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Free Applecare?

W

willw77

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 23, 2008
20
0
Hi everyone, does anyone know if Apple has extended their warranty coverage, or given people who buy a laptop with the educational discount free applecare? Because I just looked a minute ago, at my warranty (on a Macbook Pro I purchased this June) on apples website and it said:

Our records indicate that your product is covered for service and telephone support under the AppleCare Protection Plan which is estimated to expire on June 23, 2011.,

However I never purchased an applecare plan, and when I went to view my Applecare agreement it showed that I didn't have one. What does this mean? Is it some kind of computer glitch, or did apple give me some kind of extended warranty since I purchased with an educational discount?
 
Applecare isn't inherently free but there are reports of some users getting freebies like this with the purchase of a machine from an EDU store, sort of like an instore perk, nothing from Apple.

That said, you should have noticed if you gotten the free applecare with purchase. Did you get a techtool deluxe CD anywhere in the package? It wouldn't have been in the MBP box assuming it was unopened. Sounds like a glitch. If you are feelin' froggy call Apple and tell them about their mistake, or ask someone at the place where you purchased it.
 
AppleCare isn't free in the UK - HE discount reduces it to £58 on Mac, and it is auto-enrolled with no discs given out.

Sounds like somebody might have slipped you it. Ring AppleCare to check.
 
Whoops- peskaa beat me to it! :eek:

Drumjim85 said:
maybe in the UK but not in the US.
Click to expand...

Bingo! And on top of that, the UK 3 year protection plan that is offered with educational purchases made under the National Contract is not actually AppleCare either. It is a special plan in inself and AppleCare can still be purchased in addition.

The only reason I even know this little bit is that this has been discussed extensively in a couple of threads, one in the last couple of days and one a month ago or so.;)
 
Eddyisgreat said:
Applecare isn't inherently free but there are reports of some users getting freebies like this with the purchase of a machine from an EDU store, sort of like an instore perk, nothing from Apple.

That said, you should have noticed if you gotten the free applecare with purchase. Did you get a techtool deluxe CD anywhere in the package? It wouldn't have been in the MBP box assuming it was unopened. Sounds like a glitch. If you are feelin' froggy call Apple and tell them about their mistake, or ask someone at the place where you purchased it.
Click to expand...

I didn't get a CD, and it wasn't on my invoice when I purchased it so I guess it's just a glitch, or maybe it's something different that only comes with the educational discount. I'm contemplating calling apple just to see what they say.
 
willw77 said:
I didn't get a CD, and it wasn't on my invoice when I purchased it so I guess it's just a glitch, or maybe it's something different that only comes with the educational discount. I'm contemplating calling apple just to see what they say.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if you got in a store or online, but my son ordered an iMac last summer through the education store without AppleCare, and then ordered a Macbook (also online through the education store) with Applecare. The MacBook was auto-enrolled with no disk shipped (they offer it as a downloadable image file). I called him today and had him check- and both dates show correctly in the Apple warranty checker- the iMac warranty ending this summer and the MacBook one ending in 2011.

So that being said, I'm thinking it would be a really good idea to call up and see what they have to say as i would hate to have you count on it being covered for that long like it shows online, only to find out when you take it in for service after the first year that they show an error (since you would no longer be eligible to buy AppleCare). They note in the AppleCare FAQs that you need to hold onto your recieipts too, since if there is any dispute about it they reserve the right to see the receipt before performing service. Make a call and be safe!;)
 
sickmacdoc said:
Whoops- peskaa beat me to it! :eek:



Bingo! And on top of that, the UK 3 year protection plan that is offered with educational purchases made under the National Contract is not actually AppleCare either. It is a special plan in inself and AppleCare can still be purchased in addition.

The only reason I even know this little bit is that this has been discussed extensively in a couple of threads, one in the last couple of days and one a month ago or so.;)
Click to expand...

IF you bought your computer in the UK using an educational discount then yes you will have 3 years free Applecare. Under ANY other circumstances then no, sorry, its 1 year only.
 
MAGICMOXTER said:
IF you bought your computer in the UK using an educational discount then yes you will have 3 years free Applecare. Under ANY other circumstances then no, sorry, its 1 year only.
Click to expand...

As already established above, the 3 year warranty with education purchases in the UK is not AppleCare. AppleCare is still a £58 purchase on top of the machine cost, and if you do a warranty status check without having purchased this £58 AppleCare, the site will say you have the standard 1 year warranty.


9.1 Except as otherwise stated on the Apple Store Web Site at the time you place your Order we will at no additional cost provide telephone support service for Hardware, as defined below, and Apple-branded Software (bundled and not bundled), as defined below, which you purchase from the Apple Store Web Site.

9.1.1 For Apple-branded desktop and portable computer products only, the 90 day telephone support as defined within the one-year limited warranty provided with the products shall be extended to 1 year from the date of purchase (the date of your invoice). For Support for non-Apple-branded Products you must contact the relevant manufacturer.
And

10.1.1 All Apple-branded desktop and portable computer products shall be subject to a 36 calendar month warranty period commencing from the date of delivery.


