PSA: regular AppleCare is being "phased out"

[ignatius345]

Going back many years, you have always been able to buy an AppleCare agreement extending two additional years of hardware coverage and phone support, as long as you buy it within one year of buying the Mac. As is my custom, I just went to buy an AppleCare warranty just now as my daughter's MBP is approaching that 1-year mark later this month and I'm hearing a lot of nonsense about $500 keyboard failures in these machines (which is a rant for another thread).

Well, turns out that AppleCare has largely been replaced with AppleCare+, which also covers accidental damage to some extent, and seems to be only slightly more expensive. That's all well and good, but the catch is this: you must buy AppleCare+ at the time of purchase or within 60 days afterward. And the old version of AppleCare is nowhere to be found on the Apple website, nor can you buy it through retailers as you could in the past.

I just called Apple about this, and if you're in the spot I'm in and bought a Mac more than 60 days ago, didn't get AppleCare+ in time, and want to extend your warranty, you have to call the main support number, and ask to be connected to the nice people at "Agreement Administration". (The regular operator probably won't be able to help you, you have to ask for that other department.)

 

[chscag]

Actually, this is old news, but you are correct in that Apple has phased out the original Apple Care here in the US and some other countries. We used to be able to purchase Apple Care at a discount from certain places (LA Computers, B&H in NY, etc) but that option no longer exists.

Were you able to purchase Apple Care by contacting the "Agreement Administration"?

 

[ignatius345]

Actually, this is old news, but you are correct in that Apple has phased out the original Apple Care here in the US and some other countries.

Well it was a bit of a shock to me, mainly because we'd always had that full year to pull the trigger before and now it's down to 60 days. And the Apple website makes zero mention of AppleCare at all now, and if I hadn't found the information above, I'd have assumed I had no options.

We used to be able to purchase Apple Care at a discount from certain places (LA Computers, B&H in NY, etc) but that option no longer exists.

Yeah, I went through B&H or MacMall or whoever at least a couple times myself. I think packaging it in a retail box was a holdover from the pre-Apple Store days when they were trying harder to keep a network of retailers happy.

Were you able to purchase Apple Care by contacting the "Agreement Administration"?

What I was hoping was that they'd take pity and let us buy AppleCare+ outside the 60-day window, but no dice on that sadly. So we just picked up the regular AppleCare and will live with that. I'd imagine they'll keep this going a little longer, at least until the people who bought Macs since the phasing out of AppleCare, and more than 60 days but less than 12 months ago have all been flushed out.

 

[chscag]

Well, that's good news. At least you have Apple Care and are protected for an additional two years. Most of us take good care of our Macs and devices. When I purchased my new iMac I had no other choice but to buy Apple Care+. I suppose it's possible to damage a 27" iMac by being careless, but it's not as likely as it would be with a portable Mac.

 

[ignatius345]

Well, that's good news. At least you have Apple Care and are protected for an additional two years. Most of us take good care of our Macs and devices. When I purchased my new iMac I had no other choice but to buy Apple Care+. I suppose it's possible to damage a 27" iMac by being careless, but it's not as likely as it would be with a portable Mac.

The price difference between the old AppleCare and new AppleCare+ is not huge, fortunately. For a desktop obviously it's mostly hardware faults you want to be insured against.

 

[KGB7]

In my personal experience, 60 day limit was around in the summer of 2017.

 

[SkyLinx]

I didn't know that there is a "+" version as well. I need to buy the AppleCare for the iMac I bought less than two weeks ago so it's within the two months. Good

 

[Foxglove9]

Is this true for iMac's as well? I usually wait until the end of the first year to buy my AppleCare. So my year is coming up and was going to buy AppleCare for it. So I can no longer do this? What if I buy it, Apple won't let me activate it? I had no idea this policy changed!

 

[ApfelKuchen]

Is this true for iMac's as well? I usually wait until the end of the first year to buy my AppleCare. So my year is coming up and was going to buy AppleCare for it. So I can no longer do this? What if I buy it, Apple won't let me activate it? I had no idea this policy changed!

It doesn't matter what Mac model you have.

If you purchased AppleCare from a legitimate source, you should be able to activate.

Policies and products change all the time, and this change has been in effect for a while. Personally, I would have checked things out when buying the new Mac ("Is AppleCare still available? What are the current requirements?"), but that's me.

 

[Foxglove9]

It doesn't matter what Mac model you have.

If you purchased AppleCare from a legitimate source, you should be able to activate.

Policies and products change all the time, and this change has been in effect for a while. Personally, I would have checked things out when buying the new Mac ("Is AppleCare still available? What are the current requirements?"), but that's me.

