PSA: AppleCare+ for Mac and iPhone Must Be Bought Within 60 Days of Purchase

[MacRumors]

All of Apple's AppleCare+ plans for Macs, iPads, and iPhones, must be bought alongside a new device or within 60 days of purchase, according to AppleCare+ support staff that MacRumors spoke to this morning.

Following its Worldwide Developers Conference in June that saw the debut of new iMacs, MacBooks, and MacBook Pro models, Apple introduced an updated AppleCare+ for Mac warranty plan that provides standard AppleCare coverage along with accidental damage coverage.

Apple's AppleCare+ for Mac plan was introduced on June 5​

The original AppleCare plans for the Mac could be purchased while the Mac was still under its standard warranty, so customers had a year to buy it, but with the new AppleCare+ plan for Mac, a purchase must be made within 60 days.

Apple in March changed its AppleCare+ policy for the iPhone and iPad and temporarily allowed customers to purchase the plan for up to one year after the device's purchase, while it too was still under standard warranty, but that policy appears to have been reverted back to 60 days.

In March of 2017, an iPhone 7 Plus purchased in September was temporarily eligible for AppleCare+. That is no longer the case due to policy reversion​

AppleCare+ plans for the iPhone and the iPad must once again be purchased within 60 days of a device purchase. Attempting to make an AppleCare+ purchase on an iOS device purchased more than 60 days ago now brings up no AppleCare+ purchase options when logging into the AppleCare+ website.

AppleCare+ is no longer available for an iPhone 7 Plus purchased less than a year ago​

As for the Mac, customers who have had their Macs for longer than 60 days but less than a year are not eligible for AppleCare+ but are still able to purchase a standard AppleCare Protection Plan, MacRumors has learned. Apple is only offering AppleCare+ for Mac on its website, so customers will need to call in to Apple Support to make the standard AppleCare purchase. Standard Mac AppleCare is priced at $149 to $349, depending on the machine.

A MacBook Pro purchased in October 2016 isn't eligible for AppleCare+, but standard AppleCare can still be purchased via Apple Support​

AppleCare+ for Mac is available for the MacBook, 13-inch MacBook Pro, 15-inch MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, Mac Pro, and Mac mini, with prices ranging from $99 to $379. The plan extends the warranty of the Mac to three years and includes coverage for two incidents of accidental damage, but a service fee of $99 will be charged for screen damage or external damage while a service fee of $299 will be charged for any other damage.

AppleCare+ for iPhone is available for $129 for the iPhone 6s and later, $99 for the iPhone SE, and $99 for iPad models. It extends warranty coverage to two years and covers two incidents of accidental damage, with a service fee of $29 required for screen repairs or $99 for other damage.

Purchasing AppleCare+ for Mac, iPhone, or iPad after the device has already been purchased requires customers to run a remote diagnostic to ensure the device is working properly or have it inspected at an Apple retail location.

Article Link: PSA: AppleCare+ for Mac and iPhone Must Be Bought Within 60 Days of Purchase

 

[iMi]

Accidental coverage is a huge plus, especially given that the cost has not changed at all. This is good.

 

[ZMacintosh]

Is there only one option for AppleCare at this point then? AC+ and regular AC or just AC+?

 

[JohnnyApple$eed]

Apple Care+ is nice if you need the accidental damage warranty. However, the base Apple Care is a waste of money. I buy all of my goods with either my CITI Bank or Discover card. Both of which extend the manufacturer's warranty by an additional 1 and 2 years respectively. And you only need to purchase a portion of the good on the preferred card. I think my AMEX does the same but I haven't used it for that purposes. Point being, use the free service with your credit card while saving money with piece of mind.

 

[SamGabbay]

Learned this yesterday. Was terrible news to find out the hard way.

 

[Techme0ut]

is applecare+ for the accidental protection ONLY available in the US?

 

[Mlrollin91]

Is there only one option for AppleCare at this point then? AC+ and regular AC or just AC+?

Both are available. You can still purchase regular AC for up to 1 year after the purchase of the computer. Just did it last week on my iMac I bought in 2016.

 

[shareef777]

Big FU to the buyers of their 2016 models that also bought AppleCare.

 

[mattopotamus]

interesting. I really feel like the title of the article should focus on the fact you can now buy AC+ for Macs. I was initially thinking this meant you could only buy regular AC for Macs (what has always been offered) in the first 60 days.

 

[Investor27]

Apple Care+ is nice if you need the accidental damage warranty. However, the base Apple Care is a waste of money. I buy all of my goods with either my CITI Bank or Discover card. Both of which extend the manufacturer's warranty by an additional 1 and 2 years respectively. And you only need to purchase a portion of the good on the preferred card. I think my AMEX does the same but I haven't used it for that purposes. Point being, use the free service with your credit card while saving money with piece of mind.

Don't they make you jump through hoops when you try to use their warranty services? With Apple, you just take it into the store for repairs/replacements.

 

[1Zach1]

When I picked up my iPads they told me this, didn't know it had been changed/updated. Good PSA.

 

[724699]

For Macs, I wonder if this includes express replacement service? Would be nice to be able to receive a replacement shipped out ASAP.

