likely as the device ages (especially the battery).

 

[JPack]

Nah, save the money and be your own underwriter.

If it's a 2020 model, it's already half way through its life. There's no reason to dump money into it. If you have a high-risk model like the 16-inch where the NAND is known to short itself, then it's a different story.

 

[MacPeasant123]

I agree with JPack, if yours is the Intel 2020 MacBook Pro like mine, don't do it.

I'm in Shanghai, China, my AppleCare+ expires on Monday and I was told when they upsold it to me that I can get a free battery replacement before the warranty runs out. Then a few months ago I found out they would give me that free battery replacement only if the battery's health is under 80%. They said if I make an appointment in advance, I could get the battery swapped out the same day.

I use CoconutBattery to check it and wouldn't you know, this battery would go under 80% health, as low as 78%, but them magically bounce back to 82-84% again at the next charge up like a zombie. It's been doing this yoyo battery health for the last 2-3 weeks as I'm trying to go through as many battery cycles as possible to get it under 80% health through constant .mov to .mp4 file conversion with Handbrake while on battery power.

Then the Apple Store the other day said it would take 4-5 days to swap out the battery

As usual, things are not going as I thought they would. I don't know if I can get it consistently under 80% again by Monday, and also not sure if I'm ok with not having access to my Mac for 4-5 days while they do the battery swap.