What a major bummer, I always buy AppleCare, but this computer was more costly than I usually pay so I put it off thinking I had plenty of time. Thanks for the info on this.

 

[ignatius345]

Policies and products change all the time, and this change has been in effect for a while. Personally, I would have checked things out when buying the new Mac ("Is AppleCare still available? What are the current requirements?"), but that's me.

For at least the last 15 or 20 years, maybe longer, you've been able to buy and activate an AppleCare program within one year of purchase, so it's hard to blame anyone for not knowing it's changed. And as far as finding a "legitimate source" -- I detailed in my initial post the exact procedure for buying AppleCare directly from Apple for a machine in the purchase window between 60 and 365 days.
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Is this true for iMac's as well? I usually wait until the end of the first year to buy my AppleCare. So my year is coming up and was going to buy AppleCare for it. So I can no longer do this? What if I buy it, Apple won't let me activate it? I had no idea this policy changed!

Read my original post. There's a number you can call to take care of this.

 

[beccas]

For at least the last 15 or 20 years, maybe longer, you've been able to buy and activate an AppleCare program within one year of purchase, so it's hard to blame anyone for not knowing it's changed. And as far as finding a "legitimate source" -- I detailed in my initial post the exact procedure for buying AppleCare directly from Apple for a machine in the purchase window between 60 and 365 days.
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Read my original post. There's a number you can call to take care of this.

Just to confirm, we can still activate AppleCare (the old version) once we have the code and a system within the first year?

Your title is a bit misleading since AppleCare had already been phased out. When I read it, I immediately thought that you can no longer activate AppleCare if you have the code and a computer within the year of purchase timeline.

 

[ignatius345]

Just to confirm, we can still activate AppleCare (the old version) once we have the code and a system within the first year?

Your title is a bit misleading since AppleCare had already been phased out. When I read it, I immediately thought that you can no longer activate AppleCare if you have the code and a computer within the year of purchase timeline.

I'm just passing on what I know, which is again: if you bought a Mac too long ago to buy AppleCare+ but less than a year, you can buy an AppleCare warranty from Apple by calling as I detailed. This I learned by calling them on the phone.

I'd assume that if you purchased an AppleCare code you can activate it, but that's just speculation on my part. I guess try it and find out!

 

[beccas]

I'm just passing on what I know, which is again: if you bought a Mac too long ago to buy AppleCare+ but less than a year, you can buy an AppleCare warranty from Apple by calling as I detailed. This I learned by calling them on the phone.

I'd assume that if you purchased an AppleCare code you can activate it, but that's just speculation on my part. I guess try it and find out!

Thanks.

On another note, I do think the terms of AC+ to be absurd, that it must be purchased within such a short time after purchase. The old way allowed one enough time to save up to buy extended warranty.

 

[ignatius345]

Thanks.

On another note, I do think the terms of AC+ to be absurd, that it must be purchased within such a short time after purchase. The old way allowed one enough time to save up to buy extended warranty.

I agree, but I guess it's because it now covers accidental damage and they want to make sure people don't drop their MacBook 6 months in and then quickly buy AC+ after the fact. I personally think they should keep offering regular AppleCare as before -- and at least for now they are but you gotta jump through a hoop to get it.

 

[mcpix]

I ran into this last year on the refurbished 2015 iMac I purchased. I was past the 60 day limit but still within a year, so they let me buy the regular Applecare. I agree that it was nice when we had up to a year to buy it, but even at 60 days Apple is better than many other companies (Microsoft Complete must be purchased within 45 days).

 

[esatamacmodular]

I had gotten applecare at b&h discounted in late 2016 when buying MBP TB 13". I can't remember exact price but wanna say it was $100 cheaper than the current applecare+ for this machine.

 

[beccas]

I agree, but I guess it's because it now covers accidental damage and they want to make sure people don't drop their MacBook 6 months in and then quickly buy AC+ after the fact. I personally think they should keep offering regular AppleCare as before -- and at least for now they are but you gotta jump through a hoop to get it.

Maybe I am asking for too much but I think AppleCare (standard) should come as a regular warranty to all Macs and AppleCare+ could be something additional if one wants protection for accidental occurrences.

Another issue I have is with the limited telephone support. Sure, they have never been helpful to me in the past but given there are so few apple stores, it shouldn't be a luxury to have telephone support throughout the full year.

Makes sense how Apple have accumulated so much money.

 

[chscag]

Maybe I am asking for too much but I think AppleCare (standard) should come as a regular warranty to all Macs and AppleCare+ could be something additional if one wants protection for accidental occurrences.