So, the National Agreement gains HE purchasers 3 years hardware cover, but only 1 year telephone support. Buying AppleCare gives you the full 3 years telephone.

http://www.apple.com/uk/education/hed/nationalcontract/
 
I brought my new Unibody with the higher education discount which comes with 3yr warranty as standard instead of the 1yr.

The only difference between what Applecare does and the extended warranty with HE is the extended tech support. Everything else is the same.
 
So I'm going to buy my White Macbook today instore with my educational discount (I go to College in the UK) does that mean say in two years, my Macbook breaks, Apple will fix it?
I get 3 years hardware support free?
- Paddy
 
iPaddy said:
So I'm going to buy my White Macbook today instore with my educational discount (I go to College in the UK) does that mean say in two years, my Macbook breaks, Apple will fix it?
I get 3 years hardware support free?
- Paddy
Click to expand...

Only if you're in Higher Education in the UK (Universities etc.).
Further Education (A-levels, colleges etc.) students and establishments don't get the 3 year AppleCare Base Warranty.

This comes up so so often, please Mods can we have a sticky on it? :(
 
OH MY GOD!!! My brother is at Uni , i could get him to buy it for me !!! haha!!

three years of blissful applecare.

That is absolutely outstanding :D
 
How the effing hell did I miss that??/ I read the T&C pretty carefully... so this means even though I bought applecare my laptop would have been coverd anyway -_-
grr
 
peskaa said:
As already established above, the 3 year warranty with education purchases in the UK is not AppleCare. AppleCare is still a £58 purchase on top of the machine cost, and if you do a warranty status check without having purchased this £58 AppleCare, the site will say you have the standard 1 year warranty.
Click to expand...

They call it AppleCare Base Warranty, so it's a subset of AppleCare.
However sometimes it's also referred to as an "AppleCare Custom Agreement" or "HE Contract Warranty Individual". Confusing, yes.

If you do an online warranty check, your Mac should be listed as either being covered under an "Extended Warranty" or a "Custom Contract". The date of expiry should be listed as 3 years from purchase date, although sometimes it isn't.
After purchase you receive an emailed certificate for proof of warranty cover. This can sometimes take months to turn up though.

So all in all this whole business can be a bit confusing, and it's not always exactly clear what the coverage entitles you to (e.g. onsite coverage for desktops? Global coverage? If you sell say a desktop Mac to someone in another country will it still be covered and onsite if they need it?). AFAIK there are no separate full terms and conditions for the UK AppleCare Base Warranty coverage.

For total peace of mind (for what it's worth), resale value and less potential hassle dealing with Apple in marginal cases it may well be better to trade up to full AppleCare.
 
peskaa said:
As already established above, the 3 year warranty with education purchases in the UK is not AppleCare. AppleCare is still a £58 purchase on top of the machine cost, and if you do a warranty status check without having purchased this £58 AppleCare, the site will say you have the standard 1 year warranty.


9.1 Except as otherwise stated on the Apple Store Web Site at the time you place your Order we will at no additional cost provide telephone support service for Hardware, as defined below, and Apple-branded Software (bundled and not bundled), as defined below, which you purchase from the Apple Store Web Site.

9.1.1 For Apple-branded desktop and portable computer products only, the 90 day telephone support as defined within the one-year limited warranty provided with the products shall be extended to 1 year from the date of purchase (the date of your invoice). For Support for non-Apple-branded Products you must contact the relevant manufacturer.
And

10.1.1 All Apple-branded desktop and portable computer products shall be subject to a 36 calendar month warranty period commencing from the date of delivery.


So, the National Agreement gains HE purchasers 3 years hardware cover, but only 1 year telephone support. Buying AppleCare gives you the full 3 years telephone.

http://www.apple.com/uk/education/hed/nationalcontract/
Click to expand...

Your wrong, i think you'll find if you actually contact Apple it all goes through Applecare, same as your standard 1 year warranty your computer comes with. How are they supposed to repair your computer then? Using their psychic powers? No. Obviously they use the standard Applecare system. Theres lots of threads on this subject already, please rather than copying from Apples site actually check with someone who has a product or service first.
 
Hey, I have owned education machines since 2004, and my current laptop and desktop are both covered under the education guarantee. So telling me to go check with somebody who has one of these products is clearly ridiculous.


Yes, it is dealt with by "AppleCare", as that is what Apple call their support arm. However, the specific contract you hold is the National Contract (or the HE Contract as Apple sometimes term it). Not AppleCare, as used in the sense of a product - AppleCare is a 3 year hardware, 3 year phone support, which has to be purchased.

I had to ring up AppleCare to confirm the status of my warranties, as the self-check online service returned with the standard 1 year/90 day limited warranty result. However, I was assured I was covered.
 
I guess the 3-year warranty in UK is part of the strict European system for consumers compared to the one available on the US.

Even if you pay more in the UK, yet you have better support backing you up against corporates. Just see what happened to the iPhone adds over there :D
 
mhnajjar said:
I guess the 3-year warranty in UK is part of the strict European system for consumers compared to the one available on the US.
Click to expand...

Nope, nothing to do with consumer protection laws but just a deal Apple did with HE institutions in the UK.

In the UK we are actually covered under the Sale of Consumer Goods and Associated Guarantees Directive 99/44/EC for up to 6 years in certain circumstances.
 
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