All of Best Buy's Nearly 1,000 Stores Now Offer Apple-Certified Repairs in the United States

[MacRumors]

Apple today announced that every Best Buy store across the United States now offers certified repairs and service for Apple products.

The electronics retailer already serviced Apple products at about 225 stores and now does so at all of its 992 stores nationwide, according to Reuters, which is good news for customers who reside in states without any Apple Stores, including Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Apple's press release:

By expanding to every Best Buy store across the US, customers in cities including Yuma, Arizona; Sioux City, Iowa; Twin Falls, Idaho; Casper, Wyoming and Bismarck, North Dakota will have more convenient access to Apple repairs. Plus, Best Buy's Geek Squad has nearly 7,600 newly Apple-certified technicians ready to make same-day iPhone repairs or to service other Apple products.

Apple-certified repairs at Best Buy and other Apple Authorized Service Providers are performed by trained technicians who use genuine Apple parts, and every repair is backed by Apple, according to the company.

Including all of Best Buy's nearly 1,000 locations that now offer Apple-certified repairs, Apple now has over 1,800 authorized third-party service providers in the United States, which it says is "three times as many locations as three years ago." Apple also has over 270 retail stores that facilitate repairs across the country.

Tara Bunch, Apple's vice president of AppleCare:

At Apple, we're dedicated to providing the best customer service in the world. If a customer ever needs to repair their products, we want them to feel confident those repairs are done safely and correctly. We're always looking at how we can reliably expand our network of trained technicians and we're excited to partner with every Best Buy store so it's even easier for our customers to find an authorized repair location near them.

Apple customers can initiate a repair on Apple's support website.

Article Link: All of Best Buy's Nearly 1,000 Stores Now Offer Apple-Certified Repairs in the United States

 

[coolbreeze2]

Does this mean if I have device with active AppleCare and the device must be replaced Best Buy will replace it?

 

[alexandr]

i guess this is good for rural apple users.

 

[anthonyondre]

They don't repair or replace on the spot.

For an iPhone that goes tango uniform, you are stuck waiting for the repair to come back. Never mind you no longer have a phone for a week and cannot call or be called.

As iPhone hardware is very buggy (every iPhone I have ever had has had a factory defect), this is a very lame service.

All Best Buy does is check out the hardware with an Apple diagnostic tool and apologize for leaving you without a phone line for a week while they send it in to Apple. Pure Applesauce

 

[pukifloyd]

This is great! This will be good for people in an area without apple stores. I like best buy, they have great deals and price match as well.

 

[bwillwall]

I live over 3 hours from an Apple Store and 3 minutes from a Best Buy, this is great for me.

Also, there's only one nearish certified repair shop, I wonder if it will hurt them

 

[dotzero123]

Does this mean if I have device with active AppleCare and the device must be replaced Best Buy will replace it?

I’ve got the same question but am reading it as though they will be apple repair locations. This would be much more convenient if I run into issues with covered apple products.

 

[drewsof07]

The double edged-sword, they will no longer be able to provide independent repair services not sanctioned by the mothership. Increasing turnaround time for some repairs.

 

[cljmac]

They don't repair or replace on the spot.

For an iPhone that goes tango uniform, you are stuck waiting for the repair to come back. Never mind you no longer have a phone for a week and cannot call or be called.

As iPhone hardware is very buggy (every iPhone I have ever had has had a factory defect), this is a very lame service.

All Best Buy does is check out the hardware with an Apple diagnostic tool and apologize for leaving you without a phone line for a week while they send it in to Apple. Is .

Not true. All stores starting at June 1 has full repair options. Screens, microphones, etc. all could be done in house and store even with a walk in appointment. Only iPhones are done in house.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Does this mean every best buy has the equivalent of a genius bar in it now? (for hardware related issues, at least)

 

[coolbreeze2]

I have an Apple keyboard for my iPad and one letter is malfunctioning. There is no AppleCare available for the keyboard; however, it's been less than a year since purchased the keyboard. Will Best Buy fix/replace it even though I purchased it from B&H Photo? There is no Apple Retail Store near me. However, I was out town near one and took the keyboard in. Apple was willing to replace it but didn't have any in stock at the time. They said I had to come back when some where in stock and make the exchange. It's so far that I have not gone back yet. I wonder can I now do the exchange at Best Buy. I think I will call Apple and find out.

 

[Maclver]

They don't repair or replace on the spot.