Apple Care standard does come with all Macs and iDevices. Only it's for one year not three. And yes, you are asking for too much. One year is pretty much the industry standard unless you pay extra. Why should Apple be any different?

Another issue I have is with the limited telephone support. Sure, they have never been helpful to me in the past but given there are so few apple stores, it shouldn't be a luxury to have telephone support throughout the full year.

What other hardware manufacturer gives you free telephone support for a year? You can get support from elsewhere as it does not have to be an Apple Store. These forums are an example of free support. The Apple public forums are another. MacRumors has some very talented folks who are as savvy about Apple stuff as any genius bar employee.

 

[beccas]

Apple Care standard does come with all Macs and iDevices. Only it's for one year not three. And yes, you are asking for too much. One year is pretty much the industry standard unless you pay extra. Why should Apple be any different?


What other hardware manufacturer gives you free telephone support for a year? You can get support from elsewhere as it does not have to be an Apple Store. These forums are an example of free support. The Apple public forums are another. MacRumors has some very talented folks who are as savvy about Apple stuff as any genius bar employee.

If you look at other PC manufacturers, you will see that 1 year is not always the standard. Some offer 2, 3 years depending on the line the computer comes from. I use a mac pro. Dell, for example, offers 3 years on their workstations which starts at $1,659.00 and they provide on site/in home service. Hmm...does Apple offer anything like that? Yet their workstation starts at $2999. None of their warranty options even offers such a service to my knowledge. If I am wrong, I will take that back.

Duration of telephone support also varies with product line.

And apple should be different if you ask me because they charge a premium for their product.

 

[SaSaSushi]

If you look at other PC manufacturers, you will see that 1 year is not always the standard. Some offer 2, 3 years depending on the line the computer comes from. I use a mac pro. Dell, for example, offers 3 years on their workstations which starts at $1,659.00 and they provide on site/in home service. Hmm...does Apple offer anything like that? Yet their workstation starts at $2999. None of their warranty options even offers such a service to my knowledge. If I am wrong, I will take that back.

My understanding of Dell's three-year limited warranty (at least in the USA) is that they will repair or replace defective parts during the first year and then provide replacement parts on an exchange basis for years two and three. I am also not sure this isn't an optional additional purchase over the industry standard one-year limited warranty. The fine print on Dell's warranty page says they ship replacement parts in the second and third years, not that they provide home service (or any service. it's defective part replacement).

And apple should be different if you ask me because they charge a premium for their product.

When I need AppleCare service (at least here in Japan) I call Apple and they send a courier to my home with a special shipping container. I just hand them the machine. It gets shipped overnight to the service center in Tokyo, repaired that day and then next-day delivered back to me. All defective parts and labor are covered in full for the full three years from the date of purchase. I've used it several times over the 12 years I've been a Mac user and it's alway been a positive experience.

I agree Apple should and does offer superior, premium warranty service. It's called AppleCare and is worth every penny (and yen).

 

[TheIntruder]

I remember the time when the standard Apple warranty was 90 days...

 

[Foxglove9]

When I need AppleCare service (at least here in Japan) I call Apple and they send a courier to my home with a special shipping container. I just hand them the machine. It gets shipped overnight to the service center in Tokyo, repaired that day and then next-day delivered back to me. All defective parts and labor are covered in full for the full three years from the date of purchase. I've used it several times over the 12 years I've been a Mac user and it's alway been a positive experience.

In the U.S. it doesn't work that way. You have to book an appointment online from your local Apple store, and find out which times they are available for you to bring your machine. When you get there you sign in and wait for the next available Apple associate (regardless of the time your appointment was). Then you tell them the problem, and they'll trouble shoot things for you to try and fix it. If they can't you have to leave the machine and in my case (bad hard drive in iMac) I had to come back and pick it up 1 week later.

Overall though, the staff has always been super nice and by far the best customer service I have experienced at any US retailer. As an Apple user for decades they used to be able to fix things on the spot, work with you on out of warranty repairs and be flexible on prices of items they sell. However, they are too big of a company now to do those things.

 

[chscag]

It's not that Apple is "too big a company to now be able to those things", the simple fact is that Apple products are very popular with more and more people owning them. That results in longer waits for an appointment at your local Apple store and longer repair times. It also should be noted that most Apple products now are much more difficult to repair (just go to ifixit and read their blogs). Nowadays most Apple repairs are being done at depot level rather than in the back of your local Apple store.

But I agree it's still the best service of any major manufacturer of electronic devices. Including Dell...