 

[RadioGaGa1984]

Apple Care+ is nice if you need the accidental damage warranty. However, the base Apple Care is a waste of money. I buy all of my goods with either my CITI Bank or Discover card. Both of which extend the manufacturer's warranty by an additional 1 and 2 years respectively. And you only need to purchase a portion of the good on the preferred card. I think my AMEX does the same but I haven't used it for that purposes. Point being, use the free service with your credit card while saving money with piece of mind.

Yay for you!!

 

[mattopotamus]

For Macs, I wonder if this includes express replacement service? Would be nice to be able to receive a replacement shipped out ASAP.

no joke. I have had to buy a laptop and then return it while mine was off for repair. Ridiculous that is what I had to do, and they didn't mind one bit.

 

[justperry]

Worthless in Europe, except for the accidental damage, but you can buy insurance here for a LOT less.

Also, I think for a brand like Apple they should provide minimum 2 years and preferably 3 years on their expensive electronics.
As of now Apple just makes heaps of money on this "scheme".

 

[mattopotamus]

Apple Care+ is nice if you need the accidental damage warranty. However, the base Apple Care is a waste of money. I buy all of my goods with either my CITI Bank or Discover card. Both of which extend the manufacturer's warranty by an additional 1 and 2 years respectively. And you only need to purchase a portion of the good on the preferred card. I think my AMEX does the same but I haven't used it for that purposes. Point being, use the free service with your credit card while saving money with piece of mind.

couple caveats with what you said. It will cover the repairs up to the portion you put on the card. For example, if you put $500 on the card, and you repair exceeds that amount you pay the difference. After you reach the amount you paid for the product (amount you put on your card) you are out of luck. Much better to get applcare if you are seriously worried about repair. Based on my experience with the new Mac, AppleCare (standard) is a must. I have had 2 replaced for the keyboard failing and 1 replaced because of the speakers. Yes, I am still within my year, but if I was outside of the year my AMEX warranty (or other CC warranty) would have exceeded the value.
[doublepost=1498067144][/doublepost]

Don't they make you jump through hoops when you try to use their warranty services? With Apple, you just take it into the store for repairs/replacements.

they will just reimburse the cost. It is shockingly fast.

 

[brentsg]

Don't they make you jump through hoops when you try to use their warranty services? With Apple, you just take it into the store for repairs/replacements.

This is true. When you try to use the warranty from the credit card, you're working with a third party insurance company. You can get it done, but it's not painless.

 

[kstotlani]

Apple Care+ is nice if you need the accidental damage warranty. However, the base Apple Care is a waste of money. I buy all of my goods with either my CITI Bank or Discover card. Both of which extend the manufacturer's warranty by an additional 1 and 2 years respectively. And you only need to purchase a portion of the good on the preferred card. I think my AMEX does the same but I haven't used it for that purposes. Point being, use the free service with your credit card while saving money with piece of mind.

Have you ever used the extended warranty offered by your card. I have never had a chance but not sure if it ever works.

 

[kerrikins]

Oh, so this is the one that covers accidental damage? Scared me for a moment there, my iMac is only a few months old and I was thinking I was out of luck!

 

[Col4bin]

Of course it's only when I purchase Apple Care+ that I never end up needing it. It's when I missed the window of opportunity that my iPhone fell into the pool or when my kids knocked the iMac off the table breaking the screen. Murphy's Law prevailed.

 

[macsrcool1234]

​

$379
while a service fee of $299 will be charged for any other damage.

678 for a worst case scenario?

at that point, you might as well as cut your losses and put the money towards a new machine

 

[jclo]

interesting. I really feel like the title of the article should focus on the fact you can now buy AC+ for Macs. I was initially thinking this meant you could only buy regular AC for Macs (what has always been offered) in the first 60 days.

The reason the title focuses on both iPhone and Mac is because we covered the Mac news previously when it was announced, but didn't really highlight the new purchase limitations. https://www.macrumors.com/2017/06/05/applecare-plus-now-available-for-mac/
[doublepost=1498067701][/doublepost]

Oh, so this is the one that covers accidental damage? Scared me for a moment there, my iMac is only a few months old and I was thinking I was out of luck!

You can still get regular AppleCare, but not on Apple's website. You'll need to call in or go to a store. Or purchase it third party.

 

[WiseAJ]

I wish they had this when I bought my MBP w/TB last year

 

[zorinlynx]

I wish Apple would just ditch the one year warranty and cover everything for three years out of the box.

I doubt the profit hit will be that big, and it would show so much goodwill towards customers. I've seen VERY few Apple devices fail by themselves in the past few years, especially since Macs have moved to using mainly solid state disks.

They can continue selling AppleCare, just have it be accidental damage protection.

 

[mattopotamus]

Of course it's only when I purchase Apple Care+ that I never end up needing it. It's when I missed the window of opportunity that my iPhone fell into the pool or when my kids knocked the iMac off the table breaking the screen. Murphy's Law prevailed.

somewhat related, but say you have your device for a year and then sell it and never had an AC+ claim, they will refund you a prorated amount.
[doublepost=1498068073][/doublepost]

The reason the title focuses on both iPhone and Mac is because we covered the Mac news previously when it was announced, but didn't really highlight the new purchase limitations. https://www.macrumors.com/2017/06/05/applecare-plus-now-available-for-mac/
[doublepost=1498067701][/doublepost]

You can still get regular AppleCare, but not on Apple's website. You'll need to call in or go to a store. Or purchase it third party.

that must have ninja'd through the cracks based on the lack of comments!