For an iPhone that goes tango uniform, you are stuck waiting for the repair to come back. Never mind you no longer have a phone for a week and cannot call or be called.

As iPhone hardware is very buggy (every iPhone I have ever had has had a factory defect), this is a very lame service.

All Best Buy does is check out the hardware with an Apple diagnostic tool and apologize for leaving you without a phone line for a week while they send it in to Apple. Pure Applesauce

Every iPhone you've had you say?... Sounds like you should buy a different brand and move on....

 

[TheSkywalker77]

Just another reason to love Best Buy!

 

[No. 44]

It looks Apple needs help taking care of the massive amount of repairs that the
new MacBook Pro's are requiring...

 

[nicks18000]

I was one of those "Apple certified" techs at the Geek Squad/Best Buy I worked at for 12 years. The training is a joke, you read a few articles and watch a video, then are expected to be able to repair every iPhone that Apple is willing to give you parts for. Forget about same day replacement or loner phones cause that is not going to happen. The few parts that can be replaced in-house are ones that I have hardly ever seen fail, like a speaker or a cellular receiver. Most items are shipped out and your lucky if it takes less then a week to get is back. Some items have a very quick turn around time like Apple TV and sometimes Apple Watch. Your better off just going through Apple, even just mailing it in to them is faster then taking it to a Best Buy, and you will get much better customer service. When anyone in Geek Squad sees an Apple device all they want to do is run and hide cause the process is so horrible, even just to check it in.

 

[Defthand]

This is good news for devices that are still within their warranty. However, I want unauthorized repair shops to be able to buy or sell OEM parts, and repair after-warranty devices. Apple's authorized repairs are probably limited in scope, and are dictated approaches that involve costly assembly swaps. As we have seen, repairs can sometimes require only solder.

 

[zhenya]

They don't repair or replace on the spot.

For an iPhone that goes tango uniform, you are stuck waiting for the repair to come back. Never mind you no longer have a phone for a week and cannot call or be called.

As iPhone hardware is very buggy (every iPhone I have ever had has had a factory defect), this is a very lame service.

All Best Buy does is check out the hardware with an Apple diagnostic tool and apologize for leaving you without a phone line for a week while they send it in to Apple. Pure Applesauce

Nothing like assuming an authoritative tone on a subject you are 100% dead wrong about.

 

[NMBob]

Is this the same Geek Squad that was going through people's computers for the FBI and for their own entertainment?

 

[JeffPerrin]

A condescending employee and having to listen to snarky comments from disgruntled PC users have turned me off from Best Buy repair service. Poor customer experience. Grade: D

I'll stick to shipping my repairs direct to Apple from now on. My experience with AppleCare: A+

 

[dominiongamma]

I never had a good experience with Best Buy ever so I’ll stick with Apple. Good for people who don’t have access to a Apple Store around them .
[doublepost=1560956166][/doublepost]

Just another reason to love Best Buy!

Nope! They have employees who are rude and lie to customers and the geek squad is a joke

 

[JetTester]

But do I trust Best Buy to make a good repair? I don’t know - never had them repair anything before.

 

[cliffster82]

My dad had the display on his X replaced at BB last week. Super super convenient. The closest Apple Store is 90 minutes away.

 

[cube]

But do I trust Best Buy to make a good repair? I don’t know - never had them repair anything before.

It says Apple-certified in the thread title.

 

[Defthand]

Every iPhone you've had you say?... Sounds like you should buy a different brand and move on....

I doubt the OP is exaggerating. Every iPhone I owned (three total) were replaced while they were under warranty. Every phone owner I know (notice I didn't say iPhone specifically) has experienced hardware issues.

Electronics are complex. The more complex that something is, the more potential failures. And ekectronics are delicate. Why do you think race cars and rockets require so many handlers and constant observation? Why do you think Apple's stores are packed with repair seekers?

 

[Will do good]

They don't repair or replace on the spot.

For an iPhone that goes tango uniform, you are stuck waiting for the repair to come back. Never mind you no longer have a phone for a week and cannot call or be called.

As iPhone hardware is very buggy (every iPhone I have ever had has had a factory defect), this is a very lame service.

All Best Buy does is check out the hardware with an Apple diagnostic tool and apologize for leaving you without a phone line for a week while they send it in to Apple. Pure Applesauce

"(every iPhone I have ever had has had a factory defect)"
You are the most unlucky person ever or full or it.
Our family have over many, many iPhones and never have any hardware problems within the first few years.